“Ted,” Noud patted the Coke-bottle-glasses man on the shoulder. “Finally back among us!”
Ted raised an eyebrow.
“I can imagine how much you missed me,” he said sarcastically. “Especially you two.”
“Oh, come on, neighbor,” the Dutchman chuckled awkwardly. “After all, we do belong to the same community. A big, colorful, interesting group—that’s what we are. Right, Bernard?”
Bernard hummed meaningfully and nodded. He decided it was wiser to remain silent. He was almost certain his voice would betray him. Out of sheer discomfort, he began brushing at his shoulder. He hated uncertainty.
Ted watched him with an expressionless face as Bernard pretended to rid his shirt of some invisible speck of lint.
“I hope I didn’t miss anything important while I was stuck in bed,” Ted remarked coldly.
He didn’t wait for an answer.
Noud, however, refused to let it go. He was determined to flush the rabbit out of the bushes.
“So what actually happened to you, Ted—if it’s not a secret?” he asked.
“Exhaustion,” Ted shrugged.
“That’s it? You were just tired?”
“You could put it that way,” he replied, “when someone hasn’t slept properly for years and their nervous system finally gives out.”
“And why did you ask Viktoria to take care of you?” the question slipped out of his mouth.
The color drained from Bernard’s face. Through the pocket of his thin linen trousers, his hand dug into his thigh.
“And who else was supposed to help?” Ted snapped back. “You? Or the two old ladies? Or maybe Carlos?”
But Noud was incapable of stopping.
“What about a professional?”
Ted took a deep breath, then let it out with a long, low growl.
“My dear neighbor,” he began icily, “it’s touching how concerned you are about the past now that I’ve almost fully recovered. Pity it didn’t occur to you when I was lying weak in my bed for weeks.”
Through his Coke bottle glasses, he shot a contemptuous glance at the two Dutchmen, then scanned the crowd for Viktoria.
Without a word, Bernard signaled to Noud that it was time to move on. He cast a pointed look toward Carlos, who was listening by the grill.
Ludmilla could hardly wait for the pair she considered dangerous criminals to disappear from Ted’s side. She didn’t want to miss out on the staged rejoicing either—and she wanted to see the detestable man up close, with her own eyes. She hoped to spot something suspicious after his strange disappearance and sudden reappearance. She didn’t believe for a second that Viktoria had cared for Ted out of pure human kindness. But she didn’t buy the idea that it had been for money either. No one could convince her that the German couple had secret financial troubles.
As Bernard and Noud drifted toward the grill, Ludmilla needed no further invitation. With a single leap that belied her age, she was suddenly at Ted’s side.
“You look remarkably well, Ted,” she exclaimed, clapping her hands theatrically.
Ted greeted the bizarre compliment with a smile twisted into a grimace.
“If you say so, Ludmilla…”
“What did the paramedics say when they found you?” she asked in a syrupy voice.
As if he were in a thriller, Ted suddenly shouted,
“Sir! Sir! Can you hear us?”
Then he turned to Ludmilla with a mocking look.
“That’s probably what they said when they broke down my door, Ludmilla. Or did you hear something else?”