Jaggi lunged for her and clamped his fingers around her neck. ‘Give me the form,’ he said through gritted teeth.
Nikki gasped for breath. ‘Jaggi, don’t!’ Tarampal cried, trying to pry his hands off. He released Nikki and with one powerful swing, he threw Tarampal off, knocking her off her feet. Nikki took in a big gulp of air and held up her arms in surrender. ‘Okay,’ she said. ‘Okay. I’ll get it.’ She had to think quickly. ‘I hid it in the kitchen cupboard.’
Jaggi crouched next to Tarampal. ‘Bring it to me,’ he ordered Nikki. She took in another shaky breath and hurried back to the kitchen. The kettle was right there but she hesitated to reach for it. Jaggi was strong; if her escape didn’t work, he’d kill her. She knew that much from the way his fingers had dug into her throat.
‘Why did you do that to me?’ Tarampal whimpered. Jaggi murmured back a reply that Nikki couldn’t hear. Her heart pounded in her chest – there was only so much stalling she could do. She grabbed the kettle and spun around just in time to see Jaggi tucking Tarampal’s hair behind her ear. It was a gesture too intimate to mean anything else.
They were lovers.
The realization clanged in Nikki’s head like a bell. She put the kettle back on the counter. The sound alerted Tarampal, who looked up and withdrew quickly from Jaggi. She avoided Nikki’s gaze.
‘How long has this been going on?’ Nikki asked her.
Tarampal shook her head. ‘Nothing’s going on,’ she said. She tugged her dupatta to hide her face. All the good things come later, Tarampal had told Nikki, her cheeks turning red like this.
‘Is that why you did it?’ Nikki asked Jaggi in English. ‘Because your wife found out about you two?’
Jaggi could not conceal his surprise. He held Nikki’s stare but she knew she had caught him. ‘She didn’t know how to keep her mouth shut,’ he said. Tarampal looked back and forth between the two of them, trying to decipher their conversation.
‘Both your reputations were worth a woman’s life? That was a reason to kill Maya?’ Nikki asked.
At the mention of Maya’s name, Tarampal tensed. Nikki switched back to Punjabi. ‘He just admitted it, Tarampal. He killed her.’
‘I didn’t say that,’ Jaggi said through gritted teeth. He turned to Tarampal. ‘It happened so quickly. It was an accident.’
‘It was an accident,’ Tarampal repeated but she looked confused. ‘What do you mean?’
‘She knew about you two,’ Nikki said.
‘You need to keep your mouth shut,’ Jaggi warned, but Nikki noticed the panic registering on his face.
‘She knew?’ Tarampal asked. She drew her dupatta over her chest. ‘I don’t sleep with people’s husbands. I don’t do that,’ she added quickly to Nikki.
Just like she didn’t blackmail people. Wording was the key to Tarampal’s denial. As long as she announced her innocence aloud, it was true. ‘He’s a murderer,’ Nikki said, pointing at Jaggi. He stood up and began to advance towards her. Nikki backed herself against the counter, her body flooding with cold, hard fear.
‘Jaggi,’ Tarampal said. He stopped and turned around.
‘Did Kulwinder know about us?’ Tarampal asked.
‘No.’
‘Are you sure?’
‘I’m sure.’
‘Because Maya was going to tell her about us?’ Tarampal asked softly. Jaggi turned back to look at Nikki. ‘Please answer me,’ Tarampal said.
‘We don’t have time for this,’ Jaggi said.
‘Oh, Jaggi,’ Tarampal murmured. ‘Why?’
‘She got upset and said she was going to tell everybody. I started thinking about you and your reputation in the community, and I couldn’t let that happen to you. It was all so quick. I threw the petrol on her to frighten her and she said, “You wouldn’t dare do it.” I took the box of matches and pushed her outside. I was still just trying to scare her.’
Tarampal stared at Jaggi in horror. ‘You told the police you weren’t at home.’
‘Tarampal—’
‘You lied to me.’
‘Don’t let Nikki influence you,’ Jaggi said. ‘What would you have done? What would you have wanted me to do?’
Tarampal’s hands were pressed against her lips and her eyes were bright with tears.
‘You’re a better person than that, Tarampal, you know you are. You wouldn’t have wanted Maya to die, would you?’ Nikki asked. ‘That’s what you told me earlier.’
‘You wanted her out of our lives so we could be together,’ Jaggi said, stepping between them to force Tarampal to look at him. ‘What other way was there?’
Tarampal hesitated. Death over dishonour, Nikki thought. Did it matter if it was Maya’s death over Tarampal’s dishonour?
‘I don’t know,’ Tarampal said. She directed her response to Nikki. It was the first honest thing she had said in a while. All of the colour had drained from her face. ‘I. Don’t. Know,’ she repeated, her voice catching on a sob. She looked like she was ten years old.
‘Tarampal,’ Jaggi said. He crouched down again and put his hand on her waist. ‘There’s no need to make a scene. We can talk about this later.’
Tarampal bit her lip and shook her head, her tears splashing on the floor. Jaggi reached out with his other hand to touch her cheek. Something seemed to snap in Tarampal then and, pulling away from Jaggi, she gave him a sharp slap on the face. The sound was like a clap of thunder.
It stunned both Jaggi and Nikki and he stood frozen for a second and then he grabbed her by the throat and began to shake her.
‘No!’ Nikki shouted. She picked up the kettle and flung it as hard as she could – it missed him by a whisker but the hot water splashed across his back. He yelled out and dropped Tarampal, flapping his shirt away from his skin to try to cool the burning.
‘Let’s go,’ Nikki cried, pushing him away from her and leaning down to grab Tarampal’s hand. Tarampal gasped for breath as she was hauled up from the floor but before she could take a step, Jaggi caught her wrist and pulled hard, throwing her back on the floor behind him. Nikki straightened up to face him and tried to take a step back but tripped over the leg of a chair. As she lurched forward, she saw his fist coming fast the other way. All she heard was the crack of her head against the kitchen counter and then everything went dark.
Sheena’s car was still moving when Kulwinder and Manjeet opened the door and hopped in. ‘Hai, wait! You’re going to hurt yourselves,’ Sheena cried. But there was no time to stop.
‘Do you remember where the pub is?’ Kulwinder asked.
‘Of course. I was just there,’ Sheena said.
‘Hurry up then.’ Sheena pushed down on the accelerator. Kulwinder clutched her seat instinctively as the car shot out of the temple car park.
When Manjeet called her, Sheena had been on her way home after dropping off the other widows. ‘Manjeet!’ Sheena’s voice had burst over speakerphone. ‘You’re well?’
‘I’m back in Southall. I’ll update you later but first we need to go to Nikki’s place,’ Manjeet replied.
‘She’s in trouble,’ Kulwinder added. Sheena did not ask any questions.