Such a Perfect Family, page 31
Turning, she stalked toward Sarita with murderous intent.
Shumi was too strong. Diya couldn’t beat her on strength alone.
She ran to the kitchen. Her flight left a dark red trail on the carpet, her fingers wet on the handle of the knife sitting in the block on the counter. Wrenching it out, she ran at Shumi, who was crouched over Sarita, stabbing her over and over.
Diya brought the blade down into Shumi.
Chapter 81
My heart thundered at the horror of what Diya was describing. “Where was Bobby during all of this?”
“He’d gone into the roof cavity to check for signs of rats. Dad was muttering about hearing scratching up there when Bobby and Shumi arrived, and Bobby rolled his eyes at me and whispered that he might as well go up so Dad would calm down.”
A hiccupping sob. “It was such a Bobby thing to do. He knew how to handle our parents when they got to be too much. He used to do it for me, too—he’s the reason I got my own suite in the house, rather than just a room with no other private space.”
It was hard to understand her now, she was crying so hard, so I just rocked her for a while. “Catch your breath,” I said, pressing a kiss to her temple. “We have all the time in the world.”
“I don’t know if Bobby heard the screams,” she said when she could speak again. “One time I went up there, and I couldn’t hear anything because of all the insulation. Even if he did and tried to come down, the hatch was so far away from where he’d have been at the time…and that high…the smoke once the fire started…”
“Yes.” Bobby hadn’t stood a chance of escaping the rising hot air in the enclosed roof cavity.
“My mum, I tried to get her out, but Shumi…” Her voice caught. “Mum told me to run.” A whisper. “I’d forgotten that. But at the end, I think she knew I hadn’t hurt Ani, she understood that I hadn’t meant to hurt Dad. She told me to run, ‘Diya, beta, run!’ ” A scream as she repeated her mother’s words. “But Shumi suddenly stopped fighting with me and left, so I didn’t listen. I tried to get my mother out.”
“She was setting the fire.”
“Yes. I started to smell smoke and smell petrol. I looked over and saw that the cans of fuel Bobby had brought for the boat were missing…and that was when I realized my mother had stopped breathing, her heart quiet. I almost lay down next to her, I was so weak from all the times Shumi had stabbed me as we fought, but all I could think of was you calling me your light.”
So she’d staggered out, somehow managing to escape the house Shumi had turned into a death trap.
“Do you think she’ll tell on me?” Diya said. “About my father?” Sobs shook her shoulders. “I didn’t mean to hurt him. I was just so mad, and always before, he’d just hug me tight when I tried to push him away. He was so strong; he never even staggered before.”
“Shumi has no credibility at this point—it doesn’t matter what she says.” Whatever she said would be considered a transparent attempt to pass off her crimes as those of someone else.
But I didn’t think she’d talk; her entire existence was tied to what she saw as her duty to protect Diya.
“I’m so angry still, Tavi.” A whisper. “Mum and Dad destroyed me. I was just a depressed kid who’d witnessed the murder of her baby cousin, and they filled me with so many drugs that I learned to shove all my problems inside, never show them anything but a happy face. I knew if I didn’t, they’d dope me up again.”
“Did you stop taking the meds?” I’d never questioned that she was medicated—I’d seen the bottles, after all.
“Yes. A few months before we met.” She pressed her lips together. “Am I crazy? Do I need to be on those meds?”
“We’ll find a doctor you can trust to do an evaluation—and only if you want to,” I said. “But what happened in that house? That’s not your cross to bear.” I wasn’t about to let the woman I loved bury herself in guilt for another lifetime.
She’d borne that burden long enough already. “You didn’t mean to hurt anyone, just struck out in self-defense like a cornered animal.”
“Aren’t you horrified?” she whispered. “Scared of me?”
“No. You’ll never again be in that position, pushed and blamed for something you never did.” I pressed a kiss to her hair. “I know you didn’t hurt Ani. Now it’s your turn to let it go, baby.”
She went silent, both of us watching the waves roll in one after another. “Did she kill Rhiannon, too, do you think?” she asked a long time later.
“You were close friends with her, weren’t you? I saw the letters you wrote her.”
“I thought she was the most amazing person I’d ever met.” She dashed away a tear. “Shumi never really had other friends, just me and Bobby. I didn’t see how angry she was about Rhiannon—but I do remember how weird she was about Kalindra. Always wanting to be part of our group, to join us on every outing.
“I just thought she was lonely, so I went along with it a lot of the time even though it annoyed Kali. One time Kali found her tire slashed just before we were going to go on a road trip, but she figured that was her ex-boyfriend. I guess we won’t know unless Shumi tells us.”
