Side Trip to Kathmandu (A Sidney Marsh Murder Mystery Book 3) (7 page)

W
ow. Unquestionably a huge wow.

The Taj Mahal, one of the world’s most recognizable buildings, can only be fully appreciated when seen in person. And I was there. In person. Me, Sidney Lanier Marsh, all the way from Mississippi, standing smack in front of the Taj Mahal.

Wow. I mean wow.

As when you experience the power of Niagara Falls, no words, no photograph—no matter how skillfully or artfully done—can fully describe it or possibly do it justice. Its beauty is unspeakable, visceral, and compelling. The sight of the Taj drove all the sad thoughts of Felix right out of my head.

I stood just inside the massive red sandstone gate of the entrance, mesmerized by my first glimpse of this ancient monument to lost love. Even Jay, who is far worldlier than I, was stunned into silence at the sight.

We had arrived at the New Delhi station before dawn to board the train for Agra and the Taj Mahal, stepping gingerly around and over the slumbering figures of dozens of people. Whether they were waiting for trains or simply sleeping on the stone platform was unclear.

Our early departure was necessitated because of the light.

The seamless Makrana marble of which it was constructed causes the view of the Taj Mahal to change with the light. It appears rosy in the dawn, a stark, blinding white at noon, and golden pink in the sunset. In moonlight, it glows an ethereal white. To get the full effect, everyone who comes to the massive monument wants to view it all throughout the day as its aspect changes under the different lights. This is why multiple visits are common.

After a guided morning tour of the central structure, we would have free time to wander at will through the other buildings and gardens. Lunch at our hotel followed, and the afternoon featured a tour of Agra Fort. The following day we might even return to the Taj for a last look before leaving Agra for Varanasi.

The Taj was completed by a grieving
Shah Jahān
in 1659 as a monument and tomb for his beloved wife, Mumtaz, and its perfect symmetry amazes from a distance. Close up, the workmanship and beauty of the intricate designs of gold, silver, and precious and semiprecious stones embedded in its walls are staggering. It is impossible to stop staring. You simply cannot tear yourself away.

“Worth the trip, isn’t it?”

I looked up from my trance to find Adam MacLeod’s green eyes smiling down at me. The others apparently had gone on ahead. I could see the group following Rahim, snapping pictures, strolling alongside the marble reflecting pool toward the great dome.

“It’s amazing,” I babbled. “One of the most beautiful sights I’ve ever seen. The guidebook says it took twenty-two years and over twenty thousand workers to build it. Can you imagine? Isn’t it wonderful? I can’t believe I’m actually here to see it. But I was in such a daze, staring at it, that I’m about to be left behind. Now I’ll have to hurry and catch up or I’ll lose the group in all this crowd.”

With a wry laugh at my idiotic yammering, he took my arm to prevent me from bolting down the path. I didn’t know why this attractive man made me so nervous. I just knew that he did.

“Slow down, lass, there’s no hurry. I told them I’d come back for you. Take your time. There’s no rush. I’ll see that you’re reunited with the group. Easy now, easy.”

Hearing his words, I
did
slow down, taking a deep breath and resolving not to act like a fool. I looked up at him as we walked together but he was not watching me. He seemed lost in his own thoughts. His handsome face looked sad, and in the sunlight, for the first time, I noticed glints of silver in his dark hair.

“It’s beautiful, yes, but so sad,” he said in his deep burr, staring at the dazzling marble as we neared the great dome. “She died bearing his child, you know. He never recovered from it. Losing the love of your life in such a way, so suddenly … tears your heart in two.”

I didn’t comment, watching him carefully as we walked. I was thinking of the sudden death of his own wife, and I knew that he must be thinking of her as well. The lines in his tanned face deepened as he clenched his jaw. Had he loved her as this ancient king had loved his queen? Did he love her still?
Brooke had said she’d heard mention of other women in Adam’s life since the wife’s accident, but none appeared to be lasting or serious.

