Blood Feud Read online

  The more she thought about Raj and his schemes, the madder she got. He tried to get his family to approve a marriage for them because he thought he was doing her a favor. Then he said it was because he was gay and needed a smoke screen. After that he flat-out asked her to help him gain citizenship in the United States by marrying him. Marlee didn’t know how much, if any of it, was true. Her head was spinning from all the stories and deception. One thing was for sure, Raj was not to be trusted.

  She needed to report to campus tomorrow and would have no choice but to deal with Raj every day. Marlee didn’t relish the idea of having such a schemer be the liaison between her and the university. But in true Midwestern spirit, she decided she would make the best of it and only raise an objection if Raj tried to undermine her at the university or run another scam. Treating him with an aloof formality would be her strategy from now on. There would be no more sharing of secrets.

  She didn’t need to be on campus the following day until 11:00 a.m. for a meeting with the Sociology Department, followed by a faculty luncheon, and then time to settle into her office and find her classroom. Since she could sleep in the next morning, she decided to open another bottle of wine and make some calls back home. Now that she couldn’t count on Raj’s friendship anymore, she was feeling homesick. She missed the comfort of her small Spanish-style house and her cat, Pippa. Her friends were always just a phone call away, and most of them lived within a few blocks of her house. Now she had no one and had never felt more alone in her life.

  After the second glass of wine, Marlee dialed the number for Diane again. They had so much fun laughing at Marlee’s new adventures the previous night that she wanted to repeat the experience. Alas, Diane was not answering her phone. Probably prepping for another busy semester at MSU. Marlee took a generous sip of wine from the glass and placed a call to Barry.

  “What’s up?” Barry recognized Marlee’s telephone number on the caller ID. “Are you ready to come home yet?”

  And that was all it took. The tears started rolling down her cheeks, and she could only formulate words between sobs. Barry didn’t say a word while she relayed the information about Raj, the marriage interview, and the scam he tried to pull over on her.

  After her sobs lessened, and the story had circled around to a repetition of information, Barry said, “People are the same everywhere. Some are good, and some are bad. From what you’ve said, it seems like Raj has a lot of reasons to want to get away from India and move to the United States, not that it was okay for him to do what he did. I think you’re wise not to trust him anymore.”

  Marlee was shocked. She and Barry were always so competitive with each other that she expected him to tease her about her mini-breakdown and go off on why she never should have traveled to India in the first place. Instead, he reiterated her concerns, showing that he had listened and provided a compassionate reply. Those sensitivity trainings he was always being sent to were really paying off.

  “Thanks, Barry. I’m not sure of anything anymore. Back home, I always had such a good read on people. I could figure out who was genuine and who wasn’t. That skill doesn’t transfer to other cultures, I guess.”

  “Just be true to yourself and try to curb your natural inclination toward helping everyone you cross paths with. You can’t help everyone,” Barry said.

  Feeling better, Marlee recounted the story of Swami telling her fortune at Raj’s home. She conveniently left out the part where the fortune teller predicted she would be married in a few months. She had no intention of getting married and especially not to Barry. Best not get that idea into his head. They had a good laugh and ended the conversation on a positive note.

  “Good luck at your meeting tomorrow. I know you’ll do great. The students and the faculty are going to love you!” Barry exclaimed with a burst of cheer he did not ordinarily exude. She knew he felt badly about her experiences in India thus far and wanted to make her feel better.

  “Thanks, Barry. Thanks for listening. Talk to you soon,” Marlee said, signing off.

  “No problem. Love you. Bye,” Barry said, and the phone went dead.

  Love you? What the fuck? Marlee hoped that Barry’s sign-off had been an absent-minded platitude or just a reflex from years of talking to his now ex-wife. They hadn’t talked about love or much of anything else up to this point in their relationship. In fact, Marlee was not sure of the status of their relationship. The one thing she knew for sure was that they were definitely not at the “love you” stage.

