Anikaa & The Mystery of the Painting

9. The Black Maze

Raymond, his stubble, warm hands engulfing Anikaa, tugging her along in the vast golden chambers. He was pulling her close, about to kiss her, when a cat purred- Darling, are you still prejudice? and Anikaa woke up on the third ring of her mobile phone.

The warm sunlight was flooding her room and she hastily looked at her phone. Yes, it was 9 am and she was behind her schedule. How could she sleep for such a long time? Her mind whirled to last evening.

"No, not right now. I need a strong cup of tea," she muttered, shaking her head.

She picked up her intercom and ordered Bahadur to make tea for her. She decided to work only on her painting today. She had a huge piece in her mind and it will take her whole day.

She went down the stairs to the backyard of the villa in the garden and was delighted to see a warm golden sunny day. A perfect day to paint! She brought out her drawing pad and began making rough sketches. Bahadur brought a nice cup of cardamom tea and sandwiches for Anikaa.

"It's a beautiful morning today," said Rachel joining Anikaa in the garden.

Anikaa looked at Rachel who came fresh from bath and was wearing a high- neck t-shirt with trousers.

"Rachel, I am not in a working mood today," said Anikaa grinning.

"I get that alright. Once or twice in a month you have this kind of mood," said Rachel pleasantly.

"Bright sunny morning, singing birds, greenery and a hot cup of cardamom tea, who wants to work," added Rachel.

"You are looking in high spirits today, I think Karan suited you," said Anikaa smirking.

Rachel blushed.

"So finally we have a boy who is making Rachel blush and flush," quipped Anikaa.

"You are talking about me? How about you and Raymond? He was smitten with you," said Rachel. But to her dismay, Anikaa didn't blush but was piqued.

"Don't even talk about him; he was just another guy."

"Just another guy?" asked Rachel incredulously.

"Mam, he is a multi- billionaire, one of the richest, most eligible bachelors in the world. And, you are saying- he is just another guy?" debated Rachel.

"Money can't make you rational," said Anikaa calmly.

"Oh, but what about Mr. Richard Sturrock? How come he invited you to be a board director?"

Anikaa quirked her eyebrows.

"I have to know this. I am overlooking PR department," said Rachel truthfully.

"Richard seems to be a nice guy, but I want full background check on him again; especially his wife's disappearance," said Anikaa ignoring her earlier question.

"Oh, but his wife died in mysterious circumstances," said Rachel.

"Yes, and I want to know the details of it," asserted Anikaa.

"Okay. And?" Rachel prompted.

"So I went to his study where he talked about his life and his motive behind setting up this educational institute and I offered him to be part of it, which he accepted. That's it."

"Is that it?" asked Rachel disbelievingly.

"Yes, Rachel," said Anikaa. She knew that she will have to change the focus of the conversation to avoid further queries.