Dive into *The Goa Gambit*, Anurag Tripathi’s thrilling new novel set in Goa’s glamorous casinos. This fast-paced story blends suspense, power, and ambition with a hint of romance, delivering a gripping read from start to finish. Following his acclaimed debut *Kalayug* and *Dalal’s Street*, Tripathi’s latest work is a must-read for thriller fans and high-stakes gambling enthusiasts.
WIN SOME, LOSE SOME
Bobby dialled a number in Panaji. The phone rang and rang, but there was no answer. He cursed and called again. This time a sleepy male voice answered the phone, a little irritated, ‘State guest house, Panaji.’ ‘Son of a bitch! Are you asleep?’ shouted Bobby. The man recognised the voice and his eyes shot open and his mind came to attention. ‘Not at all, Boss,’ he lied. ‘I was watching television inside. Please tell me, how can I be of help?’
Bobby gave clear instructions before slamming down the phone. The man wrote down the instructions on a piece of paper and then he went to work, pulling out a dilapidated client register from the reception desk in front of him. This wasn’t the first time he was doing this job. He had learned from experience to leave plenty of space between client entries to accommodate VIP requests. These came at odd hours in the night without notice. There was an entry at 10:30 pm that night followed by another at 10:55 pm. He created a new entry in the name of Pankaj Adhikari at 10:45 pm, allotting him one of the VIP rooms which were always kept unoccupied for such requests.
Once the entry was made, he called Bobby to confirm that his bidding was done, and went back to sleep.
‘Boss, your alibi is solid,’ Bobby informed Pankaj Adhikari.
‘Where do I have to go?’
‘The State Guest House at Panaji.’
‘Couldn’t you come up with a better place,’ complained Pankaj Adhikari. ‘That place is infested with rats and cockroaches.’
‘Boss, that’s the only place which still functions without a CCTV camera. Please make sure to have breakfast in the dining hall so that some people see you in the morning.’
‘Oh God! I will have to eat that watery sambhar with idly. Now get me out of here quietly.’
A few minutes later, Pankaj Adhikari had left the casino through a side staff entrance. Bobby had ensured that the relevant security cameras were switched off.
Once he was gone, Bobby headed below deck to meet Anton. Anton was upset. ‘When the opportunity came to nail the sons of bitches, you went all soft’, he complained. ‘Why? We still have the two who were caught red-handed.’
‘Oh, small fry! You let Jack walk away! He was the biggest catch of the evening.’
Jayesh claimed that Jack had told him about that extra camera. Your story didn’t add up.’
‘He was lying through his teeth.’
‘Even if he was, it wasn’t a battle I wished to fight. I lost the battle, but won the war instead.’
‘What! Is Jayesh out?’
‘Yes, he is gone. From this moment, we rule this place.’ ‘That is great news, Boss! But I am still disappointed about letting Jack walk away.
I really wanted to beat the shit out of him for a long time.’ ‘It is ok, we win some, we lose some,’ said Bobby. ‘But I will personally lead the investigation into this fraud to figure out what happened.’
Anton’s excitement immediately disappeared. ‘Why do you want to involve yourself in these small matters?’ he said.
‘You will be busy establishing yourself as the new CEO over the next few weeks. Let me handle it. You take care of more important things.’ Bobby noted Anton’s eagerness to take over the investigation. ‘Thanks, Anton,’ he said. ‘But you must keep me updated about your findings and progress.’
Nisha and Jack made quick stops at each of their houses and packed essentials and valuables and set off for Bangalore. It was still dark when they crossed the border of Panaji. Nisha had booked an evening flight out of Bangalore. They would have to drive the whole day to make it in time. In all the rush of packing and leaving, Nisha had forgotten about the stuff that her father had left for her. It was only after they had crossed Panaji that she remembered the envelope in her purse. She pulled it out, opened it, took out the letter inside and began to read.
With every passing word, her expression became grimmer. Finally, she said, ‘Stop the car.’ ‘What happened?’ asked Jack, bewildered. ‘Stop it now,’ she yelled. Jack immediately put his foot on the brakes. The vehicle came to a screeching halt on the side of the highway. Nisha got out and ran to the back of the car, calling out to Jack to open the boot. Jack complied and got out to join her. Nisha had already opened the briefcase that had been handed to her and was staring at the bundles of notes in it.
‘What the hell!’ said Jack, when he saw the stacks of cash. Nisha didn’t reply. She searched and found the gunny bag, pulled it open and overturned it. The contents fell out. She recognised Kumar Saurabh’s wallet and his favourite pen.
Tears started rolling down her cheeks. ‘You can’t do this to me,’ she yelled, as she began to frantically dial his phone number.
The phone rang continuously, but there was no answer. Jack took the letter from her hand and read it to make sense of what was happening. Nisha was sobbing and he put his arms around her to hug her. She pushed him away and redialled the number. There was no response.
Book excerpt – Pg 255-259
(Extracted with due permission from author , publisher)
