Chapter 25 25

Chapter 25 25

TRACES OF THE PAST
Katrina sat on the edge of her bed, yawning away the last traces of sleep. The space beside her was empty, Ivan was gone. She got up from the bed and went straight to the bathroom to take a shower. By the time she came out, a towel wrapped around her, she’d already reached for the notebook she used for her investigation.

She flipped to a fresh page and wrote:
Mexico.
Why had she gone there?
She hurried to her closet, to search for the handbag that she had worn the previous night. Grabbing her bag, she rummaged through it until she found a crumpled piece of paper; Slavik’s number.
She dialed.

“Hello,” she began.
“Hi, princess.”
Katrina frowned. “How did you know it was me?”
“I can recognize your voice even in my sleep, Katerina” Slavik paused. “So why did you call?”
“Why else? It’s about the case, I wanna ask you a few questions”
““Sure. But maybe we should talk in person, not over the phone. What if your line’s being tracked?” Slavik said calmly.
“Tracked? Why would anyone want to track my phone?” Katerina asked.
“Katrina, you’re living in the monster’s house. Everything you do is being watched, including your calls.” Slavik replied.
“Why would Ivan care enough to track my phone calls?” she muttered, shaking her head. “Forget it. I just need answers. He wouldn’t even let me out of the house after the last stunt I pulled on him, so we’ve got to make do with what we have right now. So please can I go ahead to ask the questions?”
Slavik sighed. “I wouldn’t advise it, but ask away.”

“ Why were we both in Mexico Slavic?”
“ Mexico!” He echoed with a short chuckle.
“I am listening,” Katerina said growing impatient.
“We were chasing a lead. “ Slavik finally replied.
“A lead? What lead and how did it connect to the case?”
“Look Katrina, I must be honest with you. You were the one at the top of the investigation. You brought me in only when you needed help verifying new intel, but most of the information was with you.”
Katerina sighed, she paced around for a bit, her mind filled with thoughts.
They had to be some sort of connecting dot.
“Okay, but there has to be something tangible…Why did I bring you along with me to Mexico if that is the case?”
“Because two nights before we left for Mexico, there was another attack on our shipment, which completely ruined everything for us. Don was panicking…everybody was panicking. “ He began.
“You called me aside and told me that you couldn’t keep watching everything go wrong without doing something about it. I told you that we had tried to get information about the leak, but we failed woefully.”
“Okay… What else did I say that night?”
“After telling you that I believe all our efforts were just a waste of time, you told me you believed you’d found something… or someone who was behind it all. You wouldn’t tell me who, not until you were sure. That’s when you mentioned Mexico”
“Why?” Katerina asked.
“You said we needed to go to Mexico, that it’d help confirm your allegations as true. I remember asking you who your main suspect was, but you said you had no one in mind. I still don’t know why you were insistent on keeping that information to yourself.” Slavik paused, briefly talking to someone at the other end of the call.
“Sorry about that… Where was I?”
“Mexico!”
“Okay, when you brought it up, I told you I wasn’t going to go on any other trip with you”
“There were other trips?”
“Yes Katerina, I was like your partner in crime in a high-class investigation” Slavik let out a chuckle. “I must admit, there were some nice times”
“Slavik, please stick to what's at hand,” she said sternly.
“Alright alright…You begged and assured me that it was gonna be the last time. You felt we were so close. I had no choice but to accompany you since you said it was supposed to be the last one.” Slavik said.
“So we flew to Mexico, and then what?” Katerina asked.
“Nothing much, we landed in Mexico. We visited a fancy restaurant. You said we were meeting someone. We waited but the person was a no-show… Uhm… we also took a few pictures with the manager of the restaurant”
“Manager of the restaurant? Why?”
“They had this special package ongoing… a couple package… It was five years ago Katerina, the details have eluded me.”
“Did I mention who we were meeting up with?” Katerina asked.
“You did… but I can’t seem to remember.”
“Come on Slavik, you’ve got to do better than that.”
“Honestly I can’t remember, but I think I have his name written somewhere. I’ll probably search some of my old files, that’s when I am home.” Slavik replied.
“Where are you now?”
“You do know, I have a life outside you and your attempt to save yourself”
Katerina gave a forced laugh.
“So what else?” Katerina asked.
“After the pictures with the manager, you kinda noticed something off in the restaurant. It’s like you were looking at some people at the other side of the restaurant. I am guessing you could recognize them. That’s when you suspected that the family over stunt was more than a family offer, it was a guise to distract you from what was actually happening in the restaurant” He answered.
“Did I find out what was happening at the restaurant?”
“Well, not sure you did. All I remember was you stepping out, leaving me behind. Then when you finally got back, you said you lost them.”
“Who is them?”
“Katerina, honestly I don’t know. You just said you lost them.”
“So the trip was a dead end?”
“Pretty much. After that, I got a call and had to leave for London the same day. That was the last time I saw you.”
“So we didn’t leave for London together?” Katerina asked.
“No, we didn’t. The restaurant was the last time we spoke before your disappearance”
“I have to go back,” she murmured.
“Go back? To where?” Slavik asked, concern in his voice.
“Mexico!”
“ Katrina, you can’t possibly wanna go back to Mexico. What are you hoping to discover?”
“I don’t know… anything…”
“You’ve got to be careful. It’s been five years!”
“Careful? My reputation is at stake here Slavik “
“Doesn’t also mean you should be careless. I know you want to desperately save yourself, but a lot has changed.”
“Would you go with me?” Katerina asked softly.
“What? I can’t believe you just asked me that” Slavik said.
“Come on Slavik, we went through all of those times together and I am sure I wouldn’t have made so much progress as I did if not because of your help.”
“That was then Katerina. You can’t possibly expect me to play investigator again.”
“I need your help please” Katerina pleaded
“The only person you should be asking for help is Ivan. Look… I’ve got to go now. Talk to you later.”
“You mentioned other trips.”
“Katerina really? I’ve got to go, taken enough time from work.”
“Would you call me when you’re off work?” Katerina asked.
“Fine”
“Alright. Thank you, Slavik. Talk to you later.”
“And Katrina…”
“Yeah…”
“Take care of yourself, please”
The line went dead.
Katrina sat still for a moment, the silence roaring in her ears. Then, as if triggered by his words, a memory flickered.

