Mysterious Shots

謎のショット

Have you ever taken a picture of a naked woman? What were you thinking about at the time? About her beautiful body, her arousal? About the fact that this unique moment will forever remain in your memory and immortalize the divine body? Or maybe about the fact that many years later, looking at the photo you will feel a pleasant nostalgia? Such a feeling could cause tears in a grown man, giving him the feeling that he is a creator.

Romantic stereotypes of the work of a nude photographer are fantasies of simple dilettantes. They do not feel the fullness and thoroughness of the work. Every photograph is a promise. A promise of greatness, beauty, and uniqueness. The beauty of this profession is that dreams never come true and every time you live with one hope.

DIVIDER 

   These evenings all went according to plan, with years of experience generating a perfect formula for preparing for photo shoots. First, an idea, a plot, and then a long and painstaking preparation, and finally, a technical implementation of the idea. Usually, it takes at least a week to get ready. Search for the inspiring idea, purchase of thematic attributes, selection of a model, appropriate location, etc. All this for the perfect photo…

   Ginger hair shimmered like a cooper next to a fire. Her body was covered with tiny freckles, and any viewer would say that her pale skin reflected light like the moon. The model was professional, no doubt. It is felt immediately. Both the girl and the photographer are used to working together, so their duet is harmonious. She knew how attractive her body was, and every graceful pose proved it. Under the sight of the camera, the girl felt like a queen, with no shadow of embarrassment from her nakedness. 

  This time, the shooting took place at her home. Sunlight fell on the wide bed. It was difficult to style her silk hair, naughty curls raised up after every touch. The curves of her naked body froze in anticipation of the next click of the camera shutter. The photographer was a real master, speaking rarely, and his movements were confident and accurate. Years of practice made his hand's movements precise, like a jeweler’s. The ability to feel the beauty turned the mechanical process of photo shooting into a magical dance. Each shot was tastier than the last! The photographer was sincere in his love for the model, and he allowed himself to be completely absorbed in this feeling for an hour.  A photo without emotions is empty. Moreover, beauty is always in the eyes of the viewer, therefore without falling in love, even temporarily with a model, the picture will not be true. 

  The last photo…the last click of the shutter…was the last in her life.

START_PRO

    It was morning time when a ringing phone woke up the photographer. Conciseness wasn’t clear, he felt fatigue in the muscles and a sore throat. 6.45 a.m. is a bad time for serious conversation, so he put the phone on mute, turned away from it, and dived under a blanket. Adam was a middle-aged man with a typical appearance and atypical ambitions. The dark ginger stubble hadn’t been shaved for a week, and the chair was covered with tons of clothes. The lenses with many fingerprints lay in a large cardboard box just next to him. The man with green eyes was secretive. You would never understand what he really felt; his facial expressions were always monotony.

   The troubled sleep had never happened in his life. He didn't know about the existence of a conscience, and bad dreams dissolved in a second. Adam's slovenliness was successfully compensated by workaholism and perfectionism in his art. The phone kept vibrating on the edge of the snow-white curbstone for more than 10 minutes. Adam couldn't pretend he was still sleeping and began to experience inner anxiety. Rapidly he turned around, grabbed the phone, and tore out the lightning.
‟I'm listening…” – his hoarse voice was not ready for dialogue.
– “Please don't hang up the phone. I must inform you…our conversation has been recorded. I'm Sara R., a journalist from the Daily Maily, and I have a couple of questions: how long have you known Elsa?” – the journalist spoke so fast that he couldn't put at least any words in her monologue.
– “Where this strange question come from? Don't call me, I didn't give permission for the interview” – his voice finally became normal.
– “Do you know that her body was found a few hours ago?” – Sarah began to raise the tone of her voice:
– “… Do you hear me?”
– “Yes, I am listening to you... but I will not give any comments.” – Adam dropped the call and put the phone into flight mode. Then he sat on the edge of his bed and began rubbing tired, full of, pain eyes. Searching for his battered glasses on the curbstone, he breathed hard. There was a slight pain in his chest, and Adam realized that he would not fall asleep again today.

   The other side of the city was already full of bustle. The cold morning was marred by the terrible news about the corpse of a beautiful, red-haired girl found in her own apartment. Presumably, the murder took place at about 2 a.m.

   Her short and bright life, full of perspectives and hopes, ended with a bullet in the face. The police couldn't find any motive or logic in what had happened. Elsa didn't have any debts or enemies, didn't gamble, didn't take drugs. The door in her apartment was open, but despite that, all valuable things stayed in their places. A laptop, phone, a tablet, and 3 professional cameras were taken by the police to analyze her social connections. It was clear that the police would be busy with this case for a very long time. But the answers everyone wanted to hear now...

   Max was driving a black Volkswagen GTi, the car he bought on credit, on the slippery road. Ice floes ran across the window and he had to look through them. He couldn’t waste even one minute because he needed to be faster than the police. After lighting a cigarette and opening the window, his fingers turned red in a second due to the frost. Max was tall. Typical brown-eyed handsome man with a long nose and thick dark chocolate hair. Thin fingers played with a lighted cigarette and moved it like a pendulum. It was his secret meditation which helped to keep mind calm. He had to find out the truth, find out everything first and achieve this goal at all costs. Morning traffic jams already took a place in the dark city and at the last second of the red light, Max rapidly moved forward. He drove with a certain purpose to Adam. The photographer was a famous person even in wide circles, so his address was easy to find.

   Adam lived in an old, gorgeous area of ​​the city. He bought a huge, snow-white apartment in the ancient building, but always lived alone. Very usual mass-market clothes, old sneakers and a bright, red Alfa Romeo Spider with a soft top, not new, but still attractive for those women, who don’t understand anything in expensive cars. He devoted all his life to work, so the luxurious apartment eventually turned into an ordinary bachelor hostel. Photo shootings happened every day, messages came constantly. All the models knew that even a short portfolio from Adam could change their life’s. Ladies came up with tricks and tried to get a chance for shooting, but the photographer was indifferent. He was not one of those who were easily charmed by shapes, so when he made a choice only his special preferences were important. Elsa was his favorite for the long time, but since recently, he began to notice how her inner fire disappearing from the frame and photos became more boring and mediocre.

   Adam had already finished his first cup of coffee and decided to do not have breakfast this morning; he began to pick up equipment for the work. On the way to the door, he noticed that had forgotten to comb his hair and put on a red, stretched sweater. Preparing for the shooting usually took about 15 minutes, although he was sloppy, all the necessary tools were always in one place. Adam put on brown shoes with old boot socks and suddenly jumped from the unexpected sound of the doorbell. The intercom screen showed a tall man in a jacket, with a kind smile on his face. 

Adam quickly opened the door, the guest stepped over the threshold and moved into the corridor.

– “Hey! I am here for a couple of minutes” ... – Max had already moved forward along the corridor and looked around inside the snow-white, half-empty apartment.

– “I'm not going to communicate with such a cad as you. I didn’t invite anyone, and you’re already inside my home. The dialogue will not work out for us.” – said Adam and stared at the floor. The shooting had to begin in 30 minutes.