Then his dark mood seemed to pass. He pointed to a grassy lawn on our left where a white ox pulled a mowing machine, guided by a turbaned workman.

“I’ll wager you’ll not have mowers like that in New York,” he laughed.

I smiled, standing beside him as we watched the odd, old-fashioned contraption clip the bright green grass.

“Nothing here is like New York,” I said. We resumed our stroll along the path beside the reflecting pool. “Except maybe some of the modern buildings. I’ve never seen anything like India before. Mohit says that India will change your life. I think he might be right.”

“I agree. There’s no other quite like this country. You’ll not soon forget India.”

“Have you been here before?”

“I have business interests in Mumbai, so I’m here quite often. Some of the others do as well. Justin is starting an export business in Goa that he wants Brooke to invest in, and poor Felix said he would look into it for her. He was also considering starring Jasmine in one of his films. I don’t normally get this far north myself, and never have the time for sightseeing. But I must say I was pleased when Brooke invited me to come along on this trip. Even though I didn’t really have the spare time, I’m quite fond of Brooke so I made it work.”

The green gaze intensified and he took my hand in his as we climbed the marble steps of the monument. “I’m glad I did,” he said, smiling back at me.

Woo-hoo!
I thought.
So am I.

But before I could think up a good answer, I heard someone shouting my name.

I turned away from Adam, dropping his hand, and saw Jay fast approaching. He had a big grin on his face that let me know I would hear more about Adam later.

“There you are,” Jay yelled out before starting to fuss like an old hen, “I’ve been looking everywhere for you. Sharma wants to take a group photo, and I’ve asked him to take some individual ones too—in front of the monument—as we leave. Come along quickly, both of you, or there won’t be time.”

“Sorry,” Adam said, shaking his head. “Afraid I don’t do photos. I’ll see you later, Sidney, Jay. Please tell Brooke not to wait for me. Tell her I’ll get back to the hotel on my own.”

And with that, he was gone, striding away into the crowd.

“Weird,” Jay said, watching him, watching me. “Not exactly chummy, is he? I guess you could say he marches to his own drum or maybe bagpipe. I don’t get him at all. But I can see why you hung back to be alone with him, holding hands and everything. He is definitely hot.”

“I did not hang back to be alone with him,” I sputtered. “I was taking photos and he just appeared.”

Jay grinned, pleased at having successfully pushed my buttons. “
Whatever
. Now come along, Sidney, let’s find Sharma’s photographer. You know we need a good shot of us both at the Taj Mahal!”

Weaving through the crowd in Jay’s wake, I looked back over my shoulder, but there was no sign of the tall Scot.

Jay was right, though. Adam
did
march to his own drum, and the man’s abrupt appearances and disappearances
were
weird. So was his obvious aversion to photographs.

I wondered why.

This man was a puzzle, for sure. A puzzle I wanted to solve.

#

“Have a bite of this, dear,” Lucy said to Jay, crinkling her blue eyes as she stood before him holding a fragrant, steaming dish of some unfamiliar vegetable concoction. She had picked the dish up from the buffet and was rounding the table, urging everyone to sample it. “It’s quite delicious. Taste it. You’ll love it. Go on, try it. Try just a bit.”

“Okay, Mommy,” he said, tasting the spoonful she had served onto his plate. He made a stricken face, then the grimace changed to a smile. “It’s good. I like it. What is it? Give me some more.”

“I told you so,” Lucy replied serenely, giving him a large helping. “It’s
palak paneer
, spinach with cottage cheese in a curry sauce. Sounds horrible, but it’s really good. All these dishes are really marvelous, but you’ll never know that unless you try them.”

I tried it too. They were right. It was delicious. I thanked Lucy and she smiled, “I’m glad you like it, Sidney.” She moved on to another table, coaxing others to taste the dish.

“Why does she always do that?” Jay asked. “Every meal, she’s like the star of some television cooking show, passing food, telling what’s in it, how it’s made. It’s not as if you and I don’t eat Indian food in New York. There are lots and lots of restaurants.”

