Chapter 31
"It's like we would have never been there," added Sarah puzzled.
"Yes, of course..." said Martin quickly as he exchanged a glance with Pete. "Because I cleaned up a bit."
"Cleaned up?"
"Yeah, I was a bit nervous about this whole thing you know..." started Martin.
"About what will happen with us," Pete cut in.
"Yes, it was pretty stressing for me and I could not occupy myself with anything... so I started cleaning the house."
"Dad is passionate about cleaning," smiled Pete, feeling a bit relieved.
"Oh, I see..." Sarah nodded in agreement. "It was just a bit... strange."
"Of course," Pete stroked her arm gently. "You're a bit confused now... too many things happened in the last few days."
"Yes, it was pretty hectic indeed."
"So you just need a safe and constant place, where you can relax a bit and after we packed out, our room will be the same okay?"
"Uh-huh," she just smiled... in one hand on his sweetness and on the other hand on this whole situation. It's true that she was puzzled about their room, but somehow they seemed a bit too nervous, so she could not resist to remark, "Then I think I'll go and pack out, but not too many things of course... because we might have to go back to the sanatorium," she said and the two men laughed up at once, but she could clearly see the alarm in their eyes.
She was deep in thought as she went upstairs and just stood in front of her suitcases for a while, because she could not decide what to do... unpacking seemed a bit ridiculous after last days events, so in the end she just took out the necessary things and went to the bathroom...
During her refreshing she was thinking non-stop on various details, on Pete's and his father's behavior, their nervousness, their body language, but mostly one moment was stuck in her head... when she went down the previous day and heard as Pete was saying that the police could be here in any minute... and suddenly realization hit her like a brick. She heard it right, the police could be here - in the house - in any minute. That's why they had to run away, had to hide in the sanatorium, where no-one was checking on them and when they arrived back their bedroom was cleared from their personal things... so the police was here in the house.
A day ago she didn't want to know about what was going on, but now she changed her mind. She wanted to find out the truth on her on way, so she quickly dressed up then just needed a good plan to get some information. The only thing she was sure of that she has to find a newspaper or a TV set, but these things were all downstairs...
As she stepped out from their room, everything was dark around her and the only light came from the kitchen downstairs. She perfectly knew she couldn't just go down without being noticed, so she slowly took a step down on the stairs, shifting her weight from one leg to the other, trying to avoid any noise. Getting down was quite a long process and she was sure they will notice her if she just walk straight to the living room's direction, so she had to stop at the bottom of the staircase...
"It was definitely a hard day..." remarked Martin as he leaned back in his chair in happy tiredness. "You know, sometimes I think I would need a little more excitement in my life... but after a day like this, I always rethink it."
"I totally understand it," chuckled Pete, searching for two glasses in the cupboard. "Nowadays I seriously wondering about retirement. This job is so hectic and keeps me going all the time, but now I think I would really love to settle down and just live for the day."
"With Sarah..."
"Yes, of course. She is the point in this whole thing..." he answered and she could hear his smile in it. "Living with her, starting a new life is the only thing I yearn for, but everything is too complicated at the moment..."
"I know." nodded Martin deep in thought, "But apart from the obstacles... would you like to live here? I mean I would move out to the lodge, so this house would be all yours."
"That's very generous and... and I would love this, but you know it has to be the decision of the two of us... now it seems she really likes this place, but maybe a few weeks later she'll find it boring, so... who knows? There are too many questions we have to talk about, but the point is... I really want her to be as happy as she can on my side." he said softly, while she was just standing in the darkness with a teardrop in her eye and a smile on her face.
"I understand that." smiled Martin.
"So where did you put that bottle of wine? You know which one..."
"Wait, I'm coming..." said Martin and suddenly both of them were at the cupboard so the time had come for Sarah. In a split second she was at the other side of the handrail, stopping for a long moment to breathe normally and make sure of no-one noticed her, then on the dark corridor she slowly continued her way until the living room. Fortunately the light what came from the veranda was perfectly enough to find the things she needed, what was none other than the TV and it's controller. Although she was not too good in technical things, she knew about the silent button and its rule, that she has to be very fast after the TV turned on... and she somehow succeed it, so a moment later she was already sitting before the TV mesmerized. Her picture was on every TV channel, with small videos about her formal visits from all around the world and it revealed the truth... that she officially disappeared.
Knowing that everyone was hunting for her was a strange feeling, but there was something more... suddenly she felt she was not alone and as she turned around, Pete was already standing behind her with a worried and guilty look on his face murmuring,
"I... I can explain it."
To be continued...