– “I'm here not for rudeness. My name is Max, and I was hired by the parents of Elsa… your model who was killed yesterday, and with whom you had a long relationship. Therefore, don’t need to rush, just answer a couple of questions and go where you need to” – Max said and raised an eyebrow.

– “I have nothing to answer. I have nothing to do with this. On the way out, please.” – Adam reached the door.

– “Police will call you soon. Elsa's last tweet had a link to you. What time did you leave her yesterday?” – Max was still calm.

– “I am not going to discuss with you or anyone else such personal topics. I am a photographer and this is my job, nothing else is interesting to me.” – said Adam and opened the door.

– “You get used to flatterers who are following you and stealing everything you say for quotes. I don't care who you are, I don't care about your job. Behind all your activity I see only a tiny, greedy and cowardly man with shifting eyes. I can see your nature.” – Max increased the degree of dialogue, his face looked cold and serious.

The photographer came out of the entrance and went to his red Alfa, sorting out his workbags. Max stood near Adam, he knew for sure that this man hides something. At the last moment, he rushed to the photographer:

“Remember... you cannot get away from this, you cannot get away from yourself. Do you think you closed yourself from the world in your apartment and this behavior defends your name? There is something that you will not erase... even if you keep silent.” – Max couldn’t catch Adam's sight when he got into the car. The long day has already begun, frosty weather stepped back and gave a place for a nasty, light rain. The city seemed to be depressed, shrouded in darkness.

People, as usual on such days, behaved as strangers to each other and if a person died in the center of the street, everyone would pass by indifferently. These unpleasant circumstances only produced some difficulties for Max, who didn’t plan to give up. He knew that soon the police would take Adam under surveillance, and then he would definitely become unavailable for such dialogs.

  Max chased the photographer at a distance of several cars, like in noir detectives. In fact, there was no romanticism in this, but only dirty, unpleasant work. After a couple of intersections, the photographer drove into the courtyard, where one of the largest and most respectable studios in the city was located. Adam didn’t close the car, despite his usual habit to keep it safe, he took everything valuable with him and moved to the studio.

  Max stopped right at the exit around the corner and tried to catch the best moment for appearing. Snow started to fall instead of rain, Max felt how his head began to ache, there were analgesics in the glove box and Max swallowed two at once without drinking water. A couple of minutes later, he got out of the car, despite on his discreet outfit, his tall silhouette was easy to distinguish among the crowd. The front door of the building was open, the concierge didn’t even flinch when Max passed by him – the daily flow of people gave this man immunity to any sound. Near the stairs there was a glowing boards with studio numbers and those that were in work shined with a red light. The building had only three floors, but still, it was difficult for a disoriented person to find the right room. Max decided to go from top to bottom because the wet traces of different shoes led upward. Having climbed the steep and slippery steps to the third floor, he already began to think over his future speech, any word from Adam could change something, so he had to find the keywords.

  From different doors it was possible to hear the pleasant sounds of camera clicking and female laughter. In the creative studios, work didn’t stop 24 hours a day. Max decided to peer into each door, but before that, he took off the jacket and with a wet hand smoothed his hair and wiped his lips. In black golf, he also looked like a model.

Carefully opening the first door, he saw a naked brown-haired woman sitting on a chair. Her long legs and luscious hips could drive even women crazy. Lounge music played loudly and nobody paid attention to the sound of the doors. The young boy tried to behave professionally and avoided flirting with the model, he looked 20 years old…

My head was still in pain, the temples felt pressure. There was a mixed smell of tobacco and aromatic incense in the corridors, which added a slight dizziness to his head. Despite that, Max was moving along the corridors, listening to laughter. Many doors were closed, this fact made the situation more complicated. But one was open... a woman photographer and a mature lady worked there. Standing in semitones of twilight, the master tried to catch the passionate mood and melancholy of her model.

At the end of the dark corridor, which looked more like a tunnel, Max heard the familiar quiet voice of Adam... Max sneaked up unnoticed and looked into the doorway. A blond nymph was posing on the sofa. Sweet like sugar. The white skin contrasted with the hot pink blush. With excitement, pink spots were visible on her body, and her pale pink nipples were swollen and raised a light piece of fabric.

  Adam didn’t hesitate, tried on different lighting and dropped quite phrases, he was focused. He always took several cameras for shooting, a couple of digital and film ones. It turned out to be very difficult to choose the proper shooting angle, so most of the actions were performed by him exclusively for searching for the perfect angle, and the click of the camera sounded only a couple of times during the shooting. Glancing at his watch, Adam took the last camera out of the wardrobe and when he turned it on, the facial expression had changed in a second. Raising an eyebrow, he began to browse the gallery and totally forgot about his nymph. The pulsation of his eyes made him take off the glasses, grabbing them by the lenses.

– “Something happened?” – asked the model, her doll voice was as sweet as she was. Thin and sonorous at the same time.

– “I don’t know… I don’t understand…” Adam felt confused, looking at the camera screen.

She just nodded and lifted her chin.

– “I won't be able to work today,” – the photographer's voice went down to the lowest notes, something like that has never happened. Thoughts were in a mess, the skin started to look pale. Anyone could notice how his body began to move slightly from side to side, like a pendulum. Max watched what was happening and felt Adam's worries very well. It was so real and not veiled. On the screen, he saw something... that shocked him. Standing motionless for about 3 minutes, Max waited for this strange pause to break.

– “I won't be able to work today... let's meet another day” – Adam said in a timid whisper.

  Seeing his confusion, the model just nodded and put on a purple robe, lying next to her. Max decided it was time to leave.

The photographer quickly began to collect equipment, and Max realized that it was time to leave quickly. Adam quickly packed his bags without any comments. The nymph couldn’t fasten her bra, and while stammering in her fast movements, broke the nail. The photographer hesitated and couldn’t find the jacket, the pale expression on his face gradually changed to a shameful blush.

– “I'll call you tomorrow.” – Model said quietly in her thin voice.

– “Okay.” – pulling on his jacket, answered Adam to himself.

  On the stairs the photographer realized there would be no more work today. He jumped over the last two steps and ran past the concierge, who was enthusiastically watching TV.

In a big city, local news was always routine: politics, scandals, accidents. But today was a special day. All channels and news portals were overwhelmed with facts about the murder of the red-haired model. As soon as everyone was interested in this information... the same details circulated on TV, neighbors who gave interviews shared their versions.

Everything is in the best traditions of a talk show. People love quests, and the media spread tons of hypotheses. On Facebook, everyone reposted posts full of sorrow, there were also those who were sure that the beautiful Elsa deserved such tragically end. The police had already called several close friends of the model, and Adam was next in line. The shocking news devoted to the murder of a model could only compete with a political race. There was a lot of debate and political shows during the pre-election time, and nothing could stop this dirty media engine. This year, two main competitors, Nicholas S. and Marion J., were fighting. Both looked like very sweet people, it seemed that they were about to leave for a monastery from their good deeds. 

