Thompson’s Lost Plimsole

Part 38

Arjun finished his story, but Donald still wanted the inscription on the inside of the shank on the ring translating. Arjun did not want to touch the ring, so Donald held the jewel forward and manipulated it so that Arjun could read the inscription. Arjun looked at Donald, “It simply says, Manmohan had me made”. Donald looked disappointed. “Is that it, is that all it says?”. “Yes, Sir”, answered Arjun. “Nothing more”.  Donald rose to leave, took a five pound note from his wallet and placed it on a small side table. “Get your Mrs and the old lady some flowers and tell them thanks for the tea”. Arjun bade goodbye to Donald and closed the front door behind him. Donald walked away from the Kumar’s house and kicked out angrily at a black cat that crossed in front of him. “Well that was a waste of an afternoon”, he thought to himself, “A cup of tea and an Indian fairy story, what a load of old cobblers”.  Inside the house, Arjun slipped the fiver into his pocket and gave some thought to this strange meeting. He hadn’t been truthful about the inscription to Donald. Yes, Manmohan was known to have commissioned the creation of the ring, but the inscription held a more sinister meaning for its owner. Death will come to him, who takes this from me.

The Kumars would not have known about the ring’s continuing journey from India to England. However, Major Lowther had returned home to Hampshire and was warmly and lovingly greeted by his wife and two young sons. His father was thrilled to hear of his son’s exploits in India, a country that the old Colonel himself had served in and had come to love. What a prize the ring was. The old man couldn’t take his eyes off the ruby and his mind wandered back to the old days dining in the officers’ mess, the chink of wine glasses, the scent of jasmine in the air and Indian music drifting in through the open windows. The Sitar, the Tabla, the Khartal and the Kanjira all combining to create a unique sound. The next morning, the Major would have some business to attend to in town. He was sure that his father would keep the boys entertained whilst he and his wife were absent. The old Colonel took the boys out rowing on the lake, it was a fine day and James Lowther regaled the boys with tales of derring-do in India, whilst one of the estate workers took the oars. James took the ring from his pocket to show the boys. The eldest boy put the ring on to his finger, it was far too big for his small hand, but he gripped it tight. He stood up in the boat and excitedly jumped around which caused the boat to rock. No-one was sure what actually happened after that. The boat capsized and all of its occupants were cast into the lake. The only survivor was the estate worker. The lake was full of weed and this had entangled itself around the struggling bodies. The lake was dragged and the oldest of the sons was found, still clinging to the ruby ring. After this, little more was known about the ring until it re-surfaced in one of the stolen safety deposit boxes, and now it belonged to Donald Dray.

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