Alisa opened the door. The divine coffee aroma immediately swooped down on her, whirled and nearly knocked off her feet. Oh, she missed coffee so much! In spite of, she had drunk it yesterday morning in the kitchen with Olka, her neighbour. Then the courier appeared, and everything went upside down. Tornor, Irbug, the murder of Viran...
"I shouldn't invite you to this place." Bernard winced. "Let's look for something more decent?"
The cafe's ambience indeed wasn't in Irbugish style: no bright colours and crazy hues; armchairs were dull, pale yellow, not mottled; the walls were beige, not purple or orange; low coffee tables, lacquered bar counter, light soothing music and a spinning showcase with a variety of pastries.
"Not!" Alisa said firmly. "We stay here."
"Do as you wish."
Bernard straightened a picture, that was already perfectly hanging on the wall, meticulously looked at the next one, sighed and followed Alisa to the table near the window.
"This cafe is designed for Earth's tourists," he justified, "apparently, therefore here ... mmm ... not crowded."
But Alisa liked the absence of other visitors; no one would interfere with their conversation. She sat down at the table, looked at the vase with grey granules and pushed it away. No, she won't spoil her coffee with this stuff.
A waiter came up to their table: a tall brunette in Earth jeans and a blue T-shirt with the Starbucks logo. He smiled at Alisa as if they knew each other and nodded approvingly at Bernard's earring.
"Double espresso, please" Alisa didn't need to look at the menu to make a choice.
"And one padman for me, please," said Bernard, and added with a doubt in his voice: "You have a padman, don't you?"
"Of course!" the waiter assured. "Anything else?"
Bernard glanced at Alisa. She did not want to eat, so shook her head. Pies with Irbugish nuts were very nourishing.
"Nothing more, thank you," said Bernard.
The waiter smiled and disappeared behind the bar. It seems that he also worked as a barista. Alisa laid her elbows on the table and looked expectantly at her friend.
"In a few minutes," Bernard realised her gaze. "This guy will bring drinks, and I'll tell you everything."
Alisa nodded and craned her neck, trying to see how was her espresso. But she could see only the head and shoulders of the barista; a high partition was hiding his hands. She wondered if he had an Earth coffee machine, or maybe Irbugish adapted some household appliances for this purpose? There was a steady hum, accompanied by a barely audible crackle. With pleasure, Alisa sniffed the delicate aroma of freshly ground coffee beans.
"So, now Tarus will manage your father's company?" she decided to fill in a pause.
Bernard shifted the vase with the bagnia a little to the right and muttered:
"Yes, my father should have transferred control to Tarus a long time ago."
Alisa was a little offended that Viran did not think of leaving at least a small part of the company to his eldest son. But her friend didn't seem to care about this.
"You see, Alisa," Bernard correctly guessed the doubt on her face. "At university, I understood that I didn't want to follow in my father's footsteps. But Tarus worked hard at the company "Your Advisor" for more than ten years. He was bending over backwards to keep our father happy. However, it was useless."
YOU ARE READING
The first interplanetary detective
مغامرةAlisa really wanted to meet her alien friend again. But it would be better if this meeting took place under other circumstances. Her friend in prison and she faces arrest for illegal entry into the planet. Who lured Alisa to the crime scene? What is...
