Chapter Thirteen
Chapter
Thirteen
Naina settled into her cubicle next to Anil’s, shaking out her stiff body and hoping she hadn’t dealt permanent damage to her lower back. “God, the drive to and from the crime scene was agonizing.”
Anil swiftly put his laptop on standby and turned his chair to face hers. “Too much sexual tension between you and Prince Charming?” he asked, his voice mercifully low.
She huffed. “You could have cut it with a knife.” While Anil chuckled, she darted a look at her phone.
It was already past two-thirty in the afternoon.
Naina and Tejas had a conference call scheduled with Preethi, Kumble, and Iqbal to catch them up on their progress.
Knowing their expectations, Naina should have already come up with at least five things they’d discovered that could help them win the case.
Currently, with less than a half hour to go, she had… zero in mind.
Anil rolled his eyes when Naina told him this. “At least your partner on this case is a decent human being. Kumble just assigned a pro bono case to me and Dhanush. Five years of never having to work with him one-on-one, but I guess my luck had to run out sooner or later.”
Naina made a pitying noise and placed a hand on Anil’s shoulder. “I’d offer to trade, but I’d rather have sexual tension with Tejas than end up in jail for murdering Dhanush out of sheer spite, so…my condolences, Anil.”
“Well, best get on with it.” He shrugged off her hand and swiveled back to his desk.
Fifteen minutes later, Naina stared at the blinking cursor on the Word document, her mind as blank as the pages, when her inbox pinged with an email from Tejas.
RE: RE: ACHARYA V. K’TAKA CASE
Naina,
I drafted some points for our meeting at 3, and I’ve already shared the link below with Mr. Kumble. Feel free to edit it if you’ve got anything else to add. I’ll see you in his office soon!
—T
[LINK: Preethi Acharya Case Notes]
She read through the Google Doc, mumbling to herself under her breath.
He’d listed basic findings like the maintenance worker’s account of the bad blood between Gopal Krishnan and Rohith Pai, and the Krishnans’ trailer being mere feet away from Pai’s trailer, but also how the proximity could have meant access to Rohith’s trailer, making them key witnesses as well as potential suspects.
Another note said: Ask the other witnesses (Jagannath, misc. crew members, Krishnans) about Gopal/Pai beef and see if it’s different than what the worker said. Since the worker won’t testify, we need someone else to confirm.
Naina made a small noise of approval. Tejas was smart.
It might be frustrating to work with him on account of…
everything, but he was a competent lawyer to have by her side.
And with them having talked about being friendlier, she needed to set their differences aside and win this case, not just for Preethi’s sake, but also her own.
Gritting her teeth, she took out her phone and sent Preethi a quick message, keeping her dream of making partner at the forefront of her mind.
Five minutes before the scheduled call, steady footsteps that Naina recognized all too well pulled her attention from rereading the document. She looked up at Tejas and smiled. “Hi,” she said. “I was just making some additions to your points.”
Tejas bit the side of his cheek, like he was trying not to laugh. “More like rewriting them. I guess Naina Shetty is just as competitive as Naina Stark?”
“I’m afraid Naina Stark is no more.”
“Good thing I like Naina Shetty too.” His voice was buttery-smooth as he said her last name; then his gaze softened as he looked at her. He licked his lips. “Very much, in fact.”
Her face flooded with heat, especially when Anil cackled next to her. “I’m doing this for Preethi,” she replied quickly, and pushed her chair back so she could stand. “On to Kumble’s office, then?”
Nodding, Tejas led the way. “You think Preethi’s doing okay?” he asked as they walked. “She goes into judicial custody tomorrow. I hope we can ease her anxieties during the video call.”
Naina’s shoulders slumped. Based on her text exchange with Preethi, they definitely needed to reassure her to the best of their abilities.
“I hope Mr. Kumble won’t say something mean to her if she breaks down crying,” Naina said as they paused in front of the managing partner’s office, where Kumble and Iqbal were already waiting.
“I wouldn’t put it past him.” Tejas ran a hand through his curly hair. Naina tried not to glance at the way it fell across his forehead. They knocked on the glass door and stepped inside after Kumble yelled, “Come in!”
The spacious office’s floor-to-ceiling walls overlooked half of Bangalore, from the skyscrapers and luxury apartments to the smaller, run-down slums interspersed between different neighborhoods.
There were no photographs on Kumble’s desk, no personal trinkets in this sterile white-walled office, not even his degrees or accolades framed on the wall.
He didn’t have plants, either. Kumble didn’t care for anything green unless it was code for “money.”
He sat at his desk in his revolving chair, squeezing a stress ball, while Iqbal stood next to him, thumbing through some reports.
“Good afternoon,” Tejas said, straightening his tie. “How’s everyone doing?”
“Fine, fine.” Kumble ushered Naina and Tejas to sit across from him.
“So,” he said, his voice low, giving Iqbal a quick glance, “we’ve just gone through the document you shared with us. These are interesting findings, but”—he sucked in a breath—“prosecution will use the scorned lover angle, which is very believable.”
“She hadn’t spoken to him in years,” Naina pointed out, though she knew he was right about the revenge angle.
“Besides, she did no wrong accusing him of grooming her. A man in his late thirties should not be doing anything with a nineteen-year-old who doesn’t have a fully developed prefrontal cortex. ”
“Girls mature faster than boys,” Kumble said. “Anyway, we’re digressing.”
What a reductive take. Naina opened her mouth to argue, then stopped herself. There was no use.
“Another thing to consider,” Iqbal said, “is that the remote location, closed set, and lack of security could mean our killer had planned the whole thing. They might accuse Preethi of premeditated murder instead of culpable homicide.”
