| I think I’m finally onto something.’ ‘Dana, be careful. God, I wish I were with you.’ So do I, Dana thought. ‘How is Rachel?’ ‘The chemotherapy treatments are draining her. It’s pretty rough.’ ‘Is she going to be-?’ She could not finish the sentence. ‘It’s too early to tell. If the chemotherapy is effective, she has a good chance of going into remission.’ ‘Jeff, please tell her how sorry I am.’ ‘I will. Is there anything I can do for you?’ ‘Thanks, I’m fine.’ ‘I’ll call you tomorrow. I just wanted to tell you I love you, sweetheart.’ ‘I love you, Jeff. Good-bye.’ ‘Good-bye.’ Rachel came out of her bedroom. She had on a robe and slippers, and a Turkish towel was wrapped around her head. ‘How is Dana?’ ‘She’s fine, Rachel. She asked me to tell you how sorry she is.’ ‘She’s very much in love with you.’ ‘I’m very much in love with her.’ Rachel moved closer to him. ‘You and I were in love, weren’t we, Jeff? What happened?’ He shrugged. ‘Life. Or I should say ‘lives.’ We led separate ones.’ ‘I was too busy with my modeling career.’ She was trying to fight back tears. ‘Well, I won’t be doing that again, will I?’ He put his arms on her shoulders. ‘Rachel, you’re going to be fine. The chemotherapy is going to work.’ ‘I know. Darling, thank you for being here with me. I couldn’t have faced this alone. I don’t know what I would do |
held out her hand, and the driver grunted and took them all. Dana watched him drive off, and she went inside the building. The hallway was deserted. She looked at the slip in her hand, apartment 2BE. She approached a flight of shabby stairs and walked up to the second floor. There was no one around. A long hallway lay in front of her. Dana began to walk along it slowly, looking at the numbers on the doors. 5BE… 4BE… 3BE… The door to 2BE was ajar. Dana tensed. Cautiously, she pushed the door open wider and stepped inside. The apartment was dark. ‘Commissar… She waited. There was no answer. ‘Commissar Shdanoff?’ A heavy silence. There was a bedroom ahead, and Dana moved toward it. ‘Commissar Shdanoff As Dana entered the dark bedroom, she tripped over something and fell to the floor. She was lying on something soft and wet. Filled with revulsion, Dana scrambled to her feet. She felt along the wall until she found a switch. She pressed it, and the room was flooded with light. Her hands were covered with blood. On the floor lay the object she had stumbled over: Sasha Shdanoff’s body. He was on his back, his chest soaked in blood, his throat slit from ear to ear. Dana screamed. As she did, she looked at the bed and saw the bloody body of a middle-aged woman with a plastic bag tied around her head. Dana felt her flesh crawl. Hysterical, she ran down |
