38 SAM
Finally, after almost twenty minutes of being poked and prodded by doctors, I could rest. When I first woke up—which they said was a miracle given how much blood I’d lost—a small battalion had descended on my hospital room.
I closed my eyes, feeling the world spin a little. One of the nurses had warned me the medication could cause dizziness. I didn’t think it would hit so fast.
With my eyes still closed, I heard the door open and close. I turned toward the sound and, squinting through the haze, made out the green of a nursing uniform.
“Please don’t tell me there’s more,” I grumbled, still struggling with the effects of the medication.
“I’m never listening to you again when you say we need a break.” A familiar voice caught me off guard, and I forced my eyes to focus on the figure in front of me.
Connor approached slowly. He was wearing a hospital gown and still moving gingerly.
“Nice look, detective,” I joked, nodding at his gown. Connor came closer to my bed. I still had to stay flat for a few more hours before they’d clear me for a short walk.
Connor leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to my forehead. Before he could pull away, I grabbed the collar of his gown and pulled him into a real kiss. His lips on mine made every ache in my body fade away.
He rested his forehead against mine.
“Sorry I didn’t come as soon as you woke up,” he whispered. “I couldn’t get away from—”
“Tuya?” I laughed. Tuya had filled me in on him as soon as I woke up. She said he’d been driving her crazy with his foul mood. And that he only perked up when I came to.
“I bet you two were talking trash about me.” He stroked my chin and pulled a chair up to the bed. “How are you feeling?”
“Like I have a completely dysfunctional family,” I joked. “I’ll be fine. The worst is over. They told me you had some bleeding.”
“Broke a few ribs and one of them punctured my spleen.” He touched the area. “But despite my age, I’m still in better shape than you.”
He winked at me, and I responded with a grimace.
“I brought something… I wanted to give it to you sooner.” He pulled my mother’s notebook from inside his gown. “I spent a few days with nothing to do… ended up getting hooked on your mother’s puzzle.”
I shifted a little in the bed, and Connor took my fingers. He placed my necklace in the palm of my hand. The Eye of Horus—my mother’s.
“I had this too.” He smiled. “That’s how I solved it.”
“You deciphered it?” I stared at him. Connor took my hand—the one holding the necklace—and slid it across the notebook’s cover. An envelope fell from inside the thick leather binding. “What is this?”
I recognized the handwriting on the envelope and my parents’ initials on the stamp.
“I think you should read it.”
“I don’t want to anymore.” I pushed it toward Connor. “This story has ruled my life for the last twenty-five years.”
“And it’ll always be a cold case if you don’t deal with it. Trust me. I know what that means.” Connor set the notebook on my lap.
I pulled the paper from the envelope and began to read.
Luxor - August 2000.
If you found this letter, perhaps I didn’t have enough time to tell the truth. My name is Catarina Vargas, and I believe I am in a relationship with my future murderer.
I’m not proud of giving in to Cohen’s temptation. Nor of falling in love with his deep words. But his obsession with certain subjects has been disturbing me. Cohen is my husband’s best friend, and I fear I’m in danger if I end things.
During the year I was home with my daughter, Cohen wouldn’t leave me alone. He pressured me into one last trip to Egypt, claiming there were updates about Cleopatra’s tomb. Which I discovered wasn’t true when I arrived here.
Seth, my husband, doesn’t deserve to be deceived. I’ve decided I will tell him everything… including about little Sam. My beloved Hazel.
It doesn’t matter that she has his blood. Sam is the love of Seth’s life, and they are father and daughter. They always will be.
My daughter, in case I never have the chance to tell you this… nothing was ever more important than you. I hope you grow into an honorable woman like your father, Seth Riad. You are and always will be a Riad.
May you find true love and never let it go. Never. We all make mistakes… and I made plenty with you, but know that my every prayer today is that I make it home in time for your boat birthday party. You’re going to love sailing with Daddy.
We love you more than there are grains of sand in the desert.
With love, Mommy.
My eyes could barely stay open through all the tears.
“She would have come back for you, if she could.” Connor looked at me. “They loved you, Sam. How could anyone not?”
“But I didn’t come here just for that.”
I looked into his eyes and knew what was coming. The moment I’d opened my eyes after nearly dying, the first thing I did was ask what day it was. I knew the time would come to say goodbye. I just didn’t know I’d lose almost half the time we had together, fighting for my life in a hospital bed.
“When are you going back?” The sadness was evident in every word.
“Tomorrow.”
“Can’t Gretta get you a few more days? You said you hadn’t taken a vacation in years and we could... I don’t know...”
“I’m not going back because of work. It’s my mother...” Connor looked worn down, but that wasn’t all. “My brother, Ethan, needs me. Mom is... she needs me.”
My vision blurred completely as tears welled up in my eyes. I knew I couldn’t ask him to stay, even though the words were fighting to escape my throat. Suffocating me.
“I... Don’t forget me. Please,” I said, holding back the tears. “I need to feel like I’m not alone in the world.”
“Sam...” He caressed my face. A smile played at the corner of his lips. His eyes gazed at me with tenderness. “How could I forget the woman who brought me out of exile? The most beautiful eyes I’ve ever seen. The light that transformed my gray world into a kaleidoscope?”
Connor kissed me, this time so gently that if it weren’t for this damn machine tracking my heartbeat, I’d think I was dead and floating among the clouds of heaven.
“I’ll never forget your scent.” He kissed me again. “Your smile.” And again. “The ethereal feeling of touching your skin.”
And again.
“And your eyes... that hold the secret of the world.”
“Promise you’ll take more time off?” I smiled through tears. “Cartagena is great in the summer.”
“Find me a serial killer there,” he joked. “I should still have some miles left.”
“I’m going to miss you, White Head.”
“And I’m going to miss you, my little one.”
Tuya’s voice pulled us from our cloud of laments and bad jokes.
“Oh, it’s you. I should have guessed you were here since all the equipment is screaming.” Tuya scolded Connor, who muttered a curse in English. “The doctor is looking for you to give you your discharge. But I think I’ll revoke it and request a psychiatric evaluation.”
“I agree. His bad mood is pathological.” I turned to talk to Tuya, who was checking the screens connected to me.
“Samantha, you need to rest too.” Tuya scolded me as well. “Or I’ll order sedatives for both of you.”
“Always so pleasant,” Connor grumbled.
“Hey...” I called to Connor. “Thank you.”
“For what exactly?”
“For coming out of exile for me.” He held my fingers. “For saving me.”
“I think we saved each other, Sam.” He kissed my fingers. “Now I need to go. There’s something I need to do before heading home.”
I watched Connor leave, taking a part of me with him. A part that no one would ever have again. Something that would remain in the sands of this desert. Like a mirage that only the two of us saw, and no one would ever know.