Читать книгу Palmist. Books 1,2,3 - Tsvetana Alekhina - Страница 6

Amir and Lyosha were waiting for their evening to go to the morgue. To their surprise, they were not afraid, but on the contrary, they were having fun, and they laughed uncontrollably. On the way to the morgue, they stopped at McDonald’s to have a snack, and laughed at their new friend – maybe he should buy a burger, and the fact that he is sitting there hungry!

– No, if anything, he will eat homemade food next to the corpse on a stretcher!

– Oh, yeah, I forgot, he is at home there!

– Exactly.

Approaching the morgue, they looked around with apprehension. – Are you sure we are going?

– Exactly. And opening the door slightly, they entered the room.

– Hi. I thought you were not coming. Their meeting is a little man in a white coat, with a pleasant voice and with too smart and boring appearance.

– Why?

– I extracted this information from our last meeting with you. Lyosha could not stand it and laughed. – I do not see anything funny.

– You are right, it is not funny. We came in all seriousness. Come on; take us to your workplace.

Roman led them through a gloomy corridor and led them into a room where there were several corpses, two of which were covered with a sheet, two were lying undressed. – These have just arrived. These two are rootless; they are on a mass grave.

– What a horror. How bitter it is.

– Yes, a sad fate.

– And this one did not die a natural death.

– I have already had a look. Stop mourning everyone.

– Lyosha is right. The whole world cannot be saved. You know how many of these I have already washed.

– He fell in love with a dancer yesterday and is eager to save her. He says she should not die her own death.

– With such zeal you gather troubles on your head.

– «I know about that, too. That is what I have been afraid of since childhood. Troubles on your head. And Sultana, yes, she charmed me. But I can’t see her like my ears. She is already gone.

– Who knows? Never say never. I need to wash these two corpses, and then the autopsy. I am still studying. I work at night, on corpses that have no relatives. Then, over time, I will become a better pathologist. He uttered these words with such pride that Amir and Lyosha looked at him with admiration. – Sometimes it’s quiet, almost no one. And sometimes there are such nights that there is not enough day. I study during the day, the same place as you.

– And how do you know Igor?

– Our parents are friends.

At the same time, in the restaurant, the door of the basement in which Sultana was located opened, and the guard shouldered her and carried her to the car. Of course, no one saw it. Everyone was busy serving tables, the Wine was dancing its folk dance, the chefs were preparing an order and trying to watch the performance, the waiters were running around the hall and could not cope with the work, the music was playing loudly, and no one heard or saw anything. Sultana was thrown into the back seat of the car, the door slammed shut, and she realized that this was the end. Arthur was sitting in the front seat. The same security guard they had talked to at lunch got behind the wheel. Sultana recognized him; he was there too on the day she was abducted from her father’s house. She quickly ran over, looked into his eyes, and took her gaze away.

– «Don’t fall for her tricks. Otherwise, you will suffer the same fate as her late fiance. The driver drove the car in silence and occasionally threw quick glances at the back seat. He was afraid of Arthur’s anger. Arthur nervously negotiated in Russian so that Sultana and the driver would not understand anything. Arthur did not know that the driver had learned Russian while working for him and was silent about it. Arthur tried to behave with restraint so as not to spoil the deal. The driver understood what was going on, wanted to release the steering wheel of the car, but restrained himself in time and pretended that he did not understand anything. He worked only as a personal driver for Arthur and spoke to him only in Lao. This man realized that now everything depends only on him.

– Now we will come to a cozy place. Take this girl and give her to a very useful little man. Then you take me and come back, this little man will return it to you, and you will get rid of it. When you get rid of her, you will need to get rid of the corpse so that this corpse will never be caught anywhere under any circumstances. There are too many corpses. Bury her in an unmarked grave, or I do not know where. He made these speeches so easily that the driver could not help but keep silent, but he kept silent. He began to drive noticeably slower, and Arthur noticed it. Do you feel sorry for her? Do you want to lie down next to her on an unmarked grave?

