Famous (The Soul of the World Book 1) by David Skato (best book reader .txt) 📗

of her eye, she noticed something. She could barely catch a glimpse, but it was there. She was sure of it. Although she could not make out exactly what it was, she knew that it was not the work of the God she served.

Ω

A toddler walks down the street with a flower in one hand and his mother’s hand in the other. She jollily jumps in a puddle of water, making a small splash before looking up at her mother, whose eyes are straight ahead. The zoned-out woman stares at the yellow police tape as she slowly strolls into the crowd of pedestrians hanging around the scene. She arrives at the site, filled with candles, balloons, stuffed animals, and flowers. She looks down at the little girl and nods her head. The baby, oblivious to what’ going on, squats and drops the flower into the pile. The people that surround the area begin to cry.

In Madrid, a crowd of thousands fills the street, all singing the lyrics to one of Rochelle’s hits. In Tokyo, a jumbotron lights up a street filled with people as it airs Rochelle’s lasts music video. In Cairo, a group of teary-eyed people huddled together around a small radio playing another of the superstars' hit songs.  Rochelle was gone, but her presence was felt.  The world was in mourning.

CHAPTER IV

Donate walks into his apartment to the sound of running water. Smiling, he goes to the kitchen, where he grabs a chair and heads towards the sound. He places the chair just inside the bathroom threshold where he sits to take in a front-row view of a voluptuous silhouette showering.  The figure rubs her hair and back as the water pulsates down her body. She turns to continue lathering, swinging her hair as she enjoys the steaming water. She finishes rinsing, turns off the water, and reaches out to grab a towel hanging nearby. She pulls the towel inside the shower and begins drying her face. She opens the shower door and steps out. The water highlighted every inch of her caramel-colored skin, her hips curvy, her feet professionally pedicured. With the towel still over her face, she rubs it gently until it’s dry enough to move to her hair. She opens her eyes to see a grinning Dontae’ enjoying the show.  “God damn it!” She screams.

“You scared the shit out of me! What the fuck are you doing?!”

“Enjoying the view. This shit better than cable” Donate quips.

Smirking, she heads into the bedroom with Dontae’ following. He takes a seat on the bed and begins taking off his shoes.

“You know you got to be careful leaving that bathroom door wide open,” He explains as she paraded back and forth between the bedroom and bathroom.

“Why is that?”

“You don’t want someone catching you with your pants down,” He responds as he gives her one of his signature sexy glances.

“I got you to protect me,” She jokes. “Except when you’re running around all day with that gay girl,” She states as she rolls her eyes.

“You mean running around at work earning a paycheck? And Jessi is not gay bae,” Donate’ laughs at the familiar argument.

“That girl is gay! Why does she wear pants all the damn time? And have you ever seen her with a man?” Sandy argues as she brushed her teeth.

“That doesn't mean she's gay,” Dontae shoots back.

Sandy thinks for a second. “And why does she hate me so much? I’ve never done anything to her.”

“Probably because you think she’s gay bae. “

“Whatever,” she pouts.

“Where is all of this coming from?” Dontae’ asks curiously.

Sandy sits on the edge of the bed, massaging lotion into her smooth skin.

“My coworker is getting a divorce. She caught her man cheating on Quest. She found messages from almost a year ago. Can you believe that? A year! That son of a bitch.”

Dontae’ now laying down, “People really should stay off of that stuff. Why does anyone want to put their life out to the public anyway?”

“Yea, because you cheat in private,” she joked.

“Really?” He smirks.

“I'm just playing. But remember you said we were going to take a vacation. You were going to take me to see those Jamaican men?”

“First of all, I said we were going to go to Jamaica and nothing about any men.”

“Don’t act like you won't be looking at those women in their little bikinis hopping around. And no, you are not playing volleyball on the beach with them!” she states as she shoves his foot.

“Then how will I get my exercise?” He asked innocently.

Sandy walks to her side of the bed, where she pulls back the sheets and slides in next to Dontae’. She hums to herself as she looks casually around the room. This is that look when someone wants something, but they want the other person to ask them what that something is.

“So? Are you going to talk about Rochelle or nah?” She finally gives in.

“There’s nothing to talk about. It’s an apparent suicide.” Dontae’ shrugged, but Sandy knew him. There was more.

“Apparent?”

“Yes. Something is wrong with the whole thing. He reaches over and grabs his phone. It wasn’t standard procedure to share evidence outside of those working on a case, but he trusted Sandy. They’d met while he was working on a case at the college where she taught quantum physics to undergrads.  A domestic dispute turned ugly between two students leading to one being killed. Sandy was an eyewitness to the argument but luckily not the murder. Dontae’ didn’t usually get involved with people related to cases, but Sandy was different. She was upfront. She wanted to get to know him, and she let it be known. After a few dates, he knew she was the one. Now, six years later, he trusted her more than he had trusted anyone. This was Sandy, an extension of himself.

“Have you ever seen anything like this?” He shows her the picture of the Note. “I can’t read the words, but I do know that symbol.

“I