by H. Y. Hanna
Julia gasped. “She’s gone back to London?”
“No,” said Toran. “She’s at a retreat on an island near Pulau Ubin.”
Julia’s eyes widened in alarm. “Not Sanctum Bona Dea?”
Toran looked at her sharply “Why do you say that?”
“I’ve heard the rumours about that place—it’s a cult!” cried Julia. “We’ve got to get Leah out of there!”
“What have you heard about Sanctum Bona Dea?” asked Toran.
Julia looked at him like he was mad. “Toran, this isn’t the time for some journalistic debate. You have to believe me. It’s dangerous for Leah to be in there—”
“I do believe you,” said Toran. “I have some suspicions about Sanctum Bona Dea myself, but I need to know what else you may have heard. Look, just humour me.”
“I thought it was just a lot of stupid rumours at first,” said Julia. “You know, the usual gossip. But then yesterday, I spoke to my maid who is close friends with a maid working for the family of a girl who joined the retreat last year. The girl began acting really strange—she went off to live in the retreat and then, a few months later, she was found dead. The mother was convinced that Sanctum Bona Dea was responsible. This was before they discovered the Indian girl whose body was washed up by Changi Point Ferry Terminal,” she added.
“Yes, that was Desi Gopal. I spoke to her parents. I’d heard that there was another death before Desi’s,” said Toran thoughtfully. “But I’ve been having trouble getting any information on that.”
“That’s because the family hushed it up and didn’t report it to the authorities,” said Julia. “They didn’t want it to be known that their daughter had been in a cult. It’s a huge ‘loss of face’. They’re a well-known family locally—one of the ones on the Rich List—and they wanted to maintain their public image. They put out some official story saying she was in a boating accident. But I heard from my maid that nobody really knew how she died. It looked like she had drowned, somehow.”
“That sounds like Desi Gopal as well,” mused Toran. “No signs of a struggle, no evidence of alcohol or other toxins in the bloodstream…”
“It’s creepy,” said Julia, shivering. “It’s as if they just let themselves be drowned…”
Toran felt his gut twist with fear again for Leah and Angela. He had been trying not to think about it too much since leaving Leah yesterday evening. Casting off in that boat and leaving her to make her own way back to the retreat had been the hardest thing he had ever done. The temptation to grab Leah and force her to return to Singapore with him had been almost overwhelming. But she would have hated him for it and never forgiven him. Her courage and independence were two things Toran had always loved about Leah, but sometimes, he thought wryly, it would be much easier on his sanity if she could be more like those helpless females who always wanted a big strong man to rescue them.
“Toran, we’ve got to get Leah out of there,” pleaded Julia. “If you won’t help me, then I’m going to go to the retreat myself and I’ll raise bloody hell until they let me see Leah. If that Matronae woman thinks she can fob people off, she hasn’t seen me when I want something.” She jutted her chin out.
Toran looked at Julia with reluctant admiration. She might be a meddling, pushy busybody, but he couldn’t help being impressed by her protectiveness towards Leah.
“I’m going back to the retreat tonight,” he surprised himself by telling her. “Leah went in there to look for my ex, Angela. We think that Sanctum Bona Dea are abusing their members.” Quickly he filled Julia in on their suspicions regarding the illegal harvesting for the black market in human eggs.
Julia stared at him open-mouthed. “Are you serious—?”
“I wish I wasn’t,” said Toran grimly. “Angela’s one of the girls due for a ‘harvest’ any moment. Leah is going to try and escape with her tonight. I’m going to meet them at sundown and get them off the island. Once they’re safe, then I can report Sanctum Bona Dea to the authorities.”
“Let me come with you,” said Julia quickly. “I can help. I’m a strong swimmer. And if you need to get into the retreat for any reason, it’ll be easier for me because I’m a woman.”
Toran hesitated.