Sultana heard everything. Her eyes widened. She became even colder from the horror she heard. The clothes she was wearing did not warm her. It was no longer hot outside, and she froze over. Her teeth were chattering, probably from fear, and her body was covered with goosebumps. She took a handkerchief that was lying next to her; maybe someone left it, and wrapped herself in it. Arthur nervously negotiated in Russian so that Sultana and the driver would not understand anything. The driver turned his head to the back seat, and made it clear with a gesture that this was a sign. Sultana quickly understood everything and took hold of the door handle. The driver pressed the pedal and accelerated the jeep. Arthur got scared and started swearing loudly. The car reached a high speed and crashed into an oncoming car rushing at the same speed. The car braked sharply, and making a turn put Arthur sitting next to him under attack. It turned out to be a cool accident. Both cars were smashed. Arthur’s driver received severe blows, but he was able to get out and stood on his feet.

The ambulance and the police arrived quickly. There were four victims, Arthur and Sultana were unconscious. The driver of the oncoming Jeep was dead. His two passengers sitting in the back seat were injured and were in serious condition. The police examined the accident and tried to identify the culprit. The ambulance examined the injured and carried Arthur and Sultana away on a stretcher. There was a car nearby to take the body to the morgue. While the police recorded the death, the driver stared intently at Sultana’s body, which was lying on a stretcher next to the ambulance.

– Well, let us go?

– Yes, bring the gurney in.

The deceased body was also standing next to the waiting car, and the police turned their backs on him, discussing something. There was no time to delay. And Arthur’s Driver decided to do it, knowing that he himself would soon become the same body. He swapped the bodies, not knowing how he did it, but he could. His body was trembling from the fear he had experienced, from what he had done, but he knew what he was going for— – I hope, he said faintly, that she knows what to do next. He covered her face and helped her roll the gurney into the car.

– Thank you, he heard. He nodded his head in response and quickly walked to the ambulance to fix the headscarf on the head of the deceased as soon as possible, which he removed from the Sultan and carefully covered the man’s face with it. He wrapped this corpse in a sheet so carefully that everyone thought it was her fiance.

– This must be your fiancee?

– Yes. This is true. He said in broken Russian. She is a Muslim; she is not allowed to show her beauty. The doctors smiled and gestured for him to go with his fiancee. Arthur was unconscious, and this poor guy was afraid of the day when he would come to his senses. He did not take decisive steps towards the ambulance, and he had to go with them. After getting into the car with them, he put his hand to his heart and groped there for his driver’s license and passport, believing that God himself was smiling at him in heaven. This man decided to run. Run wherever you want. Moreover, he had earned money. And he ran away as soon as the ambulance arrived at the hospital.

The car arrived at the morgue in parallel with the ambulance. While the ambulance was processing the patients, a stretcher with a corpse was brought into the morgue. The ambulance found the substitution of corpses and raised the boil. – Which morgue was the living girl taken to?

– What is the difference? If she is alive, then she will be delivered by herself. You do not have enough work. Let us make out the corpse now. Where to deliver it? Call your relatives? Relatives were waiting in the morgue for the corpse of the deceased. A phone call alerted them to the substitution.

– How is this even possible? Does that happen? To confuse a living person with a dead one, and even a man with a woman. Where to complain. Roman heard the indignant woman’s voice receding. And entering the room, he threw off the covers from the corpse.

– This corpse is rootless. But I’m sorry to send her to a mass grave. The time was about three o’clock in the morning. But this boiling dispelled the dream in the whole morgue. Amir and Lyosha approached the girl and froze. She was lying in front of them. Sultana was actually lying like a corpse, but there was still a glimmer of life in her.

– She is alive!

– How? And she’s really alive. Sultana opened her eyes. She lay motionless as a corpse and moved her eyes from side to side. From the recent events that she had to go through, she decided that she had been brought to be killed, and there were already corpses lying next to her, working for Arthur.

