Chapter Seven
"Losses teach men wisdom."
Serbo-Croatian Proverb
As soon as Olga saw Gabriel on the front porch of the main wing of the British Museum, she dashed quickly up the steps to his side. He leaned against the variegated brown surface with one of his knees bent and his foot resting on the wall. She idly wondered if the building was made of sandstone or what exactly the material was.
He had on a button-up shirt for the first time since she'd seen him and he looked quite handsome. She caught her breath as she reached him, both from the sight of him in the morning light with his brown hair that was a little long and needed a trim, and from the exertion of the trip up the steps. The wind blew his hair around and he used his right hand to try to tame it.
When she arrived at his side, he said, "Good morning, Olga. What's the hurry?"
"How'd you know it was me?" She panted as she tried to stop her heart from racing.
"Are you going to ask me that question every time you see me or meet me somewhere?" He smiled and took her hand. "It's getting a bit old, you know."
"Old? I've only done it twice."
"And that's enough. Okay?" He squeezed her hand.
"Fine. I'll stop. Are you ready to go in?"
"I am. Let's go. I like to stop and get the audio since it helps me know where I am and what I'm supposed to be seeing. It helps me try to picture what's there. Do you mind?"
Olga ran her thumb across his knuckles where he still held her hand. "Of course I don't mind."
They went inside and over to the wooden counter where the audio devices were stored. The museum employee handed them each one. She pointed up the staircase in the atrium. "You can go in order if you start here. If you want to skip around, you can since each area has a number and you merely press the corresponding number on the machine and the voice will come on and tell you what's in that area.
"Thank you." Gabe turned to Olga. "So, you want to go in order or skip around?"
"Let's live life on the edge and skip straight to the Elgin Marbles."
They moved toward the stairs. Gabe had his cane in hand. Olga said, "If you hold my arm, will you still need the cane?"
"No. I'd love to hold your arm instead of this stick. It'd be nicer, for sure." He folded up the cane and slid his arm through her elbow.
Olga moved over so he could be on the side of the staircase with the handrail. Olga was surprised at how fast he negotiated the staircase. She could barely keep up with him. He was a constant marvel from his ability to tell who she was when she walked up to his ability to move around as if he didn't have a disability.
They went to the gallery that housed the Elgin Marbles. Olga gasped as soon as they walked in.
"Overwhelming, isn't it?" Gabe smiled.
"Have you seen them before?"
"Oh, yeah, every school kid in this part of the United Kingdom has made this trip."
Olga took his hand. "Let's make the rounds and check them out. They're gorgeous. It's kind of a shame that the government of Greece allowed this to happen, to let their national treasure be torn apart."
"They not only did it when Lord Elgin was there, they continued to sell off parts of their history long afterwards. There are a lot of museums in Europe with parts of the Parthenon on display."
"Still, it's kind of sad."
They spent a little over half an hour in the room called the Duveen Gallery. Olga enjoyed the exhibit but enjoyed holding hands with Gabe even more. She didn't know why his presence was so soothing but, for the first time in months, she was comfortable with herself.
The next exhibit they hit was the armory. Olga wasn't very enamored of firearms and weapons, but Gabe seemed to be interested so she went along with it.
As they strolled along, Gabe said, "I only wanted to check out this one thing in here so I'll be quick."
"Take your time. I'm in no hurry. I have the whole day."
Gabe turned on the audio and keyed in the number 25 for the room they'd entered. He stood and listened to the tape. Olga strolled around the room and took a look at the various items. She didn't turn on her own machine because she didn't want to know any more about the items than seeing them. Hell, she didn't even want to see them. Weapons of any type made her nervous. Even though she owned a gun herself as a single woman in a large city, she hated the whole idea of them and that they were necessary in a civilized society. Explosions and weapons made her nervous, especially since that fateful day in Houston.
Out of the corner of her eye, something caught her eye, something that seemed impossible. She had to get a closer look and walked over to what appeared to be a chair made of guns.
The sight of the chair made her cringe. She read the marker hanging on the wall beside it. The Throne of Weapons. The description made her blood run cold. It was made of several firearms. The only ones she recognized were AK-47s and a submachine gun. She shivered. She immediately thought of her friend, Renee. The person she'd tried not to think about for months. The reason for her move to London.
As soon as her mind went to Renee, the nausea hit and she sat on the wooden bench in the middle of the room. She put her head between her knees and tried not to cry. Her mind went to the dark place again and she shuddered as the scene replayed in her brain.
A hand on her back brought her back to the present. "What's wrong?" Gabe sat beside her and patted her on the shoulder.
"Nothing. I'm fine." She sat up and wiped her face with the heels of her hands
"Clearly not. Most people come to museums and enjoy themselves, not sit on a bench and weep."
"Never mind. It's a long story." Olga tried to put a smile on her face.
"Someone said earlier that she had all day. So do I. If you want to tell me, I'm willing to listen."
"Maybe, someday. Let's enjoy today with no heavy discussions." She stood up and held out her hand.