  She continued to think about Barry’s “love you” and finished the bottle of wine. This has to stop. I can’t drink a whole bottle of wine every night I’m here in India. That would be 150 bottles of wine. I like wine, but that’s too much… Marlee drifted off into a wine-induced sleep, fully-clothed and face down on her bed.

  The telephone ring was so loud that Marlee jolted out of bed. Even though she didn’t have a recollection of doing so, the lights were turned off in the apartment. She fumbled her way toward the small table to answer the phone. “Hello?” she mumbled, a bit unsteady on her feet from the wine she consumed earlier.

  “Miss, it is Raj. I need your help. Swami told my parents that I am gay. I need to hide. Please help me.” His words poured out so fast that it took her a few beats to comprehend what he was saying.

  Recalling the lies Raj already told her, she waited a full thirty seconds before answering. “No, Raj. I don’t think I can trust you. You’ve lied to me several times now, and I think you’re just trying to use me to get to the United States.”

  “I am so sorry, Miss. I have been horrible to you and have taken advantage of your generosity. Please forgive me for all I have done. I lied to you, and I will freely admit it, and I am not proud of my behavior. But please, you must help me. My secret is no longer a secret. My life is in danger, and I fear I may be killed.” Raj’s voice held a note of sincerity. If he was lying, then he should get an Oscar nomination.

  “Come over, Raj. You can stay here,” she said, immediately putting Raj’s past behavior out of her mind. Marlee’s helper instinct kicked in, and she didn’t want to see Raj hurt or killed. In her rush to help someone in need, she forgot about the ramifications of a single man staying with her in her apartment.

  “I cannot, Miss. Did Dean Reddy provide you keys to the Lotus Building at the breakfast meeting?” Raj whispered, keeping his voice low so that others nearby couldn’t hear his conversation.

  “Yes, but I haven’t toured the whole building yet.”

  “Please, let us go there now. Can you meet me at the stone wall where we talked the last two evenings?” Raj’s voice, although in a whispered tone, conveyed a level of desperation she had not heard from him before.

  “Of course. I can be there in five minutes,” Marlee said. She brushed her teeth quickly before leaving the room and took two bottles of water with her along with the keys to both her apartment and the university building where she would have an office.

  Her jaw dropped when she saw Raj at the wall encircling the university. Clad in the same tunic and trousers he wore on New Year’s Eve, his clothes were mussed and stained with dirt, and his turban was missing. A bluish bruise surrounded his right eye, and a dried trickle of blood leaked from his nose to his upper lip. Raj grasped at his left side, protecting his ribs from further abuse.

  “My God, what happened to you?” Marlee asked as she rushed toward her friend.

  “When I returned to my home, my brothers hit and kicked me. They said Swami told the family that the reason I cannot find a match is because I am gay. My father watched as my brothers beat me. When they finished, I was lying on the floor. Daddy-ji told me to leave right away, as my brothers would be back to kill me.” Raj broke into sobs after telling his story.

  “Do you have any broken bones? Should I take you to the hospital?” Marlee was concerned that Raj could have sustained internal injuries from the beating by his brothers. His exterior looked horrible, but who knew what damage had been
done to his liver, spleen, and other internal organs.

  “No, there is no time. I want to go to university. The Lotus Building has a lounge upstairs for professors, and I can sleep there tonight if you will let me in.”

  She walked slowly beside Raj as he limped the short distance to the Lotus. He led her to the side door of the building and unlocked the door with her key, handing it back to her. She wished she’d had the foresight to bring along a blanket from her room for Raj.

  “I will be fine,” he said with a wan smile. “Please go back to your room, Miss. I will find you tomorrow, and by then I will have a plan for myself.”

  Against her better judgment, Marlee left Raj at the Lotus. He had again insisted that he did not need the aid of a doctor and that his injuries were mostly superficial. He also rejected her offer to bring back blankets, a pillow, and some medical supplies for him. Marlee took her time making her way back to her apartment. The cool night air helped to sober her up and help her think more clearly. How can I help Raj? What can I do for him if his family has kicked him out? Will they really kill him to keep his family from falling into dishonor?

