Chapter 4 : The fair lady (I bein ladui)

Diana shut herself off from the world. When she was not forced to be at school, she sat on her bed by the window staring outside without seeing anything. She'd skipped every dance class since the incident. Miss Martinez hadn't called. She must be hoping I don't come back.

The gray morning jeered at her when she woke up after another restless night. It seemed that the unyielding clouds were shielding the sun from her undesirable presence.

R.....

Huh?

R.......

Dad, is that you?

Ro.......

Diana's heartbeat sped. It was happening again. The voice........someone was calling out. Disturbed, she closed her eyes trying to focus on the whispering voice but the wind seemed to carry it away. She opened her eyes reluctantly and her gaze fell upon a man standing under the lamppost looking directly at her. At least it seemed that way. She couldn't be sure as his eyes were hidden under dark aviators. He was dressed in a black three-piece suit with matching hat and briefcase. She squinted, trying to make out his face, but it was hidden under the shadow of his hat. She rubbed her eyes and looked again but there was no one there. Hallucinations – first sign of insanity. She shook her head.

After a quick shower, she stood in front of her dresser. The contrast between the face that had stared back a few weeks ago and the one that stared back today was unnerving. Gone was the colour of her skin, her complexion was pale without foundation and blush. Gone were the thick curving lashes, her lashes were short and thin without mascara. Gone was the haughty smile, the confident poise, gone was the rash, excited light in her odd brown eyes. Odd because of the foggy halo that ringed her chocolate-coloured iris.

She still looked pretty, no doubt, but she was no longer the flawless creature that had enthralled the audience on that eventful night. She used to make fun of the stuck-up Barbie girls when she'd started going to school. She realized with distress that she had been one of them till a few weeks ago.

What have I turned into?

She pulled her inky hair into a side-braid and brushed her short fringe somberly. She lined her eyes with kohl and applied light pink gloss on her lips. Better, she thought as the kohl brought some life into her spiritless eyes. She clasped the wide bracelet she always wore, grimacing at its tacky pink colour.

Can't be helped.....

*****************************************

The New Scotland Yard building was a swanky glass structure in the heart of Westminster, impressive even in the sheeting rain that poured down that morning. Diana was climbing out of her father's car, umbrella stretched in front of her, when she heard a crashing noise at the corner of the street. A woman was apologizing profusely as she helped up a man knocked down by a boy on his bicycle. The man's black three-piece suit was wet and muddy, but instead of chiding the boy, he turned around – Diana could only make out that he wore black shades - and dashed off quick as a hare, ignoring the boy who held out his hat.

"C'mon Diana." Her father called and she hurried towards the entrance wondering what weird fashion trend made it acceptable to wear shades in the rain. At least, I haven't reached that level of crazy.

Diana felt, like always, that she was entering the belly of a giant when she stepped over the threshold of the imposing steel structure. Unlike the unimaginative Lestrade from the pages of the late 19th century novels, the people who worked here now were among the finest officers in Britain. This was the place where the most inconceivable mysteries were solved by brilliant minds, where the most ingenuous criminals were apprehended by the long arm of the law. Diana loved to visit her father's office.

"Way to go, Chief!"

"Totally awesome, Chief!"

"Brilliant work, Drew." Detective Miles, Mr. Drew's boss, greeted him with a pat on his back. He was a short, stocky man with a reputation for discipline matched evenly by the striking brown suit that was his trademark. Like Mark Zuckerberg and Steve Jobs, Miles deemed selecting clothes as a fruitless activity and had stocked several of the same brown suits in his wardrobe. Diana suspected he would wear the suit even to the beach. "The Commissioner called. You've managed to impress the old codger." He chuckled.

"Hello Diana."

"Good evening, Mr. Miles."

Detective Miles was used to seeing Diana at the office by now. He'd raised a ruckus that first day Mr. Drew had showed up with her when Grace took ill. A child in this office! He'd shouted. How do you expect us to do our work when a child runs amok, crayoning the walls! It had taken a lot of convincing by Mr. Drew and Miss Pepper for him to let her stay.