“So that’s the death penalty or life imprisonment versus ten years in jail,” Tejas said. “If they find her guilty at all.”
“Which they probably will,” Kumble said, shaking his head, “unless we do the smart thing and pin this murder on someone else.”
Huffing, Naina said, “Sir, we’re not detectives, we’re lawyers. Are we really supposed to solve this murder when we should be trying to defend our client?”
“You don’t need to solve the murder to find a new suspect. Whether they actually did it or not”—Kumble waved his hand dismissively—“is irrelevant. We care about proving our client’s innocence. Nobody else’s.”
Naina tried not to let her annoyance show. “Of course,” she said. “Do we know how Preethi’s dealing with all the media attention and the trolls?”
“Probably not great,” Iqbal started, but Kumble cut in. “She was absolutely hysterical when our paralegal called her this morning to confirm the meeting. Unless she dials it down, everyone will believe she’s guilty. Why else would she be so sad?”
“Maybe because she’s accused of murdering someone she once thought she loved?” Tejas suggested, cocking a brow. “Don’t you think people would be more suspicious if she weren’t devastated?”
Naina nodded. “She’s acting like a person who went through a lot of trauma both before and after the murder, and is now being tried for something she didn’t do.
If she were unemotional, detached, or indifferent, people would find it weird.
Then again”—she glared at Kumble—“people call women hysterical if they’re devastated, so I guess we can’t win either way. ”
“Damned if you do, damned if you don’t,” Iqbal murmured.
Kumble sighed. “Let’s get on with this meeting.”
Naina and Tejas turned their chairs around to face the screen opposite Kumble’s desk while Iqbal started the Zoom call.
Seconds later, their client hopped on, and Naina sucked in a breath.
Next to her, Tejas stiffened. This would be the last time they’d talk to Preethi before she was taken to prison.
“H-hi, everybody.” Preethi looked worse than the last time they met her.
She sat at a desk, her blotchy face half hidden by the three tissues she was dabbing on her eyes.
Several used tissues were already scattered on the desk.
Cringing internally, Naina hoped Kumble wouldn’t say anything dismissive while they were on the call.
Iqbal smiled kindly at Preethi. “Ms. Acharya, how are you doing?”
“I’m—I’m terrified,” she said, her voice catching on the last word. She blew her nose on the tissue. “I don’t want to go to jail.”
“You’ll be in judicial custody for just a short while,” Kumble snapped.
“While we’re collecting more evidence and hashing out an ironclad defense for you, we’d like you to record a video statement about how you’re doing.
” Kumble shot a glance at Naina, his eyebrows knitting.
“Let’s see if your theory proves right, Naina. ”
Preethi’s lips parted in confusion, and she looked in Naina’s general direction.
Does this man not have any empathy? Naina thought bitterly.
She stood, pushing her chair back with a groan.
“Sir, with all due respect, I don’t think she’s in the right state to record a video statement.
Which is why I already worked on a written statement with Preethi before this meeting.
” She showed Kumble, Iqbal, and Tejas the statement, which was to the point and respectful of Pai’s death and the gaping hole left in the Sandalwood film industry, and also included a kind appeal to the public to trust whatever the court found to be right and just.
Tejas scratched the back of his neck. “I think this looks good. Let’s send it to the press on her behalf.”
“If it comes from her in the flesh, it’ll be more impactful,” Kumble argued.
Iqbal looked among the four of them almost helplessly, then finally intervened, laughing nervously.
“A written statement is fine. Anyway, Preethi.” He turned to the screen.
“We’re on top of things with your case, and Mr. Kumble will ensure you get the best possible treatment in prison. ”
“Do you hear yourself?” Preethi said, hiccuping. “Prison!”
“We’re handling this,” Tejas chimed in, his eyes sad, while Kumble merely shook his head. “Try not to worry too much.”
“How?” Preethi looked straight at the camera, her eyes bloodshot. “I’ll be on trial for murder soon. Murder! I can’t sleep, I can’t eat, I can’t stop crying…”
Naina gulped and finally spoke up. “You don’t deserve this. Nobody does. But you need to—”
“Be strong?” Preethi shrieked. “I can’t do that. Have you seen what people are saying about me on the internet? Outside my own goddamn house?”
“You don’t need to be strong,” Naina said, smiling softly, “but you do need to have faith, because that’s the one thing that keeps people going despite the shitstorm life throws them into. You’re innocent, Preethi, and we’ll prove it. I promise.”
A single tear slid down Preethi’s cheek, but her face softened. “Thanks, Naina,” she said, then looked around her surroundings, frowning. “I…I’d better go. I need to clean up in here before they take me away.”
Once the call dropped, Kumble gestured toward the door. “We’d all best get back to work. The law waits for no one. Especially not a murder suspect.”
Iqbal smiled politely as Naina and Tejas headed out. Once they were in the corridor, Tejas spoke, his hands in his pockets, punctuating the silence left in the wake of Kumble’s chilling words. “That was beautiful, what you said.”
Naina bit her lip. “She needed to hear it from someone.”
He cocked his head to the side. “I’m glad we’re working on this together. You’re a good lawyer, Naina, but more than that, you’re a good person.”
A warm feeling coiled low in her belly, slowly creeping up her arms and into her chest, where her heart thumped loud enough to ring in her ears.
People in the legal field had called her a good lawyer countless times.
Her professors, her colleagues, her bosses—even Kumble, on occasion—but no one had thought to compliment her values over her accomplishments before. She swallowed. “I…”
“See you around.” Grinning, Tejas turned and walked back to his cubicle at the other end of the office while Naina tried to stop her twitching lips from returning that grin.