The Tomb (Repairman Jack)

'I told you—'

'Truth, Jack.' She could tell it was going to be hard getting a straight answer out of him. But she had to know. 'Please. It's important.'

Jack made her wait while he loosened his tie and unbuttoned the winged collar. He seemed glad to be out of it. He looked into her eyes. For a moment she thought he was going to tell her the truth. Instead, he answered her question with one of his own.

'Why do you want to know?'

'Just tell me, Jack.'

'Why is it so important?'

She bit her lip. She had to tell him something. 'Prepared in certain ways it can be...dangerous.'

'Dangerous how?'

'Please, Jack. Just let me see what you've got and I'll tell you if there's anything to worry about.'

'Your brother warned me about it too.'

'Did he?' She still could not believe that Kusum was uninvolved in this. Yet he’d warned Jack. 'What did he say?'

'He mentioned side effects. 'Undesirable' side effects. Just what they might be, he didn't say. I was hoping maybe you could—'

'Jack! Why are you playing games with me?'

She was genuinely concerned for him. Frightened for him. Perhaps that finally got through to him. He stared at her, then shrugged.

He went to the giant Victorian breakfront, removed a bottle from a tiny drawer hidden in the carvings, and brought it over to Kolabati. Instinctively, she reached for it. Jack pulled it away and shook his head as he unscrewed the top.

'Smell first.'

He held it under her nose. At the first whiff, Kolabati thought her knees would fail her. Rakoshi elixir! She snatched at it but Jack was quicker and held it out of her reach. She had to get it away from him!

'Give that to me, Jack.' Her voice was trembling with the terror she felt for him.

'Why?'

Kolabati took a deep breath and began to walk around the room. Think!

'Who gave it to you? And please don't ask me why I want to know. Just answer me.'

'All right. Answer: no one.'

She glared at him. 'I'll rephrase the question. Where did you get it?'

'From the dressing room of an old lady who disappeared between Monday night and Tuesday morning and hasn't been seen or heard from since.'

So the elixir was not meant for Jack! He’d come by it secondhand. She began to relax.

'Did you drink any?'

“No.”

That didn't make sense. A rakosh had come here last night. She was sure of that. The elixir must have drawn it. She shuddered at what might have happened had Jack been here alone.

'You must have.'

Jack's brow furrowed. 'Oh, yes... I tasted it. Just a drop.'

She moved closer, feeling a tightness in her chest. 'When?'

'Yesterday.”

'And today?'

'Nothing. It's not exactly a soft drink.'

Relief. 'You must never let a drop of that pass your lips again—or anybody else's for that matter.'

'Why not?'

'Flush it down the toilet! Pour it down a sewer! Anything! But don't let it get into your system again!'

'What's wrong with it?'

Jack was becoming visibly annoyed now. Kolabati knew he wanted answers and she couldn't tell him the truth without him thinking her insane.

'It's a deadly poison,' she said off the top of her head. 'You were lucky you took only a tiny amount. Any more and you would have—'

'Not true,' he said, holding up the still unstoppered bottle. 'I had it analyzed today. No toxins in here.'

Kolabati cursed herself for not realizing that he'd have it analyzed. How else could he have known it contained durba grass?