  She was still pondering how she could help her friend when she heard footsteps fast approaching behind her. Marlee turned and saw Raj’s two brothers, Ajay and Sameer, running toward her. She took off running and made it to her apartment, unlocked the door with the giant key, and slammed the door shut just as they approached.

  Marlee quickly locked the door behind her as they yelled, “Tell us where our brother is. We must find him. It is a family emergency!” They pounded on the door, and had Marlee not known of the vicious beating they gave Raj earlier, she might have opened the door to them.

  “Go away! I don’t know what you’re talking about. I must go to sleep now!” Marlee yelled repeatedly until Ajay and Sameer stopped hollering outside her door. Even though she was sure they were gone, she wedged the lone chair under the doorknob. Then she placed a suitcase and all of her shoes on top of the chair. From the chair, she hung the wind chime she’d purchased on a whim at the store where she bought her snacks. Marlee thought if Raj’s brothers tried to break into her room, she would at least hear them. Not that it would do much good, but it was better than having them break in and attack her while she was asleep.

  It was a fitful night of sleep. The alcohol, jetlag, and the drama of the past two days kept waking her and reigniting her imagination of what else could go wrong. She was wide awake when her alarm sounded at 9:00 a.m. Although she still felt like she’d been dragged behind a camel through the desert for two days, Marlee got out of bed and prepared herself for her meeting at 11:00. She was ready early and made the decision to go to the Lotus Building to check on Raj. If he was still in the faculty lounge, he might need something before he reported to work.

  Dressed in a black pants, a blue-and-green plaid sweater, and heels, Marlee walked to the Lotus where she’d left Raj. The door was unlocked, and she let herself in. Although Raj hadn’t said where the faculty lounge was located, Marlee guessed it would be in the basement. If Delhi University was anything like Midwestern State University, then anything extra for the professors would be hidden away in some space unusable for anything else.

  The dimly lit stairs led her to a basement maze. There were signs in both Hindi and English directing people to various classrooms, staff offices, and storage areas. Maybe faculty in India get more consideration than back home, Marlee thought as she turned around and made her way back up the stairs. It wasn’t until the third floor that Marlee finally found a sign directing her to the faculty lounge.

  She took a deep breath before she entered the lounge. If Raj considered it a place to stay for the evening, then who else made it their sleeping quarters for one or more nights?

  The curtains were pulled across the large windows, making the room dark. Marlee flicked on the light switch, but nothing happened. A smell of bad breath and tightly-confined human bodies permeated the room. On the far side was a dark-patterned couch, set low to the floor. Four rickety chairs surrounded a table even smaller than the one in her apartment. A miniature refrigerator stood in the corner near a sink basin, the faucet dripping. A counter was cluttered with coffee mugs and tea cups of all shapes and sizes turned upside down. Marlee walked around the room but no one was there. He must have left for work already, she thought as she walked around the tiny room.

  As she was preparing to leave she heard a faint noise. “Hello?” Marlee called out, thinking someone walked into the room behind her. It was so dark, she could hardly see more than a yard in front of her. There was no answer. Must be the pipes, she thought. The building where she had her first office at MSU was known for its creaks and groans. It was enough to convince many on campus that the building was haunted.

  Marlee heard the noise again as she moved toward the door. It sounded like a wounded animal already on its way toward the afterlife. Another noise; this time a groan, led Marlee toward the couch in search of its origin.

  “Hello?” Marlee called out again. She could feel that she wasn’t alone but didn’t know who or what was in the room with her.

  A slight rustling and a moan led her to the couch. No one was on top of it, so she kneeled on it and looked behind the dusty piece of furniture. There lay Raj, even more beaten and bloodied than the last time she saw him.

  Those who hunt deer sometimes raise tigers.

