Sunlit oak tree

Irene did not think that they would come looking for her husband so quickly; She was counting on a week’s respite, but, unfortunately for her, the investigator came to see her on the third day. Exhausted by insomnia, she jumped at the first sound of approaching wheels on the road and, looking out the window, realized that it was hardly someone she knew. She immediately threw on her robe and flew down like a bullet to open the door for the guests. She carefully looked out the window again — there were people in uniform standing on the threshold. Damn, definitely the police. She heard the bell, waited a little and, pretending to be sleepy, opened the door. — Good morning. — A young investigator loomed over her. — Good, what happened? “Irene tried to feign misunderstanding, and judging by the investigator’s reaction, she succeeded. — My name is Hans, I am an investigator. Is your husband at home? — No. — Irene answered quite plausibly and quickly. — We have a couple of questions for you. Irene looked displeased. — Tell me, couldn’t these questions have waited until lunch or at least until the start of working hours? It’s six in the morning. — This concerns your husband. Irene, trying not to show her excitement, allowed the policeman into the house. The morning was already spoiled, and Irene suffered from minutes of waiting, watching his two colleagues, standing in the corner, talking about something. It’s good that at least they didn’t go upstairs. Irene began to feel as if she had left traces of the crime everywhere, and the whole house was literally screaming about her guilt in her husband’s death. — Can I ask you one question? — Irene turned to Hans, who kept staring at the papers lying in front of him. — Certainly. — Tell me, why did you come to my house? I could come to you. Hans smiled rockily. — Well, you know, our place is not very nice for people like you. So, you say your husband is not at home? — No. — When was the last time you saw him? Irene froze — it seemed to her that even her heart had stopped beating: she became so scared. “I last saw him about two or three days ago, but what happened?” My husband went to Austria on business. — Irene pretended to look casual. — Your husband is missing. “Hans sat down on the sofa like a master, rubbing his eye with one hand and twirling his pen with the other. — And we have to find him. Don’t worry, everything will be fine. “Irene looked at Hans without blinking. — My husband is missing? — She made a surprised face. The investigator nodded to her in response. — Why do you think something happened to him? “His adjutant came to us and said that the boss had gone to Austria but was not in touch. The adjutant called others and was told that the meeting had been cancelled. So we ask, you never know, maybe he came home. “No, he’s not at home,” Irene said firmly and confidently. “Besides, my husband loves work more than home — he probably, even if he came to the country, would immediately go to work, and not here,” she said, smiling slightly. Hans held his gaze. He smiled back at her. — In any case, we came to make sure of this. — Hans gets up from his chair, and Irene accompanies them to the door. As soon as it closes, she immediately runs upstairs to watch from the window as they drive away. Irene knew how investigators act; she had heard snippets of Arthur’s conversations many times and understood that the house could be under surveillance. Therefore, looking at her watch, she dialed Agnes and greeted her in the sweetest voice. At first the interlocutor didn’t even understand what was going on, but then the seriousness of the situation began to dawn on her. She agreed to meet Agnes this evening in the city center in a small cafe. Agnes, who came to the meeting with Alex, was very excited; she was overcome by longing for her brother and anxiety. She was angry with Augustine, but not much, realizing that it was also very difficult for him now. Alex kept calming her down and cheering her up as best he could, but it didn’t work out well. — Alex, this is no time for jokes. “She interrupted him irritably after another pun. “One of the two of us should defuse the situation,” Alex objected, smiling. “It’s impossible to worry together.” — Do you think I understood Irene correctly? Alex shook his head. — Agnes, don’t worry. I was nearby and heard everything. Let’s think now what and how. Augustine is unlikely to be in danger — he left the country a long time ago, and they only just realized it. Although they could attract us all if they start digging under it. Agnes perked up. A new wave of bad thoughts fell on her. At that moment, the bell rang at the front door and the frightened Irene, entering the cafe like a bullet, sat down at their table, looked around and said in a whisper: “An investigator came to see me today, they started looking for my husband. — How did they know? “Alex immediately joined the conversation. — Through the adjutant. He was worried about his owner that Arthur hadn’t called back, and eventually he called for the meeting and was told that it was cancelled. — Damn, if that’s the case, they’ll be in Austria. We urgently need to call Augustine and tell him to flee to Italy. — They will understand, Alex. — Agnes took his hand. — They will look at the documents. It is necessary to destroy at least half of the documents that he worked for Irene as a driver. “You’re right,” Alex supported her. “The less evidence that Augustine was close to Arthur’s family, the better.” Well, he and Arthur had quarrels, but this did not go beyond the boundaries of a working relationship. We need to steal the case somehow. Irene,” he looked at her, “you need to steal the documents.” — How will I do this?! — she almost flared up; Nerves were stretched to the limit. “You need to come to work under the pretext of looking for new information about your husband and get into the archive.” It is necessary to steal the last page, where it is written that Augustine was dismissed from his position. This is your only chance to save him. Otherwise, we will all go for cover-up. — Fine. “Irene