Kiss of Salt by Bhattacharya Smita

Author:Bhattacharya, Smita [Bhattacharya, Smita]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Rumour Books India
Published: 2019-07-29T16:00:00+00:00

A CLOAK OF SMILES

Darya slept restlessly, twisting, turning and waking up several times to check if the door was locked and the windows hadn't unclasped in the wind. She'd kept the light on all night.

At what she assumed was a respectable hour, she dialled Inspector Nourahno. He did not pick up. Next, she tried Filip. Nothing there too.

She called up Francis.

"What's up?" he said, his voice groggy from sleep.

She told him about the break in.

"This is bad," he murmured.

"Yeah." The sound of concern in his voice brought tears to her eyes. She'd been pretty frightened last night.

"Do you want me to come over?" he asked.

"I'm okay now," she murmured. "Tired and worried but okay otherwise."

"You have to tell that inspector you met," Francis said.

"Inspector Nourahno? I've been trying to call him. Left him a message," Darya replied.

"I can get a locksmith to take a look at the doors," Francis offered. "Do you need anything else? Darya, really, do you want me to come over? I can, you know. It's fine. You don't need to be so brave."

Darya chewed on a nail and considered this.

She certainly felt uneasy now, and anxious also, to stay in the house after what had happened but... but a strange sort of stubbornness was overtaking her. Something sinister was happening around her and she had to find out what. And why. She had to find resolution before moving on. She wasn't going to give up now. And she was certain the answer was at Sea Swept. Or at Heliconia Lane. She had to be there to find out.

"No," she said finally. "I'll be fine."

"Are you sure?' Francis asked. "Or why don't you shift to a hotel," he suggested.

"The closest decent hotel is a good twenty kilometres away," she said. Anyway, her father was going to be in Goa soon. She could shift in with him at his hotel if she changed her mind.

"Well... think about it." Francis said. "By the way, what did the inspector want to talk about yesterday?"

Darya gave him a summary of the conversation, skipping the details. She omitted the account of the Salgaonkar deaths altogether. Francis didn't know them and wouldn't be interested.

"Have you told your dad yet?" he asked.

"Yes."

"About the break in?" Francis asked.

"No," she said firmly. "It'd worry him terribly and he's not totally fine."

"Yeah, makes sense," Francis said. After a moment's silence, "I'm sorry I didn't go with you to meet with the inspector."

"That's alright," Darya said.

"When do we meet again?" he asked, sounding hopeful. "I want to make it up to you."

"How?" Darya asked, her voice sharper than she'd intended. Her mind was highly-strung. She wanted take a nap, give her thoughts a rest.

"Darya, let's meet for lunch at Panjim," he said. "We can think of what to do next. Why don't you—"

"Yeah, okay," she said, cutting him short. "I'll call you tomorrow."

"Darya, wait a second," he started but she cut the call. She was going to pout for a while.

***

She spent the morning sorting and boxing the papers from the piles she had created from the night before.

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