Nicholas System Charitable Foundation "Come Back", as a main priority, chose to equip the army. He was a conservative person and lived in arms races and complexes. Nicholas was the personification of all the bureaucratic classic clichés. Blond with short stature and a large belly. Sometimes the buttons bounced off his shirt during debates, and this made people happy. Always sweaty with red cheeks and a little pig nose. It seemed that he had stepped out of the cartoons of the 50s. Despite on these facts, people supported him, due to his gift for finding their weakness. Charity also made a big contribution to his success. The goal was to enter the political system, and for it, he was ready to give his life. 

A very fragile woman opposed him, she was not like Nikolas, didn’t look like any clichés. High and slim, smart and joyful, Marion J. enchanted people with her calmness and friendliness. Blonde-haired lady with a neat ponytail, her blue eyes radiated credibility. She always preferred light colors. Her sophisticated style has been discussed at least once by everyone. From time to time, her daily routine photos appeared in popular magazines. Men admired her pearly smile and bewitching charm, while women were delighted with her feminist nature. She was not the type of person who likes to make the loud and noisy show. Her delicate timbre of the voice showed her pedagogical education – it was easily digestible and at the same time pleasant for perception.

A sweet woman with an innate oratorical gift, she could talk for hours, and it was impossible to stop listening to her. She knew what buttons to press on in public consciousness, and after Nikolas organized a charitable foundation, she opened her own “Right to Life” in support of sick children. This was her most defining act, thanks to this step, she got the sympathy of the majority. As a result, she was no longer particularly worried about the election, although she continued to participate in electoral discussions.

Max chased Adam, looking through the blizzard, which attacked the windshield of his car with large flakes. He realized that everything he needed was in that small black camera and while Max was thinking over his plan of stilling the camera, Adam put on the headphones in the car and answered the call. Over the past hour, he received several calls from the police. If at the beginning he easily ignored them, now… after he felt better – Adam realized that avoidance would only exacerbate his insecure situation. Most of all, he worried about his name, his career and future. Therefore, after the fifth call from the police department, he agreed to visit them tomorrow morning. Today he almost lost the time due to plenty of troubles. There was no Bluetooth in the car, and every time he had to pick up the phone and call back manually. The screen showed one more unknown subscriber and 3 missed calls.

Adam dialed and heard a familiar, thin and unpleasant voice. It was the same journalist, Sarah R., with whom he had a conversation recently. The main difficulty of communicating with journalists is that they always record conversations, and any rudeness or escaping from answering can lead to suspicion or disappointment of your fans. Controlling his emotions as much as possible, Adam continued the dialogue:

– “I am driving now, it is uncomfortable for me to discuss such topics... I can only say that tomorrow I am going to the police because the investigation has already begun. According to the law, I have no right to divulge anything to you.”

 – “Thanks for finding a couple of minutes. I just spoke with one of your models, she knew Elsa very well. Today she was at your shooting and told me you left without any explanation and behaved weird. Please comment on her words for our listeners, we are all waiting.” – Sarah finished her speech sarcastically.

 – “Listeners? Are you already working on the radio? ” – Adam's nervous tone of laughter was obvious.

 – “No, what are you... right now, we are live on YouTube and over 15,000 listeners are online. As I said – we are all waiting.” – the unkind intonation was replaced by a serious tone.

Adam hesitated, and Sarah felt this. It was the first scandal in the photographer's public life, and it couldn’t be finished so easy. During these seconds of silence, hundreds of answers came to his head, the sound of the engine and his nervous coughing was heard by everyone.

– “… Ahem… All my models know each other in some way. I don’t deny that many of them knew Elsa ... ahem ... We are all from the same swamp. My “strange” behavior, as you said...”

– “Weird...”

– “Yeah… ahem… thanks. My “weird” behavior today can be explained by big pressure on me, dozens of calls and questions I have heard from early morning. I'm not a detective or a police officer. I'm just a photographer – this is my job and I do it.”

– “Thank you for your attention to our channel, I hope we will meet with you soon for a longer interview. You can say a few words to our listeners!” – Sarah's voice sounded fervently and optimistic again.

– “Hmm ... I don’t know how to speak beautifully, everything that I want to show I do through the camera, so I am grateful to each of my followers for supporting my work.” – the fear gradually went away, Adam almost calmed down. Rapidly, the connection was interrupted. By this time, he had almost arrived at the place.

The Küsse coffee shop was located very far from the center of the city. Both young lovers and married couples usually meet there. Each table was in a separate area behind the curtains. Quiet place with a classic German interior, where no one was noisy and was busy exclusively with his own business.

Adam didn’t park in front of the entrance, although there were plenty of empty seats. He drove into the depths of an old, half-ruined courtyard, where almost everything was covered with snow. Max kept his distance and decided to wait when the photographer would come out. The area looked very ordinary, the houses were old and fragile... it was difficult to imagine that he could work here. In the meantime, the weather was getting worse and the frost became insufferable. Max had to keep the heater working all the time, and the air inside the car was stifling. He wanted to leave this stuffy space even more, because felt very sick. Max opened the window a little and the car turned into the cold place in a couple of minutes.

Adam had already entered the central door of the café with a laptop and a camera around his neck. Max got out of the car and quickly ran to the door. The porch was slippery, and he flew about half a meter on it, but luckily didn’t fall down. He felt a cramp in his legs and slowly opened the door.

  It was very hot in the room, the heaters were working at full capacity, and the sweet smell of vanilla and baked buns surrounded a bunch of visitors. In the center of the hall there was one lovely girl-waiter who immediately suggested sitting in a cozy "gazebo". Max took off his jacket and ran a hand through his thick, brown hair.

She bent over to him and offered drinks. Max glanced at her. Light blond, fragile with ash-gray eyes, graceful clavicle were visible through an unbuttoned shirt. The slightly weathered hands were thin and elegant. “Why do such women work as waitresses?” – flashed in his head. 

Max ordered a latte and the sweet girl disappeared. He pushed one-half of the dark curtain at the side and easily scanned the room. The music was too intrusive and loud, although some kind of lounge was playing. It was necessary to understand exactly where Adam was sitting. He got up and quickly went to the bar, where the same girl was already making coffee for him. Apparently, there were no staff in the café at all.

– “Sweetie, may I ask you... turn down the music. I have a strong headache”, – Max smiled and gave her 10 euros.

His snow-white smile drove many women crazy. He always treated them with slight disdain, and this attitude brought him even more success. The waitress took the money, gave a charming smile and reduced the music to a minimum. He returned to his seat and continued to listen to every sound of the small coffee shop. “Sweetie” brought a latte with a small meringue.