“Look, Toran…” Julia swallowed. “I… I know I did a terrible thing to you and Leah twelve years ago. I know it’s inadequate, but I’m sorry. Really, I am. You… you don’t know how much. I really thought I was doing the right thing at the time… I thought I knew best about what was right for other people, but I guess… I was arrogant and I was wrong…” She faltered, unable to go on as she saw the expression on his face.
Toran stared at her, the memory of the pain and anguish she had caused with her lies bringing a bitter taste to his mouth. He and Leah had lost years of happiness together and were even now only slowly rebuilding the fragile bond of trust that had been destroyed. He reminded himself again why he hated this woman, why he should never trust anything she said again.
Julia seemed to read his thoughts. She put a hand out to him, her voice trembling. “I know… I know you’ll probably never forgive me and I can understand that it’s hard for you to trust me again… but I’m begging you, please, to give me one more chance. I’m not asking you to like me. Just let me help you, let me do my part in bringing Leah back safely.” She gave a small, sad smile. “You might not believe it, but Leah is one of the few people I really call a friend. A very special friend.”
“You’ve got friends aplenty,” said Toran scornfully. “I see pictures of you in the society pages all the time, out partying with different people every week. Don’t tell me that Leah is special to you.”
“It’s not the same,” said Julia softly. “That special best friend you grew up with at school… I don’t expect you to understand, but Leah is like the sister I never had. I know we haven’t lived in the same country for a long time and I might not always have done the right thing by her—we might not even be talking at the moment… But sisters are like that… I’ll always care about her.”
Toran sighed and looked away. He wanted to say no, to throw her words back in her face, to hurt her as much as she had once hurt him. But he couldn’t ignore the sincerity in her eyes. Or maybe it was the fact that he couldn’t kick aside someone who cared for Leah as much as he did.
He turned back to Julia. “Have you got anything that doesn’t have stiletto heels? That outfit isn’t going to do very well on a boat.”
Julia’s face broke into a huge smile. She waved her arms. “Just… just give me twenty minutes! I’ll rush home and change! I’ll be right ba—”
“Calm down,” said Toran with a chuckle. “I’m not setting out until just before dusk. I’ve been too visible in those waters already—if anyone at Sanctum Bona Dea spotted me again, it might alert them to something and put Leah in danger. Why don’t you meet me down at the marina in two hours’ time?”
He narrowed his eyes and looked up at the sky. The radio had been cackling with weather warnings all morning, and already a strong wind was blowing, tossing the fronds of the palm trees around them.
“They’re forecasting a typhoon,” he warned. “Could hit any time tonight. It’s going to be rough out there. Think you can handle it?”
Julia raised her chin. “I’ll handle it.”
Toran gave her a small nod. “Good. Then I’ll see you at the marina.”
CHAPTER 23
Leah still couldn’t quite believe that she had gotten away with it last night. After creeping back to the dormitory hut and hiding the bread roll under her mattress, she had quickly washed and changed and presented herself for dinner, keeping her eyes down and trying to look as penitent as possible. She had continued the act at breakfast this morning and when the Matronae had joined them for another session of “goddess worship”, she had chanted and shimmied her shoulders with the best of them.
Leah had no idea if her reformed behaviour had managed to allay suspicions—she had caught the Matronae eyeing her th
oughtfully more than once and she had noticed Crystal hovering around near her too—but it was the best she could think of at short notice. She just had to keep a low profile and bide her time until she could slip away to find Angela and get them both out.
Now, the sun was finally sinking in the sky and Leah was itching to get going. The hypocrisy was starting to weigh down on her and her cheeks were aching from all the fake smiling she had done all day. She was also worried—she kept wondering what was happening to Angela. She had no idea if the women were “harvested” in the order of the beds and if Angela might be next in line instead of last. What if she was too late? What if they were taking Angela into the procedure now? What if—
“Miss Fisher?”
Leah blinked. She realised that Crystal was standing in front of her and, from the blonde woman’s frown, had been trying to get her attention for a while.
“Sorry.” Leah pulled up her practised smile. “I was miles away. I was… uh… fantasising about the big English breakfasts I used to have back in London.” She let her smile turn sheepish. “I’m still struggling a bit with the diet restrictions. But I know it’s important to follow goddess-centred eating,” she added with meek nod.
