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“And what about the guy? Does she give him anything other than money?” Andrei asked.
Ivan pulled a roll of money out of his pocket. It was rolled tight, so it would be easy to hand off. “Let’s find out together,” he said, smiling, as he started to unroll the money. As he did that, Misha handed the small vial of powder to Viktor, who had set up his experiment on the table.
“I feel like I’m in science class again,” I said, waiting for the results. Viktor put a small amount of the powder into another container with liquid already in it. He swirled it around. “What’s it supposed to do? Should I duck?” I was curious how this worked.
Viktor laughed. “No explosions. Andrei is the expert at that anyway, so you’re safe. It changes color,” he said as he held it up to the light. As he did, the once clear liquid turned a dark blue, almost purple color.
“Does that mean it’s a girl or a boy?” I asked, not able to contain my laughter. They all laughed.
“It means she’s a coke addict, sestrichka,” Viktor said, still laughing.
Ivan pulled a small sheet of paper from in between two of the hundred-dollar bills in the roll. He looked at it, but then handed it to me. “It’s in Italian, I think,” he said. I glanced at the note, chewing on my bottom lip. I got up and went to the kitchen. I kept a small notepad in one of the drawers to write the grocery list on. I grabbed it and walked back to the couch.
The note didn’t make sense at first glance. It was four sentences that didn’t necessarily belong together. I translated them, exactly like they were written on the note.
Safe impossible, but all documents there
Walls clean in north, west, and south rooms
Fourth window from the east corner
Top of the stairs, third door on right
“Any guesses as to what she’s talking about?” I asked, after reading them what the note said. Ivan picked up the notepad, studying the sentences for a moment.
“Safe impossible. Is she talking about Armando’s safe at his house?” Misha asked.
“That’s what I thought too. Nobody is getting in that thing without Armando’s permission,” I said. “Have you guys been to his house? Do you know what any of the rest of it could mean?”
“It’s been a while since I was there. I think we should ask Keith about this,” Viktor said.
Ivan, who was still deep in thought, looked to Viktor. “Does Armando have expensive artwork at his house?”
“He does at his house in Italy, that’s for sure,” I said, remembering being completely awestruck at some of the paintings he had on his wall.
“I think she’s planning on robbing him,” Ivan said, running his hand over his goatee.
“But why though? She has all the money she could ever want from him. Her family as well. Didn’t Mando say she’s from a wealthy family? That doesn’t make sense,” I said.
They all thought for a moment, then Viktor stood up. “I have an idea,” he said. “But I need a computer, so we have to go downstairs.”
I jumped up from the couch. “Permission slips signed. We’re going on a field trip! Everybody make sure you grab your buddy’s hand and stay with the group.”
They were all still laughing at my caffeine-fueled absurdity when we walked off the elevator. The office was still busy, even though it was getting to be later in the day. Adrik’s office door was closed, so I knew he was in a meeting. Stephen was waiting outside his office and gave us all a curious look as we walked off the elevator.
I looked to Viktor. “I’ll go fill Stephen in. You guys go do whatever the hell it is you’re about to do,” I said. “Just don’t lose your buddy. I’m trusting you guys to be mature on this field trip. Remember, look with your eyes, not your hands,” I said, pointing to my eyes and then to all of them.
They all shook their heads as they walked toward their desks. They each kept a desk on the floor. It made taking care of their individual responsibilities easier. Stephen’s devilish grin greeted me. “Why do I have a feeling whatever you’re about to tell me is going to make me very happy?”
“Because you’re a vampire and you likely read my mind as I was walking over here. Get. Out. Of. My. Head,” I said, smacking his shoulder with each word.
“What did you guys find?” he asked in Russian, since there were still plenty of people milling around the office.
“Well, she’s a coke addict, so there’s that. Honestly, I don’t feel as elated as I was hoping I was going to feel about that one. It’s just sad, really.” I looked down at the floor for a moment, thinking about how empty she was to turn to drugs to try and fill whatever void she was feeling in her life. Stephen cleared his throat quietly, snapping me back to reality. “Anyway, moving on. She also slipped her dealer a note with the money. We’re trying to figure out what the hell it means, but we think she’s planning on robbing Armando’s house.”
“Doesn’t she come from money?” Stephen asked. His brow furrowed like it always did when he was deep in thought.
“That’s the confusing part. Viktor said he had an idea, which is why we’re taking a field trip down here. I’m not sure what he’s thinking. We also might need to talk to Keith about this later. She was weirdly specific on locations. We think she’s talking about Mando’s house, but the guys said it’s been a while since they were there and don’t really remember the layout,” I said.