At that moment, Adam came out and shuffled very close to Max in the direction of the toilet. It was a chance. Max pushed the girl away and some milk spilled onto the brown, shabby table. The curtain of the photographer's gazebo was open, there was no one inside. Just a laptop and a camera on the table. Max quickly ran up, took the camera and very carefully pulled out the memory card, holding his breath. This was not the first time he had done such things, but for some reason today he had a slight tremor in his hands. After quickly returning to the table, Max drank a large glass of latte in several gulps, holding the card tightly between his fingers. He remembered the photographer's reaction very clear: confusion and fear. Whatever it was, Max was now the owner of the situation. Adam, on the contrary, became more vulnerable and, probably, was ready to admit his guilt.

The laptop was in the car, so there was no sense to staying in the coffee shop. Max put on his dark jacket and threw the meringue into his mouth, it was the freshest piece, didn't even crunch. Beneath the meringue was a small note from the waitress with a phone number. Max smiled a little, he put the note in his pocket and went to the exit. The waitress was no longer in the hall.

  There was an old laptop in the car, and he decided to check the memory card immediately. Falling into the driver's seat, Max first found in his inner pocket a crumpled pack of cigarettes – took one of them and made a very deep breath of thick smoke, then opened the laptop with his left hand. 

The car started to work with an unpleasant knock under the hood. Max inserted a memory card into his laptop and waited when the gallery window would appear. The old computer hummed and worked really slowly. Finally, a small window was displayed, one click and the whole screen was littered with photos of the naked Elsa... These were not her classic model pictures, they were alive and different: naked, selfies, in a country house, in the pool, with a friend and... a video with Adam. 

The photographer had always preferred to stay on the other side of the lens… it was evening about half a year ago. Naked, Elsa lay on a white, crumpled bed with her legs wide apart. Her long hair covered her chest and shoulders, she was literally wrapped in them. Like a butterfly chrysalis that dreamed of breaking free in sexual ecstasy. Only Adam's heavy breathing was possible to hear on the recording. He put his hand along her hip and grabbed tightly. Elsa began to masturbate with her long fingers, her soft moans impressed much more than louder screams.

She slowly put her fingers into herself, and Adam silently filmed what was happening. Her face flushed with a soft pink blush, and her body began to tremble. He filmed everything and Elsa was very artistic. After the first orgasm, her back arched and pressed her hips tightly. Adam bent down with the camera and pulled aside Elsa’s knee. He put the camera on her stomach and said quietly: “Be careful, don't drop it”. The recording continued, now the shooting was only from one angle. The camera moved with her breathing and only captured the trembling chest... Hard pink nipples jumped up and down and although Elsa tried to stabilize the camera on herself, nothing came of it. Adam bent over her pussy and slowly licked her labia in one movement. They were so juicy and wet, he swallowed her gently like a peach. Her moans became louder. If you heard them from the side, you would think that the girl is crying. Finally, the camera fell and the last thing that was visible on the recording was a piece of wall with pale yellow wallpaper.

Anger grows up inside Max, he tightened cheekbones with nervousness. It's impossible to forgive the one who took her life, her youth and beauty. Adam caused even more disgust for himself with his coldness and indifference to Elsa. He lowered the glass, took a note from the waitress out of his pocket, then crumpled it up with one hand and threw it on the fluffy snow.

  He was staring ahead, into emptiness. A passing black Mercedes brought him back to reality. He did not stop far from him and a tall woman in a warm sky-colored coat and a black scarf on her head got out of the car. He saw only part of her face, but immediately recognized her... it was that same Marion J…Nicholas S ran after her, quickly moving his short and fat legs. Their driver turned off the engine and stayed inside. What are all these people doing in a place like this?

  For about an hour, Max sat in the car and waited for someone to appear. There was only one cigarette in the pack, and sunset was approaching. He opened the door and began to search with a flashlight from the phone for the note with the phone number. He found it on the snow exactly in the same place where he threw it. He picked it up and gently unrolled it with his fingers. The ink was smeared, but the number was possible to read. He called her:

– “Good evening, Sweetie ... We saw each other just an hour ago.” – Max desperately tried to imitate interest.

– “How nice that you called so quickly.” – Her voice was soft and gentle, the same as her face.

– “I wanted to invite you to dinner tomorrow, but there is one condition.” – Such offers have always attracted the interest of young women.

– “I wonder what condition do you mean?”

– “I'm kidding ... no conditions, one small request. Recently, two people came into a café... did they sit down at the table together?” – Max asked tenderly.

– “They both sat down at the table with a man in glasses...” – the waitress said, covering the phone with her hand.

– “Thank you, I'll call you tomorrow.” – Max sharply cut off the dialogue, without saying “goodbye” to his lady.

  It became completely dark outside, the snow stopped falling. A strong, sharp wind appeared. A sore throat together with a morning headache were exhausting. Max started to get sick. Breathing became hot, joints filled with pain, but nothing of this mattered.

He had to finish what he started. Find something common between all these facts. About 3 hours, he spent in the car, at some point he fell asleep. He could hear voices and cars passing by indistinctly. His legs were numb, his body twitched with sharp nervous movements, preventing him from falling asleep deeply. He tried to overcome his tiredness and watched the door.

  The door opened, Marion and Nicholas got out together and called for the car.

Max once again recognized her face through the light of the night lanterns, it was definitely her. Although his car was pretty far, Marion glanced at him for just a second.

  Max waited for the Mercedes to hide in the dim light of the lanterns. The throat began to ache strongly, and nausea appeared. He reminisced that he had not eaten anything all day. He felt sorry for Elsa, sorry for her beauty. It’s a pity that someone decided to steal it for himself. Now only photos remained. Max felt the clothes on his skin more and more, the temperature rose. The eyes began to ache. He felt fatigue very often, especially recently.

Insomnia and headaches became a habit. Sleepiness after sleepless nights was a permanent state of mind. Every morning, after 3–4 hours of sleep, Max took a shower and “made a face” – as he liked to say. There were always a lot of beauty products and patches in the bathroom. Once he also tried to earn money as a model, but gave up after the first refusals. After several months of depression, he decided to leave attempts to earn money with his "face" and just take care of it. This compromise represented his narcissistic nature in the clearest way. Sometimes he read about metro sexuality in articles, tried to find the reasons for his loneliness. He had never loved anyone; however, he could perfectly support this illusion.

It didn’t bother him a lot, it was just curious to know why he was different from other people. This was probably the only thing they had in common with Adam.

  That evening, Max, despite his disgusting body condition, was determined to see everything till the end. He ate several more pills against headache; put them in his mouth with one move, as usual, without drinking water. Suddenly, the headlights of Adam's car hit his eyes. The photographer drove out of the yard, and it was clearly visible how he inserted the headphones into his ear.

A minute later, Max chased him.

  Adam's screen again showed a few missed calls; the flight mode on the iPhone was permanent in his life. He didn’t like loud noise and bustle, but always dreamed, made plans and ignored everything that was happening around. Despite his creative profession, he was always very rational. He had many women, met with them when he was in the appropriate mood, but unfortunately, it rarely visited him. Elsa, like many others, showed sympathy for him. She was never honest enough for showing this interest.

