Chapter 6. Getting a Guided Tour.
Sara waited with Amir for long seconds. It felt cold and awkward (for her). Amir said nothing and drummed his fingers against his trousers. His phone buzzed. Amir looked at it and put it away. ‘Clear.’ He yawned, put his sunglasses on and went inside. Sara hesitantly followed him. Amir ignored the dead man in the doorway and stepped on one of his hands. Sara was not as unconcerned. She did not step on the dead man.
Suddenly they could hear voices! Sara tensed. Amir yawned. It sounded like a newscaster, ‘We would like to warn the public that unhinged fantasy has leaked into...’ Caro came down the stairs. Amir asked, ‘Where is the boy?’ Caro replied, ‘In the kitchen. One of yours is dead, the aftershave.’ Sara felt bad for having jinxed him.
Caro grabbed Sara extremely gently with both hands. ‘You are better off not seeing your boyfriend again. He is quite dead. Sorry.’ Caro pointed at a boring chair and Sara sat down, trying to process what she had been told. It felt like she was in a tragicomedy. Elsewhere in the cabin, Javed finished a prayer and changed the channel on the telly.
Amir sighed and went to the kitchen, but not to get food. Sara soon rose. Caro gently pushed her down onto the chair, but she demanded to see Tom. Caro looked as if she was about to shove her back again, yet she shrugged.
Sara thought that she had prepared herself mentally but felt her stomach churn as soon as she saw Tom. She hugged Caro and cried. Caro very carefully gave her an awkward pat and held her extremely gently. Tom had been bound to a chair with a lot of gaffer tape. It looked as if someone had tried to rearrange his face (his nose had started to move).
Three fingers lay on the floor, next to a red jerrycan. Bloody secateurs lay on the counter beside a banana and a brand-new tarot deck, still with plastic wrapper. Tom’s throat had been slit, and a knife had been left in his right thigh. Amir looked at it all as if it was just modern art, his face unreadable. Something stuck out of Tom’s shirt pocket. Amir pulled it out. It was a tarot card: The Fool.
Caro asked, ‘What does it mean?’ Amir said, ‘That the story has just begun.’ Javed joined them. He saw Tom and looked as if he was about to puke. Javed then opened the refrigerator and was disappointed. Amir sighed and told him to get the phone, the gun, the wallet, and the keychain (Pikachu) from Rayhan’s body.
Amir turned towards Sara. ‘Do you want revenge?’ Sara dried her eyes. ‘Yes.’ Amir smiled. ‘You work for me now.’ Imagine if all job interviews went that easily.
We had an informal meeting around the coffee machine after lunch. People were speculating about who had broken the paper tray. I felt nervous, waved a fly away, and tried to evade a question by drinking my coffee. The coffee was far too hot. I spat it all over Karen. Her white shirt now has more colour. She was not amused at all. My colleagues laughed and apologised for laughing. I told them not to worry; Karen told me to worry and left, her face red.
