18.
When I arrive back home at three ‘o clock I sneak inside. With a grin from ear to ear on my face, I walk on my socks to the bedroom. The two little wounds in my neck have disappeared in the meantime thanks to the special healing enzymes in a vamp’s saliva. Only thinking about how delicious that bite was… Yummy.
I’m scared silly when hearing Jabar’s voice. He looks down on me from the landing of his bedroom.
‘Everything alright?’ he asks with a frowned forehead.
‘Yeah, of course.’
I barely dare to look at him. Of course he knows I’m having sex, I’m twenty-four already. But I keep feeling like a child in his neighborhood and I don’t want him to tell by the look of my face.
‘Alright then. Sleep tight.’
‘Sleep tight.’
I rush giggling into my room, put away my pistol and plop down on the bed. Staring dreamily to the ceiling on my back I can see the past few hours going by again. Until I, with all my clothes on, fall asleep on top of the sheets.
And again my sleep is interrupted. This time by Jabar who’s banging on my room door. I look aside at the alarm clock and see it’s only ten a.m.. Way to early to get up after such a short night.
‘What?’ I moan irritated.
‘Manon, get up! Oded’s pub burned down!’
‘What!’
I’m wide-awake immediately and rush towards the door. Jabar looks at me and puts so much sadness and guilt in that look I hug him spontaneously.
‘Is everything alright with Oded?’ I ask against his chest.
‘Yes. He was in his flat on the first floor. The fire was discovered in time and hadn’t reached his house yet.’
I let go of Jabar. ‘Luckily.’
‘You’re still wearing your clothes?’
‘Erm, I fell asleep.’
‘Oded is on his way. Fresh yourself up a bit and then come to the kitchen.’
I take a quick shower and put on a simple light blue sweatshirt above my jeans. I put my hair in a tight tail and without make-up I hurry myself to the kitchen. Oded is apparently already there. ‘The fire brigade is now checking whether the fire was started deliberately. Fuck!’
‘I’m afraid it is,’ I hear Jabar answer.
I enter the kitchen and give Oded a warm hug, observing I don’t squash Squeaky who’s in his breast pocket.
‘I find it so horrible for you,’ I say. The smell of smoke still lingers around him.
‘Me too, damn it,’ he says in a sad tone.
‘We think we know who might have done it, but we can’t even tell it to the police.’ I take a seat at the table and fill myself a cup of coffee. ‘Where’s Diedie?’
‘Left early this morning already to do some shopping. She borrowed your car for a while,’ Jabar answers.
‘Okay.’
‘All my bottles of whisky,’ Oded moans.
‘The ones in the cellar too?’
‘The few bottles that didn’t burst because of the fire, have lost their label through the quenching.’
It’s so typical for Oded to think his whisky is more important than other stuff and even his entire house and pub.
‘Luckily the City of Ostend gave free smoke detectors recently. I woke up in time, got Squeaky out of his cage immediately and ran as quick as a cannonball outside.’
‘What time did it happen?’ Jabar asks.
‘Around 5 a.m.. The fire brigade was quickly on the spot, the station not far away, in Wellington Street. The Blue Meanies interrogated me but I could only assure I took care and couldn’t remember because of what the fire started.’
With ‘Blue Meanies’ he means the police. Oded takes a drink of his coffee and looks doubtful.
‘The Blue Meanies still asked me whether I had enemies, knew people who wanted to do me harm.’
‘And what did you answer?’ I’m hungry, but I’m sure I can’t eat.
‘Nothing of course. I don’t fucking know anyone who wants to do me harm.’
‘No.’ Jabar sounds furious. ‘You don’t. Unfortunately my enemy, whoever he may be, is trying to do me harm through people I know.’
Oded shrugs. ‘I don’t blame you, old friend. I blame those smelling fuckers! If I ever meet them!’
‘Maybe we should move,’ I suggest. ‘All of us.’
Jabar shakes his head. ‘No, that isn’t a solution, Manon. Besides, I think my enemy will follow me and find me, wherever we may go.’
‘You don’t have to get yourself chased away by someone else,’ Oded says in a hard voice. ‘They aren’t worth it! If we would have allowed that during the war, then…’
‘But now we’re an easy prey!’ I angrily say.
Oded sighs and Jabar refills his cup of coffee. We don’t know what to say for a while and stare defeated into space.
‘You can live here for a while,’ Jabar then suggests. ‘We’ve got enough rooms. You can take the guest room on the ground floor. That one has a separate bathroom with shower.’
‘Thanks. I’d love to use that one, mate. I think I’m going back in a minute to get the stuff that still can be saved.’
‘What will you do with the house?’ I ask.
