Palmist

– Okay, come on. Let us go to the restaurant first, and then to the morgue. The restaurant is more interesting. There are live girls there!

– You are all about your own.

On the opening day, the restaurant was lively and many people crowded around the entrance. As already mentioned, all the tables were ordered and even more, there were those who just wanted to come during the performance, and since there were no empty seats, the audience watched the performance standing up to watch the dance. Lyosha and Amir arrived earlier to enjoy oriental cuisine and an oriental-style interior. I must admit that this host was generous, and did not skimp on the interior and treats for guests. Everything was decorated with exquisite taste and chic. The menu of this restaurant was also designed with taste, and fully corresponded to the interior of the cafe.

– And here the truth is like in a fairy tale.

– Yes, but be careful with Oriental women.

– Thanks for reminding me. Lyosha was looking around animatedly. It was his first time in an institution decorated with such a subtle oriental taste.

The musicians were already ready to play their instruments. They were sitting in their seats. The uniform of all employees of the restaurant was also in the Oriental style. It was something medieval, reminiscent of the period when men wore dresses. The waiters and cooks were men. There were two waiter girls, they served certain tables, and they were forbidden to talk to customers. Alternatively, they just did not know the language. The ceiling was painted with a fine oriental painting, and Lyosha just went into himself admiring this beauty. But the most important highlight of this restaurant was that the tables were in Oriental style, and the guests were sitting on pillows. It was a surprise for the guests, the guests found out about it when they entered the restaurant. This highlight was surprisingly exciting, and the guests were simply delighted. The seats were occupied, the musicians played their instruments, and after making a pause, the owner of the restaurant came on stage. After greeting the guests, he congratulated the guests and himself on the opening and left. The musicians continued to play and there was a performance on stage, several numbers were presented before Sultana came out.

When Sultana came out, complete silence reigned in the hall. She created an atmosphere of rigor and at the same time, she quickly captivated with her rhythm. Everyone looked expectantly at the girl whose face was not visible. Sultana felt like a fish in water. And thanks to the fact that her face was not visible, no one knew what she was feeling right now. In fact, it was her last dance and the last hours of her life. Sultana had several performances and all took place with interruptions. At the very end of the dance, she took off her headscarf and showed her face. Lyosha and Amir’s table was not far from the stage and Amir was able to see the girl’s face in close-up. A shiver ran through his body and it seemed to him that they were familiar. – Strange, where did I see her?

– Do you know each other?

– No. But I have a strange feeling. Lyosha grinned and said nothing.

The next two dances Sultana danced with an open face, it was a dance with a sword and a dance with a candlestick on her head. The audience applauded standing and those who did not have enough seats did not want to leave. Amir was also in no hurry to leave, and they sat until closing time.

Nobody wanted to leave. All the guests did not even get up from their pillows and most of them booked their tables for the next performance.

– When is the next performance?

– If I am not mistaken, three days a week, Thursday, Friday, Saturday.

– That is, tomorrow?

– Yes. Tomorrow. What happened to you? You got a crush on the Sultana.

– Sort of.

– I will order a table.

– Thank you. I will pay for the treat.

– So I do not mind. With these words, they left the restaurant and went home.

By his origin, Arthur had Arab roots, which is why he had such a subtle and rich oriental taste. He had been accustomed to money since childhood, and this habit of getting rid of people originated in him since childhood. Arthur had a younger brother, the children grew up with their father, since their parents divorced, and the children belonged to their father’s family. The boys did not know their mother and grew up in cruelty. Their father died when they were old enough, they never managed to find their mother. Their father bequeathed them his business, in half, together with his brother. But since Arthur was quite cunning and cruel, he got rid of his brother and appropriated everything for himself. Thus, he became such a wealthy villain. All the people who worked for his father and did not want to be his supporters, they just disappeared without a trace. His brutality grew with his power. His dirty deeds grew with his years, and now he has achieved such results as business in different countries. Arthur was very pleased with his heights, and the success of tonight only made him even more excited.

Now, his main problem was how to silently get rid of Sultana. He did not want to get rid of her just like that, and a thought was maturing in his head. As previously stated, Sultana was a Muslim, and she had not yet had contact with a man. Arthur wanted to sell it to a very rich man for one night. This thought was spinning in his head, and he wanted to put it into action. Then of course get rid of her body.

Lyosha and Amir came to their apartment. – Tell me, are you into her?

– To be honest, no.

– And then what?

– When she came to the edge of the stage, I smelled death. I saw death walking beside her. But I could tell by her eyes that she knows this and doesn’t want to die. I could not mistake this smell for anything else.

– You are at it again. The whole world cannot be saved, much less a dancer. You just will not be able to contact her. She is well guarded.