Diya exhaled, the breath jagged. “I always felt guilty whenever I went out even after we’d all left uni—like to the movies or to dinner with Carolyn and the others you met at the party. So I nudged the plans to dates and times where I knew she was doing something with Bobby already.
“I felt so bad about it, but she was smothering me—it was so hard to make deep friendships because as soon as I did, she managed to be a part of them somehow. And then she’d subtly push at me to turn down invitations, and she’d start to tell my parents how this friend or that one wasn’t good for me. I always thought there was something wrong with me, that I was being selfish in wanting friends who weren’t enmeshed with Shumi or my parents.”
“You did nothing wrong.” I ran my hand over her curls. “I know she tries to call you when she gets phone privileges, but, baby, we have to let her go. She’s toxic.”
Did I feel sorry for the child Shumi had been?
Yes.
I’d been there, had experienced the pain and the bitterness.
But that pain and bitterness didn’t absolve her of the evil of what she’d done. “She set this entire sequence of events in motion when she murdered Ani. And she didn’t stop even when she saw what it was doing to you.” Instead, she’d taken advantage of Diya’s disintegrating mental health to dig her claws in deeper.
“I think she was mad at me for loving Ani so much.” Diya’s voice was a scrape, her throat raw. “In her head, I wasn’t allowed to love anyone else. Just her. Only her.” She clenched her hand in the back of my T-shirt. “She wanted to murder you, Tavi.”
“Yeah, she tried and failed.” I kissed her. “I’m here. We’re here.”
“We’re here,” she repeated, then exhaled. “I want to have a proper funeral ceremony for my brother. She made everyone blame him the first time and hardly anyone came for him, spoke for him. He deserves better.”
“Whatever you want, baby.” Looking at the ocean waves, I said, “Shall we walk?”
Diya took my outstretched hand and we walked together across the endless sand, the waves a crashing music in the background. But below that was the sound of the wind chimes, Ani’s ghost a giggling companion as she raced down the beach ahead of us.
Acknowledgments
Every time I write a book and reach out to people for help with my research questions, I’ve been humbled by their generosity and kindness in sharing their knowledge. This book was no exception—and if there are any factual errors (and any artistic liberties taken), they are mine.
Huge thanks to Mamta Swaroop, MD, FACS, FICS, for answering my many (many!) medical questions when it came to all my injured characters. We met online years ago when she answered a medical question that I was struggling to find an answer to for another story, and were finally able to meet in person last year—and the conversation never stopped flowing. Sometimes, joyous friendships are born despite oceans and time zones, and this one is now set in stone!
Another huge thank-you to Maria Hurford for making sure I got the details of Rotorua Hospital’s ICU setup correct. At times, luck plays a role in bringing people together, and this was the case with Maria and me—we were talking at a gathering hosted by another friend when I realized that Maria had over a decade’s worth of experience working in Rotorua Hospital’s incredible ICU! Maria answered every question I had with infinite patience and told me things I didn’t even know to ask about. I feel very lucky to know her.
A massive thank-you to my editor, Cindy Hwang, and the entire team at Berkley, who always go above and beyond to ensure my books are the best they can be. As I write this, we’re about to close in on twenty years of working together, and it’s been all-around brilliant.
A forever thank-you to my wonderful parents, Vijay and Usha, who brought me up-to-date on the details of Labasa Airport and the island of Vanua Levu for this book. These two have crisscrossed the island and gone down many a winding road—and also brought us back mouthwatering handcrafted chocolate made from locally grown cocoa beans. Thank you for all that you do, Mum and Dad.
My amazing sister, Ashwini, saves my sanity on a daily basis—and also saves me from turning in books that have people putting their pockets into their hands. Thank you for so much, bestie!
And to Rene—thank you for driving me to Rotorua and back multiple times, endless sweeps of Lake Tarawera, and walks along Sulphur Point and Kuirau Park. I love being on the adventure of life with you.
Nalini
Auckland, New Zealand
About the Author
New York Times bestselling author Nalini Singh is passionate about writing. Though she’s traveled as far afield as the deserts of China, the temples of Japan, and the frozen landscapes of Antarctica, it is the journey of the imagination that fascinates her most. She’s beyond delighted to be able to follow her dream as a writer.
She is the author of the Psy-Changeling novels, including Atonement Sky, Primal Mirror, and Resonance Surge. She is also the author of the Guild Hunter series, including Archangel's Ascension, Archangel’s Lineage, and Archangel’s Resurrection, and four stand-alone thrillers: A Madness of Sunshine, Quiet in Her Bones, There Should Have Been Eight, and Such a Perfect Family.
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Nalini Singh, Such a Perfect Family