‘I’ll probably let it break down. Unless the damage can still be repaired.’
‘I’ll go with you to help you,’ Jabar suggests.
‘Me too,’ I say resolutely. ‘I’ll leave a note for Diedie. I’ll bet she’ll prepare a feast for you this evening to comfort you.’
Oded faintly smiles. ‘Ah, it’s just fucking stuff, things. No lives have been ruined.’
After we get permission of the fire brigade to enter the first floor we’re busy for the entire afternoon to get out Oded’s still reasonable looking belongings. We came with two cars so we can take as much as possible with us because Oded’s car is teeny-weeny. He totally adores his Fiat 500. However, the little car needed to be converted first so he would fit in with his height of two meter. The back seats had been broken down and the front seats put in the back. It’s a real comical sight to see a gigantic bloke coming out of the car as if it’s his toy car. Luckily he also has a truck we can stuff full.
The havoc in the pub is enormous. Everything is destroyed and blackened. I look at it with deep grief. I’ll miss the pub and even when it gets totally restored, it will never be the same again. It feels as a finished period and I’m always having difficulties with that.
In the cellar are some bottles still intact but, as Oded already pointed out, they became unrecognizable. Only on the basis of the bottle’s shape he can name some, but not all of them. Most of the bottles have burst through the heat and the alcohol spread the fire much faster than normally.
On the first floor, Oded’s home, is a piercing smell of burning. Luckily the fire didn’t have the time to affect everything and we can still use a lot of it. He leaves the furniture and other big pieces. He only takes the objects of emotional value with him and his clothes that all need to be rewashed, although he’ll probably never get out the smell of burning out of them.
The fire officer walks towards us. A huge, balding guy with big hands that can grab my waist without effort.
‘We can’t prove the fire started deliberately,’ he starts in a heavy voice. ‘Until now the reason of the fire is uncertain. The only thing we can prove is the careless removal of smoking materials.’
‘Sir.’ Oded sounds enraged. ‘I fucking check if every cigarette is put out properly every night before I close.’
The officer shrugs. ‘I believe you. We don’t accuse you of deliberate arson. One moment of inattentiveness can be enough.’
‘Are you sure there aren’t any other evidences?’ I ask.
‘We checked all other possible sources and inflammatory methods and eliminated them. We’re sorry for your loss.’ And with those last words the fire officer turns around and walks away.
Dejected we roam about the mess. Through the broken window I can see a lot of people looking at the partially burned down building. Disaster tourists, I think accusingly.
‘Jabar! Manon! Have a look at what I’ve fucking found in Squeaky’s cage underneath the sawdust!’
We rush towards him. Oded holds up a piece of paper. The edges have already been gnawed by Squeaky, but the text is still readable.
Jabar,
One by one I take away something from you and your friends.
Until you’re left alone and broken.
My ways and revenge are endless.
N.
‘It’s indeed the same cunt,’ I hiss. The handwriting looks as if a drunken goose danced on the paper with its legs sopped in ink.
‘N?’ Oded looks questioning at Jabar.
‘Just an “N” doesn’t ring a bell. I’ve known a lot of people whose name started with an “N”.’
‘We don’t even know fur sure whether it’s a man or woman,’ I add.
‘If I get it right from this note it’s a whining wretch who was left broken and alone after something you did to him,’ Odes says. ‘At least, that’s how he experienced it; it doesn’t have to be that way of course. Don’t you think?’
‘I wouldn’t know what or whom!’ Jabar’s voice cracks and that rarely happens.
‘Besides, how could he know you would find the note? Also strange,’ I say.
‘Maybe he hoped this floor would stay intact and what would I naturally take with me? Squeaky’s cage of course. I change it every two days, so there was a great chance I would find it.’
‘Than the note must have been put in the cage yesterday,’ I think.
‘Indeed. The stair to this floor is next to the pub’s toilets and I never close the flat’s door. So anyone can sneak upstairs. I’m such a stupid scabby sow bug!’
I cudgel my brains, looking for strange customers or people acting sneaky yesterday, but I can’t really call someone special to mind. Lucas? No, he wasn’t here very long and I didn’t see him go to the toilets.
‘Try to see the customers in front of you,’ Jabar suggests to Oded. ‘Someone who behaved suspiciously.’
‘No.’ Oded sadly looks around his flat. ‘Not really. And almost everyone one goes to the toilet at a sudden moment.’
‘Don’t you recognize the handwriting?’ I ask Jabar and put the letter in his hands.
He looks comprehensively and long at it, but then shakes his head. ‘Not immediately.’
‘Let’s get everything in the cars and leave. I’m becoming fucking depressive in here,’ Oded decides.