Secrets Hidden In Time (Time #1)

23 | Think Like A Criminal

But then Rukmini was well aware of the lady before her. The amount of self-control and composure Hinduja Rao had was unlike anyone she had met in her life. The woman was capable of keeping her sangfroid even in the worst of circumstances.

Neither a flicker of distress nor a hint of panic—the woman looked as cool as a goddamn piece of iceberg from the Antarctic Ocean!

But as inspirational as her calm and composed demeanor was, it was scary—too scary; even unnatural perhaps. And to think that she was married, Rukmini at times wondered—what type of man her superior was married to, in reality?

And then, all at once, without any particular warning, Rukmini was forced to put a full stop to her intrusive thoughts as she saw her superior moving swiftly towards the closed office doors.

Tilting the side profile of her face towards the door, Hinduja pressed her right ear against it. "Somebody is coming in this direction. I can hear the footsteps." She muttered, as if in a trance.

And seeing this as a good opportunity, Rukmini started her incessant knocking on the door once again, while Hinduja carried on with the task at hand, which was pressing her ear against the door and listening to the footsteps that were approaching closer. And then, within a few moments, the sound of the footsteps ceased.

Both of them turned their faces around to look at each other in sync, just as the metallic sound of the door latch opening fell upon their respective ears.

The very next second, as the double-doored timber gateway unbolted, Hinduja and Rukmini focused their gazes at the stranger gaping at them in perplexity.

"Ms. Rao? Are you Ms. Rao?" Hesitancy bubbled in the stranger's eyes as he addressed her using her maiden surname. As the door opened wider, the body of the man came into their visibility range completely. Hinduja noticed the clothing that the man was garbed in; it was a similar kind of black cassock that Deacon Kenneth Martin, whom they met around twenty minutes ago and who had supposedly gone to call Father Emmanuel Albert, was dressed in—typical clergyman's clothing.

Hinduja stepped forward and said, "Yes, I am." She provided her response to his question.

The stranger nodded his head in recognition as something dawned upon him once again. "What happened? What were you two doing inside? And who locked you here?" He instantly inquired in incertitude.

"Some potty-eating dipshit locked us here." Rukmini mumbled unabashedly.

The unknown clergyman gasped while Hinduja turned her head to her left side to look at Rukmini with a pair of stern eyes. "Rukmini, language!" She warned.

"I apologise." Came the reply.

Hinduja sighed while shifting her focus back on the man before them. "Someone locked us inside, sir."

"That's strange." The man replied with his brows scrunched together. He then turned around to roam his gaze around the interiors of the massive religious edifice. Finding not even a shadow around, he volt-faced to face the ladies inside the office. "I guess it must be Cyril, Father Simon's nephew. He is a mischievous kid of nine, playing and pranking people all day long. I apologize for the inconvenience, though."

"It's okay." Hinduja replied promptly, while Rukmini looked around in suspicion, still not convinced by the clergyman's reasoning.

Nodding his head, he said, "Anyways, I am Father Emmanuel Alberto. You had a talk with me the other day, and just now Deacon Martin informed me that you have come here to meet His Excellency, The Most Reverend, Bishop Philip, so I rushed here."

"Oh." Now fully recognizing the man before them, both women bowed their heads faintly. "Father." They acknowledged him again, in sync.

Father Alberto nodded his head. "What work did you have with His Excellency, by the way?" He asked.