The Avatari Read Online Free PDF Page A

it.
    So this is what it’s all about , Ashton thought, those flashing images that passed through my mind when I saw the body .
    Duggy put down the letter and looked up.
    ‘He’s asking for my help; what do you think?’ Ashton asked him.
    ‘Well, you’re the one who knows this man, Ru San Ko, the writer of this letter, as well as the other, the Teacher. They have asked for your help. It is for you to make the decision.’
    ‘They are – or were – good men, with whom I stayed when I was at the monastery in Laos,’ Ashton said. ‘But that was twenty years ago.’ He picked up the letter again and read from it. ‘I can make neither head nor tail of some parts! I mean, this gter ma and “Burqan Qaldun”; do you have any idea what they could be?’
    Duggy paused, collecting his thoughts. ‘My grandmother, whom you have met, was a devout Buddhist,’ he said. ‘When I was a boy, she would tell us many tales that were beyond our wildest imagination. She would talk of these gter ma s – hidden treasures, apparently – that would be revealed to particular individuals at specific times as part of a preordained destiny.’
    ‘And this Burqan Qaldun?’
    ‘I don’t know, but my guess is that it’s some secret, possibly, mythical site like Camelot, the location of which, as the letter says, would be revealed by this gter ma .’
    ‘This is all quite unbelievable. It’s almost like a hoax,’ Ashton muttered, releasing his breath in a great whoosh. ‘Except that if it is, it’s a rather macabre one. We already have two people dead.’ He paused. ‘The time has come for us to go to the police,’ he said softly, glancing at Duggy for approval.
    The other man shrugged. ‘ Timro saathiharule arkai bhanethyo .’ he said. ‘That was not what your friends wanted.’
    Ashton looked at him across the table. ‘You can’t be serious!’ he said testily. ‘What do you think I can do to help?’ He composed himself and continued in a calmer voice, ‘These people, they are monks in a remote monastery. Something valuable has been stolen from them. Logically, they have turned to me, a Westerner, for help.’ He took a sip of tea. ‘It’s not as if our going to the police means that we will give up investigating the case on our own. We’ll pursue it till the very end.’
    The two men stared at each other. After a while, Duggy spoke up. His voice was soft, but his words were emphatic.
    ‘It is not a matter for the police, huzoor ,’ he said. ‘You know that. And they don’t want the help of the police; they want yours . In their time of trouble, they have turned to you for help. You may choose not to respond to their plea, but then, that would be a cowardly thing to do.’ Duggy paused before saying slowly, ‘Kaayar hunnu bhanda marnu raamro.’
    Ashton sprang to his feet and struck the table with his fist, making the crockery clatter. He was livid.
    ‘Timi durvyavahar gardaichau! You are crossing the line, Sergeant!’ he shouted.
    The lady at the counter looked up in alarm, but Duggy reassured her with a nonchalant wave in her direction. Ashton glared at him and stormed out of the restaurant.
    Duggy had touched a nerve; he had just reminded Ashton of the Gurkha motto, ‘It is better to die than to live a coward.’ A simple motto that had won their regiment the Victoria Cross twenty-six times, almost all of them for hand-to-hand combat.
    After a short interval, Ashton walked back in and sat down opposite Duggy who had, by then, ordered another pot of tea. They looked at each other calmly. Neither man uttered a word. Duggy poured out a cup for Ashton. He picked it up and took a sip.
    ‘You know you are being quite obdurate, don’t you?’ he told his house manager.
    Duggy reached out and squeezed his forearm in response.
    ‘Good,’ Ashton said. ‘Just so long as you know that. Let’s go and meet this Solomon Avery. I just found out where this bank is located.’
    He drained his cup and put some money on the