Noir41
Two men shouted and waved their arms on the bank of the Hughli River, gaining Ravi Patel's attention.
"We found him," one of the men explained. "Half-hour ago. He's already dead."
"Dead?" Ravi questioned as he marched forward.
The two men stood with their hands on their hips, proudly waiting to show their temporary employer the body they had found dragged from the river. To keep flies away they had covered the corpse in a blanket.
Ravi squatted down and drew back the blanket. He squinted at the face a moment before looking up. "This isn't him."
Both men exchanged glances. "Are you certain?" one man asked.
Ravi nodded. He glanced around. "Which direction did you two come from?"
The men pointed to the right. "We just came across the body a little white ago."
Ignoring them, Ravi climbed to his feet and parted the grass to examine the mud below. He held out his hand to a footprint and swallowed. It was small, slim and perfectly suited for a woman. Beside the dainty footprints were larger ones, scattered as though the owner of the marks had walked around in circles, deciding which way to travel.
"Find me a dozen men and send them East. Have them armed, on horseback if you can find the animals."
Before the men could answer Ravi was gone, knowing that the footprints belonged to either Corinna or Anisha. Whoever it was would lead him to Erik. The European was a fool not to cover his tracks.
In time, he would pay dearly for his mistakes.
-0-
"Where are we going?" Corinna asked breathlessly as she attempted to keep up with Erik. Their stomachs were empty, their throats parched. Each step forward was becoming increasingly difficult.
Erik turned and saw Corinna brush stray hairs out of her eyes as she followed him down a hillside, clinging to his hand. Her titian skin was damp with sweat, her nostrils flared as she breathed. The midday temperatures made their brisk walk uncomfortable, the air thick with humidity making breathing difficult. At the most they could keep up their pace for another hour before they were exhausted and in danger of becoming ill.
"Do you know where we're going?" Corinna asked again.
Erik released her and turned in a full circle, surveying their surroundings, fearing they were being followed. He made no reply but grabbed her hand again and pulled her behind him.
They had spent three hours trudging through the fields, startling workers as they headed further and further away from Chandernagore. Erik had no idea where they were heading. He wasn't even certain they were heading away from the French settlement.
"Wait! Please wait!" Corinna begged. "I can't walk anymore. Not without resting. Just a moment, Erik, please."
Her pleading drew him to a halt and he released her arm, panting beneath the midday sun. His stomach growled and his throat was dry, hands cut from brushing the tall grass aside to make a path. The only thing he knew for certain was that they couldn't return to the Inn. He didn't know why but he was certain that they couldn't return, not without something terrible waiting for them.
"When are you expecting your father?" Erik asked between gulps of air.
"I'm not certain."
He exhaled hard and ran his shirt cuff over his forehead. "Did he leave you enough funds to leave India?"
"I'm…I'm not certain," she answered, shielding her eyes from the sun. "I could send him a message."
"No, it would take too long," Erik muttered beneath his breath. He scanned the horizon again, this time seeing movement along a distant pathway they had crossed. His first instinct was to crouch belly-down in the grass but the figure waved and shouted.
"It's Ursula," Corinna said. She smiled, relieved to see her companion.
Erik continued to search the trees and underbrush, fearing Ursula had been followed. He heard her shouting in Hindi and turned to Corinna for answers.
"She said there are men looking for you," Corinna said before trotting forward to meet Ursula.
"Men?" he asked anxiously. "Who? What men? What do they want?"
Corinna and Ursula exchanged words briefly while Erik lingered behind, shifting his weight as he continued to look around.
"She wants to know where Anisha is," Corinna said to Erik.
Erik shook his head. "I saw her last night."
"Last night?" Corinna questioned.
"I retrieved my drawings and she found me in the parlor. We only spoke briefly."
Ursula said something quickly to which Corinna nodded and raised her hand to tell her to stop. The two continued on, gesturing to one another as they pointed toward the path where Ursula had walked to find them.
"They think you've kidnapped her," Corinna said at last.
Erik blanched. "Who is saying this? How does she know this?"
"She overheard during breakfast with Lilian."
"Lilian? She's safe then?"
Corinna nodded and Erik sighed, finding a scrap of good news amongst the terror filling his mind. He muttered something under his breath before turning his attention back to Corinna.
"Three men were talking about you. They are apparently working for my uncle…or more likely my cousin." Corinna paused to listen to Ursula again. "My uncle and Mr. Baleeze are returning, but we don't know when. They're looking for you and Anisha." Again Ursula added something more. "And for the two of us."
"Did they know about Joseph?"
Corinna asked Ursula, whose jaw dropped at Corinna's words. She held her hand over her heart and stepped back, which answered Erik's question clearly enough.
"She had no idea and the men didn't mention him at all."
They didn't know, Erik thought. But when they found Joseph's body washed up on the shore…
The first thing he thought of was attempting to strangle the Dutchman after the incident with the tigers, then how he had nearly suffocated Joseph after he attacked Anisha. If Ravi knew of both incidences Erik guessed from their prospective he looked like a raving madman, who was now accused of kidnapping a promised bride.
Ursula started speaking before Corinna finished informing Erik of all that had been said.
When Corinna looked at Erik again her face was contorted, her eyes pained when she gazed at him.
"The shah is paying gold for you to be returned. I don't know what that means," Corinna said.
Erik took several steps away until his back touched a tree. He exhaled hard and shook his head knowing everything he feared was suddenly bearing down on him. It wasn't safe for him to remain in India, but he feared greatly for Corinna and Ursula and what would happen to them once he was found.
"We need to leave. At once. What's the closest town?"
Corinna turned to Ursula briefly before she looked to Erik and shrugged. "I'm not sure. I've never been here before."
Erik turned away, fists clenched as he swore under his breath. In frustration he placed both hands atop his head and searched for something to kick. Each second that passed was another step closer to torture and execution.
"They don't know what you look like," Corinna said. "Dark hair and light eyes. That's all they know of you. It matches the description of half the Europeans in Chandernagore."
Erik turned and nodded, finding hope in her words. Ursula spoke again but this time Corinna did not reply. When he saw Corinna's face again his hope dripped away. There was something more.
Corinna bowed her head, wringing her hands together. "They know about the scars."
Erik's eyes flickered toward Ursula, who looked away. His breath became lodged in his throat, the hairs at the back of his neck pricking in dread. A warm trickle ran down his back beneath his shirt, finding a path over old scars.
"She's coming," Erik said under his breath. "She's coming for me."