Chase Baker and the God Boy: (A Chase Baker Thriller Series Book No. 3) (25 page)

Singh turns to me.

“I am truly sorry for your loss,” he
says, pursing his lips. “But I see Anjali and the boy are safe.”

“It must have been a tough thing to
swallow,” I say, “knowing Anjali was with Kashmiri and that the relationship,
however brief, would lead directly to the boy’s abduction.”

He nods, the look on his face like
I’m opening a deep wound that never healed in the first place. “She truly had
no idea regarding the depth of his evil intentions. But then, she doesn’t need
any chastising from the likes of me…the man who left them in the first place.
She already blames herself for what happened. I suspect she will go to her
grave bearing the burden of that guilt. That’s why she insisted on accompanying
you on the mission. She knew it was dangerous. But if she died while trying to
save her son’s life, then that final act would at least absolve her soul of
permanent damnation.”

“And what about you?” I say. “How
deep does your guilt go for having left Anjali and Rajesh when they needed you
most?”

The skin on his normally
coffee-with-milk colored face turns pale.

“You have to ask that question, Mr.
Baker?”

“That kind of child handicap can
place great strain on a family,” I say. “Rajesh was cast out, considered a
freak. It must have been difficult for a man of your power and prestige. So then,
it must have come as quite a shock when suddenly the entire Hindu world went
from treating Rajesh as a freak to a God.”

He nods contemplatively.

“We all seek perfection, Mr.
Baker,” he says. “In both ourselves and in our children. But I am ashamed I left
when I did. And it is something I will have to live with for the rest of my
days. So you see, my chance at achieving perfection is forever vanished.”

…You’re being too tough on the
guy, Chase. You’re no better than he is…

“I know the feeling, pal. I have a
daughter in New York. I too have to live with the fact that I don’t see her
enough.” In my head, I see the spunky little long-haired girl in her short
dress and sneakers, running off to school or the park. “We all make decisions
and then we have to live with them.”

He bites down on his bottom lip.
“We get another chance if we don’t get it right in this life. If you believe in
that kind of thing.”

“Right you are, Doc. If it doesn’t
happen in this life, Dharma or Brahma or whoever will see to it that you get
another chance, and another, and another, until you get it right…Like you said,
if you believe in the sort of thing.”

“Something like that.”

“And now, you not only get your son
back,” I say, “but you claim quite the prize for Nepal. The lost Diamond Mine
of India…which, it just so happens, is located in Nepal.”

“Or perhaps the Lost Diamond Mine
of India is indeed waiting to be discovered in India along with another Golden
Kali Statue. Perhaps it makes this find look like the corner jewelry shop.” His
face assumes a smile. Because his story has a happy ending. But I can’t say the
same for mine.

“Elizabeth died for the statue that
marked the location of this blue diamond mine,” I say. “She spent her whole
life in pursuit of the Golden Kali Statue. If she hadn’t sent me the bronze
key, Anjali would be dead now. Maybe Rajesh, too.”

“I understand you are grieving, Mr.
Baker. Grieving for a second time.”

“Once was enough, Singh,” I say.
“Elizabeth gave up on me, even if I never stopped loving her. She’s in a better
place than you and me.”

He purses his lips.

“On this day, a baby will be born
somewhere in the world, and it will bear the soul of Elizabeth. She will
graduate from the transition phase to the earthly life phase once more. If you
believe that…believe it with all your heart and soul like I do…then she is far
from dead. She lives, all over again.”

A wave of warmth pours over my
body. Makes me shiver for a second or two.

“Here’s what I know so far about
being…well…not alive,” she says. “It’s all true. We live again. Until we get it
right.”

I hold out my hand. Singh takes it
in his. Shakes. Releasing it, he heads across the blue diamond deposit to his
ex-wife and child.

The God Boy.

I stare up at the blue sky and I
see the face of Elizabeth staring back at me. See her smile, her green eyes,
her lovely hair. Singh was right all along. She never really died in the first
place. Elizabeth is about to live again.

“I’ll see you soon, babe,” I
whisper. “In this life or the next.”

To one day have a second chance
with Elizabeth…

…That’s all the reward a jerk like
me will ever need.

THE END

If you enjoyed this Chase Baker Thriller, please explore
The
Shroud Key (Chase Baker No.1)
and
Chase
Baker and the Golden Condor (Chase Baker No. 2)

Vincent Zandri is the
New York Times
and
USA
Today
bestselling author of more than sixteen novels, including
Everything
Burns
,
The Innocent
,
The Remains
,
Orchard Grove,
and
The
Shroud Key
. He is also the author of the ITW Thriller Award winning and
Shamus Award nominated Dick Moonlight PI series. A freelance photojournalist
and solo traveler, he is the founder of the blog
The Vincent Zandri Vox
.
He lives in New York and Florence, Italy. For more, go to
http://www.vincentzandri.com/
.

Chase Baker and the God Boy (A Chase Baker Thriller No. 3)

Vincent Zandri © copyright 2015

All rights reserved as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act
of 1976. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or
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Bear Media LLC 2015

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http://www.vincentzandri.com

Cover design by Elder Lemon Art

Author Photo by Jessica Painter

The characters and events portrayed in this book are
fictitious. Any similarity to a real person, living or dead is coincidental and
not intended by the author.

Published in the United States of America