“Hey there, neighbor!” Dajana panted.
Viktoria’s piercing scream shot through the humid, gasoline-smelling underground garage and echoed for several long seconds.
Dajana stared at her, stunned.
“Whoa, Jesus… are your nerves that wrecked? I didn’t jump out from behind a car dressed as a clown, so why the hell are you screaming like that?” she snapped.
Viktoria’s mouth dropped open in shock. Her fingers clutched at the pearl necklace around her throat.
Dajana smacked her own forehead.
“Jesus, Viktoria… I’m sorry. I scared the life out of you, and then I barked at you on top of it. I really didn’t mean to.”
The German woman stared in silence, still rattled, as if her brain hadn’t caught up with the situation yet.
“Please, say something! I really am sorry. I just wanted to talk to you.”
“Here?” Viktoria whispered, still trembling.
Her anxious gaze swept over the half-empty garage.
“Uh… no. I, um, just got here too,” Dajana stammered. “I saw you and… I thought I’d catch you.”
“Is something wrong?” Viktoria finally asked.
Her eyes narrowed, studying Dajana’s face.
“I just wanted to ask about Ted… whether he’s feeling better… if he can have visitors…”
Viktoria’s eyes widened; her eyebrows shot almost to her hairline.
“Visitors?”
“H-he is our neighbor, after all…” Dajana mumbled.
The icy-blue stare drilled into her. Heat flared in Dajana’s cheeks; she dropped her gaze to the spotless concrete as if searching for something there—anything to escape that stare.
“He’s very weak,” Viktoria finally said in a cold tone.
“Sure, but he’s not helpless or anything, right?” Dajana laughed, awkward and forced.
“He is. Exactly that.”
The hot, gasoline-thick air turned to ice.
Dajana dug her nails into her thigh.
“Well, then why isn’t he in a hospital being looked after by professionals?” she burst out.
Her voice had lost its tremble.
“I mean…” Viktoria corrected herself weakly, “he’s just too exhausted and too weak to do anything.”
“Then he’s visitable,” Dajana replied flatly.
Viktoria’s hand shot to the back of her neck, fingers tangling nervously in her glossy blond hair. Dajana followed the gesture mercilessly, stepping closer to her neighbor, seizing her brief moment of advantage.
“I’m going to visit Ted.”
“I… I’ll speak to him first,” Viktoria stammered, reaching behind her, grabbing the hood of her car as if for support.
“I’ll visit him, Viktoria. One way or another. And if necessary, I’ll speak to his doctor as well.”
“You don’t need to speak to his doctor. He wouldn’t talk to you anyway. I already told you—I’ll let you know if Ted is ready for visitors.”
A dangerous spark flickered in Dajana’s eyes.
“Thanks, darling. That’s very kind of you,” she whispered.
And in the next second, she was gone.
*
“Dajana!” Adrian’s voice split the night in two.
“What?” she asked calmly. “What happened?” There wasn’t a trace of panic in her voice.
“The paramedics… and the police… they’re outside the complex and—”
“And?”
“They’re breaking down Ted’s door!”