Drowned History Read online

  Drowned History

  Rebecca Lovell

  COPYRIGHT 2018 REBECCA LOVELL

  Cover Design by Clarissa Yeo

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to persons living or deceased is unintentional.

  This book is for Rufus, who I never left behind. You’re always in my heart, no matter where you are.

  One

  It was easy for George Bennett to lose himself in the past, especially since the conversation involved India. He could see his younger self staring at the box on the counter as if trying to decide it was really there. The Indian man behind the counter shook hands with him and George traded the small red box for a handful of money. The other man smiled grandly. George had barely heard his wish of good luck or his congratulations, he was too busy staring at the box.

  While he was waiting for her that night, he'd opened the box and examined its contents, then closed it again and put it in his pocket for a few minutes before taking it back out. Just when he thought he'd made up his mind, she walked in the door and he stuffed it in his coat when he went to kiss her. He'd thought he had plenty of time.

  "What do you think, Dr. Bennett?"

  The voice from across the table snapped him out of his thoughts and he looked up to see that all eyes were on him. He didn't want to admit he had no idea what they were talking about but even with the black and white photographs of half-buried stones that were laying in front of him, he was lost.

  "I don't know about you," said the dark-haired woman across the table from him, pulling a photograph toward herself and drawing attention away from him. "But I have to say that I agree there's something strange about this wall."

  "Yes," George said, relieved. He may have had no idea why he was there but he could tell that something wasn't right about the wall in the photographs. Normally his British accent would have made his reply sound somewhat curt but for the moment it seemed to have lost most of its usual sharpness. "It's almost halfway through the cave. There's no reason the main room should be cut in half like that."

  "There are carvings on the wall according to the director of the dig," the man at the head of the table said. Unlike the other two, his skin was a light coffee color and his hair was jet black. He was a handsome man made even better looking by the suit he was wearing, and George saw the woman taking notice. At forty-two he was still a good-looking man himself but Nadir looked more the part of a movie star than a professor. "Unfortunately, they didn't show up well in the pictures he sent. That is the real reason I asked the two of you here today."

  "You want us to read carvings on a wall thousands of miles away with nothing to go on but some photographs?" Alice Graesser raised an eyebrow and George had to stop himself from making the same face. The Indian man, Nadir Kharyam, laughed.

  "No, of course not," he said. "I'll be going to India to take a look at these carvings myself. I would like for you two to join me."

  "You want us to go to India?" George immediately dug in his heels. When Nadir had asked him for help on a case, this was not what he expected. Until that moment he hadn't even had much of an idea why he was there at all. From the look on her face, George got the idea that Alice felt the same way but was too polite to protest.

  "That's right," Nadir said. "The site of the dig is in Surat and I'm afraid my Gujarati is severely lacking. That's why I wanted you. You both lived in Gujarat for an extended period so I have a feeling you're both fluent. Not to mention you'll know your way around India better than someone who was born here and has only set foot in the country once."

  "I don't know," Alice said uncertainly. "It's been a long time. I'm sure a lot has changed since I was there."

  "That's for certain," George replied acidly. He could feel Alice looking at him and pointedly ignored her. "I hate to sound rude, but what's in it for us?"

  "You wouldn't be satisfied with knowing that you'd be solving a mystery that could benefit future generations?" Nadir was smiling broadly and George folded his arms over his chest. "I'm only joking, Dr. Bennett. Of course you will both be compensated, as well as the University covering your travel and accommodations. It's a wonderful opportunity and I can promise you it will be interesting."

  George considered this. There was no shortage of work for him at the hospital but it had been a long time since he'd taken any time off. Setting aside the obvious reasons he wasn't eager to return to India, the thought of going anywhere with Alice irritated him. Out of all the women in the world, why did it have to be her?

  "I'll go," Alice said before he could reply. "I don't doubt it will be interesting and I'm quite curious about the carvings. I can't promise you that I'll be able to read them but I'll give it a try."

  "That's all I'm asking," Nadir said. "Though I'm sure you'll do fine. Amesh had nothing but praise for you when I spoke to him. Besides, anyone who speaks four languages and Gujarati has more than enough in the way of qualifications as far as I'm concerned."

  "French, Italian, and Spanish are very close to one another," Alice said, though George could certainly hear more than a note of pride in her voice. Whether she knew it or not, she was playing right into Nadir's hands. "German, on the other hand, I can speak like a native."

  "I wouldn't be too proud of that," George said, standing up. "You can count me in on this little expedition. I don't know how I'm going to help you with any of this but I haven't had a vacation in years."

  "Excellent! I'm looking forward to working with both of you." He started collecting the papers and photographs while Alice stood up and picked up her pocketbook. "We leave on Monday at eight AM sharp. It will be a private plane but I'm told the pilot is very good. I would advise you to pack light but take enough for at least a week. I'm not certain how long we'll be there but I do know we'll be staying in a tent at an archaeological dig site so space will almost certainly be limited."

