Inside a glass kiosk, a pyramid of meat rotated slowly on a skewer. A swarthy young man wrapped in a dirty apron was cutting off slices of the roasted meat with a long knife. Eastern music and the stench of burning oil floated from the open window. Resting on a low stool beside the counter was a gray-haired man in a black shirt. Prayer beads clicked; his face betrayed an inward gravity. He opened his eyes and rose to greet Porphyry. They hugged and pressed their cheeks together. The woman was told with a gesture to keep her distance.
Porphyry spoke with exaggerated politeness. He respectfully inquired about the state of Aslan’s health, and received a cordial reply. Then he muttered something abruptly and, moving in close, whispered in the man’s ear. Aslan listened to him attentively. Then he answered: “All right.”
Now she was allowed to approach.
Aslan examined the girl’s picture carefully, running his fingers over the beads, and spat out: “No.”
Kate didn’t know who he was or what he did, but she understood the obvious: this was her last chance. She didn’t have anything to lose now.
“Could the Nutcracker have gotten her?” she asked pointedly. “Do you know where I might find him?”
Aslan looked as though he’d seen a ghost, “lnshallah.”
Without saying goodbye, he recoiled into the booth, grazing a saucer of milk that stood on the threshold for some reason.
Porphyry gave her arm a sharp tug and dragged her aside.
“Who told you to speak?” he hissed. “Do you know what you’ve done?”
Kate pulled away. “I want to find my sister.”
“You won’t be able to, now.”
“Why?”
“At Aslan’s kiosks, they make shawarma. You know what that is? It’s a pocket of bread, stuffed with fried meat. Real cheap, because they fry up everything from rotten chickens to stray dogs. Sometimes people bring Aslan dead bodies—they don’t let them go to waste either. Human meat really hits the spot. If your sister was killed, it is more likely than not that she would have ended up in Aslan’s shawarmas. But you just ruined everything. After your rude behavior, Aslan won’t bother asking his people anything. That’s it. That was our last chance. End of story.”
“She’s alive,” Kate repeated. “How do I find the Nutcracker?”
Porphyry slapped his palms together and brushed them off. “Our contract has just expired. Don’t call me again.”
The fur jacket disappeared into the bustling throng of people.
Kate stood by herself amid the crowd filling the Haymarket. People hurried about their business, and nobody cared about a missing little girl. The wind got rid of the few remaining storm clouds. The sun came out, and it became as humid as a Turkish bath. Shiny puddles dried up right before her eyes.
Porphyry hadn’t worked out. She was going to have to use Plan B.
She dialed a new number (also recommended to her by Facebook friends) and gave the code word. In less than an hour, she handed over two thousand bucks right there on the square, in exchange for a heavy metal object that fit snugly behind her belt.
Annie was still asleep.
Kate sat down on her own bed. She did not feel any need to rest, nor did she want to eat or drink. Yet she was faced with the most difficult task of alclass="underline" three hours of waiting. Then she would reenact the events of a month ago, every last detail, up to the moment Sonya disappeared.
Kate spent the next few hours killing time, letting her fingers get used to the grip of her new Walther. The weapon had been used recently. Kate had learned how to tell by the smell. That was why it had been sold. But she didn’t care how many people had died at the end of the barrel of that gun. All that mattered was that it work without fail when she needed it to.
She also decided not to let Annie in on things. She had sworn to protect her just as she would her own sister. In order for the whole thing to work, Annie couldn’t have any idea what was going on. Otherwise, she would get scared. It had not been easy to persuade Annie’s parents to allow the girl to go with her. But after all, she and Sonya had been best friends. Sometimes you just have to back up your friendship with deeds.
The wait was over. Soon the hour would strike.
Kate was ready. She stood up, touching Annie’s shoulder gently. “Wake up, honey, it’s evening already. Time to take a walk.”
Annie blinked rapidly, and smiled. “Kate, do they have hamburgers here?”
“Let’s go and find out.”
“When are we going to see Sonya?”
“Very soon, I hope.”
Yawning noisily, Annie jumped up on the bed. “Ready when you are!”
Kate opened up the big suitcase. “First, we have to change.”
A McDonald’s took up the ground floor of a large building on the far side of the square. At around ten o’clock in the evening, a little girl came out of it. She was wearing a white polo shirt and light-blue jeans. A backpack hung from her shoulders and she had a camera around her neck. A funny-looking pair of glasses nearly slid down her nose. She was holding a large milkshake and drinking it through a straw. The little girl stood in front of the restaurant, turning this way and that, then strolled leisurely about the square. A month before, Sonya, a girl of similar height and build and dressed in similar clothes, had found herself at that very same spot, without her parents’ supervision, for approximately half an hour. Kate’s empathic powers told her that this was where it had all begun. She was certain of it. They wouldn’t let such appetizing bait give them the slip, would they?
Kate was on the lookout for anyone who moved close to Annie. So far, the young tourist had gone unnoticed. Annie walked halfway around the square, then something in her gait changed abruptly. She paused for a moment, as though straining to hear, then bowed her head, walking in a manner that seemed somehow too rigid, like a windup doll. Kate took note of the change, but couldn’t figure out what had caused it. There was no one near her, and she hadn’t been approached by anyone either. Then Kate thought she heard someone cracking his knuckles close by. The sound was so soft that it dissolved into the hubbub of the square.
Dropping her milkshake, Annie seemed to quicken her pace, pressing her head to her shoulder. She made a large circle, looping her way back to McDonald’s, then turned sharply onto a side street. Kate lost sight of her. She’d been taught not to hurry when tailing someone, but now she had no choice. Darting around the corner she was just able to catch a glimpse of Annie going into the nearest archway. Kate made it to the stone entrance in three bounds. The stench of stale urine assaulted her nose. She had a partial view of the courtyard from the end of the tunnel, yet Annie was nowhere to be seen. Slipping through the gate, Kate found herself in what looked like a jail, surrounded by rows of windows reaching five floors up. Opposite were the large kitchen windows of McDonald’s, and employees scurried to and fro. The courtyard was dirty and empty. Someone had nailed a handmade sign on the side of the building that said, NO EXIT.
No sign of Annie.
Kate dashed to the door of the stairwell and tugged it. It was locked. She peered into the kitchen, which was buzzing with activity. She had lost Annie. The girl had disappeared right from under her nose. She’d been outwitted. She had wasted her last chance to save Sonya. This really was the end.
Stifling a fit of panic and the desire to scream at the top of her lungs, Kate forced herself to think. This was the only way to get the situation under control. She had to take a good look at everything around her.