[Completed] A U.S. expatriate is cast into a rainy, foggy corner of Europe. He went there on the pretense to work on his research, but he actually wanted to put as many miles as possible between himself and his ex.
The university he works for has fo...
She placed a teacup under the water spout of an elaborate coffee machine—a miniature refinery, all polished tubes, gauges, and mysterious knobs—and pressed a button. The thing awoke with a vicious hiss and then started sputtering water into the cup. She retrieved the teabags from a wall cabinet.
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The tea was reddish-brown, its aroma rich and earthy, carrying a hint of vanilla.
"So, how did it go, your interview?" Adriana had lost her bun and chopsticks—her hair was hanging loose, reaching her shoulders in soft waves. It made her look less severe. Warmer.
"Uneventful." He shrugged. "I didn't have much to tell them. And yours?"
"Argh, I don't think I was able to help them. But..." She raised her eyebrows and took a gulp from her cup. Then she pointed a tiny spoon at his nose. "...they've asked me about you. They wanted to know if I've noticed anything special, out of the ordinary." She grinned.
"And...?"
"Well... to be honest..." She used the spoon to salvage the teabag from the depths of the cup and to transfer it to the saucer, where it sat like a tired, soaked toad.
"Yes?"
"Nothing." She still grinned. "I told them I've noticed nothing unusual about you. I mean, we haven't seen much of each other, have we? But, so far, you didn't strike me as... a killer."
"Phew, I'm relieved to hear that."
"Have they asked you about me, too?" Her eyes searched his face—they were blue-green.
"Not in particular." Art tried to remember the details of his interview. "They just asked me to tell them about the neighbors. So I went through them, one by one. When it was your turn, I... didn't even know your last name."
"Costello." She smiled.
"I know now. Then I told them what I knew about you." He took his time to fish out his own teabag and deposited it on his saucer. It squatted there like a second soaked toad to sullenly watch its sibling across the table. Then he took another sip and noted that his cup was already half-empty.
"So, what have you told them about me?" She leaned forward, and her smile revealed a set of regular, perfectly white teeth. "Was there anything worth telling them?"
"Now you're curious, aren't you?" Art enjoyed the conversation.
"Of course I'm curious." Her smile disappeared, taking her bleached incisors with it. She tilted her head and watched him through slitted eyes. "So, spill the beans."
"I told them that you are..." He slitted his eyes back at her. "...working at a radio station. And, when I did that, they became all serious. And that lady... Ms. Shrimp—"
