Page 80 of Weeping Roses
He says to Greg. “Find me something to hack this bastard into pieces.”
Greg leaves and I say with mounting excitement, “What do you think it is?”
“It may be nothing, malyshka.” He reminds me with a soft smile and I shake my head vehemently.
“It must be because why this room, Valentin? Marsha must have prior knowledge of something. Perhaps my aunt confided in her, too.”
“Or someone else did.” He says with a calculated nod in my direction, and I huff.
“God, this is so frustrating. I want to know so badly what’s happening.”
It makes him laugh, and he says with a smile, “If it’s here, we will find it.”
Greg returns with a hacksaw and I watch as Valentin cuts the wood in four places and then shakes the tapestry frame again.
I’m so excited as the sawdust falls onto the rug and then, with a small thump, a metal object follows it.
“It’s a key!” I stare at Valentin with an incredulous smile as he picks it up from the rug and holds it in his hands.
“I’ve seen that before.” I say in astonishment, and he nods.
“It’s the same as the one in the attic.”
“The one that fell from the chest.”
Greg says with interest. “A few of the guys cleared the attic. The stuff is currently being sorted through in one of the bedrooms.”
“Oh my God.” I can’t contain my excitement and jump up. “Let’s go and find the box. This could be what we’re looking for.”
Valentin shakes his head and I don’t miss the amused smile he shares with Greg as I pull him up and say in a rush. “Come on.”
Greg remains to clear up the mess as we head to the top floor and as we pass another guard, Valentin asks which room the contents of the attic are in. He directs us to the one at the foot of the attic stairs and if anything, I’m just happy we don’t need to go back up there because that place seriously creeps me out.
We head inside the room and I stare in dismay at the mountain of crap that has made its way down here. There is so much of it.
Valentin groans. “Would it be too much to ask that the fucking box we need was waiting with a sign on it saying open me?”
I giggle, and he sighs heavily.
“Come on. We may as well get started.”
We work together, shifting stuff from one end of the room to the other, searching for a box that would fit the small key.
“Do you still have the other key?” I ask him and he nods, removing his phone and dashing out a text.
“Artem was investigating its use. He will bring it to us.”
We work through the mountain of crap, which takes a good hour, and in the meantime, Artem delivers the first key we found. I’m intrigued to notice they are almost identical and something tells me we are so close now.
Valentin says with a sigh of relief. “This could be it.”
I scurry over to him and see a small trunk covered in dust that was placed in a cardboard box and I wait patiently as he lifts it out and then cough as a cloud of dust hits me.
“I hate this shit.” He growls and then says irritably, “If we find something, we’re leaving. I’ve had enough of this poverty. I need to head back to civilization.”
“Poverty.” I roll my eyes. “We are standing in a several million pound property. I admit, it could use a cleaner, but this isn’t poverty Valentin. Not by a long shot.”
“It is to me.” He shrugs and turns his attention to the box.