– «They’re already dead. I am next. She thought, and after looking at Lyosha and Roma, she realized that they would not understand her language. Amir approached her and looked into her eyes, he saw fear. The first thought that came to her mind was that he was Arthur’s man and wanted to kill her. And at the same time, she had hope that she would be able to persuade this guy to let her go. She could not figure out where she was. Turning her head from side to side, she was attacked by such horror, these corpses disgusted her, and she felt sick. And the feeling of hunger caused such weakness that I just didn’t have the strength. Her body was so weak that she closed her eyes again and passed out.

– You are alive, you are all right. Amir tried to bring her back to consciousness. Roman heard footsteps in the corridor.

– They are coming here. Oh my god. It is behind her.

– A girl. Where is she?

– Here it is. Roman replied with indifference.

– How did she get here?

«She was wrapped up like a corpse. She is a corpse. Especially not Russian. Nobody needs it. Do not worry, it is in my line. Look at her. They just got rid of her. Sultana was actually lying like a corpse. But she was as beautiful as a sleeping beauty. This girl was young, so fresh, the length of her black and smooth hair reached to her buttocks. Her eyelashes were lush like a porcelain doll. Eyebrows are clear and even. And her dark skin complemented her beauty. This flower girl looked like Princess Jasmine from the cartoon about Aladdin. Roman tried to cover the sleeping corpse with himself, and wriggled out as best he could.

– Okay. Good. I will not bother you; masterfully do your favorite job. With this grin, the man left the room.

– Well, you give. You are also a first-class actor. You can be envied. Roman proudly accepted this compliment. Amir tried in every way to bring the Sultan to his senses, but it was in vain.

– Sultan. Amir called her in such a voice as if she was his woman. I was at your performance. I have seen you dance. I also know you are in danger. I will help you. I am not one of those people who work for Arthur. I am a student who came here to study. My homeland is Laos. Amir fell silent with a sigh. – We cannot do without Igor, his help and a car. And Amir dialed Igor and told him everything.

– What a night. I have never had a living corpse before.

Igor arrived just in time. Amir got into his car and told him everything in detail. «Gee. But most importantly, what?

– What?

– Finally you asked me for help. I will be happy to help you. I will put your beautiful friend in a paid clinic. She does not have any documents. Isn’t that right?

– So.

– She needs medical services now. And be well hidden.

– That is also true.

– The only question that arises is how to get her out of this building. We need to bury someone instead of her.

– To bury someone, you need to bring someone into this building.

– «Gee. But we’ll figure something out. Stay in touch. With these words, Igor left.

– Morning is coming soon, and I will leave this building. And you too. What do we intend to do with it?

– I understand. But me too, what should I do? If she is found, she will be handed over to the police, and then she is definitely a khan. Amir paced nervously from side to side. His only refuge was Igor, who did not call. Dawn was coming.

Sultana came to her senses and understood, and having understood what was the matter, mentally thanked the driver who helped her to escape. She was still pretending to be dead and trying to eavesdrop on something. Sultana no longer trusted anyone and was on her own. She was alarmed by the fact that Amir was Asian as well as she was, and the fact that he was there at such a difficult moment did not cause her to trust him. Sultana thanked heaven that she managed to survive and God gave her life. Her body lay among these bereaved corpses, and yet she understood that if God had given her life, then she would be saved and live.

Roman was preparing the corpses for burial. Sometimes his mentor came to him and watched him at work. – How is your girl here? You will leave it to your day partner!

– To be honest, I cannot open it.

– «You don’t have to open it. Just pack it that is all. I feel sorry for her myself. And what kind of friends do you have here?

– These are our students. They came a year earlier. Roman uttered these words with such an idiotic smile.

– Well, if so. Let them not abuse visits. With that, he left.

– Listen, and fate itself favors us. It might really work out. She will have to be a corpse twice.

– I see it is not the first time for her. If she agrees, then I do not mind.