  Indian proverb

  Chapter 9

  The general definition of an international incident implies that a visitor to a country has brought about some level of dishonor to their own country due to their illegal or insensitive actions. Marlee had not done a thing to bring about Raj’s injuries, yet the police and the university officials were treating the matter as if she had personally pummeled Raj into a bloody heap. She was immediately whisked away to an empty room where she was surrounded by police officers and the upper echelons of the university administration. All stared at her with a menacing expression. Raj was unconscious and had been taken to the hospital.

  The questions flew around her head so fast she could barely formulate an answer. Not providing an immediate response seemed to infuriate the men further, and more questions were hurled at her. “Stop!” Marlee said, taking control of the situation. “I can only answer one question at a time.”

  One officer seemed less disgusted by her than the others. “Tell me what happened,” he said, motioning her toward a chair.

  Marlee gave a quick retelling of the story, leaving out most of the details. She was unsure who had assaulted Raj and what had been the motivation. If she had to guess, she suspected it was his brothers and that they’d given him another beating because he was gay. She knew if she provided this information to the police and the university, Raj could be fired and jailed while his attackers went free. It was a risk Marlee wasn’t willing to take.

  “You say you saw Raj Sharma yesterday in the evening. Is that correct?” A short, squat officer with a bushy mustache and dark-rimmed glasses stood before Marlee, breaking down her story bit by bit. All of the university staff and everyone but one police officer had left the room after Marlee gave her first account of finding Raj. He had previously identified himself, but in the confusion, Marlee had already forgotten his name.

  “That’s right. He called me in the middle of the night and said he was in danger. He asked me to meet at the stone wall on the edge of campus and to bring the keys to this building since this is where I will be working for the next few months. I met him at the wall, and he had been beaten. He was bloody and walked with a limp. We walked over here, and I unlocked the door. He assured me he would be fine. I had a meeting this morning and thought I would check to see if he was okay before I went to the meeting. I found Raj in the lounge behind the couch. He had been beaten again because his face was much more bruised than last night, and his clothing was torn.”

  “Who attacked him?”

  “I asked him, but he didn’t tell me,” Marlee said, the lie rolling aro
und in her mouth.

  The officer adjusted his glasses and continued to stare unblinkingly at Marlee. “Why would he be in danger? Did he steal something? Some money or jewelry, perhaps?”

  “No! I mean, I don’t know why he was in danger. I don’t think he stole anything.” Marlee needed to watch herself. If the cops suspected she was hiding something, even if it was to protect Raj, they would have reason to think she was lying about everything. She might even be implicated in Raj’s attack.

  “Did you see anyone lurking about as you and Mr. Sharma walked to this building or as you walked back to your apartment?”

  Marlee shivered involuntarily as she recalled Raj’s brothers chasing her across campus and pounding on her apartment door. “No, I didn’t see anyone who looked out of place. There were a few young people, students I assume, walking on campus.”

  “You and Mr. Sharma have only known each other a few days. Why would he seek help from you if he believed he was in danger? Most people would ask their family or friends they have known for years, not a person from another country they just met.”

  Marlee thought carefully before answering. She needed a plausible answer, yet she couldn’t disclose the real reason Raj confided in her and asked for help. “I’ve been wondering that myself. The only reason I can think of is that when I arrived here five days ago, I had a difficult time adjusting. Raj, being the liaison between me and the university, was the only person I knew. I confided in him, maybe a bit too much. Since I had shared my insecurities and fears with him maybe he felt he could do the same. Sometimes it’s easier to talk to strangers than people you’ve known for a long time.”

  The police officer seemed to buy her explanation. He moved a step back and looked out the window. He didn’t speak, and the silence was becoming intolerable, but Marlee would not allow herself to utter a word. She was familiar with the police tactic of protracted silence hoping that the person being interviewed would become uncomfortable and say something they had not intended. She wasn’t sure of the customs in India regarding speech, but Americans became quite antsy when no one talked.