... Apparently, because of fear to scare him away. Therefore, everything was limited to silly jokes and slight excitement from nude filming. Adam always felt annoyed by positive and loud women. This joyful attitude created a sharp contrast with his pragmatism, in simple language – didn’t excite. Laughter and fun were not sexy, he would never feel interest in such a woman. He was always attracted to the cold, earthly and silent. Every day, Adam was called on dates. In his youth, he could intelligently refuse or simply endlessly postpone the meeting, but with age this need disappeared and was replaced by total ignorance.

The same thing happened on that cold, disgusting evening. Three missed messages from different models and one SMS from Sarah R.:

“Good evening, Adam. I wanted to invite you for an interview tomorrow at any time.

This will take about an hour. Questions only about your creativity, I promise)

Call me.

Sara R.”

Adam hesitated for a second, but eventually dialed the number. Her show was very popular, therefore despite the level of stress, many guests agreed to visit it. Everyone wanted to get a piece of public attention.

– “Hello Sarah. I would like to discuss the interview in advance. You must promise me that you will abstain from provocations; in this case I am all yours.” – Adam said in a tired voice.

– “I guarantee it to you. It was my old plan to call you. What kind of questions you would like to discuss? I will prepare everything in the best way.” – The journalist asked quietly and professionally.

– “Hmm… ask me about my exhibition next week, it might be interesting…” – Adam's voice became happier for a second.

– “Are you going to organize such an event despite the recent murder?” – Sarah asked in amazement.

– “Yes… this is my job. By the way, let's agree about 4. It would be a perfect time.”

– “No problem, Adam, if it is comfortable for you. I'll call you a little later for confirmation.” – the network began to disappear, her last phrase he didn’t hear.

  Confident in his tomorrow's success, the photographer turned into the industrial zone. The dark streets were as depressing as possible, only a couple of lanterns worked in the entire area. It was impossible to meet even one person. In a minute, the heavy falling snow turned into a blizzard, which paralyzed activity on the road.

Photophobia began to disturb more and more – a clear sign of high fever. The glare of the headlights hurt his eyes and the pain became intensive. He had to hold on. Max's car was difficult to hear, the local radio wave worked. Political advertisement between songs, forced to feel nausea. And then again...:

“The Right to Life Charitable Foundation” gave another child a chance for a happy life...

Max turned off the sound. How could be such serious people connected to the photographer? What might they have in common? The fact that Marion was together with her main opponent, Nikolas, didn’t surprise at all. This only confirmed Max's theory that all political battles are just a thoughtful spectacle. In real life, such people drink coffee together and agree on mutually beneficial deals, it can even contain some romantic.

  Adam stopped near a large pavilion where it was easy to see light. All of this made Max to feel more nervous. The darkness, the pavilion... The wind was getting stronger, and the snow again crackled on the windshield. He stopped right next to the main entrance. The curbs were completely covered with snow.

Adam got out of the car, hung a camera on himself. His snow-white skin burned from frost, his cheeks immediately became red. He bent down for taking a laptop from the backseat; the back was very visible. Adam wore things for at least 5 years and in most cases, they didn’t fit him. He closed the car, made a couple of steps and knocked on the shabby metal door twice.

  Max turned off the headlights and engine. He watched the bustle of the photographer, then quietly left without closing the door because it didn’t want to produce any sound. As soon as the creak of the lock of the old door was possible to hear, Max shouted as loud as he could: 

– “Stop!”

He realized that he would wait for him for several hours, but obviously, he didn’t have the strength for this. The temperature was higher than 38 C, and the only thing he wanted at those moments was to get money and go home to sleep.

  Adam turned around and flinched, Max ran straight at him, looking into his eyes. The photographer took a couple of frightened steps back. He was not a conflict person, and such stresses usually caused a panic attack. Max was taller, so he looked down at Adam, grabbing the collar of his jacket. 

– “How do you explain her photos on your memory card?!” – Max pulled him up, the seam of his jacket started to crack.

– "Um ... how?" What photos? I ... don't know anything.” – Adam whispered.

– “So ... either we solve this issue here and now, or I sell this information to all the media in the country. The fact that this is your memory card will be visible on the security cameras in the coffee shop.” – Max pulled him higher, while the photographer closed his eyes from fear of an occasional punch.

– “Ahem… ahem… well, I'll give it all. No need to call anywhere, please... ahem. I have money.”

Max dropped him down. From adrenaline, pain was replaced by joy, a wave of energy ran through the body and added strength. In 10 seconds, it was necessary to formulate the demanding and conditions. There was chaos in his head. Take money from the person who is the first suspect in the murder? Why not ... Max was never ambitious. This would solve many of his problems. Most of all, he just wanted to get away from this eternal darkness, cold and debt. Removed old skin from himself and felt like a different person. At least not for a long time to forget this city, the news and this damned hangar. All melancholic thoughts he quickly threw away, like annoying flies. A cold wind with snow blew through the collar of the jacket and gave him a feeling of freshness.

– “20,000 euros in cash, and we will never see each other again.” – Max rubbed his chapped lower lip.

– “This is all my savings... ahem... I recently bought an apartment... ahem. Exhibitions have not finished yet... that's all I have. Let's at least 15, you will not sell information for such an amount?” – Adam took a step back and, despite his fear, decided to bargain a little.

– “18 and I smash your brazen face. It will give me the smallest satisfaction.” – Max's eyes sparkled wildly. It was obvious that he was not joking.

– “Okay, okay… ahem… only tomorrow, I don’t have that kind of cash.” – despite the winter frost, Adam's forehead was covered with sweat.

– “You know that I will find you... Deadline is tomorrow afternoon.” – Max's voice sounded lower and lower. The rude conversation was similar to cheap American movies, only in this case they both wanted to leave quickly.

– “Well, um... tomorrow one of my models will come and bring everything ... um ... write me the address. But will you give me the card? Is this all fair?” – Adam began to talk a little louder.

 – “To be honest ... I want to get out of here.” – Max stepped away from the photographer and walked to his car, looking around nervously.

Adam felt paralyzed, thin flakes of snow were falling on his beard and immediately melted. He didn’t have time to understand how he trapped in such a situation. Unsociable, non-conflict... got into a big problem. The only hope was Max's promise, although it was funny. Will an unfamiliar, sneaky person tell the truth? Will he give him the card? Will he multiply it?

A difficult situation, although Max's sickly appearance brought a confidence that he was honest, it was possible to believe in his frankness. Adam waited a little and knocked on the metal door several times, suddenly somebody opened it for him.

  Max shouted from the car:

 – “I'll send an SMS!” – and exhausted, pulled the open door.

  Adam stood in the darkness near the shabby door and watched how the car moved away. Max realized that the photographer was a nervous and selfish person.

Highly unlikely that he will be able to lie tomorrow, too high risk of losing a good name. Adam understood the price of popularity very well, he dreamed about glory and the world's admiration. Brawlers and freaks were inferior to him, they are not really popular... they are nobody, and society will throw them away very fast. For the photographer, the main fear was to mix his name with any scandals, to take the viewer away from the main thing – to become a media prostitute or even worse, a blogger.

