"May I compliment you on the decadence of your attire."
"Thank you. I knew it wasn't stylish, so I'll settle for decadent. How's your grandmother?"
"Physically well, but suffering from a mental aberration, I fear."
"She's doing fine," Kolabati said with a scathing look at her brother. "I have the latest word and she's doing just fine." Then she smiled sweetly. "Oh, by the way, Kusum dear. Jack was asking about durba grass today. Anything you can tell him about it?"
Jack saw Kusum stiffen at the mention of durba grass. He knew Kolabati had been startled when he had asked her about it on the phone today. What did durba grass mean to these two?
Still smiling, Kolabati sauntered away as Kusum faced him.
"What did you wish to know?"
"Nothing in particular. Except… is it ever used as a laxative?"
Kusum's face remained impassive. "It has many uses, but I have never heard it recommended for constipation. Why do you ask?"
"Just curious. An old lady I know said she was using a concoction with a durba grass extract in it."
"I'm surprised. I didn't think you could find durba grass in the Americas. Where did she buy it?"
Jack was studying Kusum's face. Something there… something he couldn't quite define.
"Don't know. She's away on a trip right now. When she comes back, I'll ask her."
"Throw it away if you have any, my friend," Kusum said gravely. "Certain durba grass preparations have undesirable side-effects. Throw it away." Before Jack could say anything, Kusum gave one of his little bows. "Excuse me. There are some people I must speak to before the night is over."
Undesirable side-effects? What the hell did that mean?
Jack wandered around the room. He spotted Gia again, but she avoided his eyes. Finally, the inevitable happened: He ran into Nellie Paton. He saw the pain behind her smile and suddenly felt absurd in his old fashioned tuxedo. This woman had asked him to help find her missing sister and here he was dressed up like a gigolo.
"Gia tells me you're getting nowhere," she said in a low voice after brief amenities.
"I'm trying. If only I had more to go on. I'm doing what I—"
"I know you are, dear," Nellie said, patting his hand. "You were fair. You made no promises, and you warned me you might not be able to do any more than the police had already done. All I need to know is that someone is still looking."
"I am." He spread his arms. "I may not look like it, but I am."
"Oh, rubbish!" she said with a smile. "Everyone needs a holiday. And you certainly seem to have a beautiful companion for it."
Jack turned in the direction Nellie was looking and saw Kolabati approaching them. He introduced the two women.
"Oh, I met your brother tonight!" Nellie said. "A charming man."
"When he wants to be, yes," Kolabati replied. "By the way—has either of you seen him lately?"
Nellie nodded. "I saw him leave perhaps ten minutes ago."
Kolabati said a word under her breath. Jack didn't know Indian, but he could recognize a curse when he heard one.
"Something wrong?"
She smiled at him with her lips only. "Not at all. I just wanted to ask him something before he left."
"Speaking of leaving," Nellie said. "I think that's a good idea. Excuse me while I go find Gia." She bustled off.
Jack looked at Kolabati. "Not a bad idea. Had enough of the diplomatic crowd for one night?"
"For more than one night."
"Where shall we go?"
"How about your apartment? Unless you've got a better idea."
Jack could not think of one.
11
Kolabati had spent most of the evening cudgeling her brain for a way to broach the subject to Jack. She had to find out about the durba grass! Where did he learn about it? Did he have any? She had to know!
She settled on the direct approach. As soon as they entered his apartment, she asked:
"Where's the durba grass?"
"Don't have any," Jack said as he took off his tailed coat and hung it on a hanger.
Kolabati glanced around the front room. She didn't see any growing in pots. "You must."
"Really, I don't."
"Then why did you ask me about it on the phone today?"
"I told you—"
"Truth, Jack." She could tell it was going to be hard getting a straight answer out of him. But she had to know. "Please. It's important."
Jack made her wait while he loosened his tie and unbuttoned the winged collar. He seemed glad to be out of it. He looked into her eyes. For a moment she thought he was going to tell her the truth. Instead, he answered her question with one of his own.
"Why do you want to know?"
"Just tell me, Jack."
"Why is it so important?"
She bit her lip. She had to tell him something. "Prepared in certain ways it can be… dangerous."
"Dangerous how?"
"Please, Jack. Just let me see what you've got and I'll tell you if there's anything to worry about."
"Your brother warned me about it, too."
"Did he?" She still could not believe that Kusum was uninvolved in this. Yet he had warned Jack. "What did he say?"
"He mentioned side-effects. 'Undesirable' side-effects. Just what they might be, he didn't say. I was hoping maybe you could—"
"Jack! Why are you playing games with me?"
She was genuinely concerned for him. Frightened for him. Perhaps that finally got through to him. He stared at her, then shrugged.
"Okay, okay." He went to the giant Victorian breakfront, removed a bottle from a tiny drawer hidden in the carvings, and brought it over to Kolabati. Instinctively, she reached for it. Jack pulled it away and shook his head as he unscrewed the top. "Smell first."
He held it under her nose. At the first whiff, Kolabati thought her knees would fail her. Rakoshi elixir! She snatched at it but Jack was quicker and held it out of her reach. She had to get it away from him !
"Give that to me, Jack." Her voice was trembling with the terror she felt for him.
"Why?"
Kolabati took a deep breath and began to walk around the room. Think!
"Who gave it to you? And please don't ask me why I want to know. Just answer me."
"All right. Answer: no one."
She glared at him. "I'll rephrase the question. Where did you get it?"
"From the dressing room of an old lady who disappeared between Monday night and Tuesday morning and hasn't been seen or heard from since."
So the elixir was not meant for Jack! He had come by it second-hand. She began to relax.
"Did you drink any?"
"No."
That didn't make sense. A rakosh had come here last night. She was sure of that. The elixir must have drawn it. She shuddered at what might have happened had Jack been here alone.
"You must have."
Jack's brow furrowed. "Oh, yes… I tasted it. Just a drop."
She moved closer, feeling a tightness in her chest. "When?"
"Yesterday."
"And today?"
"Nothing. It's not exactly a soft drink."
Relief. "You must never let a drop of that pass your lips again—or anybody else's for that matter."
"Why not?"
"Flush it down the toilet! Pour it down a sewer! Anything! But don't let any of it get into your system again!''
"What's wrong with it?" Jack was becoming visibly annoyed now. Kolabati knew he wanted answers and she couldn't tell him the truth without his thinking her insane.
"It's a deadly poison," she said off the top of her head. "You were lucky you took only a tiny amount. Any more and you would have—"
"Not true," he said, holding up the still unstoppered bottle. "I had it analyzed today. No toxins in here."
Kolabati cursed herself for not realizing that he'd have it analyzed. How else could he have known it contained durba grass?