But Diana had turned out to be a carbon-copy of her father, intellectually speaking. While children of her age watched You-tube, she watched criminal interrogations, observing the physical and psychological methods used by the police to gain information or extract a confession. She would point out irregularities in photographs of crime scenes and would barely flinch when those photographs included corpses. Miss Pepper disapproved of this lack of censorship with respect to the child but Mr. Drew never found it abnormal. He was ecstatic that his daughter was as interested in this domain as he was. Sometimes, Detective Miles felt disconcerted by her lack of kiddish behaviour but then he'd remind himself of what would happen if she did behave like a kid........... and shudder at the thought.

"By the way, I've still got CNN hounding me so I'm afraid you'll have to give another interview soon."

"Please sir, I'm not good with the whole rigmarole. The last one was uncomfortable enough. Can't you give it this time?"

Mr. Miles chuckled again. "I'm sorry old boy, but they asked for you."

Detective Carson Drew had recently apprehended the mastermind of a drug cartel that was responsible for the murder of the gorgeous Hollywood star, Lila Romanoff. In the peak of her career, the gifted actress had turned to drugs, unable to handle the pressures of fame. She met Ludvig Petrov, the infamous drug lord and a member of the Russian mafia - the Bratva- a year and a half ago and was rumoured to be in an on-off relationship with him. Everyone had believed that the troubled star had overdosed on drugs in an attempt to take her own life till Detective Drew's investigation cracked the case wide open.

Mr Drew opened the door to his office. A smartly dressed, ginger-haired woman looked up from her laptop. "Got the files for me, Pepper?" Miss Pepper smiled and handed him a thin blue folder. "Hi honey, I missed you," she gave Diana a big hug. Diana smiled. It was hard not to be happy in Miss Pepper's presence. "How's school?" Diana's smile faltered but she held it in place with some effort.

"It fine."

"Really?"

Jeez! Grace must've tipped her off.

"Yes. I aced the mid-term test!" Diana tried to keep her voice upbeat. "And Dad's taking me to see Wonder Woman as a treat!"

Miss Pepper was still scrutinizing her face so she decided it was time to change the topic. "I read about the burglary in Bleeker's street. Gold bars stolen, isn't it? I mean, who keeps gold bars in their house?!" Her chuckle sounded fake in her own ears. "This is the case file, right?" She snatched a random file off the table and buried her nose in it.

"What is it, Diana? What's happened?"

Diana flinched behind the file then lowered it an inch so that Miss Pepper could see her eyes. They were wide and innocent. "What do you mean? Nothing's happened."

Miss Pepper opened her mouth to speak when the phone rang. Saved by the bell - how cliche. Fortunately for Diana, Detective Miles needed Miss Pepper for a meeting after the call. It was a heavy work day and Miss Pepper didn't get a chance to quiz her again.

It was unhealthy to go on like this, Diana knew that. Descending into insanity is as easy as falling off a cliff. Just one misstep. One trigger. But speaking about her..... strangeness to anyone would mean a one-way ticket to a mental institute. She could envision a sharply dressed therapist sitting on the couch in front of her, trying to convince her that whatever she thought isn't real. But that was the problem. It is real. As real and tangible as her own heartbeat.

She sighed and tried to concentrate on the file in her hand. It was upside down.

***************************************

When the lights turned down,

they don't know what they heard,

Strike the match, play it loud,

giving love to the world,

Diana sang along in perfect harmony with Ellie Goulding's voice that sounded through the speakers. Mr. Drew glanced at his daughter while he drove through the deserted street by the park; the movie had made them very late. She was bobbing her head with the rhythm of the song.

I wonder if her mother was a singer....

His thoughts took him back to the night he'd seen his daughter for the first time. It had been a few months since the accident. In a bid to escape the constant pain, he had thrown himself into work. But at the end of the day, when he lay exhausted in his armchair, her face was still the only thing he could see. Celia. She'd wanted so many things; she was one of those people who planned their whole lives in advance. She wanted to start a charity for underprivileged children through the school where she worked. She wanted to take up gardening; she'd chosen this house specifically because of its wide outdoor space. She wanted ............................. a child.

Her beautiful lips would curve upwards - an innocent, joyful smile - when she'd speak of their child. He could see her so clearly, almost hear her voice. "Help! Help me!" Celia? For one moment, he'd truly believed that his wife had come back to him somehow. Celia! He'd rushed out the door like a madman and stumbled into his backyard. It wasn't Celia.