  Max quickly drove to the house; it was a miracle that he didn’t get into an accident. He hardly kept his eyes open, the fever was growing, and his stomach was full of pain. Entering his rented apartment, he took off his jacket, golf and jeans right in the hallway. Max threw his things sloppily on the floor and went to the bath ...turned on the hot water and began to wash his face nervously... the water was getting hotter until it became almost boiling. He felt burning in his hands because of the water, but still made additional movements, and then ran his wet hands several times through his hair.

Looking at the reflection, Max saw a pale face with red, chapped lips. His back ached, and he wanted to lie down as fast as it was possible, but the stomach would not have allowed to rest, it spasms grew more and more, so Max decided to cook at least "quick" oatmeal.

  The Chinese plastic teapot was boiling while he poured one bag of porridge into a mug and added more water than needed. His mind was already far away from this place, somewhere on the shore of the island. After eating a couple of spoons, he went to his crumpled jacket and took an iPhone to text the photographer.

Texted the address in one sentence, he ate three more spoons of oatmeal, which looked like soup, and went with the phone to the only room in the apartment. Typical bachelor hole. The room had a large bed, a small wardrobe, a desk, and an old office chair. In some places, the wallpaper began to recede, but Max didn’t care at all.

  It was cool in the apartment, and he pulled on two warm blankets. As soon as his head touched the pillow, he instantly fell into a deep sleep. Max fell asleep feeling completely satisfied and calm for the first time in a long time.

There were no dreams, only the anticipation of a reward for the stress he experienced. In his sleep, he coughed a little, his nose was stuffed up. He bent his legs and slept in blankets covered with his head in the fatal position. This was one of the few nights when he didn’t wake up from extraneous sounds or bad dreams.

  Max usually woke up at 8 am. He had breakfast, blasting his abs, jumping rope and made masks for his face. Only after this morning routine he started to work. It was always important for him don't break the course of actions repeated many times. A permanent schedule developed for many years. But this morning, he woke up from the doorbell ...

The clock in the room showed 10:05. He surprisingly flinched, picked up the phone – it was empty. The doorbell call was very intrusive. Max jumped up and put on an old, blue robe that had hung on the back of the chair for a week. Walking on the cold floor, he looked into the intercom. On the screen, he noticed a cute little brown-haired woman in a jacket with a thick fur collar. Max tried the handle and realized that he had slept all night with an unlocked door. The woman entered:

– “I woke you up, as I can see. Sorry, Adam asked me to bring you a package, take...” – the girl's face shone with a smile, she had no idea what was in the package.

– “Thank you, pretty. I'm already awake...” – Max carefully took the package.

– “I need to take some card from you…” – the beauty said, smiling, flapping her long, painted eyelashes.

– “Yes ... a second” – Max began to search in the pockets of his jacket lying on the floor. The girl was a little embarrassed, a strange situation. On the second try, he found it in his inner pocket and gave it to the girl with the words: – “Thank you.”

  The girl took the card, smiled adorable and turned to the door.

Max went to the kitchen. He pressed the button of the kettle, sat down on a chair and cut the black bag with the first short knife that came across. There really was money, packed neatly. He turned the bag over and threw everything on the table. Counting the money, he exclaimed joyfully. It was clear that such an amount of money would not change life. But, for him, that was the starting point. The main thing was his opportunity to leave, although he had one more thing to do... he quickly drowned out any thoughts about him. It didn't matter anymore, everything didn't matter...

The amount was accurate, no cheating. Max decided to make himself a coffee with lemon due to such occasion. The cold didn’t bother him so much, he didn’t feel the temperature, only the throat was burning from the inside. Coffee was ready in 10 minutes. He poured coffee in a large, white cup and decided to take the cigarette from his pocket. The jacket was still on the floor. The cigarette was broken, so he had to break it in two halves.

  The kitchen step by step was filling up with smoke. Max was happy and calm. In complete silence... and absolute relaxation. Plans for the future captured all his thoughts. Max raised his legs and reached his jacket lying on the floor, holding a cigarette in his teeth.

Finding yesterday's note with the waitress's number at the bottom of his pocket, he carefully unfolded it and finally hung his jacket and jeans on a hook. He put a cigarette in yesterday's mug with half-eaten porridge and went to look for a telephone. He sat down on a chair again, hesitated a little in his thoughts, and dialed the number. At the same time, the doorbell rang...

  Max quickly dropped the call, put the money back in the black bag, and left it behind the curtain on the kitchen sill. The call was getting more and more insistent. He tied a robe, turned on the intercom and froze in complete shock. On the other side was the well-known Marion J.

He carefully opened the door, which was still unlocked.

  Marion came and looked at Max in total silence. She was insanely cute in a long powdery coat with a beige suit, and pointed stiletto heels with milky color. Then Max caught himself thinking that he hadn’t even taken a shower today, which made him feel uncomfortable.

– “I didn't think we knew each other.” – Max said loudly, trying to make an awkward joke.

– “We don’t know each other, dear. I took your contact because I need to find out something...” – Marion narrowed her foxy eyes.

– “You know ... I don't want to get into anything now, I wanted to go on vacation.” – He said timidly.

– “I am sure after working for me, you would have enough money for a new apartment. I appreciate my people and those who work well. Moreover, this is a serious matter.” – Marion moved into the kitchen without taking off her shoes or even taking off her coat.

  Max followed her and there was a feeling that he was her guest. Her strong energy filled the entire space. She carefully sat on the chair and crossed her legs. Marion noticed the mess on the table and looked around the kitchen. Max began to clear the space. The note with the waitress's number was right in front of her.

– “What's this?” Asked Marion in a low voice.

– “Uh… just rubbish.” – He swiped the note with all the other crumbs off the table and threw it into the trash bin.

– “May I offer you some coffee? I just prepared it... if you like coffee with lemon, of course.” Max asked and looked straight in her eyes.

– “Why not ... I love everything unusual.”

  Almost spilling coffee, Max put the cup on the table. Marion was beautiful even at this time of day. And although she was not young, her inexplicable warm magnetism attracted everyone. She took a sip, a nude lipstick stamped on the mug. It was difficult to tell if she liked the coffee or not.

Finally, she began to tell about the main reason for her visit... It was a fifteen-minute monologue, in which it was not possible to add any comment. She didn’t ask, but rather commanded what to do. She would not be a tolerant to refusal, and Max had to listen as if hypnotized. Towards the end of her story, he caught himself thinking that the matter of her visit was a little strange. He began to wake up a little and seemed to come out of a trance. Marion asked him to steal some papers from Nicholas, told that his fund was created only for money laundering and many more strange facts.

Why would such a famous woman, who knew the completely political “kitchen” from the inside, come to the edge of the city to ask for the help of an amateur detective? Max glanced at the empty pack of cigarettes, and Marion reached into the pocket of her fur coat.

– “Should I buy you?” – holding out a pack of cigarettes, she asked.

– “I will not refuse;” – Max pulled out one cigarette and moved his hand to the windowsill for a lighter. After lighting a cigarette and taking a deep breath, he asked: “Won't you keep me company?”

