Call of Water (Madame Tan's Freakshow #1) - Marina Simcoe Page 0,80
above it.
The sight of the entrance also was familiar.
Instead of going to the front door, he walked through the arched entrance into the courtyard. He half-expected to see Lero’s tall figure leaning against the wall in his usual place, the shimmering cloud of smoke rising in the air from his cigarette.
Lero of course wasn’t there, and the sight of the bare wall was unsettling.
Zeph shoved at the back door, entering the place. Inside, everything was as he remembered.
Remembered.
He really did. The dimly lit corridor. The kitchen to his right. The black and beige of the interior. The stage...
He stood in the entrance to the main room, taking it all in as the memories of so many nights singing on this stage rushed over him. Lero would often watch him from this very spot when the full moon was still far away. So many faces in the audience rose in his mind, many of the regulars who knew him personally.
The place was empty, but a few staff members were already bustling around, getting it ready for tonight’s show.
“Excuse me,” a male voice called from the bar. “We’re closed.”
“Ivan?” Zeph pivoted on his heel to face the short stocky man in a tailored suit walking toward him.
“Zeph! Is that really you?” The man rushed to him. His slight Russian accent so very familiar, and not just from the last phone conversation they’d had. “Didn’t recognize you right away. Your hair is so long!”
“Ivan.” He gave him a firm hug. “So glad you’re still here.”
“Most of us are. Though things haven’t quite been the same without you. Where have you been?”
“It’s a long story.” Zeph frowned in concentration. He recognized the place, but the memories still needed some time to sort themselves out in his head and to settle into a timeline. “I’ll need to leave again, soon. I’ve come for Lero’s message.”
“Oh, right. It’s a good thing you did. Someone had already called here for it. Lero’s instructions were clear, though, give it to you personally.”
“When did they call?”
“A few days back. A man said he was you, but he didn’t recognize me.”
“It was me, Ivan. Sorry, I wasn’t quite myself back then.”
Ivan stared at him closely for a minute or so but didn’t demand any further explanation. Lero’s staff was well accustomed to the secrecy surrounding the cabaret’s previous owner and his family.
“Well, you’re here now.” Ivan produced a cream-colored envelope from behind the counter. “Like Lero wanted, I’m giving it into your very own hands.”
“Thank you.” Zeph took the envelope. “How is he, do you know?”
“Lero? No.” The bar manager shook his head, regret spreading over his face. “Haven’t seen him for over a year now.”
“Over a year?” What could be happening to Lero out there all this time?
“Yeah. You were gone in June of last year, and he left end of July. So, a year and four months now. Time flies.”
June.
That was how long Zeph had been gone himself, locked in Ghata’s water tank.
“Lero didn’t say where he went?” he asked.
“No. Unless he wrote something to you personally.” Ivan pointed with his chin at the sealed envelope in Zeph’s hands.
Zeph ripped it open right then and there, taking out a piece of cream paper with Le Loup Solitaire letterhead.
“You know how to find me when the time comes. Stay near the water.”
That was it. Two sentences.
Zeph stared at the paper blankly, as though more would appear if he waited.
“And?” Ivan prompted, visibly fighting the urge to crane his neck to see the note for himself.
“No. He didn’t write where to find him.” Zeph shook his head.
“Do you want to leave a note for him, then? Just in case he shows up again?”
Leaving his and Ivy’s new location here would be risky. There was no guarantee where the note would end up and who might see it. That must be the reason why Lero made his own message cryptic as it was.
The deal Zeph had made was with Radax. The brack had never mentioned Ghata’s name, and Zeph had a feeling it was because Radax had bargained with him behind her back, under his own authority, and possibly even against her orders.
Zeph had gone ahead with the deal anyway because Radax had the means to uphold his end of the bargain. As the head of the bracks, Radax could halt or at least sabotage the hunt for Zeph, even if Ghata persisted with it.
Still, Ghata was out there, not bound by any promise, and he had to be cautious.