“Lucy says she hates it when people come to a different country and only eat what they eat at home. She’s right, you know. If you don’t fully experience the differences of another country you might as well stay home. And Indian food here is bound to taste different than what they serve in New York, where they’ve probably adapted it for American palates. She has a point.”

“True, but it’s a bit intrusive, this constant ‘eat this, try that’ thing she does. Every meal she comes around with something. You would think she’d cooked it herself.”

“I think it’s nice. I like Lucy.”

“Did I say I didn’t like her? I like her too. I just don’t like having anyone push stuff on me.”

“I bet you were a difficult child.”

“I was not,” Jay said, pouring more bottled water into his glass. “I was perfect. Ask around if you don’t believe me. Mothers were always wishing their little boys could be just like me.”

“Yeah, right,” I laughed, trying to imagine Jay as a little red-headed boy. “I’ll bet you were a terror.”

I put my napkin on the table and stood to go to my room.

“Aren’t you staying for dessert, Sidney?”

“Tempting, but my pants are getting too tight as it is.”

“Yeah, I noticed,” he said, in a sly, lazy voice. “Lucky you have a nice ass. I saw Sharma watching it when you went down the buffet line. Don’t go yet. Stay a while longer. Why don’t you just order coffee and talk to me while I eat my dessert. I’ll tell you the latest dish on Diana. This morning I called Roz about that Machu Picchu trip we’re booking for November, and I got an earful.”

I ignored the tease and the bait and headed to my room, refusing to be tricked into keeping him company while he lingered over dessert and coffee. I’ve been around Jay enough to know how he operates. He hates to eat alone. And I didn’t want to mess up a beautiful day with thoughts of Diana. I was more than happy to be half a world away from her barbs.

Lunch was basically over and the room was emptying quickly. None of our people were left in the dining room. Adam had not appeared at lunch at all, nor had Jasmine. I briefly wondered where they were, then dismissed my thoughts as adolescent.

At the elevator I was joined by Brooke and a solicitous Justin, who told me about a seer that Brooke had just engaged to read our palms during the cocktail hour.

“This man’s name is Omar and he reads signs and portents even for people in the government,” Justin said in his heavy French accent. “He is a dark and mysterious man, skilled at his craft, so he should be amusing,
oui
?”

“It will be fun,” Brooke said, brushing back her cloud of red hair with long, emerald-clad fingers. “Different. He’s arriving at five, after everyone returns from the afternoon excursion. Just come as you are, any time after that. I’ve ordered heavy hors d’oeuvres rather than dinner for tonight so we won’t be rushed while hearing our futures.”

The elevator was slow in coming. Justin bent to squint at the button through his thick but trendy black glasses. Realizing that the button had never been pushed, he gave it an impatient jab. Then he straightened and turned back toward us, again all smiles, smoothing his black hair down with his thin, white, perfectly manicured fingers. Justin wore his hair long, pulled back into a sleek ponytail. Tall and slim, he moved with the athletic grace of a dancer.

“You are missing the excursion,
ma chérie
? You don’t wish to see this Agra Fort?” Justin asked Brooke.

“No, I’ll be there,” she replied, “but first I’m having a massage and a nap. I’m a bit tired from all the walking on this morning’s adventure. It was a little too much for me. I haven’t been feeling quite well. But one simply can’t miss seeing all these sights, can one? A little rest and I’ll be ready to go again. We won’t be leaving for the tour until later this afternoon. I want to be refreshed for tonight too. I think the seer we’ve engaged will be excellent. I can’t wait to hear my fortune!”

We had reached our floor. The elevator doors opened, and after saying goodbye to both of them, I turned left toward my room. Justin, ever the charming Frenchman, bowed to me then turned right to accompany Brooke to her door, saying that he would see me later on the tour.

As I walked down the hall, a door on the right opened and a waiter emerged from Jasmine’s room, pushing a cart with wine bottles and the remains of a room service lunch. The meal had been set for two, and as the door closed, I heard a low male voice and peals of Jasmine’s tinkling laughter.