VALERIA"All clear," Silas said as he hurried out of my house.This meant Amelia was still asleep. At a signal from me, Vance got the old man out of the car and slung him over his shoulder. I went ahead of him, led the way into the house. Vance was right on my heels as I led him into a small room which was completely bare of furniture."Keep him here," I said and Vance laid the man on the floor at once.I stepped out into the corridor, looked both ways. No one was in sight, but then I hadn't expected anyone to be after Silas had given the all clear that Amelia was still asleep.Certainly she would raise eyebrows if she saw me with the body of the man who was most certainly Grace's accomplice. If she was in league with Grace, which I still suspected she was, she would warn her.I stepped back, shut the door, locked it. Vance was still standing over the man. Silas, on his knees beside the body, was patting him down."I'm looking for any clue he might have on him," Silas explained.Afte
VALERIAThere was someone commotion outside. I quickly shifted soy back was against the wall and listened. Someone was running and the person was headed right here. Grace and the old man never hurried, never ran. I swallowed nervously, wondering what Grace had planned out for me now.The door of my cell was pushed violently open and Grace stood there, bosom heaving, trembling from head to foot, more agitated than I had ever seen her. Her gaze swept around the room until it lighted on me in the corner. "You bitch!" she said, her voice sounding choked and enraged. "You ruin everything. EVERYTHING!" She poked me in the chest. "Do you know what just happened? Huh?"Not giving her an answer would most likely earn me a slap or a shove in her current mood, so I forced myself to say, "How can I when you keep me locked up in here?"She snarled. Actually snarled."How smart of you to point that out," she mocked. "Of course I keep you locked up in here so everything can go according to the pla
DIMITRI"Will she be fine?" I asked the nurse again."Like I said, Mr Dimitri," said the nurse while she checked Valeria's pulse. "We will do our best to make sure she's fine."With that, I had to be content. The gurney was wheeled into the ward. The e door was shut. I waited for a long time. Standing there, waiting for news would drive me right out of my mind. I knew it.There were other things to do, things that would help take my mind off Valeria's condition. I drove quickly to my house, went into the room where the old man had previously been kept. He sat on the floor, tied up and gagged. I gestured for Silas, who stood guard, to ungag him. The man looked up at me with frightened eyes."Please, I have told you all I know," he pleaded."Not quite," I said. "Tell me where Grace is.""I don't know. I swear I don't. She never confided all her plans to me.""Think carefully before you lie," I warned as I squatted next to him."I'm not lying. I don't know where she is. All I know is she
DIMITRIThe policemen, looking grave and worried, were holding a whispered conversation in a corner of their office. I wanted to yell at them to get a move on at finding Grace, then I remembered that they had already sent out some officers a while ago for that exact same purpose.Gosh! I was gradually loosing it.I sighed, massaged my aching temples. There was no way I could rest easy while the Grace and her accomplice were running loose. What if Alexis decided to have a another go at Valeria?My eyes got caught on a photograph of Grace lying between some documents in a file. Her features were exactly like Valeria's and I wondered how somebody so innocent looking, someone sharing the exact same body with another so kind and good, could be so devious."Mr Dimitri." The policeman splayed his hands over the table and fixed me with a steely stare. "This is a very serious case you have brought to our notice-""Of course I know that," I interrupted. "Why else do you think I'm here?""My poi
VALERIASomeone was beside me. I could hear the sound of deep, heavy breathing, could feel the featherlight touch of hands moving over me; checking my temperature with a hand placed on my brow, adjusting the covers of the bed I was lying in, fluffing out my pillows and so on.I struggled towards wakefulness. It was hard to do because I had a feeling I had been in the darkness for long, too long. But I did it. I opened my eyes. Although her figure was hazy at first, I saw Amelia staring at me. She gave a loud gasp of surprise, a sigh of relief and promptly burst into tears."Oh Valeria," she cried, tears streaming down her cheeks. "You are awake. It's been two whole weeks and I thought you would never-"Her next words were drowned out by renewed sobs. I felt myself tearing up too. My heart burst with love for this woman who loved me as her own, who loved me to the extent that she had exposed her own daughter.She wiped my tears with her fingertips. "Don't cry," she said, even though
DIMITRII had to wait until a minute before Stan, the pudgy policeman from the other day walked into the office. He was poring over a sheaf of papers in his hand."What news?" I asked, leaning forward eagerly as he took his seat."Just going through what I have here." He indicated the papers he held. "I have been going through documents like this all day and they all say the same thing." He stopped and sighed. "It's like we are dealing with a ghost, so to speak, Mr Dimitri. On paper, Grace is basically still dead. Her death certificate, the day of her death, the doctor's proposed cause of death all tally. To everyone else, she died four odd years ago.""But she didn't. There has to be a loophole somewhere in these so called evidence you have collected since she isn't actually dead." My eyes narrowed. "Or are you suggesting that I'm mistaken?""I didn't say that.""Good because I saw her myself. Also, I was not the only one who saw her, you know. There were others too. You can intervie
VALERIAI opened the door and there was Vance standing there, wearing a tight smile eyeing me dubiously."Hello," he said. "Can I come in?""Of course."I threw the door open at once and I could have sworn I heard him exhale in relief. Just before he came, I had been wondering what to do with myself. It was so nice to have company, even if it was just Vance and even though I knew Dimitri, who I was trying my damnedest not to think about was the one who had sent him. I smiled a little as Vance walked past me into the living room. It was no wonder he had looked wary when I had opened that door. He had probably been expecting me to throw him out or to tell him off like I had done Dimitri."What have you been doing with yourself since you got back?"With his hands thrust into his pockets, Vance turned to face me.I shrugged. "Just resting. Mostly."Was he going to talk to me about returning to Dimitri's house? I sincerely hoped not. To my relief, he didn't pursue the subject. After I had
VALERIA"For goodness sake!"The furious exclamation came from directly behind me as I got close to my office. How has he materialized so quickly? When I had stepped out from the elevator, I had not gotten a glimpse of him. I had been sure I would make it to my office without the 'discussion' which would in reality be an argument that was sure to follow. It turned out he had seen me after all.Now I could hear him stomping after me. A second later he had my wrist in a grip that was firm enough to be uncomfortable, but not firm enough to hurt."Move," he growled when I planted my feet and stared at him mutinously."Move," he repeated.I didn't. There was no one observing us yet, but even if they were, I would not care. They knew there was something between us anyway and I was done having Dimitri have his way. He simply dragged me along. With his superior strength, I was powerless to resist. He shut the door of my office immediately we were in. With his back to the door so I could not m