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Lexi slept on her back, her boots hanging off the end of the bed. Nahla stayed with her, a ginger paw resting on her left wrist. If Lexi tried to change position, needle claws dug into her skin.
The day disappeared from beneath her as though whisked away by a conveyor belt. Lexi passed through various states of crisis. Each temporary waking brought new symptoms. Nausea. A pounding headache. She dreamed her teeth fell out, leaving a gaping hole like a dark tunnel in her face. Pain bloomed with each ragged new hole in her dream gums. She groaned in her sleep.
She woke when a firm hand gripped her shoulder. Her body shook, and she cried out. Her arms rose to protect her head. “Just kill me now,” she slurred.
“Lexicon!” Garima’s voice held unveiled hysteria. “I’ll get an ambulance. Just hold on.”
“Noooo!” she managed. Her eyes blinked against the triangle of light spilling from the hallway bulb. “I saw a doctor.”
Footsteps moved around the bed. Abandoned shoes clattered onto the floorboards. The mattress shifted and Garima stretched himself out beside her. His fingers massaged the top of her head, tangling her hair and soothing the throbbing pain. Nahla gave a grunt of irritation and withdrew her claws as Lexi rolled onto her side. The cat’s paws thudded as she popped off the bed, landing like an elephant. Lexi snuggled against Garima’s armpit. His strong biceps closed around her shoulders. “Why are you here?” she asked into the silence. “Did you get my message?”
Garima sighed. “What message? Jock accosted me after Evensong. He told me to find you.”
Lexi moaned into Garima’s crisp shirt. “I like him. Did he tell you what happened?”
Garima snorted. “A garbled version of something. So, I came straight here.” He squeezed her, only releasing her when she gasped in pain. “Sorry, sorry. What happened? I didn’t want to put the light on and inspect your injuries. You’ve ignored all my calls and texts in the last half an hour.”
“Did the cops release your car?”
“No.” Garima blew out a breath. “I borrowed Jock’s. It’s not roadworthy and the doors don’t lock. I don’t expect to still find it outside when I leave.”
“Then don’t leave.” Lexi pressed her nose against his ribs. “Stay here with me for tonight.”
Garima tutted and pressed a soft kiss to the top of her head. “Only if you tell me what happened.”
Lexi dragged herself to the kitchen while Garima shifted Jock’s car into the driveway. He found her slumped at the table, her forehead resting on her arms. “Mary, Mother of God!” he gasped when she lifted her head. He clasped the cross around his neck. “Your face is...” His words trailed off. He brushed his own cheek as though in sympathy.
Lexi sighed. “Rojas jumped me at the church,” she stated. Less scratchiness curbed her voice. Swallowing felt easier. “We fought in the bathroom. I took a whack to the jaw, and he tried to throttle me.”
Garima leaned against the counter. He folded his arms. “What does he look like?”
Lexi shrugged. “Fetch my phone. I took photos.”
He found her device on the floor beside the bed. Lexi unlocked the screen and found the images. Rojas laid on the worn floor tiles, his eyes pinched closed and his hands clamped between his legs. Lexi pushed the phone towards her brother. “He looks like that. If he’s upright, he’ll have a nasty limp.” Her jaw flexed, and the bruise protested. “I hope,” she added.
Garima returned the phone and rested a hand across his heart. “That’s the rude officer from yesterday. Thank goodness Mrs Barrymore is a little hard of hearing.” He exhaled. “One of the toilet doors in the ladies bathroom is hanging off.”
Lexi nodded. She reached up behind her and pressed a knot on her spine. “He rammed me against it. I kneed him in the nuts.”
Garima winced. “You must report him, Lex. What if you’re not unique? What if he does this five days a week to other men and women? We have to stop him.”
Lexi dropped her chin. “It’s in hand,” she promised. Her eyes narrowed. “Did you see anyone else in the street?”
“Like who?” Garima cocked his head. “Some of your neighbours peeked through their windows when the car backfired. It sounded like a gunshot.”
Lexi’s phone vibrated, and she glanced at the screen. Her lips curled back from her teeth. “Tarant!” she spat. “He can go to hell.”
Garima groaned. “Don’t curse them unless you’re willing to pray for them,” he quipped. His raised eyebrow rebuked her. He slunk into the chair opposite. His hand snaked across the table and his fingers clasped hers. “Want me to speak to him?”
Lexi exhaled. She shook her head before changing it to a nod. “Yes please. Buy me a few days of sick leave? I need some recovery time.” Her fingers tested the swollen bruise running along her left cheek. It spread upwards from the forehead imprint on her jaw.
Her mind strayed to the motorbike rider and his effortless stalking. He didn’t care if she saw him. It’s as though he wanted her to accept his presence. “I have some mysteries of my own to solve,” she told her brother.
His head bowed, and he licked his lips. “Like, who killed Father Donald?” he mused.
Lexi’s lips parted. “Rojas doesn’t want me anywhere near there. I’d just started poking around Gari. Imagine the beating I’d suffer if I’d found out something pertinent.”
Garima’s lower lip folded over in defeat. “Father Donald Douglas was a good man. He didn’t deserve to die that way. Dumping him in the rubbish shows great disrespect. Or hatred.” He didn’t look up at her. “Besides, Superintendent Packard called me this afternoon.” He worried at his lower lip. “He invited me into the police station tomorrow. For questioning. The lead detective has requested my assistance with his enquiries.”
Lexi dipped forward. Her chest bumped the table. “Questioning?” The breath left her lungs. “Bloody Rojas!” She slammed her fist into the table. “One way or another, he’ll make me pay.”
