Joice hadn't told anyone about yesterday's peculiar incident. She knew that her friends would not understand. Lisa has had nightmares for weeks after they fled from it and even Martin, who would never admit to being scared of anything, had come to school with dark circles under his eyes. All of them had been tense, unfocused and easily irritated. Only when the change of seasons had introduced longer days and warm rays of sunshine that tingled their noses, they had started to forget. Joice wouldn't want to ruin that for them, after all, she was good at keeping secrets.
Finally, Gina had texted her back and assured her that her aunt was fine, except for the shock, of course, and that none of the staff members were harmed. She also told Sophie that she couldn't wait to escape the hubbub of the emergency-family-meeting and was longing for a drink.
Sophie stole a glance to the note. She had memorized the address by now, but she couldn't bring herself to throw it away. After a restless night, her brain finally spitted out a decision, and then a plan, before it allowed her to sleep.
She would go to Oswald's, just not as someone interested in an occupation, but as a guest. Mingling with the club's clientele might be the best way to gather information without arising suspicion.
Should she bring Gina? She had never gone to a club by herself and wasn't even sure if this was something people actually do. So, being accompanied by a friend seemed to be the more natural option there. Yet, Sophie wasn't too keen on dragging Gina into the premises of someone who could well be a Mafiosi.
On the other hand, experience had shown that other places were not necessarily safer either, so perhaps visiting the lion's den wouldn't pose so much of a threat.
Hey Gina, I'm so glad everything is okay, and I honestly think both of us could use a drink. Or 5. Have you ever been to a place called 'Oswald's'? I overheard people talking about it and thought we could give it a try!
In fact, Gina had been to the club before, but apparently it had been renamed recently and she was excited to see how the place had changed
The next day, Gina invited herself over to her apartment at 6 PM and brought a rather big purse that was stuffed with not only a ridiculous variety of make-up, but also two expensive looking dresses.
"I am not sure I like where this is going", Sophie stated when her friend unpacked the items on her kitchen table which she had freed of any dirty dishes or strange notes earlier that day. "Oh, come on, Sophie! Only rich people go there, and I don't want to see either of us paying for their drinks… because we cannot afford to.", she added dryly when she saw Sophie's raised eyebrows. Sophie took a deep breath and decided to submit to her friend's good will.
When she looked into the mirror, she wasn't feeling too self-conscious. The black dress that Gina made her wear was actually quite alright. It wasn't too tight or revealing, but flattered her physique and her face didn't feel too plastered. In contrast to her dark clothing and eye make-up, Gina had settled for a tea green dress and made herself up fittingly.
Thanks to the bottle of wine that Gina had brought along as well, Sophie had managed to give herself some liquid courage. She felt lightheaded and excited and was sure that, even if she did not manage to connect all the dots, she was still going to have fun tonight.
Gina had been right, the place smelled of wealth. Rich people wearing expensive clothes were drinking expensive alcohol.
Oswald's was a classy establishment and gave the impression that time had stopped within its walls a couple of decades ago. With a sigh of relief, Sophie realized that it had been wise to give her friend the decisive power over her evening attire. She wasn't too underdressed, which gave her the hope to mingle more or less effortlessly with the rest of the guests.
The place wasn't crammed with people and there were many tables still unoccupied. Several round tables were arranged in front of a stage and seemed to be the most popular seating option as most of the customers had chosen them.
The people sitting there seemed like sitting ducks to Sophie, far more illuminated by the elegant lamps above them than customers sitting at the bar or in the booths.
Fortunately, Gina wanted to go to the bar and dragged Sophie, who could not even remotely imitate her friend's confident strides, to the counter.
The bartender was quite the sight.
Not only was the man tall, he was also rather big and had a kind-looking face. His spirit animal would be a friendly grizzly bear, Sophie thought.
"What can I get you, ladies?", he inquired warmly. While Sophie unsuccessfully searched the walls behind him for some kind of price list, Gina had already ordered a Gin Tonic for the two of them. "First round's on me" she declared happily.
She took her drink and faced Sophie: "To an amazing night and a few weeks without fires or gunfights!", she toasted solemnly. "To a few weeks of peace and quiet", Sophie sighed with one side of her mouth curled upwards and clicked her glass to Gina's.
As Gina took a large sip of her drink, Sophie stole a glance towards the bartender and caught him watching them thoughtfully with one eyebrow quirked. So much for laying low.
"So, why is this place called Oswald's?", Sophie asked him in an attempt to distract him from whatever thoughts he was having.
"You two lovely ladies have never been here before?" It was more of an observation than a question, so Sophie settled for a shy, harmless smile instead of a verbal reply. "Well, it's the boss's first name."
"Uhhh!", Sophie exclaimed with feigned surprise, "I thought you were the owner". She forced herself to let out a small giggle. Acting drunk and flirty really helped her with the blushing. Pushing her self-respect aside, she added: "Sorry, I just assumed this was your club because you look like it belongs to you."
Sophie was getting worried that she might have overdone it when the man's face took on a pensive expression. After a few seconds, he seemed to have collected himself and looked flattered. Phew.
"No worries! I have just been working here for a long time, so I sort of blend in with the furniture", he said with laugh that did not entirely reach his eyes. Yet, his facial expression was kind and he gave Sophie a warm look. "The boss is the man over there", he pointed to a figure sitting at one of the tables in front of the stage, "he likes to be called penguin."
"Penguin? Like the animal?", Gina chimed in, "well, that's a strange nickname!", she slightly rose from her stool to get a better view on the man and propped herself up on the counter. Sophie watched the bartender's and other customer's eyes wandering to her friend's cleavage and wondered whether Gina had chosen this pose purposefully. "Huh, there actually is some resemblance", she smiled as she sat down again.
While the bartender announced that they wouldn't have to pay for their next drink, Sophie excused herself and went in the direction of the bathroom. While pretending to be looking for something in her purse, she walked very slowly and shot several glances to both sides.
When she realized that the bald man wasn't present, she slightly relaxed. The other guests seemed to be 'normal'. There was no one who looked like they were criminals, much less like they were carrying any kind of weapons.
She forgave herself for bringing Gina.
On her way back, she managed to get a good view on the 'boss'. Sophie would have anticipated him to be more terrifying.
He wasn't tall, and his skin was extraordinarily pale, building an intense contrast to the black colour of his hair and the dark clothes he was wearing. He looks like a gothic dandy, Sophie thought to herself.
He didn't look like a professional mob boss to Sophie. More like… an artist. Maybe a painter or an actor? Or an orchestra conductor?
From the distance, she couldn't make out the colour of his eyes, and it was impossible for her to say if this man carried kindness in his eyes.
She got back to the bar and focused on her Gin Tonic and talking to her friend. Gina got what she wanted: None of them paid for their drinks.