by P. G. Van
“Love you, too, sweetheart.” Nick ran his lips over my temple.
“Rajaram and Jasleen were brought together by destiny… they fell in love but didn’t have their happy ending…” My voice trailed off as a lump formed in my throat.
Nick stiffened his body behind me and turned me around. I lowered my eyes fighting the moisture in them.
“Baby, look at me.” It was a plea.
I looked up at him, a saltwater screen blurring my vision.
“Sweetheart, come here.” He pulled me closer to him, and I buried my face into the warmth of his chest. “You know how much it bothers me when I see tears in your eyes.”
“Nick, they didn’t deserve that life, and I’m scared… I’m scared.” I broke into uncontrollable sobs and hid my face in his chest. I felt his heart beat against my cheek, but the fear refused to leave me.
“Meera, I’m right here.”
“Take me with you wherever you go… I’ll take any hardship,” I mumbled into the soft fabric of his t-shirt.
“I’m not going anywhere without you, love.”
“I… I just don’t want us to ever be in that situation… no one deserves to be away from the love of their life.” I clung to Nick.
“Baby… stop… I’m right here.” His tone was smooth, and the concern emanating from his voice soothed my racing heart.
“It makes me sad and happy at the same time when I read the journals. He thought of her every day but did not go looking for her.”
“He must…” Nick’s voice trailed off when his phone started to ring in his pocket. “Hang on, sweetheart.”
Nick spoke on the phone for a few moments with minimal response and ended the call, smiling at me. “Reetu has agreed to give the contact she worked with for the deal.”
“How?”
“Rhea and Sam went to meet her and wrote Raji’s name in the visitor log.”
I gasped. “I’m sure she was pissed.”
“At first, but we were able to do a video call so that she could talk to her sister.”
“Brilliant.”
“Thank you, love.”
“Was that your idea?” I asked, laughing.
“Maybe,” he said and pulled me into his arms.
“Do we know who was behind the hunt for the chain?”
“Not yet, I just texted Mitch the name of Reetu’s contact,” Nick said looking at his phone and added, “He is on it.”
“I just don’t get why all these people need the chain and how everything can revolve around a chain.”
“We’ll find out soon… very soon.”
“Why would Rajaram secretly visit his family and then go back to leave his family without the chain… why is the chain so important?” I ran my fingers through my hair almost frustrated with the question playing in my mind over and over again.
“What if he wanted to plant evidence that the chain was his, and then give it to his son so his family could eventually be part of his larger family, even if he weren’t around?” Nick’s thoughts came out in a flow, and I gasped when I realized he had a point.
“Wasn’t around? Did Rajaram think his life was in danger?”
“What if, and if his life was in danger, his family was in danger, too, and it meant he had to separate himself from them.”
I shook my head when I didn’t see the connection. “Rajaram mentions in his journals that he went looking for his family, but they had left. There was nothing in the journals that indicated a danger, and he lived a healthy life and passed away due to a health condition.”
“What else does he say in his journal?”
“He made a vague reference to the chain and its pendant, and then talks about how two hearts have to be together, and that’s the only way to find the ultimate truth… what is that truth?” I was agitated.
Nick took me into his arms and held me to him until my breathing was normal.
“Let’s see what we can find from Reetu’s contact and take it from there,” Nick said, and I nodded. “Now, are you ready to take a walk with me in the gardens?”
Chapter 15
“Nick, I’m so glad Reetu finally talked to us.” I sat on the bed rubbing cream on my hands later that night.
“Yeah, I’m glad she did and… I never thought I would feel sorry for her.” Nick pressed his lips together and took a deep breath.
I walked over to where he stood and took his hands in mine. “I know you were mad at her for what she put Sam through but… look how happy Sam and Rhea are, and they wouldn’t have met if…”
“I know,” he said softly and kissed my forehead. “Let’s go to sleep.”
“I told Nate I would do a video call before we go to bed,” I said, excited to see our little girls.
“What are the little munchkins up to?” Nick laughed and lay next to me in bed as I dialed Nate’s number. It had been our ritual from the time we arrived in India to see the girls at least once a day.
“Hi, Ma,” I cheerfully said when I saw my mom’s face flash on the screen.
“You are still up, Meera?”
“Yeah, we had a late phone call… I’m ready to sleep but wanted to see what Nate and the girls are up to.”
My mom smiled and flipped the camera on the phone to point to the window in Nate’s kitchen. “Look for yourself.”
I looked for a few seconds confused as to where Nate and the girls were as it looked like a park, but I could tell my mom was in Nate’s kitchen. I watched as Nate swung the girls on the two little swings, and I could hear the happy squeals. “Mom, I can’t believe Nate got a swing set installed in her yard.”
“Meera, she is obsessed with the girls. I feel useless around here. She wants to be the one to feed, bathe, play, and put them to sleep, and she is so tired. She is down the minute the girls go to bed,” my mom grumbled.
“Ma, look at them… they look so happy,” I said fighting back happy tears and looked at Nick.
