How to Kill a Man in Thirty Seconds

Chapter 26: The Burly Russian

That weekend, I visited Sam's house. She lived an hour's bus ride away and I soon found myself standing on the front porch of her small, stock home. It was a very homely place, with a small front garden decorated with a vegetable patch, flowers of every colour and a large oak tree.

I was impressed; Sam didn't look like she gardened.

Wisps of smoke drifted through her open mouth as she opened the front door for me, my gaze immediately flickering to the cigarette she had held between her fingers. A wide grin crossed her face as she recognized me, her blue eyes lighting up before she engulfed me in a hug.

"Charley, I'm so happy you came!"

I grinned in reply; Sam always acted like the girl best friend I did not have and (I was starting to realize) somewhat missed.

It wasn't long before we found ourselves in her living room, a can of Pepsi clutched in my hand (she had offered me a beer but I had refused). The inside of her house was a mess, unwashed cutlery lying in the sink and belongings scattered haywire.

My gaze flickered to a photograph perched on her mantle. It was a picture of a much younger version of her, Morgan and my dad at what looked like prom. My gaze lingered on my father, whose arm was slung over Morgan's as he grinned at the camera. His familiar dimple was visible on his cheek.

A soft smile crossed my face, as I sank into a sofa, "You guys really were close, huh?" I murmured and was surprised to sense the envy tainting my own voice. Sam had got to spend thirty whole years with him, something I could only dream of.

She smiled sadly, "I guess I was lucky that way- we were always together. Every summer too, we used to spend it at my dad's beach house."

I nodded, a bit baffled. If her parents had had a beach house, they must have been loaded. How had Sammy ended up broke like this then?

"Your other friend..." I furrowed my brows as if struggling to remember, "... Valeria. How close was she with him?"

"Very close," Sam replied sombrely, "I personally felt a bit intimidated by her and I think so did the others. But Anthony really hit it off with her; they were both pretty studious and were into the same things. I think he just liked having someone that understood his goals and passion."

That was exactly what Isaac had said.

"But why were you intimidated by her?"

Sam shrugged, "I think it was only because she was always very... serious. Val had a very mechanical way of doing things. Sometimes, I felt like she didn't have any emotions; it was all about what had to be done and not about what she or anybody else wanted." Sam's frown deepened, "I guess it was because she was just very shy. Maybe that's why she kept mostly to herself."

I nodded, "What happened to her after graduation?"

My father's friend frowned again, appearing sad as she took another desperate drag of her cigarette, "Valeria... she had been dreaming of going to business school, but I think her parents were broke so she ended up going to a crappy law school instead. No one heard from her during that time; she rarely called. But when she did return, she was broke. She said she had 'given up' her job as a lawyer and that it 'was not for her'."

"Wait, Sam, are you telling me she came this far with no knowledge in actual business?"

Sam shook her head vigorously as if surprised by the question, "Of course not, Charley. After she got back, for nearly ten years, she used to work for your dad."

I nearly dropped the drink in shock, my eyes widening, "What?"

Sam blinked twice, "I'm surprised you don't know this already. I mean, after a couple of years, your dad made her his secretary. If she had waited out a couple more years, I'm sure he would've made her a partner; that's how involved she was in his business."

Why had Valeria conveniently decided to omit this part?

This was highly unusual.

"You said she worked there for ten years. Why'd she leave?"

Sam frowned, "No one knows. Val refused to tell anyone why, only that it hadn't worked out. After that, it got weird. If we ever met up and Val came, your dad wouldn't turn up."

I ran my hands through my hair, suddenly feeling distressed. My head was pounding with endless questions I didn't have answers to, "Did you ever tell the cops this?"

Sam chuckled in reply and I couldn't help the glare I reflexively cast her. She rushed to explain, "Valeria may be a lot of things, Charley. But she would never hurt Anthony. Not like that." Before I could argue back, she added, "Besides, this happened nearly six years before he was killed."

Her words stopped me short. Sam was right. If they had disagreed with each other for so long and grown to accept their mutual distaste for six long years, it didn't make any sense for Valeria to suddenly lash out.

I sank back onto the sofa, meeting the woman's solemn gaze with a reluctant nod.

"Let's hope you're right."

"I swear, do they not know where the garbage bins are?!" I cried, angrily chucking another paper cup into a bag that was already bursting at the seams.

For detention this week, Principal Harrison had set us the impossible task of cleaning the area surrounding the swimming pool, where an alumni meeting had been held the night before. Unfortunately for Adrian and me, the attendants had behaved like a pack of drunken, reckless teenagers and we had been met by a place so littered by garbage, it would take hours to restore it to its original state.

"In fact," I continued angrily, as Adrian watched me with a bland expression that seemed to disappear with every word I uttered, "I'm sure they don't even know what garbage bins are for, because I can't come up with one good reason as to how mature adults could behave so irresponsibly! In fact, I'd like to see their faces when I shove these cups up their arses!"

Adrian's lips pursed, either in disapproval or in a desperate attempt to avoid laughing in my face. Instead, he glanced away and resumed shoving litter into his own black bag in silence.

My teeth gritted mid-shove, "Screw the garbage bags. I'll show them what's really full of shit."

I noticed vaguely, Adrian's lips twitch before one side of his lips kicked up. He ducked his head fast to conceal his expression.

He was laughing at me.