Preview of Spider by Azma Dar
Preview of Spider by Azma Dar
PROLOGUE
The room where they keep the bodies is like a giant fridge, where people lie shelf upon shelf like frozen turkeys. I can’t turn away from the thought of dressing them up with Christmas trimmings. I cough and slap a hand over my mouth to stop a crazed giggle escaping my lips. What is wrong with me? The fear and grief of the last few weeks, and the shock and dread of what I’m about to face have made me almost hysterical and out of control.
“Are you ready?” asks Inspector McKinley. Unable to speak, I nod. She reaches for my hand but I brush her away, as the doctor draws back the sheet. My skin begins to prickle, my breath quickens. The effects of the fire are horrific but I can’t tear my eyes away from him.
He looks nothing like the man I married on that winter’s afternoon just a year ago. The sun had gleamed a mellow warmth from behind gun metal clouds and a spiky fretwork of spindly branches. I’d worn jewels in my hair and a chiffon dress spangled with diamonds and pearls, white instead of the traditional red, just to make it clear to those inclined to judge me that I was still a pure, untarnished woman.
My husband had been a picture of calm; unwavering in his devotion to me. Tariq, with his dark, rosewood-coloured eyes that were both intense and sincere, and his endearing way of making the odd, small joke, then putting a finger to his lips as he apologised for it. Despite all the doubt and suspicion, he’d been the single reason they’d finally admitted we made an elegant, luminous couple, an example of perseverance and faith.
A sob, and then I choke out the words, before I drop to my knees. “It’s him.”
Preview of Spider by Azma Dar
