Sidney Sheldon - Nothing lasts forever

“And?”

“That's it.”

“That's it?”

“They don't say anything or do anything. But he can't move, and he can't get away. He's trapped until he gives in to what they want. It can last for many, many hours. He stays inside the circle, but the crowd keeps changing shifts. I saw a man try to escape the gherao once. They beat him to death.”

The memory of it made Paige shudder. The normally friendly people had turned into a screaming, frenzied mob. “Let's get away from here,” Alfred had yelled. He had taken her arm and led her to a quiet side street.

“That's terrible,” Jason said.

“My father moved us away the next day.”

“I wish I could have known your father.”

“He was a wonderful doctor. He would have been a big success on Park Avenue, but he wasn't interested in money. His only interest was in helping people.” Like Alfred, she thought.

“What happened to him?”

“He was killed in a tribal war.”

“I'm sorry.”

“He loved doing what he did. In the beginning, the natives fought him. They were very superstitious. In the remote Indian villages, everyone has ajatak, a horoscope done by the village astrologer, and they live by it.” She smiled. “I loved having mine done.”

“And did they tell you that you were going to marry a handsome young architect?”

Paige looked at him and said firmly, “No.” The conversation was getting too personal. “You're an architect, so you'll appreciate this. I grew up in huts made of wattle, with earthen floors and thatched roofs where mice and bats liked to nest. I lived in tukuls with grass roofs and no windows. My dream was to live one day in a comfortable two-story house with a veranda and a green lawn and a white picket fence, and …” Paige stopped. “Sorry. I didn't mean to go on like this, but you did ask.”

“I'm glad I asked,” Jason said.

Paige looked at her watch. “I had no idea it was so late.”

“Can we do this again?”

I don't want to lead him on, Paige thought. Nothing is going to come of this. She thought of something Kat had said to her. You're clinging to a ghost. Let go. She looked at Jason and said, “Yes.”

Early the following morning, a messenger arrived with a package. Paige opened the door for him.

“I have something for Dr. Taylor.”

“I'm Dr. Taylor.”

The messenger looked at her in surprise. “You're a doctor?”

“Yes,” Paige said patiently. “I'm a doctor. Do you mind?”

He shrugged. “No, lady. Not at all. Would you sign here, please?”

The package was surprisingly heavy. Curious, Paige carried it to the living-room table and unwrapped it. It was a miniature model of a beautiful white two-story house with a veranda. In front of the house was a little lawn and garden, surrounded by a white picket fence. He must have stayed up all night, making it. There was a card that read:

Mine [ ]

Ours [ ]

Please check one.

She sat there looking at it for a long time. It was the right house, but it was the wrong man.

What's the matter with me? Paige asked herself. He's bright and attractive and charming. But she knew what the matter was. He was not Alfred.

The telephone rang. It was Jason. “Did you get your house?” he asked.

“It's beautiful!” Paige said. “Thank you so much.”

“I'd like to build you the real thing. Did you fill in the box?”

“No.”

“I'm a patient man. Are you free for dinner tonight?”

“Yes, but I have to warn you, I'm going to be operating all day, and by this evening I'll be exhausted.”

“We'll make it an early evening. By the way, it's going to be at my parents' home.”

Paige hesitated a moment. “Oh?”

“I've told them all about you.”

“That's fine,” Paige said. Things were moving too quickly. It made her nervous.

When Paige hung up, she thought: I really shouldn't be doing this. By tonight I'm going to be too tired to do anything but go to sleep. She was tempted to telephone Jason back and cancel their date. It's too late to do that now. We'll make it an early evening.

As Paige was getting dressed that night, Kat said, “You look exhausted.”

“I am.”

“Why are you going out? You should be going to bed. Or is that redundant?”

“No. Not tonight.”

“Jason again?”

“Yes. I'm going to meet his parents.”

“Ah.” Kat shook her head.

“It's not like that at all,” Paige said. It's really not.

Jason's mother and father lived in a charming old house in the Pacific Heights district. Jason's father was an aristocratic-looking man in his seventies. Jason's mother was a warm, down-to-earth woman. They made Paige feel instantly at home.

“Jason has told us so much about you,” Mrs. Curtis said. “He didn't tell us how beautiful you are.”

“Thank you.”

They went into the library, filled with miniature models of buildings that Jason and his father had designed.

“I guess that between us, Jason, his great-grandfather, and I have done a lot of the landscape of San Francisco,” Jason's father said. “My son is a genius.”

“That's what I keep telling Paige,” Jason said.

Paige laughed. “I believe it.” Her eyes were getting heavy and she was fighting to stay awake.

Jason was watching her, concerned. “Let's go in to dinner,” he suggested.

They went into the large dining room. It was oak-paneled, furnished with attractive antiques and portraits on the wall. A maid began serving.

Jason's father said, “That painting over there is Jason's great-grandfather. All the buildings he designed were destroyed in the earthquake of 1906. It's too bad. They were priceless. I'll show you some photographs of them after dinner if you …”

Paige's head had dropped to the table. She was sound asleep.

“I'm glad I didn't serve soup,” Jason's mother said.

* * *

Ken Mallory had a problem. As word of the wager about Kat had spread around the hospital, the bets had quickly increased to ten thousand dollars. Mallory had been so confident of his success that he had bet much more than he could afford to pay off.

If I fail, I'm in a hell of a lot of trouble. But I'm not going to fail. Time for the master to go to work.

Kat was having lunch in the cafeteria with Paige and Honey when Mallory approached the table.

“Mind if I join you doctors?”

Not ladies, not girls. Doctors. The sensitive type, Kat thought cynically. “Not at all. Sit down,” Kat said.

Paige and Honey exchanged a look.

“Well, I have to get going,” Paige said.

“Me, too. See you later.”

Mallory watched Paige and Honey leave.

“Busy morning?” Mallory asked. He made it sound as though he really cared.

“Aren't they all?” Kat gave him a warm, promising smile.

Mallory had planned his strategy carefully. I'm going to let her know I'm interested in her as a person, not just as a woman. They hate the sex-object thing. Discuss medicine with her. I'll take it slow and easy. I have a whole month to get her in the sack.

“Did you hear about the postmortem on Mrs. Turnball?” Mallory began. “The woman had a Coca-Cola bottle in her stomach! Can you imagine how …?”

Kat leaned forward. “Are you doing anything Saturday night, Ken?”

Mallory was caught completely off guard. “What?”

“I thought you might like to take me out to dinner.”

He found himself almost blushing. My God! he thought. Talk about shooting fish in a barrell This is no lesbian. The guys said that because they couldn't get into her pants. Well, I'm going to. She's actually asking for itl He tried to remember with whom he had a date on Saturday. Sally, the little nurse in OR. She can wait.