Page 48 of A Life Imagined
Mathias gave him a tight smile.“All right, then.Let’s get this over with.”He took one last drag on the cigarette before flicking it down at his feet and moving toward the truck.
“Mathias.”
He stopped and turned.
Rayan was staring at him, his mouth a hard line.“This is it.No more crazy crusades.”
Mathias shook his head with a snicker.“I told you, you’re a useless liar.”
They reached Krakow by dinnertime.Mathias parked the truck in the alley behind a row of brick storefronts, one of which belonged to his vendor, Jan Gorelik.Gorelik was an antique-furniture collector of some acclaim, and Mathias had commissioned several pieces from the man for a client in Geneva.
While it was well past closing time, Mathias had called ahead, and Gorelik had agreed to meet him at the store.Rayan would take their passengers out for food and supplies in the meantime.They had no idea how long it had been since the men had last eaten, and it was still a decent drive to the border.It would give them a chance to get comfortable before the journey ahead.
Mathias stood guard as Rayan helped the four men out of the truck.Back at the silo, they’d appeared gaunt and ghostly, but in the fresh evening air, their eyes were bright with relief.
“I’ll let you know where we end up,” Rayan said when Mathias finished locking up the truck.Then he set off with their charges on foot.
Mathias walked around to the service entrance behind the shop and knocked loudly on the door.Gorelik himself answered.He was a short man with sleek black hair and a matching mustache.He moved in a manner that was both curt and precise, and as soon as he’d ushered Mathias into the store, he swiftly turned and locked the door behind them.
The key thing he needed from Gorelik, besides a haul of furniture he’d have to enlist Elise to palm off, were customs and import papers for all the pieces he loaded into the truck.Arriving at the border without the correct paperwork was a good way to get the truck inspected—or worse, its contents seized.
“I must admit, Mr.Beauvais, I was a little surprised to receive your somewhat unconventional request.But as a valued customer, I’m more than happy to oblige.Now, what was it exactly that you were after?”
Mathias’s tired eyes raked across the elaborately staged pieces that filled the showroom.“I’ll take everything on this side,” he said, indicating to a full bedroom suite and an enormous vintage cupboard that took up half the wall.
Gorelik pushed his glasses higher up his nose and made a humming sound between closed lips.“I see.There’s a matching blanket chest in storage that goes with the bedroom set.”
“I’ll take that too.”
“Of course.”Gorelik cleared his throat.“Can Miriam get you some tea while I start putting the documents in order?”
A slight woman with a wheat-colored braid draped over one shoulder stood from behind the front counter.
“Do you have anything stronger?”Mathias asked, suddenly itching for a drink.
Gorelik gave him an indulgent smile.“For you, Mr.Beauvais, I have just the thing.”
He spoke to the woman in Polish, and she disappeared up a narrow set of stairs tucked away at the back of the store.Gorelik indicated for Mathias to follow him into his private office.They each took a seat, and the man fired up the computer on his desk.
“Would you like the pieces on consignment?”
“No, paid in full.I’ll settle in cash this evening,” Mathias instructed.
Gorelik raised an eyebrow but said nothing more.He began tapping away on his keyboard.Soon the door opened, and the woman entered, carrying a tray with two narrow glasses and a crystal decanter.She poured the clear liquor into both glasses and held one out to Mathias.She left the other on the tray and took her leave.
“Please.”Gorelik gestured and lifted his own glass.
The liquor burned on the way down, instantly settling Mathias’s frayed nerves.
“And what about delivery?”Gorelik asked, his eyes trained on the computer screen.“Did you want us to arrange the shipment?”
“I’ll take it all today.”
This caught the man’s attention, and his gaze flicked to Mathias.“I’m afraid our store hand has gone home for the day.”
“That won’t be a problem.I’ve brought my own muscle.”He stood and reached for the decanter.“May I?”
“By all means,” Gorelik said.