– So she does not have to agree, she is unconscious. At that moment, the phone rang.

– I have decided everything.

– How?

– I will come to pick up Sultana’s body, and I will hush everything up. Do not worry. I am going to bring her a beautiful outfit. Accordingly, the coffin is elegant. Prepare her.

– I understand you.

Igor arrived as promised. After giving Amir a bag of clothes, he waited impatiently. Amir came back and looked at me with a questioning look. – Who will dress her? Amir and Lyosha looked at Roman.

– Why me?

– Well, we are not going to dress a living corpse.

– «And if she wakes up?»

– Yes, a difficult case. Amir approached her in a tight. – Sultana, you need to run away from here urgently. You need to get dressed. If you do not get up, we will. Sultana, hearing a familiar voice, opened her eyes wide. She looked at Amir carefully once more. – Sultana, we have very little time. Get dressed faster. With these words, he gave her the package. The people went out the door. When Amir returned, he explained everything to her in detail, and the most important thing was that he would have to lie down in a coffin.

The coffin was taken out and loaded into the car. Amir accompanied the coffin, which contained a living girl. When the car started off, he quickly opened the lid and helped her out, and tightly closing the coffin, he looked attentively at Sultana. During all this time, Sultana did not utter a word. Amir spoke to her in Lao, being completely convinced that she understood him. Amir understood that this girl could not know other languages, and decided to speak to her in their common Lao language. Amir himself had several languages. As mentioned earlier, his father educated him well in his youth. The car made a stop, and they left the body, moving into Igor’s car. At the sight of Igor, the Sultan’s face changed. She saw everyone as an enemy. – Don’t be afraid, this is a man on our side. The evil is over. You will be safely hidden.

– But what about my father, he will die of grief.

– I will call him and tell him everything. You need to hide for a while. Until Arthur calms down.

Sultana wanted to believe him, but she was so afraid of being deceived or killed that she just let everything take its course.

– Igor will put you in a clinic and they will help you. You are very weak. You need care. Sultana was so unaccustomed to these words and such treatment that she simply could not believe what she was hearing. The words – You need care, just echoed in her ears, and she closed her eyes and fell asleep. She fell asleep like an angel. And Amir was afraid to disturb her sleep. Sultana slept until she arrived at the clinic, and she had to be carried into the building on her hands.

The clinic was already aware of the arrival of an unknown patient. Everything was ready for her arrival. Amir immediately carried her into the prepared ward and sat down next to her. Igor watched him with a smile. Amir did not notice Igor. He kept his eyes on Sultana.

– A doctor is coming to examine her now.

– «She’s sleeping. Let him rest.

– I understand that she has been sleeping for a long time. She needs to be examined and assisted. You are a future doctor yourself and you understand how serious this is. She was in an accident.

– «You’re right. She has just been through so much. That I am just sorry to wake her up. The doctor examined Sultana in a semi-fainting state. Nurses came to take tests. She herself could not walk, and was still silent.

– The patient is dehydrated. Decline of strength. And severe bruises after the accident. There are no fractures. I understand that your patient does not know the language. Who will be the translator?

– I will be.

– You cannot stay around all the time. We have a nurse in the clinic who knows the language. I think we can handle it. We will take care of our patient with you.

– Thank you Doctor. The most important thing is that this information should be confidential.

– I remember that. With these words, Igor and the doctor exchanged smiles.

Amir stood at the door of Sultana’s room and waited for the nurse to come out. The nurse came out and he came in. Sultana looked at him questioningly. – What do you want from me?

– Nothing. I just want to help you.

– Why?

– I cannot tell you about it right now. But trust me. When you get better, I will tell you everything about myself. I am not one of the people who want to hurt you. Now rest. They are bringing you lunch right now. I am leaving. I have to go to class, I am studying to be a doctor, and he showed his student ID. Sultana wanted to believe him so much, and she almost believed him, but the deceptions she experienced made her stay on guard. Amir left and lunch was brought to the ward.