The next day she woke early not wanting to miss Red, even though he said he wouldn't leave before saying goodbye. She showered and dressed quickly before heading to the kitchen. Red was setting out three plates on the table while Dembe-who Liz had begun to think of a jack of all trades rather than simply a bodyguard-was finishing cooking their breakfast.
Red turned when he heard her enter. "Impeccable timing; Dembe is just about done with his famous frittata made with ham and roasted peppers, it's delicious."
He motioned her to the table and pulled a chair out for her to sit. Once she was seated, he sat next to her.
She shouldn't be surprised that the man cooked. "Is there anything you can't do, Dembe?"
Without missing a beat he replied, "Moonwalk." He placed the food on their plates and awkwardly shuffled backward in an attempt to showcase his lack of talent.
She giggled like a school girl. Dembe seemed as fascinating as his employer. She looked over to see what Red thought of his bodyguard's behavior, but he just smiled and took a bite of frittata, moaning in pleasure at the taste.
She realized she was staring at him while he ate when he scooped up a bite on his fork and offered it to her. "You really should try it, Lizzie, it's fantastic."
She opened her mouth and took the proffered bite, watching him watch her the whole time. Making a sound of pleasure of her own, "Oh my God, you're right. This is so good, Dembe."
The three ate and chatted over breakfast, Dembe sharing stories of his adventures with Red. There was a special bond between the two men, almost like brothers.
As soon as breakfast was finished and the dishes were placed in the dishwasher, Red put on his suit coat and headed to the front room. Lizzie followed close behind. She was still nervous about him leaving. But she wanted to show him she was strong enough to do this on her own, she didn't want him to think she was weak.
Red took his coat from the hook on the wall. "I will see you in a few days. My associate, Mr. Kaplan, will be here by the time you get back from the orphanage." Red placed his fedora on his head and started to open the door.
Liz grabbed the sleeve of his jacket to stop him and looked up at him through her lashes. She licked her lips nervously before asking, "Aren't you going to kiss me goodbye? "
His head tilted to the side and a soft smile graced his lips briefly. "You should be kissed often and by someone who knows how."
Oh dear, he was quoting Gone with the Wind. She wasn't sure if he was trying to be romantic or if he was teasing her, but she went with it. "And I suppose you think you're the proper person?"
"I might be," He watched her lips for a moment before opening the door, adding "Stay out of trouble, Lizzie."
He left before she could form an appropriate response, damn the man.
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Her day at the orphanage was spent in the same way as the day before. There must be at least forty children in all that she had gotten ready for inspection or 'adoption' or whatever they wanted to call it.
Miles Rudenko came to see her before she left for the day.
"Excellent work. All the children look wonderful, they should have no problems finding good homes."
His smile was pleasant still, but Liz could see the oily undertones in it. She wanted to vomit, on him preferably. She needed to get some kind of information and decided to prod gently. "The children were so filthy, surely you don't keep them here like that?"
His eyes narrowed briefly, but then he smiled that horrid smile she was beginning to loathe. "Of course not. The Ukrainian authorities intercepted a transport of young children and they were brought here after their parents could not be located."
He motioned for the door and let her precede him out. He continued to talk as they walked outside. "Sadly, most of these children come from poor families who sold the poor souls because they couldn't afford to keep them, so really this is much better."
She couldn't come up with a response that didn't involve her hands around his neck, so she changed the subject. "Drag… err, Ms. Kushnir said you needed to speak with me about tomorrow."
"Ahh, yes. tomorrow. I will need you to remain in the viewing area and help Ms. Kushnir keep the children in line."
"In line?" She didn't like the sound of that.
"If the children become unruly, you will have a small device when pushed it will send a light shock."
"You want me to shock them?" She was incredulous. He couldn't be serious.
He gave her a patronizing look. "Don't worry, it's a device similar to a dog collar, the shock will not hurt them."
If rage was a color, she was seeing it. She needed to get out of here before she did something to jeopardize herself or the case. She took a breath and plastered a smile on her face. "Oh, I see. Well, I'll see you tomorrow then."
It took all of her control to walk down the steps, to Newton and the waiting car. She had never killed anyone before, but here she was having trouble counting how many times in the last two days she had contemplated murder.