Crystal gave an approving smile. “Yes, I appreciate that it can be difficult in the beginning. But you have made great progress in the last two days, Miss Fisher. Or now that we know each other better, perhaps I can call you Leah?”
“Oh, please do,” Leah said with fake eagerness.
“Well, Leah, I was actually coming to tell you that we’re starting a self-massage workshop in the Jasmine Hut. I’m sure you’d like to join us?”
Leah’s heart sank. She had been hoping to slip away unnoticed in the next half hour. The time at sunset—just before dinner—was usually one of the busiest in the retreat and the hardest to keep track of everyone’s movements, as women hurried to wash, change, return equipment they had borrowed, help prepare dinner, finish their assigned chores… She had counted on sneaking quietly away in the general confusion, but if she joined this workshop now, there was no way she could leave unnoticed. On the other hand, how could she refuse without stirring Crystal’s suspicions?
Leah looked desperately around and caught sight of the communal bathrooms and toilets. “Oh, um… well, actually… I… um… I’m suffering from a bit of an upset stomach. Traveller’s diarrhoea, you know.” She gave an embarrassed laugh. “Haven’t developed immunity to the local bugs yet. So I’m having to… um… go to the toilet pretty regularly.”
“Oh, you can leave the workshop to use the toilet,” said Crystal.
“Yeah, but I think it would be too disruptive. I’ve had to go twice in the last hour and…” Leah clutched her abdomen for added effect. “In fact, I think I might need to go again now.”
Crystal looked at her askance. “If it gets too bad, make sure you get some Imodium from the Pharmacy. And keep your fluids up. We wouldn’t want you getting dehydrated, especially in this hot weather.”
Leah nodded. “Thanks, I’m hoping it will pass over soon. In fact,” she said as inspiration hit her, “I was thinking of skipping dinner tonight. Just to give my stomach a break, you know.”
“Well…” Crystal looked doubtful.
“I could just rest in the dorm—I’ll practise some of the self-visualisation techniques that the Matronae talked about this morning,” said Leah quickly.
“Okay,” said Crystal finally. “I’ll see you tomorrow morning then.”
Leah watched the blonde woman walk off. Then she turned and made a big show of heading for the toilets. Once inside, she nodded and smiled to the few women in there, then shut herself in a cubicle and waited. Several minutes later, the voices of women faded away. Leah flushed the toilet, then opened the cubicle door a crack. The coast looked clear. Quickly, she darted out and hurried to the toilet entrance. She could see a few women loitering by the dining hall, but most were heading towards the Jasmine Hut, obviously joining the workshop.
Leah slipped out of the toilets and walked as casually as she could over to the dormitory, praying that it would be empty for once. It was. She breathed a sigh of relief and ran over to her bed, sliding her hand under the mattress and pulling the bread roll out. Leah made a face: the bread was going a bit mouldy now—green and grey furry spots appearing on the crust. Quickly, she removed Toran’s phone and tucked it into her waistband at the back of her sarong. Then she shoved the pieces of leftover bread back under her mattress.
The whole thing had taken less than five minutes. Now Leah hurried out of the dormitory and, keeping to the bushes at the back of the building, she started making her way slowly towards the rear of the compound.
The wind had picked up, whistling through the trees and blowing around the corners of the buildings with enough force to slow Leah’s footsteps. Ahead of her, at the back of the compound, she could hear the sea, but it was not murmuring like it did two nights ago—it was roaring and crashing. Leah looked at the sky. The sun was almost gone and dark clouds streaked across the deep purple horizon. A typhoon was coming. Already, she could feel the first few droplets of rain.
Leah hurried on. This time, she had a better idea of the layout and it was also slightly brighter than the previous night so she could see a lot better. She made a careful detour of the dog enclosure and soon found herself at the side of the small hut with the hidden dormitory.
