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"Not Gavriil's biggest fan," Caeo huffs.
"He said Gravel has gambling issues and has people over for poker." Porter ignores Caeo's harsh opinion of Freddie. "I think we should talk to them. They might know Nico's state of mind."
"Not a bad idea." I place two mugs of coffee down for me and Caeo.
Porter has a good point, I'm not sure anyone has spoken to Gavriil's poker buddies.
"Or maybe, one of them shot him over a gambling debt and Nico is traumatised and hiding somewhere." Porter gives me his big puppy eyes, desperate for me to validate his idea.
"Now I like the sound of that." Caeo jumps at the sliver of hope Porter handed out.
Maybe I just don't want to see it as false hope. What are the odds that Gavriil's gambling debts catch up with him the very day Nico has to process his mother's loss all over again?
Probably as likely as Nico processing his grief by trying to kill his father figure, I suppose.
"We will investigate every lead, and that is a very good one." I give Porter a kiss and sit beside him.
Gladys rustles up a tuna sandwich for everyone, which goes down a treat when followed by a muffin. Caeo is silent, tapping away on his phone the whole time. I know it's work related, Caeo doesn't see his phone as a form of recreation. That man is working on the new lead.
By the time we've finished eating, Caeo has a list of poker buddy names, which doubles as a list of Russian residents in the area.
One call to the translator and we are set to investigate this new lead, even if it is just to rule it out.
"Before you go," Porter calls out, jumping to his feet almost as fast as me. "We have the studio viewing this afternoon."
"Oh, Porter." I forgot all about the viewing. Porter found a place that fitted our requirements for his dance studio, and it had totally slipped my mind.
"No. I don’t expect you to come. This is far more important. I was just going to ask if I could still go?"
"I'll ask Freddie if he can take a team with you, and then you can go." I pull him in and devour his lips until the aftertaste of tuna is gone. "I expect to see lots of photos later."
"I love you," Porter teases as I tear myself away from him.
"Love you too. Don't fall in love with the studio before I get to see it though."
I know he will, but I don’t have time to delay. We need to question Gavriil's Russian buddies while we can get the translator there at the same time.
"It's good to see you so happy," Caeo praises. "I will admit I didn't think you would find someone so perfect for you."
"I suppose we need to find you someone special." I grin at the older man.
"I'm married to the job," Caeo reminds me. “I couldn’t do this if I had someone special.”
One of us has to keep their focus on work, while my mind is pleasantly engaged with the love of my life. Despite our friendship, Caeo and I live very different lives. Even if he is extremely well paid, there is always the distinction of Don's son and any employee, however important.
Miss Thomas is a great translator, fluent in both English and several of the Slavic languages. We employ her part time for her services but make do with Nico when dealing with Gavriil. It always worked for the Russian to have his own translator permanently with him. She doesn’t have the confidence of some of our other employees, only dipping her toes into the criminal underworld when we call on her. The rest of the time she is squeaky clean, teaching her language students. It's not a problem, we just pick her up from her car hiding around the corner from the house.
Caeo knocks on the door and the three of us wait in a line. However, when the slayer comes knocking, plenty of muscle follows. We have quite an imposing presence waiting at the end of the short garden path. It's no surprise the door only opens a slither.
"No today." A greying man peers through the opening. What I can see of his tattooed arm has me smiling that we are heading in the right direction.
"We just have a question," I begin.
Miss Thomas translates, and they have a short exchange.
"You can ask your question," she informs me.
"Can you ask if he knows of anyone who has a grudge against Gavriil Petrov?"
