Chapter 22

I stood next to a floor-to-ceiling window overlooking a serene rock garden. Diffuse spotlights illuminated patches of the carefully coaxed pebbles. To apologize for Sanjay experiencing a break-in, they’d upgraded him to the best room in the hotel, a suite overlooking their Zen rock garden.

“A random burglary,” Sanjay said. “That’s what the hotel says. But this was no random burglary.”

“That would be too much of a coincidence.”

“It’s not just that.” He showed me a photograph he’d taken on his phone.

My legs didn’t feel steady. I needed to sit down.

“The killer went for me,” Sanjay said. “Or rather, where they thought I was.”

I pulled my eyes from the horrifying photo. A pillow and bed sheets that had been ripped apart by a knife.

“How did you get away?” I asked.

“Do you need to sit down?”

“No, I’m fine.” I gripped the back of the armchair. I needed to steady myself, but I couldn’t imagine sitting still.

Sanjay couldn’t either. He strode back and forth, subconsciously twirling his hat in his hands.

“My mind was so amped up after practicing my routine,” he said. “I couldn’t sleep. I went to the twenty-four-hour hotel bar to get a drink to relax.”

“You weren’t in bed when the attack happened?”

“I always sleep with an extra pillow next to me. I’ve been made aware of the fact that in the dark, it looks rather like another person. You can see the pillow that was slashed was in the middle of the bed. The killer was coming for me. It was only my insomnia that saved me. After that, he tore up the place in anger.”

“He?”

“One of the guests heard him yelling angrily.”

“So it’s definitely a man,” I murmured. “Not Yoko. But why kill you? Don’t they need you alive? If they wanted to know the secret of the Indian Rope Trick, it would be more likely they’d want to torture—” I cut myself off as Sanjay’s eyes bulged.

“If I’m the only person who Akira supposedly confided in,” he said, “the only motive I can think of is that the person doesn’t want anyone to perform the Indian Rope Trick.”

“But why would they not want it performed? It doesn’t make sense.”

Sanjay flipped the bowler hat in his hands so quickly it became a blur. The rote movement appeared to be helping him calm down. “I don’t know. Hiro has no reason to stop the trick from being performed by someone who doesn’t claim it’s supernatural. Not that I know what the secret is.”

“A competitor,” I suggested.

“It would look awfully suspicious if someone all of a sudden started performing the trick right after Akira was killed over it. Nobody is that foolish.”

“Surely Yoko is going to perform it,” I said.

Sanjay shook his head. “She doesn’t know the whole illusion. It’s one of the things we discussed last night. Akira kept her in the dark about a lot.”

“We still shouldn’t trust her. She could have a male accomplice. One of the people working on the show.”

“Which is why you should go home.”

“Only if you’re coming with me.” I felt a pang of regret as I thought about my missing Dutch ship. But Sanjay’s life was far more important.

“I told you why I can’t—”

“If it’s fame you want, what about going back to India? They loved you there.”

“India didn’t love me.”

“You escaped from the Ganges just fine. I thought it was a great success.”

“The people loved me, it’s true. But the country itself didn’t. Do you remember how sick I got? No, you didn’t know me yet. But you do know the food in India is way too spicy for me. When you look like me, nobody believes you only want mild food.”

I couldn’t help laughing. And I couldn’t stop. I laughed so hard I began to hiccup. Sanjay had faced the most dangerous situations with ease but couldn’t fathom adapting to spicy food. I was afraid Sanjay would explode, but he tossed his hat onto the bed, ran his hands through his disheveled hair, and joined me. As soon as he started laughing he couldn’t stop either.

“Tea or mini bar?” Sanjay asked, wiping a tear from his eye.

I hiccupped. “We should probably stick to tea.”

While waiting for the electric kettle to boil, I held my breath to stop my hiccups and looked out at the stone garden. Though the lights were soft, they cast enough shadows to make me nervous. I drew the curtains.

“I’ve escaped from a coffin in the Ganges,” Sanjay said, “and I can’t even count how many other dangerous stunts. I’ve been wracking my brain around why I’m so thrown by this.”

“Someone just tried to kill you. You’re allowed to be afraid.”

Sanjay waved off the suggestion. “That’s not it. I mean, of course that’s the trigger. But I mean the underlying reason. What’s different about today from all those other escapes? I’ve been thinking about it all night, and I think I know the answer. It’s the fact that I was in control then. In those other potentially dangerous situations, I was in control of my own fate. It’s the same reason I overreacted to Akira’s equipment being sabotaged.”

Sanjay was right. We weren’t in control of our own destinies right now. And I hated it.

The kettle whistled. We both turned to look at it, but neither of us made a move toward it. Instead, I took Sanjay’s hands in mine. “We could leave. Your life is more important than your career.”

“He could follow us to San Francisco. I’d always be looking over my shoulder.”

“Give some credit to the Japanese police. They’ll figure out who killed Akira.”

Sanjay turned to look at me. “Running away isn’t like you, Jaya. When have you ever run from danger in your life?”

“Not for myself. But this isn’t about me. I can’t bear the thought of anything happening to you.”

He squeezed my arm.

“You’re shaking,” I said.

“No, I’m not. You’re shaking.”

“No, it’s you. Damn, you’re right. It’s me too. When I thought about the possibility that you—”

Before I knew what was happening, Sanjay had pulled me to him. But it wasn’t for a brotherly hug. He wrapped a strong hand against the back of my head and brought my lips to his. He wasn’t drugged this time. He knew what he was doing.

And what he was doing was kissing me.

Passionately.

It was everything I remembered and more. My whole body responded. Euphorically, at first, but then the high turned to a low. I needed him, but I also needed to push him away. My arms didn’t listen. Had I subconsciously wanted this? Is that why I had told myself I wanted to be on my own? My stomach was filled with butterflies, but also a knife of guilt.

What was I doing? This wasn’t part of my plan. This so wasn’t part of my plan.