Nick smiled at me and ran the back of his hand along my cheek wiping away the small, happy tear that rolled down.
“I feel like a loner until Srini gets home. Yesterday, Nethra and the girls made a total mess in the kitchen with their cake baking experiment.”
“I miss them so much, Ma. I’m so glad you are there to help Nate… Nick, look at the girls on the swing.”
Nick smiled and said softly, “I just need to see the happiness in your eyes, sweetheart.”
“Ma, I wouldn’t want to interrupt their fun. Give Nate and the girls my kisses.”
“Good night, sweetie.” My mom blew me a kiss before hanging up.
I hung up the phone and looked at Nick unable to stop smiling. “Nick, I think we should stay an extra week in India.”
“Anything you want, love.” He smiled leaning back on the carved wooden headboard of the antique bed.
“I love it here, Nick… it’s so beautiful…everything about this place is beautiful.” I laughed getting off the bed to walk to the chest set against the wall to one side of the large bedroom.
“I thought you wanted to see the palace in Jaipur, the one where Jasleen grew up,” Nick teased.
“I want to go there, too… can’t get… oops.” I was taking off my earrings, and one of the small gold loops that Nick had bought me from our trip to Italy rolled under the large chest.
I cursed under my breath and followed the loop as it rolled under the heavy chest. “Oh no.”
“What is it, Sameera?” Nick asked, sitting up in bed.
I fell to my knees and reached under the chest for the earring. “Nick, my earring rolled under this massive chest.”
There was barely any gap between the marble floors and the bottom of the chest.
“Sameera, let it go. It’s okay,” Nick said, pulling me off the ground.
“No… it’s the earring you got me in Rome. I want it, please.”
“Baby, look at the gap under the chest. I’m sure the earring is lost in the dust under the chest. I’ll get you another pa
ir next time we go.”
I crossed my arms in front of me. “Nick, either you help me or get out of my way.”
“Fine,” he scowled.
I walked over to the side table and grabbed a magazine and my phone. “Either you hold the light or push whatever is under the chest out with this magazine.”
“I call the magazine,” he laughed, pointing at the swimsuit edition of Sports Illustrated.
“Very funny,” I taunted, turning on the flashlight on my phone.
“I can tell this is going to be a fun night.” He chuckled dropping to his knees on the floor to look underneath the large chest. He took the phone from my hand and moved the light underneath the chest through the thin gap.
“I think I see it, but there is something else on the floor.” He scrunched his nose.
“What? Dust?”
He sat up on the floor. “I don’t think we can reach the earring. It’s all the way to the back. I should move the chest.”
“No, Nick. It’s too heavy,” I said looking at the chest stacked with books.
“I got to give it a try, can’t see my beautiful wife upset.” He laughed, standing up.
“Don’t make me feel bad about it… I think we can wait until morning. Maybe Mitch can help you move it in the morning.”
“I got this, sweetheart.” Nick slipped his hand behind the chest and aligned his body to press against the wall to move the chest away.
Nick took a deep breath and grunted as he pushed on the wall, his hands pushing on the chest. The chest didn’t move an inch. He gave it a few more tries, and I could tell he was getting annoyed the chest wasn’t moving a single inch.
“What does this chest have, books made out of metal?” he growled.
“Let it go, Nick. It’s okay.” I knew he wasn’t ready to give up at that point. He walked over to the other side of the almost five-foot-wide chest and tried the same thing.
“I don’t get it… it’s a normal chest with books in it. It can’t be this heavy.” He stuck his arm further behind the chest as if in a final attempt, and I felt a shock ripple through me when I heard the sound of metal on metal.
Nick took a sudden step away from the chest and looked at me. “You heard that, too, right?”
I nodded, and he gestured me to bring my phone to him.
“Nick, what was that sound?” I handed him the phone.
“Something on the wall that I touched.” He flashed the light on the wall behind the chest and then went down on the floor to look under the chest.
“What is it, Nick?”
He stood up and looked at me, and I saw the glint in his eyes. “I know why it looked weird from under the chest.”
“What?” I asked as I watched him stretch his arm behind the chest again.
A moment later, I heard the same sound of metal clanking, and I watched as the wall behind the chest started to move. I looked in shock when Nick stepped into the gap and disappeared behind the chest.
“Nick,” I cried out and heard him laugh. I stepped closer and saw what looked like a closet right behind the large chest. “What is this?”
“It’s another room.” He looked around the empty space that had a high ceiling and was at least ten feet deep from the back of the chest.
“Nick, get out of there, we don’t know what’s in there,” I said when I saw him inspect the small space.
“It’s interesting, and I am starting to wonder why they made that chest so heavy. It’s almost like they didn’t want anyone to move that chest and… there’s your earring.” Nick bent down to pick up the gold loop off the floor and blew on it to clear the dust from it.
“What is the purpose of this room?” I asked peeking into the space from the gap between the wall and the chest.
Nick looked around the room. “I knew something was off when I saw the size of the bathroom.”
“Is this a closet that is no longer used?”
