Chapter 1
Michal Velikaya hadn’t seen his neighbour in four days. His friendship with her extended only so far as to raise a hand in the morning when they both left for work, or perhaps to nod his head in the evening when they came in. Once, they had taken out the bins at the same time and had exchanged small talk on the curb. She was an associate lawyer at a global firm in the city. She made nearly as much as Michal, which wasn’t bad for a woman. She drove an Audi A5, black, and had the front door of her house repainted every six months. She lived alone.
“Maybe she’s gone on holiday,” his wife said, when he raised it with her.
“Maybe,” Michal replied. He had the paper raised in front of his face and was pretending to read. “Only, when she went last year, she slipped a note through our door to tell us.”
“She-”
“And her car is still there.”
“She must have gotten a lift. She might have only gone away for a few days and didn’t think a note was necessary.” Michal didn’t say anything. He turned the page of the newspaper. “Why are you so bothered anyway? You’ve never spoken to her, have you?”
Michal laid the paper down on the kitchen table and bent over it, increasing the pretence of reading.
“Hmm,” he said.
“I suppose it’s nice that you care,” his wife said. “She’ll be back in a few days and then your mind will be at ease.”
But Michal Velikaya’s neighbour wasn’t back in a few days and Michal Velikaya never saw her again.