Gabe took her hand and stood as well. "I think it's time to get some snacks from the café and take them out to the park. We need a break."
"Sounds good. I think that's a plan."
On the way to the café, Gabe's phone rang. "Hello."
As the conversation continued, Gabe came to a dead stop in the middle of the staircase.
A man behind them said, "Hey, mate. Get moving. This is a passageway."
Olga turned around and glared at the man. "Leave him alone."
"Hey, lady, you're blocking the way out and you both either need to move aside or keep walking."
Gabe pulled her to him and pressed himself flat against the wall as he continued to hold the phone to his ear.
The loud man left with his group. As more people clattered down the stairs and past Olga and Gabe, Gabe shut his phone. He faced her. "That was Jacob. Another woman was murdered. The police just left his place. Seems this one was a customer of the club, as well."
Olga's hand flew to her mouth. "Oh, my God, I saw in the paper today that another woman's body was found near Waterloo Station. Did you know her?"
"Jacob didn't say who it was. He said I needed to come to the club now so the detective inspector could talk to me and get a statement. He said he was told not to tell any employee who it is so the statements would be untainted."
They descended the rest of the way down the stairs. "I'm so sorry, Gabe. This was supposed to be a fun day off and now you have to go deal with this."
"Will you go with me? On the tube? I haven't taken the tube alone since my injury and I think it'll be the fastest way there. I don't like to ask for help and it's hard to have to now, but I need to get there as soon as I can."
"I'll be glad to help you in any way at any time, Gabe. Please never think it's a problem to ask for assistance." She held out her hand. "Give me the audio devices and I'll turn them back in and then we'll go."
They left and walked down to the tube stop.
*****
Olga dropped Gabe off at the Retro Disco and, since she had the rest of the day with nothing to do, she d
ecided to walk down to the river and watch the boats. It had turned out to be a pretty day after all. It was warmer than she thought it'd be so she decided to grab a bite at one of the pubs with an outdoor area. She went inside and placed her order. She found a seat at one of the open tables and took out her mobile phone. While she waited for her food to be delivered, she read through the notes for her presentation the next day that she'd synched to the phone.
As soon as her Yorkshire pudding was served, she set the phone down and dug in. One of her favorite things about being in England was the great Sunday lunches that the pubs served. She drank her pint of lager as she ate. Before she finished, her phone rang.
"Hello?"
"This is Gabe. Have you gone home?"
"No. I'm still on this side of the Thames. Eating. Why?"
"I need some company. Want to come over to my place for a while -- I mean, I'll understand if you don't -- but I'd sure like it if you would."
Hearing the tremor in his voice that she figured he didn't want her to hear, she said, "Of course I'll come. Where?"
"You know where the Old Vic is?"
"Sure."
"I'll meet you there. How far away are you?"
"Probably about ten minutes." She neatened her place while she talked so the waiter wouldn't have too much mess to clear off. "I'm on my way."
"Good. I'll be right outside the theatre entrance."
"Okay. See you in a few." She hung up, drained her lager and left the pub.
Chapter Eight
"A kiss must last long to be enjoyed."
Greek Proverb
Gabe paced back and forth on the street corner as he waited for Olga to arrive. He didn't know what to do with himself. Frustration with his condition, along with the situation as a whole, threatened to spill over and he knew he was about to explode with rage. When a man walking past jostled him, it was all Gabe could do not to lash out. As it was, he yelled out, "Can't you see that you're running over a blind man? Have you no manners?"
"You need to stay out of the way then, jackass," the man screamed back at him.
Gabe lunged forward but was stopped from moving further by a hand on his upper arm and a single word. "Gabriel."
Gabe grabbed Olga in an embrace. "What took you so long?"
"Come on. Let's get you inside your flat and talk there. You look terrible. Let's move out of the street. Where's your place?"
"Down this street and around the corner." Gabe pointed toward the next block.
They walked down the sidewalk, Gabe with his cane in one hand and his other hand in Olga's. He knew she could feel his trembling fingers but, try as he might, he couldn't make them stop. It was surreal. The whole situation was unbelievable.
He led Olga up a flight of outside stairs and down the outside corridor to his front door. He pulled his key from his pocket and slid it in the lock. They entered his place and he led her down the short hallway into the first floor of the flat.
His flat was a compact place. He had one bathroom downstairs with a living room dining room combination and a small kitchen. Upstairs were three bedrooms, one of which he used as an office. The other two were set up as a master bedroom and a small dance studio complete with one mirrored wall and a barré. He really had considered moving after he became blind but it was too much trouble and he'd learned to adapt.
Once they were in the living room area, Olga sat on the L-shaped couch and pulled him down beside her. "Tell me what's happened. You're really scaring me. I mean, I barely know you but the little I do know about you, you're not normally this highly strung and agitated. Please tell me what happened in the hour since I left you at the club."
"The dead woman is someone I know."
"Who?" Olga grasped his left hand.
"Mary."
"Who is she? Did you date her?"