Leah hesitated for a minute. She could sneak over to the other building—the one with the hospital set-up—and see if there was a procedure going on, maybe try to get some photos or video footage with Toran’s phone. She could then email the evidence to him and know that it was safe, even if anything happened to her.
But that would take more time. And time was something she didn’t have.
Leah glanced back the way she had come. How much longer did she have before her absence was noted? Crystal might not be expecting her at dinner, but somebody else might notice that she wasn’t in the dorms or anywhere else…
No, thought Leah. She couldn’t risk it. Her priority was getting herself and Angela out safely and putting as much distance as possible between them and Sanctum Bona Dea before her absence was discovered.
Leah crept up to the window of the hidden dormitory and peered inside. She exhaled in relief as she saw that it was empty except for the girls on the beds. She hadn’t been sure what she would do if the nurse-woman had been inside as well. She was still taking a risk going in—she didn’t know how drugged these women were. Would they react when they saw her? Would they raise the alarm?
It was a risk she would have to take, Leah decided grimly. Keeping an eye on her surroundings, she moved furtively to the door of the building and slowly turned the handle. With a last glance behind her, she pushed the door open and slipped inside.
A blast of air-conditioning hit her. Leah stood for a moment, shivering in the artificial cool air. She glanced at the girls in the beds. Only one girl seemed to have noticed her presence—a pretty Asian girl with short cropped hair—who blinked myopically at her, but didn’t seem to show any curiosity. The other girls didn’t even react.
Leah breathed a silent sigh of relief. Quickly, she moved across the room to the bed at the end. Angela was curled up on her side, hugging the pillow. Leah reached out and gently shook her shoulder.
“Angela!” she hissed.
“Hmm?” The Singaporean girl turned her head and looked at Leah. Her beautiful almond eyes were glazed and she yawned widely.
“Angela! You need to get up!” Leah shook her a bit harder.
Angela sighed and snuggled deeper into the pillow.
“No, no…” Leah said in frustration. She went around to the other side of bed and crouched down beside Angela’s face. “Angela! Listen to me—you must get up now. It’s really important. Can you hear me? Angela?” She shook the girl’s shoulder again, even harder. This time Angela blinked and, for a moment, Leah saw a flash of lucidity in her eyes. She tugged at the girl’s shoulder.
“Angela, you need to get up. Get up!”
Angela blinked again, then slowly sat up in the bed. Leah put her hand under the other girl’s elbow and urged her to stand. After another minute, she managed to get Angela to her feet. Leah realised that the Singaporean girl was wearing a sort of hospital gown which hung loosely around her body. Not the best thing to be crawling through a mangrove swamp in, but there was no time to find clothes and get her to change.
Half urging, half pulling, Leah managed to get Angela across the room and to the exit. The whole time she kept expecting somebody to burst in and find them. By the time they got to the door, Leah’s nerves were stretched to the breaking point. She turned the handle again, slowly opened the door a crack, and peered out.
The coast was clear.
Quickly, she hustled Angela out and shut the door behind them. A rush of wind hit her with such force that it took her by surprise. In the short time she had been in the hidden dormitory, the storm had risen. Taking the other girl’s hand, Leah pulled her down the steps and into the undergrowth. Now she had to get Angela across to the fence on the opposite side of the compound and find that back gate.
It was agonisingly slow going. Angela stopped often, for no reason, and Leah had to resort to almost pushing her to get her moving again. Once, the dogs launched into a volley of barking when they passed by the enclosure and Leah half expected to hear someone yell at them to stop. But nothing happened and they pressed on. Leah’s heart was pounding now with every step they took. She had lost track of time and didn’t know how long it had been since she had left the dorms—would anybody have missed her yet?
One thing that seemed to be in their favour was the weather. The rain was coming down in earnest now—not pouring yet, but enough to make visibility poorer. Hopefully, this meant that anybody at the other end of the retreat was less likely to look in this direction and see them. Leah hurried Angela across the path in the middle of the retreat—the most exposed area—and relaxed slightly as they arrived by the fence on the other side. They were almost there.