– And here it is possible. I will order it. I will come up with something and order it.

– Nothing to yourself. Well, you give. See for yourself. If you are so set up, then it is up to you.

Amir was not the only one who wanted to order Sultan. After her performance yesterday, the restaurant received calls and even customers came to order a dancer. But the dancer disappeared without a trace, and this disappearance caused a sea of indignation.

On Saturday evening, the restaurant hall was as full of guests as on the opening day. The evening also began festively, it was Sultana’s time, but to everyone’s surprise, a completely different girl came on stage. Indignation was heard in the hall. But this murmur quickly subsided, out of respect for such a charming young dancer, and Vina began her performance with an Indian folk dance. As Arthur expected, the audience did not feel the difference, and fascinated the audience. The majority of the audience was sure that Sultana would definitely return, and these young girls would delight them in turn. The only guest who knew the reason for her disappearance was Amir.

– She will not appear on this stage again.

– Are you sure?

– Absolutely.

– And what should I do now?

– It remains only to pray.

– And how did you smell the smell of death?

– You know, when I first went into the morgue, I immediately smelled this smell. Now I will definitely not confuse it with anything. I felt the same yesterday as I did that night.

– To be honest, I feel sorry for her. You know, I am sure there is something wrong here. The guy who performed yesterday is kind of muddy. He has such a criminal face. Amir silently listened to Lyosha and thought about his own. “You’re right. It is actually muddy. Is there something wrong here, just what? With these words, they paid for the order and left the restaurant.

– What are you going to do?

– The first thing I will do is call Igor, really on Monday. I will not bother him on Sunday. Then we will see. Do not forget that we have an excursion to the morgue tonight. You know, it seems to me that you and I will be interested there. Amir switched from one topic to another so quickly that Lyosha felt uneasy.

After her brilliant performance, a terrible imprisonment awaited the Sultan. She was placed in some kind of basement and the door was closed. It was a restaurant basement where canned food was stored. She recognized this basement because she had been in it once. The night passed, in the morning it was heard how the work shift came, but everyone passed by her room. So a day passed, the girl was wearing an oriental costume in which she danced the last dance, and for exactly a day neither food nor water entered her stomach. She sat leaning against the door with the corner of her ear, hoping to hear and understand something, but it was all in vain. So the morning passed, and finally at lunchtime she heard movements in the hallway and realized that the front door had opened. Hearing Arthur’s voice, Sultana froze. Russian Russian was one of the languages Arthur knew, but he did not like Russian and did not speak it well. Fortunately, Sultan Arthur spoke in Lao, since his interlocutor knew this language. Arthur was talking to one of the guards who took part in the attack on Sultana’s father’s house. Sultana tried to hear every word as best as possible. They opened the door to ventilate the room and after smoking, a cigarette exchanged a few words in Lao.

– First I will finish her, and then I will personally fly to Poipet to finish her father. I am tired of this family. That is enough. They took too much time and effort. Do not let me down, or that fool let me down, leaving her father alive. She is here in this basement, you grab her in the evening, put her in the car, and then I will tell you what to do. With these words, the door closed and the voices died down. Sultana remained in the same position, but her heart beat joyfully. She found out that her father was alive. It makes sense to live, there is where and for what to return. And she decided to fight for her life.

There was not much time left until the evening, in her favor was the fact that the person who was supposed to grab her knew the Lao language, so he was his own. “Where is my passport now?” And what time is it now?

Everything was quiet in Poipet. Ahmed felt well enough, and could even get out of bed already. He had not received any news from Sultana and did not know whether she was alive or not. It was killing him, and the only thing that kept him alive was the hope that his daughter was alive and could be saved. The police were searching, including Arthur, he was already a suspect in several crimes, but no one could accuse him of anything, he always managed to get away with it. This time his position was shaken, there were too many clues pointing to him, and various rumors were circulating about him not only in this city, but also throughout Cambodia.

Arthur understood his situation, and to some extent in the depths of his soul, he was losing his peace. But he didn’t want to realize it and pretended that nothing was happening. His dirty deeds gradually surfaced. The police found the corpses of men and women who were once wanted, their relatives were looking for them, and over the years, their traces were lost. And gradually the moment came when it was time to answer.

CHAPTER 5

Amir and Lyosha were waiting for their evening to go to the morgue. To their surprise, they were not afraid, but on the contrary, they were having fun, and they laughed uncontrollably. On the way to the morgue, they stopped at McDonald’s to have a snack, and laughed at their new friend – maybe he should buy a burger, and the fact that he is sitting there hungry!

– No, if anything, he will eat homemade food next to the corpse on a stretcher!

– Oh, yeah, I forgot, he is at home there!