Page 38 of Lost Room Lawyer
Oh, if only she knew how skilled he really was.
“No, he …” I felt an urge to do something, so I gathered the dishes and brought them to the kitchen. “He’s good. He was really a big help.”
“I’m glad to hear that,” she said as I finished clearing the table and she loaded the dishes into the dishwasher.
When my gaze drifted to the bookshelf in the living room, where various books were lined up, I remembered what Nico had told me.
“Do you know Nicola Rossi?”
“The author?The Birds’ Song of Laughter. Of course. I’ve read it. It was a great book. If I remember correctly, she won a few awards.”
“Nicola Rossi is a man.”
“Oh, really? How do you know that?”
“Because Nico Simeon appears to be Nicola Rossi.”
It was always amusing to see Viktoria’s face contort in surprise as she looked at me with astonishment. “What? Really?”
“Doesn’t the book have an author photo?” I asked with interest.
“There was never a photo of Rossi. She … I mean … He hasn’t shown up at any awards ceremonies either.” Viktoria brushed a brown lock from her forehead with her forearm—her hands were still wet from washing the plates. “And Rossi is really Leo’s son? But … The book is so old! And the boy…”
“He wasn’t even eighteen when it was published.”
Viktoria’s eyes widened, and she stared at me in disbelief.
“What?” I asked.
“Uh … You’d better go down to the reading room and look for the book on the shelf.”
“Okay.”
I had no idea what she was aiming for, but I went without asking any more questions. If we had the book in the house, then I could read it.
Fortunately, my obsession with order had rubbed off on Viktoria as well, since she had actually organized her little library by author’s name. I found the book right away, but I couldn’t believe what I was holding.
A hefty volume with a pastel green cover featuring a crane and the logo of a renowned publishing house. A sticker was half torn off; it was one of those that said “Bestseller” on it. I went back to the kitchen and placed the book on the counter.
“Goodness, this thing weighs four pounds!”
“I know!” Viktoria exclaimed excitedly. “You certainly don’t write something like this quickly.”
As I turned the book over to read the blurb, my eyes fell on another piece of information: Winner of the German Book Prize.
I knew the kid was a genius, but that he had published such a tome at eighteen and won that award …
“This is 1,000 pages!”
“Yes,” Viktoria said, laughing. “The boy really had a lot to say. Oh man, now I want to meet him. Definitely! Let’s … We could all go out for dinner together. It would be a chance to see Leo again.”
A sharp pang hit my stomach, as if someone had stabbed me. Then dizziness came, and I subtly held onto the back of a chair. “Meet?” I cleared my throat, as my voice had failed me. I straightened my shoulders, composed myself, and turned to Viktoria. “Let me guess. You want to ask Nico for an autograph.”
“Of course! I love this book! Even more now!”
I couldn’t even blame Viktoria. What I was holding was honored with the most important German Book Prize. “I wonder why Leo never mentioned this in his praise?”
Viktoria finished with the dishwasher and dried her hands on a kitchen towel. “Yes, kind of strange. Does he even know about it?”