  "I'll keep that in mind," Alice said, putting on her coat. It wasn't unseasonably cool for October, but she had never been able to handle the cold.

  "Monday it is, then." George put on his hat and left the office while she was still buttoning up, hoping to avoid talking to her until he was forced to.

  "George, wait," a voice behind him said, and he clenched his jaw as he stopped in the middle of the hall. What he really wanted to do was walk away from her as fast as politeness would allow but he supposed he had to be civil. Alice was smiling at him hopefully and it took everything he had not to burst her bubble. "This is going to be really exciting," she said. "It's good to see you again."

  "I don't suppose you drove," George said, refusing to return the sentiment. “Seeing as how you were late.” He started walking again and she followed him, matching his stride even though his legs were considerably longer. Alice shook her head.

  “No, I don’t drive,” Alice said. They walked down the steps together and she followed him to the parking lot. “I took a cab today.”

  “Fascinating.” Two young men passed them going the opposite direction and George heard one of them talking about the military. He was saying that if the United States did go to war again he was thinking about quitting school to enlist and for a single moment George considered grabbing the boy and shaking some sense into him. Instead he looked down at Alice, who was fussing with her hat again. “Perhaps you should have worn something less complicated.”

  “It’s new,” she said, as if this explained it. “In any case, I’m glad to be working with you.”

  “I’m only doing this as a favor,” George said. They had reached his car and he opened the door to his Cadillac. Inside, his medical bag sat on the passenger seat and Alice continued to smile at him.

  “S
o you’re a doctor now?”

  “And you’re an American now,” he replied. “I suppose we’ve both changed.” Not waiting to hear what she had to say, he got in the car. “I’ll see you on Monday.”

  Through the rolled-up window he could see Alice saying what looked like goodbye but didn’t respond. A gust of wind blew through the parking lot and he automatically checked the rearview mirror to see if her hat flew off, then reminded himself that he couldn’t care less about her clothing anymore.

  New York was as busy as ever as George made his way through the streets to Bellevue Hospital, and like Alice it was beginning to button up for the winter. Before they knew it there would be snow and ice to contend with, and he felt a surge of envy for the people walking on the sidewalk. Slippery though it would be, at least they didn’t have to worry about taking a sixteen hundred dollar risk every time they hit the brakes.

  He wouldn’t have to worry about the wind chill for at least a week, though, and for that he was grateful, even if it did mean he was going to be dealing with dust, heat, and the likelihood of no running water. When he’d lived in Surat he’d had indoor plumbing and he automatically thought of Alice, wondering how a woman was going to fare at an archeological dig in the middle of nowhere.

  It’s not my problem, he thought as he waited for a pedestrian to cross at the light. Maybe I should have her talk to Sylvia. Thinking of his ex-wife made him wonder why he hadn’t mentioned her when he was talking about doing a favor for Nadir and he shrugged it off. He spent a lot of time trying not to think of his ex-wife lately, that was nothing new. Neither of them are my problem. Not anymore.

  Two

  As soon as she got home, Alice locked the door and leaned back against it as if someone was trying to break in. She let go of the breath it felt like she’d been holding for the last few hours and closed her eyes.

  Punctuality had never been her strong suit, and her desire to make a good impression on Nadir had led her to buy a new hat for the first time in years. She didn’t have much experience putting it on, however, and the pin kept sticking her in the most irritating ways. By the time she was willing to give up on it she was already late for the meeting and it had been embarrassing to run into the office gasping apologies but she’d had no choice. She had fully expected Nadir to tell her he had no use for a translator who couldn’t even make it to an appointment on time. George, on the other hand, she had not.

  It had been almost twelve years since she saw him last, tying his necktie in the mirror while she told him she would be at the Vidyapith for the next two days. He’d told her to have a good trip and she’d said she would come straight to his flat when she came back to Surat. Things hadn’t quite turned out as planned, and he was the last person she thought she would see in New York or any other place.

  Maybe this is fate, she thought as she stood up straight and unpinned her hat with relief. She’d thought so many times over the years that she would like to see him so she could tell him what had really happened but never thought she would get the chance. Now here he was, right in front of her, and understandably angry with her. She couldn’t really say she blamed him but it wasn’t quite the reunion she hoped for.

  Alice went into her bedroom and opened the closet. There was a small suitcase on the top shelf and she pulled it down, thinking that it was just perfect for a week in India. As she did it occurred to her that she should probably tell someone she was leaving the country. She set the suitcase on her bed and went back out the front door, though she didn’t bother to put on her hat. Her apartment building wasn’t very big and the halls looked like they belonged in a hotel so she didn’t feel the need to put on her coat either.

  Two floors down, she knocked on the first door by the stairs and waited patiently until an older man answered. As soon as he saw her he smiled and opened the door wide.

  “Miss Graesser,” he said, motioning for her to come inside. “To what do I owe the pleasure? Your rent isn’t due for another two weeks.”

  “May I use your phone, Mr. Denton?” Her landlord was the only one in the building with a telephone and he nodded. “Thank you. I need to call my mother.”

