Total pages in book: 113
Estimated words: 106422 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 532(@200wpm)___ 426(@250wpm)___ 355(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 106422 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 532(@200wpm)___ 426(@250wpm)___ 355(@300wpm)
“You really have to stop associating with vacuous people who say all the right things and fill up your days with meaningless company,” the bespectacled woman had advised. “What you need is the opposite. Not a shallow crowd but one or two people who see you down to the bone and call you on your bullshit.”
She would’ve liked Diya…but she would’ve liked Susanne most of all.
Susanne, Jocelyn, Virna, all had been touchpoints in my life before the luminous supernova of Diya, but it was Susanne who’d left the biggest, deepest mark.
Remember me after I’m gone, Tav. Be disgraceful now and then in my memory.
I’d never forget the woman who’d been the making of me.
She’d be so disappointed in what I’d done, what I’d become after her death.
After sending Aleki a thank-you message, I found a room in a motel not far from the hospital.
While food wasn’t topmost in my mind, my body reminded me that I hadn’t eaten anything since breakfast and it was now after dark. Diya and I had been planning to have lunch together, picking our meal from the leftovers. All we’d have had to do was put a few things on an oven tray, heat them up for ten minutes.
“I can’t wait! I saw an entire box of those tiny croissants filled with smoked chicken in the fridge.” Diya had rubbed her flat abdomen. “I hardly ate any of it last night because I didn’t want my stomach to start pooching. The waist of my lehenga was way too tight to forgive a few pastries.”
I’d rolled my eyes. “Baby, your idea of pooching is my idea of sexy.”
A scowl ruined by a smile before she’d run to sit on my lap and kiss me like it was the first time all over again. “Mmm, you taste like coffee.” Soft, breathy words. “I could eat you up.”
That was how we’d ended up back in bed, and she’d been late for her shower. Had that been the moment that sealed her fate? Because earlier, she’d talked about riding along with me to pick up the cakes, but after we’d made love in the morning sunlight that slanted in through the apartment’s triangular windows, she’d decided to stay home, do her hair routine.
I hadn’t even thought about it, had just told her I’d be back soon.
Now she lay fighting for her life.
My stomach lurched, but, aware I had to function if I wasn’t going to end up in an interrogation room, leaving Diya alone, I ordered delivery from a Thai place, then had a shower. The food arrived ten minutes after I’d finished; I sat and ate it with methodical focus while skipping through the motel’s extensive list of channels until I finally hit on an evening news recap.
The fire was the lead item.
“Rotorua residents were shocked to hear of a fatal house fire in the Lake Tarawera community earlier today. The house belonged to husband and wife Drs. Rajesh and Sarita Prasad—two of the four partners of the Rotorua Fertility & Gynecological Group. While fire crews were able to stop the blaze from spreading to neighboring properties thanks in part to the Prasad property’s extensive lawns, the Prasad house is in ruins.
You can’t see the property from where I’m standing at the top of the drive, but we were able to get footage from the lake earlier, and as you can see, the damage is catastrophic. Neighbors report finding pieces of the home in their own yards, and we spotted debris floating in the lake.
The police have confirmed that they’re currently in the process of recovering human remains from the site, though it will take some time before they’re able to confirm the identities of the victims. However, from what the neighbors have told us, and what we’ve gleaned from the shocked and distraught staff at the fertility clinic, it’s highly likely that both doctors were inside at the time of the incident.
We’ve also been able to ascertain that two people did survive the fire and are in critical condition in Rotorua Hospital. Unconfirmed reports state that the two survivors showed signs of non-accidental injuries.”
“Sonia, do I have it correct, there are indications of foul play?”
“Yes, David. Police have announced a press conference tomorrow afternoon at four where they intend to share further information. For now, they’re focusing on identifying the victims and beginning the first stages of what is no doubt going to be a very complex investigation.”
There was nothing else of note in the rest of the report, but for the images of the house itself. The reporter had found her way onto the lake in time to get footage of the home while it was still burning, then had stuck around to get shots of the blackened and ruined aftermath, with the fire hoses pumping out foam to dampen the last embers.