\”Olga Nikolaevna called today. Crying. Says the realtor has already found a buyer. The deal is next week. They’re willing to move into some one-room apartment, just to save me.\”
\”Excellent. As soon as the money hits your account, we’ll book the hotel. And Katya won’t care about anything by then.\”
The phone nearly slipped from her hands onto the carpet.
\”So that’s what it is. Zhanna wasn’t poisoning Igor; she was in cahoots with him.\”
— No, — Katerina whispered, looking at her sleeping husband. — You’ll get your vacation, but it will be in a prison cell.
She carefully placed the phone back. But before that, she took pictures of the chat on her own phone, sent the files to herself, and deleted the message confirming the transfer.
In the morning, she had to be at her parents’ house to warn them, to stop the deal, but in a way that the lovers wouldn’t suspect anything prematurely.
The morning was gray and stuffy. Katya told her husband she was going to a pharmacy on the other side of town for that rare medicine. The subway was crowded. People hurried, pushed, and it smelled of dampness and strangers’ perfume. Katya stood on the escalator as usual. Her head was buzzing. Rainbow circles swam before her eyes. \”The doctor said, cumulative effect,\” she remembered Zhanna’s message.
\”No, not now,\” Katerina prayed, clinging to the rubber handrail. But it suddenly became slippery and hot. The escalator steps seemed to drift sideways. The sounds merged into a loud ringing. Her legs turned to jelly, and she swayed. The world turned upside down. Darkness.
— Miss, miss, can you hear me? Breathe. That’s it, deeper.
Someone’s voice broke through the fog. A low, male, calm voice. She opened her eyes.
Katya was lying on a bench on the platform. A worried face was leaning over her. Dark hair, attentive brown eyes, wrinkles at the corners. The stranger was wearing the blue uniform of a subway employee.
— Where am I? — she whispered, trying to sit up.
— Easy, easy, not so fast. — The man gently but firmly held her by the shoulders. — You fainted on the escalator. Good thing I was standing behind you and caught you. Otherwise, you would have tumbled all the way down. My name is Andrey.
Katya recoiled in horror. Someone’s hands again.
— And I’m… Katya! Don’t touch me! — she cried out, curling into a ball. — I don’t need anything!
Andrey immediately took a step back, raising his palms in a placating gesture.
— Alright, alright, I’m not touching you. Don’t be afraid. You’re just very pale. Would you like a drink?
He took a bottle of water from his backpack. A regular, store-bought, sealed bottle. Katya stared at the bottle as if it were a snake.
— Where did you get this water? Who gave it to you?
Andrey looked at her in surprise, then at the bottle.
— I bought it at the kiosk. — He twisted the cap, breaking the safety ring. — See, new, sealed. I opened it right in front of you.
The man smiled. His smile was simple, open, without the cloying stickiness of Zhanna’s or the feigned suffering of Igor’s. Katya looked at his uniform. The name tag read Andrey Smirnov, train operator.
— Are you really a train operator? — she asked, still skeptical.
— The real deal. Just got off my shift. — Andrey handed her the bottle. — Drink. You need to rehydrate.
With trembling hands, Katya finally took the bottle. She took a sip. The water was clean, cool.
— Thank you for catching me, — she said quietly. The tears she had been holding back since last night almost burst forth.
— Hey, what’s wrong? — Andrey sat on the edge of the bench, maintaining his distance. — Everything’s okay. Let me walk you. It seems like you shouldn’t be alone right now.
— I can’t go home. I mean, I need to go to my parents, but I can’t… — Katya started to babble, smearing mascara across her cheeks.
— Okay, — Andrey stood up decisively. — Let’s go outside for some fresh air. It’s a bit stuffy in here. I’ll walk you to the park upstairs. We can sit for a few minutes until you feel better.
It was drizzling outside, but the air was fresh. They sat on a bench under a shelter. Andrey was silent, giving her time. Katya looked at him. A complete stranger. But for some reason, she wanted to tell him everything, this random train operator with kind eyes. It was impossible to keep it all inside any longer.
— My husband and my best friend are poisoning me. And they want to trick my parents into selling their house and leave the country, — she said, simply staring at the wet pavement.
She expected Andrey to laugh. Maybe call for paramedics or walk away in fear. But he didn’t laugh. On the contrary, he frowned. His face became stern.
— Poisoning you? — he asked. — Are you sure?
— I saw their messages. I heard them talking.
The words poured out of Katya in a torrent. She told him everything. About the water, the geranium, the doctor, and \”Bunny.\” When Katya finished, Andrey was silent for a long time, clenching his fists.
— What scoundrels! — he finally said. Deeply, with hatred. — A classic case. Unscrupulous realtors have nothing on them.
— You believe me? — Katya was surprised. — This must… sound like a crazy story. A fortune-teller, poisoned water, a malingering husband…
Andrey gave a bitter smile.
— I believe you. Unfortunately, I do. And you know why? Because a year ago, I came home early from a trip and found my wife… well, not alone. And while we were getting divorced, it turned out she had transferred our country house to her brother’s name. She also left me with the loan for the car her new beau is driving now. I was left with nothing. I lived in the depot’s dormitory for six months. So yes, people can be worse than animals. — The man looked into her eyes. — But your situation is worse. This is clearly criminal, attempted murder, fraud. You can’t go back to them without some protection, and calling your parents right now is risky. If your husband is checking your phone, he’ll see the outgoing call.
— So what should I do? — Katya clutched her temples in despair. — If I don’t stop the sale, my parents will be left homeless. And if I tell Igor I know everything, I’m afraid he might…
— Yes, he might resort to more drastic measures, — Andrey finished for her. — We have to be smart about this. We need proof, concrete proof, to put them away for sure. The messages are good, but a court might not always accept screenshots. We need video.
— Video? — Katya asked.
— Yes. We need to film him when you’re not there. When this Zhanna comes over and what they talk about. — Andrey became animated. A spark of excitement lit up in his eyes. — You see, besides trains, I’m into electronics. It’s a hobby. Chips, soldering, microcircuits. I have a kit. I was building it for my garage to stop tools from being stolen. Miniature cameras. Inexpensive, but 4K quality. They record audio and video—all to the cloud.
— And how would we install them? Igor is always home, — Katya pointed out.
— We can disguise them. — Andrey winked. — Do you have smoke detectors in your apartment? You know, for fires. They hang on the ceiling. White, with a flashing red light. There. Perfect. My cameras look exactly like the insides of a smoke detector. We just need half an hour in your apartment while he’s not there, or while he can’t move. But he walks around when you’re not there, right?
— He walks. He certainly does, — Katya seethed.
— Then here’s the plan. — Andrey switched to a business-like tone, and Katya felt her confidence returning. — You go to your parents’ now, but not by subway. I’ll drive you. I have a car nearby, it’s old, but reliable.
— We’ll warn them in person. Tell them to stall the deal. Come up with an excuse: they lost the documents, washed a passport in the laundry, whatever. And then we’ll play your husband’s game.
— What game? — Katya asked.
— You’ll tell him there are problems with the documents and the deal is postponed. He’ll be angry and will definitely call Zhanna to discuss it. And that’s when… — Andrey patted his backpack. — That’s when we’ll see everything.
Katya looked at him.
— Why are you doing this? I’m a stranger to you. You must have your own problems to deal with.
Andrey looked at her seriously and a bit sadly.
— Because no one helped me when I was drowning. And I know how scary that is. Plus, I’m allergic to scoundrels. So, do we have a deal?
With those words, the man extended his broad, calloused hand. Katya hesitated for a second, then shook it. They walked to the parking lot…
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