had never made a deal with the devil, but now it seemed to her that this was the best of all evils. The next day she came to the department and waited in line for about fifteen minutes before she was called. Irene babbled to the investigator that she remembered some other important details of her last meeting with her husband. The investigator received her cordially — it was clear from his face that he liked Irene; There was a twinkle of flirtation in his eyes, and Irene immediately understood. “So, did you remember something else?” — He asked, opening his notebook. — Yes, I remembered that before leaving, my husband said that he wanted to fly from Austria to Switzerland — his uncle lives there, he wanted to see him. Maybe this information will be useful to you. — Irene glanced sideways at the folder lying at the investigator’s hand — a folder with files on Augustine. — Is it true? — The investigator wrote something down on paper. “I’ll take this into account when we look for your husband; now I need to attend to more pressing matters.” — Have you already determined what happened to him? — Not yet, but we are now sending our department to Austria so that they can start the search from there. Then we will definitely contact the police in Switzerland. We will find your husband, don’t worry. — Could you bring me some water? — she said sharply. “I’m terribly worried about my husband, I’m so thirsty.” — Certainly. The investigator came out and Irene grabbed the top folder. She quickly flipped through it. Having found the necessary sheet, where it was clearly printed that Augustine had been dismissed from his position, she put it away and crumpled it into her bag. As soon as Irene had time to put the folder back in place, the investigator entered the office with a glass of water. Irene accepted it gratefully. She was only worried about Augustine, who was now in no less danger than she was, and Irene hoped that he would have the brains to respond correctly to her letter that she sent him. “Augustine, I am writing you a letter with a huge request to come to Italy to visit my aunt, she is not feeling well. My brother went to Austria, so I think that he and his friends will soon arrive in Vienna. His friends also want to visit Switzerland — an excellent ski resort has opened there. I want to say that I miss you and regret that you left without me and that your image is still in my memory. Thank you for never forgetting me and never letting me give up.” When Augustine received the letter, he clearly understood that he urgently needed to go to Italy and sit there. He didn’t know how long he would stay there, but he was calm — no matter what happened, Alex would always look after Irene and Agnes. He packed his things and thought about how to write a reply to Irene. The letters were checked and read, he knew that Italy would immediately extradite him if something happened, but he hoped that it wouldn’t come to that and yet, not finding him in Austria, the investigators would stop looking for him, having lost the trail. Irene probably told them something about Switzerland, so while they were looking there, they would take a long detour and lose a lot of time. They will try for a long time to get permission to investigate, overcoming the bureaucratic hell of paperwork. And then the police will drop this case. They always do this when the investigation reaches a dead end. Augustine left the entrance, leaving the keys with the concierge and telling her who to give the keys to if asked. She nods. He walks to the station in civilian clothes and tries not to stand out from the crowd. He goes to the post office and sends Irene a reply letter. “Hello. I am grateful to you for your letter, I understand everything and let you know that I am very happy for your brother. I think he’ll have a good rest. Regarding your aunt, I understand you, I’ll go to her. Maybe then I’ll visit Portugal. They say the air there is good and healing. I want to say that I am extremely lucky to see you again in my life. I would so much like to touch your hand again. Thank you for everything. Already going out into the street, Augustine comes to his senses and decides to send another message addressed to his dear sister. “Agnesa, I want to thank you for your patience and inexhaustible love. Take care of yourself, your little ones and Alex. I wish you happiness. If I stop answering your letters or there is no answer from me, then come to our old mansion, from which you and I left that night in 1921. And tell Yum and Yunna the address. Even if fate separates us, let this be the place where we meet. Love you.” Augustine leaves the letters and moves on. He knows that if they rush to look for him, they will probably go to Austria, and later they will follow a false trail to Portugal, where they will probably capture someone else. This is common. He was worried about Irene — she would still have to endure a lot, but he hoped that Agnes and Alex would help her. He wasn’t worried about Yum and Yunna—this story wouldn’t affect them. They all have different last names. For the first time in a long time, Augustine was happy that he, like Agnes, took the surname of Anna and Wilhelm, while Hume and Yunna remained under the surname of their aunt. This kept them safe and gave them cover. It was the end of July, and Austria was breathing coolness. Augustine was more worried not about himself, but about what would happen next and how this could turn out for himself, for his family, and whether he would be able to return home or whether he would now have to contact his homeland only by letters. A wave of some kind of melancholy and nostalgia rolled over him — it seemed that life was letting him down again and ending something. He goes into the carriage, sits down and looks out the window as people crowd on the platform. The car picks up speed, and again the entire landscape merges into one strip, and everything becomes too blurry to see. He thought about his family. He always remembered his family as something valuable and always tried to make sure that every dear person could rely on him.