Johnny broadened his grin. Nodded at the prison doors. “Look,” he said, stepping forward, away from Nadia. “Here comes our guy.”
Bobby looked like he’d lost ten pounds and he’d never had any weight to lose in the first place. As he approached them he looked around. He appeared relieved that no one else was waiting for him. Media interest had faded since the initial headline. In New York, it usually did. There was always something more sensational on the horizon. Two reporters had showed up at court to hear the murder charge against Bobby had been dismissed. There would probably be a small paragraph in the local papers tomorrow.
An electronic barbed wire fence opened. Bobby exited Rikers Prison.
Nadia and Bobby walked toward each other. When she’d first met him in Ukraine, she’d put her arm on his shoulder and he’d pulled back. Told her never to touch him again. They’d hugged once at an emotional moment, when he’d revealed the contents of the locket. Otherwise, Nadia kept her distance so as not to upset him. Now, with a dozen steps left, they both picked up the pace. Nadia hugged Bobby without waiting for his approval. Bobby returned her embrace.
“Thanks,” Bobby said, when they parted. “Thanks for getting me out.” He gave Johnny and her an earnest look, blushed, and looked at the ground. As though he was embarrassed for everything that happened.
“You’re welcome,” Nadia said. She punched his shoulder. Waited until he looked into her eyes again. “You trust us now? You trust Johnny and me?”
Bobby reached into his pocket and handed Nadia the necklace and locket. “Here. You hold onto it.”
Nadia glanced at the locket. An engraving stood out where some gilding had worn off. The etchings looked like chemical symbols. A sense of hope and power washed over her. Nadia put the locket in a small jewelry box and stuffed it into her front jean pocket.
“What do you want to do today more than anything else?” Nadia said.
“Eat, sleep, skate.”
Johnny drove them back to Manhattan. He dropped them off on East Eighty-Second Street in front of Nadia’s apartment.
Bobby stood to the side. Nadia walked over to the driver’s side and motioned for Johnny to roll down his window.
“I can never thank you enough,” she said.
“No problem. Just doing my job, you know.”
“You’re my hero, Johnny Tanner.”
He smiled but in a detached way. “Let me know how that thing with the radiobiologist goes.”
“You’ll be my first call.”
“Damn right.” He took off.
Nadia walked over to Bobby and put her arm around his shoulder. They walked toward the front door. Pedestrians passed them in both directions along the sidewalk.
“Pizza or sushi for lunch?” she said.
“Both.”
A pedestrian approached from the right. Nadia stopped to let her go by but she stopped as well. Nadia turned. It was Lauren Ross.
“Hello, Nadia.” Lauren turned to Bobby. “Hello Bobby. Or should I say, Hello Adam. Hello Adam Tesla.”
Johnny got as far as the George Washington Bridge before he remembered he was driving a car. His mind kept replaying a scene where a man carried Nadia to a bedroom. But it was some Russian billionaire, not him. His phone woke him up. A friend from the Elizabeth police force called to let him know Victor and the twins had been charged with intent to sell heroin.
Johnny made a pact with himself. If his phone rang and Nadia’s number appeared, he’d let the call roll to voice mail. He’d only return the call if it were about business. There was another man in her life. It was his privilege to take care of her now.
Johnny stopped at a liquor store and picked up a six pack of Rolling Rock and a bottle of cabernet sauvignon to go with his steak. When he got home, he changed into sweats, watched Paul Newman in The Verdict on a DVD, and drank three beers. He marinated the steak but didn’t open the wine even though he craved the entire bottle. Instead he waited until his phone rang and he heard Nadia’s voice over the speaker.
She was back from her meeting, safe at home, she said.
Only then did he pour himself a glass.
CHAPTER 59
LAUREN READ THE shock in the boy’s face. Nadia didn’t look surprised by Lauren’s appearance or the sound of the boy’s real name. But then she’d been a cool customer when they’d had their only chat at the hockey rink between periods last year.
“Hi Lauren,” Nadia said. “I’d ask how you’ve been but I suspect I know the answer.”
“I’m sure you do,” Lauren said. “I wanted to see you face-to-face to let you know I’m going to go live with my blog today. Whatever my reputation, I’m sure I’ll find readers. Eventually someone in the mainstream press will pick this up.”
To Lauren’s surprise, Nadia smiled. “Have you had lunch yet? Why don’t you come inside? We’re going to order pizza.”
“And sushi,” the kid said.
A doorman opened the door. Lauren watched with amazement as they walked inside as though nothing had happened. Nadia glanced over her shoulder and motioned for her to come along.
Lauren wasn’t sure what to do. She realized she’d been hoping for a confrontation. Lauren had ended up on a Russian island because of her own actions, but if Nadia had agreed to speak with her, none of that would have happened. And now Nadia was being nice to her. Why?
They took the elevator to the tenth floor. The apartment was a modest two bedroom with simple furnishings. Large windows provided ample daylight. Lauren was shocked by its brightness. The kid flew into his room. A few seconds later Lauren could hear the shower running behind the closed door. A bowl of colorful Easter eggs decorated with folk designs caught Lauren’s eye on the coffee table in the living room.
“They’re called Pysanky,” Nadia said. “It’s Ukrainian art. The designs are drawn by hand using bee’s wax. My mother makes them. It takes a lot of patience.” She paused. “Good things take time, Lauren.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I thought we had a great chat when we met last November. I thought we had got along well. I thought we had a lot in common.”
“I thought so, too,” Lauren said.
“Then what happened?”
Lauren couldn’t contain her fury. “You’re asking me what happened? Your friends sent me on a one-way trip to Russia that ended up ruining my life. That’s what happened.”
“I don’t know anything about that. If something happened, it certainly wasn’t at my request. Regardless, I’m sorry for your troubles. I’m not just saying that. I really am.”
Lauren detected a note of sincerity, which was not what she was hoping for.
“What happened to our understanding?” Nadia said.
“What understanding?”
“I told you I’d give you an exclusive interview in June. It’s only April. Why couldn’t you wait?”
“Wait?” The question didn’t make sense to Lauren. Of course she wasn’t going to wait. Whoever got the story first would be the winner. “Why would I wait?”
“Because you said you would.”
“I said I’d wait before I wrote anything. That didn’t mean I wasn’t going to investigate.”
Nadia thought about this for a moment. “I assumed waiting meant waiting before you did anything, but I see what you mean. I should have been more explicit when I made a deal with you. So what is it you think you know?”
“I know he’s not from Kotzebue. I know you brought him in from Ukraine via Russia via the Diomede Islands. And I know his name is Adam Tesla.”
“How do you know that?”
“I visited your mother.”
“Yeah. I heard. That was not cool.”