Page 34 of Whispers of Redemption

CHAPTER 12

Cassie swung into Olga’s driveway and parked. This was her first pick-up since the incident, and she was feeling a little awkward.

“Come in, Cassandra!” she heard Olga call in response to her knock.

Cassie stepped inside the unlocked front door. Zack’s cluttered desk held the usual stacks of paperwork, but he was nowhere to be seen.

She walked past the desk and around the half-wall to enter Olga’s studio area. As always, Olga sat before a canvas. She wore a large, illuminated head-mount magnifier and held a tiny brush in her hand. “Just a second, beautiful,” she murmured, making infinitesimal strokes with the brush. “There!” she sat back in satisfaction. “They’ll never know I was here.” She turned to face Cassie with a broad smile and removed the headgear, clicking off the light.

Cassie hung back, unsure what to say.

“What is it?” Olga said, looking at Cassie with concern.

Cassie crossed the room and came to stand before her. “I just feel awful about what happened, Olga.”

Olga stretched out her hands toward Cassie. “Please don’t worry, darling,” she said. “It’s not your fault, and I’m sure the police will find the thief.”

“Maybe,” Cassie said. “But I want you to know I’m not giving up.” Then she looked around. “Where is Zack today?”

Olga waved a hand. “That man has never taken a sick day in the entire six months he’s worked for me. But he called to say he wasn’t feeling well.” She gave a dismissive shrug. “He wanted to stay home and rest today, and I encouraged him to do it. He really hasn’t been himself since the robbery.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Cassie said.

“Everything will be better once that thief is caught,” Olga said, her blue eyes dark. Then her face brightened. “Can you stay for tea?”

Cassie smiled. “Sure! You’re my last call of the day, so I have a little flexibility.”

Olga clapped her hands together in delight. She rose and got behind her walker, unlocking the wheels. “I’ll prepare it.”

Like everything else with Olga, brewing tea was an art. She made it in the traditional Russian method. She boiled water in her ornate, polished silver samovar. Cassie watched as she heaped spoonfuls of rich, dark tea leaves into a teapot and then filled it with the boiled water. She sat the teapot on top of the samovar to steep and rolled over to a minifridge to pull out a jar of raspberry jam.

“You know,” Olga said, “I must confess, I am frustrated that the police don’t have any real leads yet.”

“You know we found the truck that was used in the robbery though, right?” Cassie said, sitting at the round dining table in the bumped out section of the room. Floor to ceiling windows on three sides offered tranquil views of the gently rolling hills behind the house.

Olga dropped a dollop of the jam in the bottom of each elaborately painted porcelain teacup. She then filled each one half full with the rich, dark brew from the teapot. “Yes, but I believe the thief’s trail has gone cold from there.” Olga’s brows came together as she contemplated this.

“Unfortunately, that’s true,” Cassie agreed.

Olga diluted the tea in both cups with freshly boiled water from the samovar, then set the cups on the seat of her walker and rolled them over to where Cassie sat. Cassie took them and placed them on the table for her while Olga parked her walker and took the chair across from Cassie. Her soft silver hair was pulled back in her traditional French twist, and her makeup was as impeccable as ever. Her lively blue eyes, however, were dark with worry.

“Please don’t stress over this, Olga, Cassie said. Then to distract her, “Tell me about what you’re working on right now.”

Olga’s face brightened again. “A fascinating project!” she said. “But first, let’s try our tea.”

They both lifted the delicate cups to their lips and sipped. Cassie enjoyed its distinctive smoky flavor mingled with the rich raspberry perfume of the jam.

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