Chapter 42
Ihave gone through this room like a scene of crimes officer and found nothing and I am despairing there is anything here at all. Valentin has been gone for ages and I am getting hungrier the more I search. Therefore, I’m so grateful when one of the guards brings me a mug of tea and some biscuits and for some reason I’m touched. It’s such a simple gesture, but an appreciated one and I smile my gratitude.
“Thank you so much.”
As I sip the tea, I sigh, “If you were hiding something in here, where would you choose?”
He casts his eye around and shrugs. “There are many possibilities but all of them detectable.”
He cocks his head to one side and then fixes his gaze on the giant tapestry above the desk.
“Have you searched behind the wall covering?”
“Yes.” I say miserably and sigh. “I’ve searched everywhere.”
“And you’re certain it’s here?”
“Not really, but our visitor was interested in this room the most.”
“Then search again, but this time inspect the objects you move. They may conceal what you are looking for quite easily if it’s small.”
“You could be right.” I reply carefully, knowing I disregarded the furnishings merely anticipating a hidden drawer or false bottom. Perhaps he’s right, and I stare around with renewed interest.
“Will you help me?” I ask, not really knowing if he’s allowed, and he nods.
“Of course.”
I set the tea down and we take different ends of the small room and it’s not long before we have company.
Valentin heads inside, a frown darkening his face as his gaze flicks to his guard and I say quickly, “I hope you don’t mind, but I asked Greg to help me search. I figure he is more experienced in this kind of thing.”
Valentin nods. “Of course I don’t mind.”
He turns to Greg. “Anything?”
He shakes his head. “Not yet, but there is still hope.”
My eye is drawn to the tapestry and once again I’m struck how magnificent it is and I say with a sigh, “Please don’t ruin it, but can you both give me a hand lifting that off the wall?”
The two men take a side each and lift it from its mountings and lie it flat on the floor. It takes up most of the space and I say quickly, “Turn it on its back. “
They do as I ask, and I crouch down and run my fingers across the fabric. They observe in silence as I make my way over the fabric and I say desperately, “I don’t think there’s anything, but it’s quite padded. I really hate saying this, but do you think we should take the backing fabric off?”
Valentin crouches down beside me, and we stare at the tapestry together. His soft voice reassures me as he says, “We will be careful and then I’ll arrange its restoration.”
“You will.”
I stare at him with gratitude and he touches my face lightly. “I would do anything for you, malyshka.”
My heart is so full of adoration for this man, especially because he doesn’t appear bothered that one of his guards is in the room.
I nod and he raises his eyes and says to Greg, “Fetch a knife.”
I wince as Greg shrugs and then removes a utility knife from his jacket, and Valentin rolls his eyes. “Of course you have a knife.”
Greg grins as he hands it to him, and I hold my breath as he prepares to work the stitching apart. I hope to God there is something to make this desecration worthwhile, and it takes at least twenty minutes to ease the fabric away from the tapestry. I’m not sure what I expected, but I stare with dismay at the layer of padding that serves to protect the fine tapestry from the fixings.
“It’s empty.”
I sigh in bitter defeat and sit back on my heels and Greg steps forward and says lightly, “May I?”
Valentin hands him the knife, and we wait while Greg finishes the job for us. He is careful, which I’m grateful for and yet his attention isn’t on the tapestry itself, it’s on the wooden frame it was mounted on.
“It may be nothing, but there are a couple of unnecessary screws at the bottom.”
He flicks his knife over to become a screwdriver and proceeds to unscrew the screws from the wood and as they fall out, a piece of the wood falls with them, revealing a hollow interior.
He hands the wood to Valentin with a wry smile. “There may be something here.”
Valentin shakes the frame by turning it upside down, and I hear something rattling inside.
“I can hear something.” I whisper, and Valentin merely shakes it some more.
“I’m not sure where it is.”
He says to Greg. “Find me something to hack this bastard into pieces.”
Greg leaves and I say with mounting excitement, “What do you think it is?”
“It may be nothing, malyshka.” He reminds me with a soft smile and I shake my head vehemently.
“It must be because why this room, Valentin? Marsha must have prior knowledge of something. Perhaps my aunt confided in her, too.”
“Or someone else did.” He says with a calculated nod in my direction, and I huff.
“God, this is so frustrating. I want to know so badly what’s happening.”
It makes him laugh, and he says with a smile, “If it’s here, we will find it.”
Greg returns with a hacksaw and I watch as Valentin cuts the wood in four places and then shakes the tapestry frame again.
I’m so excited as the sawdust falls onto the rug and then, with a small thump, a metal object follows it.
“It’s a key!” I stare at Valentin with an incredulous smile as he picks it up from the rug and holds it in his hands.
“I’ve seen that before.” I say in astonishment, and he nods.
“It’s the same as the one in the attic.”
“The one that fell from the chest.”
Greg says with interest. “A few of the guys cleared the attic. The stuff is currently being sorted through in one of the bedrooms.”
“Oh my God.” I can’t contain my excitement and jump up. “Let’s go and find the box. This could be what we’re looking for.”
Valentin shakes his head and I don’t miss the amused smile he shares with Greg as I pull him up and say in a rush. “Come on.”
Greg remains to clear up the mess as we head to the top floor and as we pass another guard, Valentin asks which room the contents of the attic are in. He directs us to the one at the foot of the attic stairs and if anything, I’m just happy we don’t need to go back up there because that place seriously creeps me out.
We head inside the room and I stare in dismay at the mountain of crap that has made its way down here. There is so much of it.
Valentin groans. “Would it be too much to ask that the fucking box we need was waiting with a sign on it saying open me?”
I giggle, and he sighs heavily.
“Come on. We may as well get started.”
We work together, shifting stuff from one end of the room to the other, searching for a box that would fit the small key.
“Do you still have the other key?” I ask him and he nods, removing his phone and dashing out a text.
“Artem was investigating its use. He will bring it to us.”
We work through the mountain of crap, which takes a good hour, and in the meantime, Artem delivers the first key we found. I’m intrigued to notice they are almost identical and something tells me we are so close now.
Valentin says with a sigh of relief. “This could be it.”
I scurry over to him and see a small trunk covered in dust that was placed in a cardboard box and I wait patiently as he lifts it out and then cough as a cloud of dust hits me.
“I hate this shit.” He growls and then says irritably, “If we find something, we’re leaving. I’ve had enough of this poverty. I need to head back to civilization.”
“Poverty.” I roll my eyes. “We are standing in a several million pound property. I admit, it could use a cleaner, but this isn’t poverty Valentin. Not by a long shot.”
“It is to me.” He shrugs and turns his attention to the box.
“Show me the key.”
I pass him the small key and as he tries it, I almost howl with frustration when he groans. “It doesn’t fit.”
“It must fit.”
I realize I sound ridiculous because that key could be for anything.
“Hand me the other key,” Valentin says with a sigh and I hand it to him with shaking hands.
He inserts it in the lock and the triumphant gleam in his eyes tells me it works and as he lifts the lid, we peer inside with interest.
Several envelopes are lying inside and as we lift them, I notice another box at the bottom. It’s much smaller than the rest and I whisper, “That might be the one we’re looking for.”
Valentin removes it and I note the small keyhole in the front of the box and as he turns the key, the lid snaps open and we peer with interest at what’s inside.