Part 13 (2/2)
”Wait! I”m not-”
”Listen to me. He is fine for now. Your negotiators need to respond to our requests. Time is important. You understand?”
”Yes, but-”
”We are not interested in a conversation with you. Only pa.s.s this information. You understand?”
”Yes, but-”
”Goodbye, then, Todd Barbery”s wife.”
And the line went fully, frustratingly dead.
Kitchen Conversations Danil, September 17th Danil hung in a breath of s.p.a.ce, frozen, as if he were one of the pinned b.u.t.terflies Piotr used to collect. He lifted his hand, hesitated, then rang the doorbell, committing himself. Within a heartbeat, he regretted it. He half-turned away, imagined das.h.i.+ng down the street, ducking behind a car, and realized how bizarre that behavior would be. He turned back just as the door opened. A woman about his age stood there in jeans and boots, her hair pulled back.
”Yes?” She looked stern, and puzzled.
”I”m here to see Clarissa.”
”Are you with the...?” She trailed off, obviously taking in his paint-stained s.h.i.+rt and jeans stretched at the seams. ”Who are you?”
”No one, I”m just...” He suddenly put it together. ”You must be Ruby.”
She took a half-step back, distrust on her face.
”Clarissa gave me some food you”d made.”
Her eyes narrowed.
”It was delicious.”
She neither replied nor moved.
”Is Clarissa here?”
”What”s this about?” she said.
”Ruby?” He heard Clarissa”s voice and then could see her coming down the stairs, behind Ruby, rubbing her damp hair with a towel. She seemed distracted, but oddly unsurprised to see him. ”Hi,” she said to both Ruby and Danil at once.
”The door was unlocked, so I-” Ruby began ”Sure, of course,” Clarissa said. ”You two have introduced yourselves?”
Danil glanced at Ruby. ”Actually, I”m not sure I...”
”This is Danil,” Clarissa said. ”He”s an artist. And this is Ruby. Todd”s daughter. Come in.” She gestured toward Danil.
”Thanks,” he said, but even before he could step in, two men pushed open the gate from the street and walked up behind him.
”This is my brother Mike,” Clarissa said, speaking quickly now. ”And Todd”s boss, Bill. Mike and Bill, meet Danil.”
”Does he know my dad?” Ruby said.
Clarissa shook her head.
”Is this a bad time?” Danil asked. Clearly it was, but he”d had to work up to this moment once and didn”t know if he could do it again.
”Come in, all of you,” Clarissa repeated, adding directly to Danil: ”You too.”
Danil stepped in, shaking hands with the two men. They moved as a group toward the kitchen. Danil hung back.
”Not a social call, is it?” Clarissa asked, hesitating outside the kitchen door.
Danil leaned toward her. ”I wanted to...ask you about something... but I”m sorry, this isn”t...”
”No, it”s fine. You guys help yourself to juice or whatever,” she said to the others, and then turned to him. ”I heard from Todd. The FBI wants to give us some guidance based on that. But we have a few minutes.”
”Oh man,” Danil said. ”I can”t interrupt-”
”Let”s go in here,” Clarissa said.
She sat on the bench at the entryway, and he joined her. He knew she didn”t have much time, so he started right in. ”It”s about my brother, and...” He knew he sounded inarticulate. ”I feel kind of silly.”
”It”s okay. Go on.”
”There”s this gallery owner in the city, and he”s offered me a place in a show.”
”Danil. That”s great.”
”But there”s an issue to do with my mom and my brother and what happened in Afghanistan. I haven”t talked to anyone...and I thought maybe you...” Clarissa leaned toward him, listening in a concentrated way.
”Clarissa.” It was the daughter. ”Any minute now.”
”I”ll be right there,” Clarissa said without looking away from Danil.
The phone rang, and, Danil saw Ruby moved to pick it up. She set the receiver in the middle of the table.
”I”m sorry. This is rude.”
”Danil, listen,” Clarissa said in a hushed tone. ”I”ve already talked to the FBI once today; this is really more for everyone else. It should take under fifteen minutes. Then I”d like to hear your question. Really I would. So please just stay.”
”Clarissa,” Ruby, who”d approached them, said in a loud voice, ”Jack told us not to-”
”Danil already knows, Ruby.”
Ruby raised her eyebrows and her lips, impossibly, narrowed.
”He lost a brother in Afghanistan,” Clarissa said, as though that would explain everything to the daughter.
<script>