– “I gave up smoking yesterday.” – Marion said, changing her tone to a quiet

  She kept talking, mostly about nothing. About politics, about elections, about how many people want to use her name, although she tried to do everything honestly, unlike many. Suddenly, Max coughed, simultaneously trying to apologize. He ran to the sink and started drinking water straight from the tap. The cough only became more intensive, his eyes began to darken, and the back of his head covered a cold sweat. He held on to the sink with both hands and could not say a word, only wheezed heavily.

– “I see you don’t feel good. You have spent a lot of time outside in cold weather.” – it happens. “It’s seems you need to lie down.”

He closed his eyes and slowly plunged into darkness. Through the pain and convulsions, he heard someone entering a house and through the veil, he could see a man in a cap. In the distance, Max heard the clatter of Marion's heels. What was he thinking about at that moment? That he would never go to the ocean? About not talking to the waitress? Or why did they this to him? Although, Max did not think about the last question if only because it was his fake name.

Hearing his iPhone ring for the last time, his heart stopped. She was cute… those waitress ...

THREE DAYS BEFORE...

Elsa was frivolous and had an easy attitude to all matters, even connected with her work. Probably, lack of concentration and infantilize obstructed her career. A cheerful, energetic and procrastinating girl he used as a desirable object for men. Her modeling career began as suddenly as her life ended. Someone recommended her to one photographer, then to another, and by the end of the month, she had a portfolio, although with low-quality pictures. Chip shots, a few nudity photos bordering on pornography... all for paying the bills. She was not sensitive; that was her strong side.

About Adam, she got information from one of the models, whose career went uphill just after his photo shoots. Because everyone knew if Adam took a few pictures of the girl, it meant that there was something special in her. Even some modeling agencies listened to his choice. He really had exquisite taste. He always chose tall, slender and long-haired. Any tuning was disgusting and took long hours of retouching.

  Elsa wrote to him on Instagram for about a month. She sent all the photos she had, begged for a meeting. After a long silence, she changed her tactics a little and began to idolize his creative skills, which made his style so recognizable. When hope was almost at zero, she wrote:

It is a pity that I cannot interest you. It would be a great honor for me to work with you. And a reason for pride. Maybe you will agree for commercial shooting. Write your price, I am ready for anything.

After a couple of days, she finally saw the long-awaited “hello”.

He worked really as a professional of high-class and never wasted time; all empty conversations chased the goal of relaxing the model. It is unlikely that he was interested in someone. They quickly found a common language, for this was enough to do what he said. 

A couple of times in his life, Adam organized random photo shootings, after all, posing was definitely the same skill as shooting and not all models accomplish this task perfectly. Elsa had obvious talent, and although she was young and inexperienced at posing, she had a good sense of the camera and knew her best sides. Adam gently called her Bird. Because of her high emotionality and fuss.

He evoked certain feelings in her, it was difficult to call “love”... rather, just accumulated admiration that couldn’t find a way out. It’s easy to get confused among these feelings. She had huge debts at the very beginning, but the more she worked with Adam, the more job offers she received.

  Three days before her murder, there was another shooting. On that day, Adam wanted to take a series of casual photos in bed, showed how she was playing with her luxurious ginger hair. All this happened in her apartment, on a large bed with a thin green blanket. The evening was very usual, and the work went well before one of his cameras ran out of charge.

Adam felt displeased and put the camera to charge at the nearest socket, then took another one for work. Elsa's thoughts were far away, she kept thinking about how to correctly tell him about her sympathy, how to invite him on a date, but couldn’t find the right words. They spent time at his events several times, but it meant nothing to him. Their one-time sex for some reason, made the distance between them bigger, and she felt how Adam slowly lost interest in her. With any scenario in her head, he ran away from her apartment in horror, and then didn’t respond to messages. That is why she decided to just keep quiet. Let everything stay without changes.

His iPhone was on the chair next to the mirror and flashed endlessly with bright signals. The first 30 minutes, he successfully ignored it, but then he suspected something serious. Adam waved Elsa from top to bottom, in their language it meant relax, then took the phone and went out into the corridor. Elsa, lying on the bed, heard a low female voice from the mobile phone, and short answers of Adam. Then he returned to the bedroom and began to collect cameras.

– “Don’t be upset, Bird, the day after tomorrow we will finish shooting. I have to go, I'm sorry.”

– “Please don't forget about me.” – said Elsa with her charming smile. 

She put on a white silk robe, which was a little electrified by her naughty hair and stuck to the back. Adam put on his jacket, and she opened the tight lock with three turns. When he was leaving the apartment, Adam smiled and said “good bye”. Elsa locked the door. After returning to the room, she took off her robe. She liked to walk naked. She sat on the bed with her legs and looked at the laptop. Suddenly, she noticed one of the cameras that Adam forgot in the room. With childish curiosity, she took it and opened the gallery.

There were last photos of her. For some reason, they were a little worse than usual, the extra 3 kg were clearly visible and Elsa vowed to herself to go on a diet. She sat down on the bed and began to scroll further... So many mediocre girls, faceless, flat… much worse than her. She checked the frames one by one until the pictures turned black and white. They were completely different from his classic works. A strange shabby room with a dim lamp and a naked woman in a leather mask. She was wearing a harness and high heels. These pictures were definitely not art, it were total vulgarity. The model didn’t cover intimate areas as usual. The chest was clearly visible, the legs were wide apart. It was impossible not to notice her vulgar shapes.

  In the third photo, she was already without a mask, standing on all fours…Elsa's face froze in shock. She recognized her. This was Marion J., for sure.

Elsa kept scrolling further, all doubts disappeared. The central political person of this city turned out to be a simple pervert. “Oh, you slut” – Elsa whispered softly. Adam didn’t deny any work, he never let money passed by and skillfully adjusted his talent to any circumstances.

  Elsa took the phone and quickly dialed her lover, Michael. Among their common interests were sex and the thirst for easy money. They were both beautiful, young and endlessly greedy. It is a pity that there was no love between them, they were much too similar to each other. They met about a year ago in a bar, when he came up to her and said: “hello, Sweetie”. 

He was tall, very handsome, seductive and arrogant. He liked to introduce himself by different names. Alex, Leo, Max were the holy trinity of his favorites, although his name was Michael according to his passport. Perhaps he was hiding from someone or simply suffered from a pathological desire to deceive and always easy communicate with girls. 

She told him everything, because felt a perspective in her unexpected find. During the conversation, Michael was laconic and offered to meet tomorrow. As soon as Elsa finished talking, the doorbell rang. She felt how pressure rose and panic became obvious. She had to make a decision. Under the bed, together with the trash, lay her old camera and the doorbell rang intrusively, at this moment she decided to change memory cards. There was a glass of water on the floor net to the bed, she poured it on her chest, put on a robe, and put Adam's camera back on charging. Opening the heavy door, she made a surprised face:

– “I was in the shower, something happened?” – Adam stood in front of her with red cheeks and heavy breath. It was clear that he ran up the stairs.