It was a woman. A woman who glowed silver like the moon, radiant against the black sky. Her fair skin shone brighter than the white of her long flowy dress contrasting richly against her dark hair. The woman hunched over something she was carrying; a swaddle of silk.

His hand inched instinctively to his holster.

She looked up slowly and spoke in a dreamy, lilting voice. "Don't be afraid..... Please........ don't be afraid............" The world seemed to shimmer around him as her beauty was revealed. His hand stopped its journey to the holster. He couldn't remember why he had come here. He couldn't remember what he was going to do. He couldn't remember anything. She coughed suddenly and the shimmer faded. She fell to her knees, still coughing, turning her face away from the silk in her arms. When she stopped, taking in ragged breaths, he could see droplets of blood on the grass in front of her. In a sudden rush, many things registered in his brain. He noticed for the first time, the bruises on her face, the blood running down her forehead, her blood-stained lips and the dark red patches on the silk she carried. A sheath hung around her waist stained with crimson blood. His finger was now firmly on the trigger of his gun.

Her eyes widened with terror. When she spoke again, her voice was no longer dreamy. "Please! Please don't hurt us. We come in peace. We're being pursued. They want her. They-They will kill her." A sob broke through her lips. "Please save her... My daughter....Please save my daughter...." She pleaded revealing the sleepy baby between the wisps of silk. He inadvertently took a step forward. The baby opened her drooping eyes, curiously inspecting the stranger who inched forward holding a gun. Familiar chocolate brown eyes stared at him and he felt the hand that held the gun go limp. The creature....... the woman spoke in a broken, frightened voice. "Please keep her with you. I will come back tomorrow to take her." The gun in his hand fell to the ground as she handed him the child.

"Ma'am, I am a police officer. Tell me what happened. I can help you."

"I know you are a protector in this land. I would not have been directed here otherwise. Thank you." She smiled sadly through the tears that ran soundlessly down her face. "But the only way you can help me is by keeping her safe. I will explain everything when I come back." She wiped away the tears forcefully and her face blazed with determination. "For now, I have matters to set right." She kissed the baby's forehead. "Sleep well, my little Diana." The baby gurgled and he rocked her turning slightly away from the woman, trying to stop the child from crying.

"Your service will be remembered. I am forever in your debt...."

He turned to ask her where she was going to go and found himself facing the empty backyard.

She was gone.

Tomorrow passed in the blink of an eye.........but the creature never came back. Every night he'd sleep in the armchair in his living room, listening to any sound that would announce her arrival. By the end of the month, he was sure she was never coming back. With the state she was in, she could've easily died due to her injuries or by the hands of her pursuers. He felt pity for the woman, but he could not deny his fear when he'd wake up in the middle of the night to phantom noises, nor the perverse relief that coursed through him when he stepped out to find the backyard empty.

He could not give her back.

On a bright Thursday morning, he went to meet a dirty man in a dirty bar in the dirty neighbourhood that most law-abiding citizens avoided. The man sat at a booth with his shoulders hunched over. Grime covered his coat so thickly that it was impossible to tell its colour. Mr. Drew slid into the seat in front of him.

The man did not look up as he spoke. "What do you want?"

"Papers."

"What kind?"

"Orphanage records. Birth certificate."

"Name"

"Diana Drew"

"Date of birth"

"4th April 2007"

"Father's name"

"Carson Drew"

The man raised one eyebrow but otherwise gave no indication of surprise. He'd been an informer too long for the detective. He knew enough not to ask questions.

"I'll have it ready in a week. Same place. Same time."

*******************************************

Mr. Drew thanked the neighbour for looking after the baby and returned home with her. When he showed her the small stuffed rabbit he'd bought her, she smiled wide reaching for it. Celia's chocolate brown eyes danced merrily as he placed the rabbit in her arms.

*******************************************

"What're you thinking, Dad?" Diana had noticed the thoughtful expression on his face. He looked forward again and said "I was just- " He stopped short, his eyes on the rearview mirror. "That's strange." His brows knit together. "The black car is still behind u-"

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" Diana's piercing scream filled the car.