Читать книгу The Way to Dehradun. A detective adventure story - Tatiana Sokoloff - Страница 7

Yana was sitting with headphones on and listening to an audiobook near gate number thirty-one, where the flight was supposed to board. The landing was still not announced, there was already a slight delay. And finally, the light board came on, inviting passengers to fly to Delhi. About fifty people lined up for boarding.

Yana always took a place near the window, so it was easier for her to retire, no one bothered her to go to the toilet. And now, plopping down in an armchair, she suddenly saw Oksana Fyodorovna, who had appeared from nowhere, sitting next to her.

– Don’t be surprised, Yana, I couldn’t let you go on this dangerous journey alone. Moreover, Roman is like a son to me, and I am responsible for him to Valentina.

At first, Yana wanted to scold her faithful assistant, but then, sighing, she said:

– Well, then, we’ll unravel together, especially since reliable and trusted person is nearby – it’s worth a lot.

– I’m so glad, that you’re not angry with me.

– We need to work out a plan of action. I think we should ask the airport staff, maybe someone remembered Roman?

The plane was climbing rapidly, and Yana closed her eyes and dozed off to the music on her headphones. Mrs Oksana was reading a book. The food arrived about forty minutes later, but Yana was already fast asleep at that time, apparently affected by the nervous tension of the last two days.

They arrived in Delhi on time, and as our ladies had no luggage, they quickly passed through passport control and found themselves in the reception area. Yana saw an airport employee and an information desk nearby.

The first thing they did was approach an airport employee. Yana asked in good English:

– The day before yesterday, a young man flew in from Moscow: tall, thin, bespectacled, about thirty-five years old. He’s missing, do you by any chance remember him? Who was he talking to? Which way did he go?

– I didn’t work the day before yesterday, it’s not my shift, I don’t know anything, I didn’t see anything. We’re on duty in two days, it was Salim’s shift, he’ll be here tomorrow.

At the information desk, Yana repeated the same speech, but the girl said she didn’t remember the young man, and there were so many passengers that she couldn’t even remember them all.

– Let’s spend the night at a hotel near the airport so that we can talk with Salim tomorrow. Perhaps he will give us at least some information.

They checked into a hotel near the airport, Smart Signature, and had a delicious snack of Indian food at a local cafe. For the first meal, they ate palak paneer vegetarian puree soup, a fantastically delicious and delicate dish. Palak is spinach, and paneer is very similar to Adyghe cheese. The second course was tandoori chicken, which is marinated chicken in yogurt with spices. And finally, for dessert, they tasted Yana’s favorite dish – korma, a delicate creamy cream based on yogurt with nuts and spices. And, of course, afterwards ordered masala tea.

Yana was very fond of Indian cuisine, she was fascinated by all these mysterious aromas of Indian spices, she tried to cook something similar at home in Moscow. She was especially good at making lentil soup with cumin.

– Mrs Oksana, let’s have a good rest now, because tomorrow we have a difficult day ahead of us.

– Good night, sweetheart

And they went to their rooms in the hotel.