office building several blocks from here and a
witness told me he saw the black American lady who teaches at the
gymnasium walking away after it happened. He said you must have been
right next to it because you were wobbling as you walked. And we have
found broken glass all over the front of your apartment.”
“Pardon me,
mitsyia,” a voice called out from behind her. She turned around
to see Rick wearing one of her floral robes. In any other situation,
it might have been funny.
“The lady has
been with me all evening,” he told them in Russian. “We
have been preoccupied, although the blast did interrupt things, if
you understand what I am talking about.”
“Nice
wardrobe,” the man in the coat said to him. “I assume
from your accent you too are from America?”
“Yes I am”
Rick agreed. “I am Rick Wilson, here on business. I can get you
my card, but I’ll have to fish it out of my pants pocket. It
may be a little messy as they were close to the bed.”
“That won’t
be necessary,” the man said to him. “I will make a note
of your being here.” He turned to Monique. “You have an
alibi for now, but I’m going to talk to you later. Don’t
leave for any trips in the next week.” He turned back to Rick.
“I’m going to go, but I advise you not to do the same,
pending the investigation.”
He opened the door
and let the uniform men leave. Before he exited himself he turned
back and looked at Rick. “How many times and did she moan?”
he asked.
Monique made a
“daddy’s little girl” look on her face and cuddled
with Rick. He turned back to the police detective.
“Four times,”
he replied. “Two over the couch and two on the bed. She made
noises each time but didn’t yell until the last time while I
had her penned down. I’m going to make her say my name the next
time. You can’t please this woman. She’s insatiable.”
“Then I will
let you get back to your work,” the detective said, shutting
the door behind him.
“You are
disgusting,” Monique said to Rick, still cuddling him, but more
out of fear than any other reason. She yelped when he bit her ear.
“That’s
in case they are listening at the door,” he whispered in her
ear. “Let’s go back into the bedroom.” He pulled
her into her own bed and waited a few minutes.
“They’re
gone,” he finally told her.
Chapter 3
They spent the night
in Monique’s bed, although neither was able to get any sleep.
Every sound in the apartment had her on edge; sure the police were
coming back. To make matters worse, it was an old building, almost
eighteen stories tall. The walls weren’t that thick and they
could hear the conversations in the units next to them. At four in
the morning the music became very loud from someone’s place. It
was the weekend but a party was underway. Monique was used to it by
now, but she could see Rick disturbed by all the sounds.
“So how did you
know where to find me?” she whispered to him in the dark of her
room. He was right next to her in bed with the sheet over him.
“I followed you
after we met at the coffee shop,” he said. “And figured
out what apartment was yours by the directory. There’s not too
many Monique Harrison’s in St. Petersburg. In fact, I think you
might be the only one. It occurred to me that knowing where you lived
might come in handy. It did.”
“But you got
into my apartment without my knowing,” Monique pointed out.
“The locks
around here aren’t that sophisticated,” he told her.
“Getting through them isn’t hard if you know what you’re
doing.”
“And my hiding
place?” she asked again.
“Really,
Monique,” he told her. “An icon in the closet? You might
as well put a red ‘X’ on it.”
Now she felt foolish
and scared at the same time. Five years she’d lived in Russia,
but Monique might as well have gotten off the plane yesterday for all
the stupid things she had done. If Rick had been waiting for her,
another professional could