The restaurant in Mexico buzzed softly with music. She and Slavik sat at a corner table, two glasses of Agua de Jamaica, the deep crimson liquid catching the light. The restaurant manager approached with a wide smile.
“Our favorite couple! A picture, please?” She began.
“Oh, no…we’re not…” Katrina began.
“Oh come on… You are perfect for each other.” the manager said, waving a photographer over. The photographer came and took pictures of them. Katrina was uncomfortable, she suspected something was wrong. She suspected the family offer the restaurant had given them, but waved it aside, convincing herself it was just a small place trying to make good memories with their customers.
As soon as they were done with the photos, the photographer thanked them and left. She noticed two men rise from a table at the far end of the room. The timing felt too perfect, as if the manager had intentionally distracted them with the photos just as the two men entered the restaurant and took their seats.
“I’ll be right back,” Katrina said to Slavic as she stepped outside to follow the two men who had just left the restaurant.
She trailed them quietly, realizing after a while that they were moving faster, as if they’d noticed her presence. She quickly ducked behind a wall near a building, hiding herself until they stopped looking around. From her spot, she caught a glimpse of their backs. She couldn’t see their faces, but just before they parted ways, one of the men reached out to shake the other’s hand. One stretched out his hand to the other, and that’s when she saw it, a tattoo, a snake in a woman’s mouth, inked on his wrist.
Immediately she flashed back from her flashback, she took her book and tried to sketch out the tattoo that she had seen.
It was something she had never seen before.
But something in her told her it was all connected.
The question now was how?