Chris! I told you not to do that. That is going to complicate matters. > I am sure you did not kill him. > > You see, I am not in the mood to play games. > > If I wanted to kill anyone, don't you think I would have done so? > > You got the wrong guy. > > I think that some people in this country > > might want you to do something about this. > > I think it would be a good idea if you > > were to make it disappear. > > I am not looking for a quick answer. > > This has a tendency to make people talk. > > I will wait for a week. > > You will tell me what happened to him by then. > > If you are wise, you will send the corpse > > to this country. > > Do you need any help? > > It might be better if you do it yourself. > > Let us meet next week, and I will tell you the > > details. > > Oh, by the way, I will need your telephone number. > > Maybe we can exchange some ideas. > > Have a nice day, > > Alex. "Alex?" "What is it, Lazarus?" I said to myself. "Alex?" "Alex." "Hmmm. Who are you?" I scratched my head and opened my eyes wide. "It is not very important." "If you say so." The room was dark. And cold. And empty. I got up. I reached down to my bed. The sheets were all wet. My head started hurt and I felt nauseous. I pulled the sheet from my eyes and the light, very dim, was from the small light over the door. I went back to the table. I checked my mobile. It was dead. I went outside. It was very dark and cold. The night was beautiful with all the stars. I went back in and lit the room. The sun was about to rise. I took a cold shower. I cleaned my face. I got dressed. I went out again. I needed to make a phone call. I went back to the hotel and pulled out the piece of paper with Alex's number. I opened his phonebook. Then I went back to my room. I dialed Alex's number. He answered after two rings. "Who is it?" "It's Alex." "Oh. I was just about to call you, Mr. Alex." "Please, call me Lazarus." "Okay." "I think we can work together." "Okay." "I need your help. I have a lead. I will need your help." "Is this a prank?" "No." "Okay." "Now I want you to call him and tell him you are investigating the case on his behalf." "Ok." "We will talk tomorrow. Call me around ten." "Okay. Where?" "My office. My phone number is . . ." "Okay." I hung up. I smiled. It was getting better. Everything seemed to be just fine. I called the reception and asked for a wakeup call for five. "We don't have room service or any phone around five. But you can eat here." "Okay. Thank you." "See you tomorrow, Mr. Sklansky." "Right." I slept again. I dreamed of a hot air balloon. I dreamed of a little bearded man. I dreamed of lots of money. I dreamed of a big car. I dreamed of a hot beach. And I dreamed of a wonderful girl. The dreams mixed together in my head. And they made me sleepy. And I slept again. I slept until noon. ## XIV It was a beautiful day. I walked and rode the elevator up to my floor. I didn't need a key. I had the key. I went down to my car. I drove around the block. I saw a little store next to the parking garage. I went in and had a hot dog. It was a little lonely out there. I figured I had an hour to kill. I went back to the parking lot. I found a little place where I could listen to the radio. It was nearby. I turned on the radio. I could listen to the sports. It was easy listening. My radio was an iPod. But the announcers were irritating. I switched to a station that played music with guitar and drums. I turned it up a little louder. Then I got really tired. So I took the blanket from my car and stretched out in the backseat. It was a great place. I didze off for a while. I woke up when I was jolted with a painful sound. I thought it was a bomb. I lifted up. My blanket was on fire. I looked up. I saw a red and orange fire, burning around my head. I lifted the blanket. My radio was on fire. I was on fire. I jumped out of my car. I screamed and ran. I ran into the parking lot. I got on the ground. I tried to stop the fire. The fire got into the back of my pants. I was burning. I couldn't feel any pain. Finally, the fire went out. It stopped raining. I was covered with soot. I could hardly breathe. My shirt was all torn. My head hurt. I didn't even know where I was. I looked around. I was next to my car. And I was alone. I was sopping wet. I got up and began to walk back to my apartment. I took the stairs down to the parking lot. I was freezing and in a hurry. I had to call the fire department. I would freeze to death. I went into the alleyway. I was still trembling. It was so cold. The sweat was dripping down my head. My shoulders were trembling. I could hardly move. I lifted my head. I reached into my pocket and took out my wallet. I took a cigarette from my shirt pocket. I rolled it between my fingers. I looked around for a place to put it out. I remembered the trash can next to my building. I walked to the cans and threw the cigarette inside. I felt satisfied. I walked back to my building. I stopped at my door and knocked. I was sweating. My keys were in my pocket. They were soaked. They fell out and dropped on the sidewalk. I walked over to them and picked them up. I unlocked my door and went in. I closed the door. I was soaking wet. I had my shoes in my hand. They were heavy. They made a heavy sound when I stepped into my apartment. I wanted to change my clothes. I was soaked and freezing. I was in a terrible mood. My stomach was full of food. I was wired. I knew that I had to do something. I took a shower and washed off the soot. I went to bed. I smoked two cigarettes. I felt better. I fell asleep. And I dreamt of good things. It was my lucky day. ## XV Darlene was very excited. She got up early. She made breakfast for me. I felt guilty. I didn't want to eat her cooking. We got dressed. We left the house. She didn't want me to go back to the office. "Look at me. I am a kid again." "Okay. What would you like to do?" "Let's go to the park. And do some more walking. We will walk through the park. It will help us think." "Okay." We rode the elevator and got out. It was sunny. There were a few people in the park. The trees were in full bloom. "You are not as fat as you used to be." "Thank you." We walked and looked at the beautiful flowers. We laughed and kissed. And talked. We didn't talk business. We went back to the house. Darlene made lunch. We ate in the dining room. It was good. And then we went back to the park. It was hard