  “My home is your home,” Peter Denton said. “Will you be staying long? Margery would love to see you.” The Dentons had never had children and Alice had the feeling that they would have gladly adopted her if she hadn’t had parents of her own.

  “No, I have to go upstairs and pack,” Alice replied as she went over to the phone. “I’ll be going on a trip so I’ll need you to hold my mail if it’s not too much trouble.”

  “Of course! It’s no trouble at all,” he said. “Where are you going?”

  “India,” Alice said, picking up the receiver and putting it to her ear. “For at least a week.”

  “India! You’re going overseas with this war going on?” Peter looked shocked, which only made Alice more certain that she needed to be out of the apartment before Margery came home. If her husband was reacting this way she could just imagine Margery’s response. “Do your parents know about this?”

  “That’s who I’m calling,” Alice said, dialing her parents’ number. She turned away from Peter, who was staring at her hard enough to make her cringe and tugged at the phone cord. Unlike Alice, her parents had a phone in their house but they were often not home to use it.

  “Hello?”

  “Mother,” Alice said with a smile. “How are you?”

  “I’m lovely, dear,” Poppy Graesser replied in a soft British accent that was similar to George’s but worlds apart in its warmth. “It’s always so good to hear your voice. Your father isn’t home right now but I’m sure he’ll be sorry he missed you. I do hope nothing’s the matter.”

  “Oh, no, nothing like that,” Alice said. “I just wanted to ask if you still had my things from when I was in India. The phrasebooks and journals I brought home.”

  “Of course, dear. Your father put them in the attic but I’m sure he’d be happy to get them down for you. When are you coming to visit?” There was a small, odd sound on the other end of the line and Alice was just about to ask what it was when her mother shushed something and turned back to the phone. “So sorry about that. We got a little dog a few weeks ago and he’s not quite old enough to know better yet.”

  “I suppose I’ll get to meet him,” Alice said, trying to picture the sort of dog her mother would like. “I was thinking of taking the train up tonight.”

  “Tonight! Are you sure everything’s all right?”

  “It’s fine,” Alice reassured her. “I just need to look over those books a bit. The Indian books we have at work aren’t quite the same as my journals.” She had a feeling that her mother was going to have much the same reaction as her landlord and took a deep breath before going on. “I’m going to India on Monday morning and I’d like to brush up on my Gujarati.”

  “India?” Poppy’s voice went up an octave and Alice steeled herself for what was coming next. “Oh, Alice, what have you gotten yourself into this time?”

  “It’s nothing like that, Mother,” she said patiently. “There’s an archaeological dig in Surat where they’re unearthing a temple and since I’m fluent they would like me to go and take a look at some carvings.”

  “They don’t have any Indians who can translate?”

  “I’m going with a group from New York University,” Alice said, thinking it best not to tell her mother that she was going to a foreign country with two single men. At least, she assumed George was single. With that attitude, he had to be. “I get the feeling I’ll also be interpreting for the group.”

  “I just don’t know,” Poppy said fretfully. “It’s so dangerous overseas now, every day the news seems to get worse. What if something happens to your plane? You are flying, aren’t you?”

  “Of course we’re flying,” Alice sighed. “Would you feel better if we were going by boat?”

  “The seas are dangerous too,” she said. “Couldn’t they just take photographs and send them
to you to translate? Why do you have to go all the way over there?”

  “They tried to take pictures and they didn’t come out properly,” Alice said. “Besides, I think it would be interesting to see them close up. I could go my entire life and not get another opportunity like this one. Everything will be fine, you’ll see.”

  “Every time you leave the country something terrible happens,” Poppy said. “We never should have sent you on that trip, I told Karl a hundred times, but he was sure he wanted you to visit Germany. None of this would have happened if you hadn’t gone to Berlin.”

  “This trip and that one are two completely different things,” Alice said. “I’ll only be there about a week.”

  “You never would have learned Indian to begin with if you hadn’t been to Berlin,” Poppy muttered. Alice was fully aware that she intended her daughter to hear it and she caught the reply rising to her lips before it escaped. She knew when she called her mother that this was going to be the response she got but it didn’t make it any easier to deal with. She was thirty-five years old but her parents still seemed to be able to make her feel like she was twelve.

  “Be that as it may, the arrangements have already been made. It would be rude to back out now and it would make Native Tongue look bad as well.”

  “Yes, of course,” her mother said with a resigned sigh. “We never were able to stop you doing whatever you liked. When should I expect you?”

  “I’ll take the next train up, so I’ll probably be there in a few hours,” Alice said cautiously.

  “I’ll have tea ready, then,” Poppy said, changing emotions in the predictably British way she always had. “I’ll expect you to stay for dinner, of course.”

  “I need to come home and pack,” Alice said, fully aware that her landlord was both watching and listening to everything she was saying. “I’ll be reviewing those journals tonight and probably going into the office tomorrow to look at the books we have.”