Джеймс Паттерсон - Lost

My apprehension grew as I turned into my driveway and parked the Explorer. I didn’t know whether I should warn Marie or just roll the dice and see what happened. “Marie, I probably need to tell you something,” I said.

She turned in the seat to give me her full attention. “Of course.”

I thought about how to phrase it, but there’d be no point in telling her if my mom was doing well. Finally, I chickened out and said, “I’m really glad you got a chance to come to Florida. My mom and sister are going to love you.”

I appreciated the smile she gave me.

I felt like I was about to make entry on a search warrant as we ambled up the walkway. As soon as the door opened and I caught a whiff of the Italian food, I felt better.

My little sister popped out of the kitchen immediately, walked right up to Marie, and extended her hand. “You must be Marie. I’m sorry you have to put up with my bonehead brother. He said you took great care of him in Amsterdam, so we hope to do the same for you.”

I stepped next to my sister and gave her a hug. My primary purpose was to gauge the amount of alcohol on her breath. It was tolerable.

Lila took Marie by the arm and walked her toward the kitchen. Lila casually looked over her shoulder and winked at me. That meant everything was okay. At least for now.

I don’t know why, but my mom had become something of a gourmet cook since her diagnosis of dementia. As kids, Lila and I got only the basics. We were well fed, but no one would’ve considered our house a culinary mecca. Now something had clicked, and my mom seemed to understand much more about seasoning; she’d begun making astonishing dishes. I’d asked the doctor about it. He’d just shrugged and said, “I wish I could tell you if it was related to the dementia. The truth is, we have very little idea of what things are triggered by this disease.”

Tonight, I was happy and relieved to see that Mom was as gracious and charming as she normally was. Or at least, as she used to be. She ushered the three of us out to the patio, where she had a pitcher of mojitos ready. We settled in for a drink, Marie sitting between me and my sister, and my mom said, “I tried a new lasagna recipe tonight, and we’ll start with a salad of arugula, strawberries, and walnuts.”

I clapped my hands and said, “That sounds delicious.”

My mom touched my arm and said, “Thanks, Chuck.”

My heart skipped a beat.

After my mom had wandered back into the kitchen, Marie leaned over and asked, “Why did she call you Chuck? Is that your middle name?”

I decided it was time to explain things. I wasn’t embarrassed; I just never knew how to tell people that my mom sometimes lived in a different time and place.

Chapter 56

Amsterdam

HANNA GREETE HAD raced around Amsterdam for several days taking care of various tasks so that she could leave for the United States with a clear schedule. She’d planned to fly to Miami to be at the dock when the Scandinavian Queen arrived, but now she had to waste time meeting with her Russian contact Alexi at his favorite little pub in the Oost District.

At least in a pub she’d only have to put up with alcohol, not the constant odor of pot.

She tried to be friendly as well as professional when dealing with the Russians, as there was no way to completely avoid them in this business. Today, though, she didn’t have the patience for pretense, and as soon as she sat at the small table and faced Alexi, she got right to the point. “I hope this is important. I have never been busier in my whole life,” she said.

Alexi was as calm and cool as always. He took a sip of his beer, wiped his mouth with a napkin, and asked, “Are you about to go to Miami?”

“Yes. Yes, I am. And the people I’m delivering there should go a long way toward covering any debts I have with Mr. Rostoff.”

Alexi nodded and smiled. “I’m sure it will. But Mr. Rostoff is a little nervous that you’re leaving the country. We’re going to need some collateral before you depart.”

“Collateral? You already loaned me the money. The only way I can pay it back is to go on this trip. You should’ve asked for collateral when you offered me the loan.”

“But we didn’t, which is why we’re asking for it now.”

“What kind of collateral did you have in mind?”

“We were thinking about the diamonds that everyone knows you possess.”

Hanna gave him a flat stare and said, “No.”

That didn’t faze Alexi. He said, “Perhaps we could babysit your daughter. She would be safe and we would have the collateral we need.”

Hanna looked at the well-dressed, middle-aged man, trying to assess if he was joking. Finally, she said, “Are you insane? Why would I ever leave my daughter with you? I’m afraid the entire concept of collateral is not going to work out.”

“What about your brother, Albert?”

“You’re not listening to me. There will be no collateral. Besides, I heard some of your people are very angry at Albert.”

“He did kill one of our enforcers. It was most impressive. And we understand that our man was not without some culpability. But this is business. We would guarantee your brother’s safety until you returned and a payment was made.”

Hanna tried to appear as if she were considering the offer. That was probably her best option to get out of this pub safely. She said, “Let me speak to Albert. I’ll see what we can work out. I won’t be leaving for almost a week anyway.” That little lie should buy her some breathing room.

“We have contacts in Miami waiting to help you. Your success is our success. But there needs to be some trust between us.”

“In our business, trust is a rare commodity. Just like collateral, it’s difficult to come up with, and no one has much.”

Alexi flexed his fingers and said, “I’m the one who stood up for you when you needed money. I saw that you ran a reasonable operation and had the potential to supply us with a lot of people in the Miami area. We are always needing more people in the organization. At least, the kind that you supply. Please don’t mistake my faith in you for foolishness. I do not like to be jerked around.”

Hanna nodded as she stood up. “Nor do I. This load will go through. My debt to you will be paid and I don’t expect any trouble while I’m gone.” She had nothing more to say, so she simply turned on her heel and left.

Chapter 57

HANNA WAS COMPOSED as she walked away from the infuriatingly calm Alexi, but as soon as he was out of sight, she rushed back to her office. She was not about to risk the Russians deciding they were going to take collateral whether she offered it or not.

Janine, Tasi, and Lisbeth—the young women who worked for Hanna—could tell just by her stride what kind of pressure their boss was under. As soon as she burst through the door, all three of them jumped up to see how they could help.

Hanna took a moment and looked at the three young women. She might be tough on them occasionally, but she couldn’t put them at risk. There was no telling what the Russians would do while she was gone. She said, “We might be facing some challenges from the Russians. I understand if anyone wants to quit.” She looked from girl to girl. “Let me know now. I’ll even throw in a full month’s pay as severance.”

None of the girls spoke up.

“No one wants to jump ship?”

They all shook their heads with varying degrees of decisiveness.

“That may be a lack of judgment, but I’m proud of you all,” Hanna said, a catch in her voice. This was loyalty.

Janine spoke up. “What do you need us to do?”

Hanna thought about it. “What I really need you and Lisbeth to do is nothing. Just lay low for the couple of weeks I’ll be out of town. Don’t come here, no matter what. I’ll call you and let you know when it’s safe.”