“I would be surprised if it was a closet. This has got to be more than just a closet,” Nick said looking around the room.
“Nick, we can check it in the morning. Get out of there,” I pleaded.
“Sweetheart, come here… I need to show you something.”
I hesitated for a moment before sliding into the gap between the chest and the wall. The wall that seemed like a rock slid open when Nick pressed on a knob behind the chest. I stepped into the rectangular space. “It feels scary to be in here. We should get out of here.”
“It’s such an interesting architecture. This space was slipped in without any indication of this gap in the wall.”
“But why?” I still couldn’t wrap my head around why anyone would need a small hidden space.
“This is a panic room. A room built to hide from danger, and the entry is hidden on purpose,” Nick stated softly.
Chapter 16
“A panic room?” I looked around wondering what an empty room offered for safety and security. The walls of the small room had bold colors with intricate designs which seemed odd compared to the elegant pastel colors on the walls in the rest of the palace.
“Baby, look.” Nick pointed to one side of the room and started walking toward one wall.
“What?’ I asked as I watched him place the side of his face against the wall.
“This is a periscope.” Nick laughed with surprise in his voice.
“Periscope… like the kind used on submarines to view the water surface?” I asked for clarification.
“Yeah… this is genius. Look, you can see the main entrance to the palace. I have no doubt that this is a panic room.”
“Why do people need a panic room?” I followed Nick closely as he moved around the small space.
Nick ran his fist against the walls like he was checking for other openings. “I’m sure this palace was built centuries ago… people living here needed a way to hide if under attack.”
“Hide here? It’s not hard to find this spot if you and I managed to find it. I’m sure people who have been taking care of this place for years know about this room.”
Nick shook his head. “I doubt it.”
“Nick, this place is giving me the creeps. Let’s go sleep.”
“Hang on… come here.” Nick gestured looking at what looked like metallic knobs embedded in the wall.
“Can we explore in the morning?” I turned away from him hoping he would follow me but stopped when I saw him glued to the same spot. I grumbled about him not leaving the space but could not go back into the bedroom. I went back to stand next to Nick to see what had caught his attention.
“Sameera, what does this look like?” he asked, pointing at the cluster of brass knobs set a few centimeters apart.
“An old-fashioned light switch?” I guessed looking up at the ceiling flashing the light from my cell phone on the high walls.
Nick looked around the room and shook his head. “There is no electric wiring running into this room.”
“Nick…”
“Sameera, take a look at these markings on the wall.” Nick took my phone in his hand and flashed the light over the four knobs.
I stepped closer and looked at the markings on the small ring attached to the knobs. “Are those hand-drawn markings?”
Nick ran his finger over the markings on the wall right next to the knobs. “This seems… the only explanation is that a certain combination of how these knobs are placed will unlock something.”
“Unlock what? There’s nothing else in this room.”
“And we don’t know the combination,” Nick said, turning the knobs with his fingers in both directions.
“Nick, is that a symbol of a snake?” I went closer to the wall flashing my phone light on one of the knobs.
“Yes, and that symbol looks like a plant and…” His voice trailed off when I gasped.
“Nick, I know what these symbols mean.”
Nick slowly turned to look at me. “What are they?”
“If I’m not wrong, these are Rajaram and Jas
leen’s moments together or their life events.” I didn’t know why my words were strained, and my heart thudded in my chest as I spoke.
Nick shook his head. “I don’t understand.”
“Rajaram and Jasleen met for the first time when a snake bit Jasleen.”
“How do you know that?”
“It’s in the journals,” I said smiling.
“No wonder the journals were considered so confidential… do you need to bring the journals, or do you think you can crack this baby open?”
“I can try. I remember everything about their life, everything in the journal.”
“Let’s give it a try.” Nick was excited.
“Nick, we should do this in the morning,” I pleaded.
“Baby, there is no way you and I can sleep until we figure out what this lock combination is going to open.”
I grumbled knowing he was right and stepped closer to the wall holding the light closer to the knobs. I looked at the hand-painted symbols next to the knobs almost disguising what was an antique number lock to look like an art piece. There were images of things that didn’t make sense to me, and I looked at every hand-drawn image to see if it fit into Rajaram’s life.
I looked at the four knobs and knew the first one had to be the plant symbol, a symbol for the sugarcane fields. I cautiously moved the first knob to be placed on the line that aligned with the snake and moved the second one to align it to the snake. I looked at the third one and guessed that it would be something about books, and on the fourth, a symbol that looked like a chain.
When nothing changed or showed any indication of movement, I tried to turn the knobs in a random order. Nick let me try a few more combinations before placing his hand on mine.
“Sweetheart, talk to me. What is the combination you are trying?”
I took a deep breath. “Jasleen was bitten by a snake in the sugarcane fields the day she met Rajaram for the first time. So, I tried that order and guessed at the other two based on how they fell in love, books, and then the chain.”
Nick looked me for a long moment. “You are on the right track, but from the looks of this, I don’t think this is a single turn lock… think of all the significant events or the anything mentioned in the journals.”