– “I forgot my camera, Bird... bring it to me.” – exhausted, tenderly, said Adam.

Elsa smiled and tried to hide a tremor in her hands, she brought his camera back. Adam thanked her and ran downstairs in a hurry. She just hoped that Adam would not turn the camera today.

  The next day, she and Michael looked at the photos and discussed the blackmail plan. There were many options: to print and drop the pictures secretly to Marion J, Michael could introduce himself as a courier. Alternatively, try the role of a detective and earn money with Marion for information about the blackmailer. All his versions led to the fact that he would take the card. Elsa didn't like it. She knew that he would leave her at any moment just to make money on his own. Their meeting ended with a conflict, eventually Michael put his hands thought his hair and left in a bad mood.

  Elsa returned home and didn’t speak to anyone all day. She thought over how to carry out this plan alone. Long hours of reflection, there was no need to call Michael, he could ask for money... She went to the main page "Right to Life" on the internet, where she assured that all mail was personally responded to by Marion J. Then, closer to night, she decided to write a letter from the newly registered mailbox and attached a photo:

“Good evening, I know how this letter will upset you, but I think you don't want problems. I don’t feel any hate to you personally, I just want to come to an agreement. I'll send you my number later.”

Falling asleep that night, Elsa looked forward to negotiations, thought about how much she might get. Unfortunately, her limited mind and narrow way of thinking played a bad game with her. A day later, after the last photo shooting with Adam, she would die.

  Marion J. was an overbearing woman, and everyone feared and respected her. She would never show any dirt for no reason, but if the reason were serious, she would burn everything around. When people talk about authority, they usually don’t realize the seriousness of its scale. Power loses its charm if it is not abused. Who is a domineering person? The one who keeps everything under control, and it is better to stay away from competitions with such a person because you will always lose. Marion had connections everywhere: in the police, in the courts, witnesses were bought and sold. But she never used her power madly, everything was planned, and she would never take an emotional, useless step.

  That night the doorbell rang, Elsa didn’t sleep and quickly stood up. She didn’t have an intercom; So she waited when on the other side somebody introduced himself as a policeman. She opened the door and saw a short, thin man in a mustard-colored cap. She was very frightened by his cold, empty eyes, and she instinctively felt like a victim. Elsa was numb and afraid to move, this man smelled dangerous even with his hands behind his back. He stepped over the threshold, closed the door, and raised his left hand… Elsa saw a gun with a silencer. The man grabbed her by the neck with his right hand, but didn’t squeeze. Putting a gun to her temple, he quietly asked with an absolute poker face: where did she hide the photos? Elsa began to choke with panic; she realized that it would not be easy to get out. 

She just pointed her finger at the switched laptop lying on the blanket. The man asked her to lie on the bed and not move. “If I hear from you even a sound, you are dead” – he said in a whisper with an arrogance. The gun was still in his hand; he sat down in a chair and put the laptop on his knees. After about 3 minutes, the man took out the card, put in the pocket of his old jeans and closed the laptop. He sat down, relaxed in a chair and sniffed.

– “That’s all?” – suppressing hysterical shortness of breath, asked the model.

– “Yes…” the man in the cap shut his lips and suddenly shot her in the face.

  The green bedspread became burgundy every second, more and more.

  A man in a cap left the apartment with a completely empty soul. He didn’t feel empathy for anyone, but simply did his job as a machine. Having stepped over the threshold, he left the apartment door opened and silently went downstairs. At about 5 am an old neighbor from the upper floor, or to be precise – his dog, found her. On the way down, the dog smelled something and moved to the open door. Later, the police will talk with all the neighbors and write down in the protocol that they all slept and didn’t hear anything, and the old woman who lives next door is insane.

  Marion left Michael's apartment with complete peace in her heart. She knew from the very beginning who he was and what he could do in theory. Adam told her that he gave Michael the money because the blackmailer attacked him, but Marion didn’t say a word to him. 

An hour later, Marion was at the new location for the shooting. Today she was a model again. It was very cold in the shabby hangar, and there were heaters around. Marion did her hair with a fleece for a very long time. Two knocks on the door... a man in a cap opened the creaking door. Adam arrived with all the cameras and in a good mood. Smiling sincerely, he said “hello” and began to expose the lights. Then Marion drew his attention to a small sofa next to him, on which was a black bag with money.

– “This is yours...” – Adam felt an incredible emotional orgasm. Marion had sincere sympathy for him.

– “Thank you very much... you know, since now, I will take photos of you for free. You solved so many of my problems. Especially with the police today.” – First time on the face of Adam was possible to see the real joy.

– “No, I'll pay. There is no enthusiasm for free work”. – She said with humor.

  Adam continued to adjust the light when Marion came close to his back and lightly touched his neck. The photographer didn’t expect such close contact and was embarrassed.

– “This is also yours.” – Marion opened her hand, there was a memory card in her palm. – “I appreciate my people, so don’t upset me anymore.” – Her tone was extremely serious.

  Adam swallowed nervously and said:

“Never again… ahem… thanks.”

The shooting started and took over an hour. Today she was completely naked with voluminous hair and dark lipstick.

  On the way back in his red Alfa Romeo, Adam suddenly understood everything. Realized in what trap he fell, what a terrible story he was dragged into. Unexpectedly for himself, he reminisced Michael's phrase: “There is something that you will not erase anymore”, – he heard Michaels voice in his memory. Since now, he can’t refuse Marion. He finally became “her man”. After thinking about this for about 10 minutes, he quickly throws away the annoying thoughts. The phone was calling, it was Sarah R. He didn’t even have time to say hello, Sarah already started to chat:

– “Good afternoon, Adam! Do you remember that we have an interview in 2 hours? How are you?” – She asked in a cheerful manner.

– “What are you… of course I haven't forgotten. I will be in time. Everything is great. – The word “everything” meant the permanent state of Adam's mind.

– “I am not recording this conversation. I have a special offer for you”... – Sarah began to behave as a sneaky fox.

– “What is it?” – The photographer asked with interest.

– “Everyone knows that you are the last one who took pictures of Elsa. Can you sell these sources to our agency? We'll pay a good money.” – Adam started to get used to her strange voice and questions.

 He felt his neck stiff and moved his head from side to side until heard a crunch.

 – “Hello ... can you hear me?” – interrupting a pause, asked Sarah.

– “Yes, I will sell.” – Adam answered confidently with a bit of sadness.

– “For sure? Then please come to the office earlier. We need to discuss the conditions”. – There was more and more joy in Sarah's voice.

– “Of course, I am a photographer and this is my job. I will come.” – Adam accepted the challenge, continuing to look forward at the icy road.

The snow stopped falling and for the first time the sun came out. Adam stood at the traffic light and again felt the pain in his eyes. Rubbing his eyes, without taking off the glasses, he began to think about how to organize the comfortable schedule for next week, how to prepare an exhibition, how to find time for many meetings.

  However, one displaced all these thoughts: “I wonder if I can sleep today?”