Gabe shook his head. "No. She fancied me but I never went out with her. You saw her last night. She was the one who grabbed my glasses off my face."
"Oh, no. I'm so sorry."
"And that's not the worst of it." Gabe ran his right hand over his chin. "The detective inspector thinks these two deaths are related to me. Hell, he may even think I did them for all I know. He was a complete ass when he was talking to me."
"Did he actually accuse you of killing the two women?"
"No. He didn't go that far, but he did say he thought that I might be involved in some way. When he interviewed me after the first death he said I wasn't a suspect. Today, he didn't go that far."
"Isn't that some kind of crime itself? To accuse you of being involved when you weren't? Isn't that slander?"
"I don't think so. I mean, he has a right -- or an obligation, I should say -- to investigate all the leads in a case. That may require him to say certain things that may or may not be true but will help lead him to the truth."
"May or may not be true? What's that mean?"
"He said that both of the dead girls were in the club right before they were killed."
"That doesn't mean you had anything to do with them." Olga stood. Gabe noticed the change in the lighting around her form as well as the sound of her feet scraping the carpeted floor as she paced. "How does them being in the club make it related to you? There are lots of other men who work at the club -- heck, there's even the owner."
"Yeah. They hit Jacob pretty hard, too. They got him tied in knots and then they started on me."
"Was anyone else called in to be questioned?"
"Yes. Pretty much everyone who works there, even the women." Gabe patted the couch. "Come, sit back down."
"I can't. I think better when I'm standing. I work a lot on my feet and it's natural for me to pace."
"What do you think then?"
"I can't imagine that they really think you had anything to do with the murders."
"Why? Because I'm blind? Because you think I can't find my way around the city well enough to kill someone?" He leapt up from his seat and marched into the kitchen, where he pulled a glass from the dish drainer and poured some water from the tap into it. Once he gulped it down, he slammed the empty glass on the counter-top.
Gabe turned and was surprised to find that she stood right behind him. She put her arms around his waist. "Of course I don' t think that, Gabe. I think you could do anything you put your mind to. After all, you've already amazed me at your abilities in the little while I've known you."
He laughed. Long and hard. This was insane. What a remark for her to make. He couldn't stop the laughter and she finally pulled away.
She smacked his face.
Startled, he grabbed his cheek. "Why'd you do that?"
"You were hysterical. That's what my momma always did when people were out of control. It brings a person back to reality."
"Reality? I never left reality. I was laughing because of the ludicrous remark you made. It struck me as particularly funny."
"What did I say?"
"You were so kind as to say that you knew I could be a murderer if I really wanted to be." He couldn't stop the snort that came out and he started to laugh again.
This time Olga joined in his laughter. She almost doubled over as she giggled. "Geez. That was pretty awful, wasn't it?"
He reached out and hugged her. "Yes. It was awful in some ways but, in another way, it was quite nice."
Into his shoulder, she asked, "How so?"
He pulled her away so she could face him and, when he could tell she was looking at him, he said, "You make me not feel like an invalid. Your statement that I can do anything I put my mind to makes me think that maybe I can."
She sniffed back the tears. "I do think you can. You're amazing. You've faced something that would bring most people to their knees and carved yourself another career in a totally different direction. You still live on your own with no assistance. Or at least it looks that way to me since I don't see any evidence of a roommate."
"Evidence. Speaking of evidence, let me tell you the rest of the information I got from the det
ective inspector." He let go of her waist and led her back to the couch. "It seems that the killer is leaving little notes at the scenes of the crimes. He's tucking notes into the women's bras."
"What do they say?"
"Werewolf of London."
"What?" The word was a gasp from Olga's lips.
"Yeah. I know. First, there was that whole article about me being the modern Wolfman and now these notes? Can you blame them for thinking I'm involved?"
"Wow, that's pretty intense."
"Tell me about it." Gabe's voice trembled.
"We have to figure this out. We have to take some kind of action to make sure they don't try to pin these things on you."
"I don't know that they really think I did it. Obviously, if so, they have to believe I had an accomplice. We can't really do anything to investigate since we don't know any details of the crimes."
"You found the first girl, right? Marisol?"
"I did." Gabe nodded.
"Can you think back and remember some of the details? Something that might help us figure it out?"
"All I remember is a lot of blood and that's all. She was on the ground and still. I knelt down and felt for a pulse but there was none. I don't see how any of this is going to help."
"Do you have a notebook or something we can use to write down what you remember?"
"Sure." He stood and moved over to the armoire where the television sat and opened one of the doors in the bottom. He pulled out a legal pad. On the end table at one side of the couch, he grabbed an ink pen out of the canister. He handed them over to her. "Not much call for using these anymore but I keep them handy in case of company."
He left her on the sofa and headed back to the kitchen. Over his shoulder, he called out, "Want a cider or something?"
"Sure. Whatever you're having is good with me. I'll start making notes."
He came back with two glasses and two bottles of Green Goblin cider. "I wasn't sure if you were a bottle or glass kind of girl."
Moon Dance Page 5