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She let herself into the apartment and came to a sudden stop when she saw an older woman sitting in Red's chair drinking a cup of tea. The woman looked to be in her sixties, dressed in a seventies style wrap dress and sensible shoes. There was an air of formidable authority about her even though she was quietly sitting enjoying her cup of tea.
Confused, Liz asked, "Uh, hello? Can I help you with something?"
"No dearie, I'm fine. I was sent her to help you."
A small fear gripped Liz, hopefully she hadn't tipped her hand earlier with her question to Miles. "By whom? The only person I am expecting is… "
The woman cut her off. "Mr Kaplan?"
"Yes, how did you know?" If this was Red's idea of a joke she was going to have to set him straight.
Said matter of factly, "I'm Mr. Kaplan."
Liz laughed awkwardly. "You can't be serious."
Mr. Kaplan eyed her assesingly for a moment before getting up to take her cup to the kitchen for a refill, saying over her shoulder, "You can call me Kate, if that is preferable."
Liz followed in fascination, pleasantly surprised to find Mr. Kaplan was a woman. "Kate sounds nice. Thank you."
"Raymond said you had some difficulty yesterday after you got back from the orphanage. Do you need to talk about it?" She motioned for Liz to sit at the table and brought her a cup of tea before sitting down across from her.
Liz blushed remembering her breakdown of the prior evening. "Understatement of the year. But it's tomorrow that has me worried."
"How so?" Kate sipped at her tea waiting for Liz to go on.
Liz visibly shuddered thinking about it. Her voice was shaking as she said, "They expect me to shock the children if they misbehave. I don't think I can do it."
Kate sat back in her chair and looked thoughtfully into her cup of tea. She looked up at Liz with a small smile. "I might have a solution to that."
Liz's head snapped up, hope springing up around her. "A solution?"
Kate slapped her hand on the table; getting up, she said. "I will need to make a phone call and then we can start on dinner."
"That sounds good." She thought she would feel ill at ease, but she felt comforted. Red had made a good choice of companion for her.
They made a lasagna and put it in the oven, played a game of chess while it was cooking, talking about inconsequential things. After the game they started preparing the bread and salad. They hadn't talked about what kind of work Kate did, so she decided to ask, "So, what kind of work do you do for Red?"
Kate looked up from chopping the vegetables, a strange look on her face. "You call him Red?"
"Yes, why is that odd?" She wondered why it would matter what she called him.
"His… business acquaintances call him Red, you aren't business."
"What am I to him?" She stopped what she was doing, not wanting to miss a word, but the answer didn't come.
Ignoring the last question, Kate supplied, "I'm a cleaner."
Liz sighed, well not the answer she wanted, but an answer none the less. "You clean for him?"
"After a fashion," Kate supplied, noncommittally .
This was going nowhere fast. She finished making the garlic butter and spread it over the bread.
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"Here, toss the salad while I get the lasagna out of the oven." Kate handed the salad bowl to Liz and busied herself with getting the pan out of the oven.
This woman was almost as frustrating as Red. Evasion 101 was probably a mandatory class before working for him. She was too tired to try to pry information out of her, and part of her sensed this woman would not be easily persuaded.
While they were clearing the the table from dinner a knock sounded on the door. Liz tensed when she saw Kate walk over to a cabinet and pull out a gun that had been concealed in a box of pancake mix. Clever Red; he knew she hated pancakes and would never touch that box.
"You aren't expecting anyone?"
Kate pulled the slide back checking to make sure a round was in the chamber. "I am, but it's always better to play it safe. Stay here while I get the door."
Kate returned to the kitchen a few minutes later after speaking in low tones for a few moments to whoever was at the door; she was holding a small black object, no larger than a dime in her hand. Kate held it up for Liz's inspection.
"It looks like a blouse button." Liz took the small device to look at it more closely.
Kate leveled a serious look at Liz. "This will disrupt any shocks meant for the children; but you will have to place it directly on the main power grid."
Liz shook her head. There was no way she would be able to get away to look for a source. "They never leave me alone long enough to do anything; I'm even followed into the restroom."
Kate smiled reassuringly at her. "The source will likely be in close proximity to the collars; you will just need to think of a small distraction and place this quickly."
Liz took a steadying breath. "Okay, I can do this. Thank you."
Kate indicated the full sink. "Let's get these dishes cleaned and put away, then we can relax for a while."