Chapter 21 Written in the Stars

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Robert took his phone and called one of his friends from Berlin police department, who worked with him during the years he spent in Germany. Johan Yzerman was happy to hear Robert’s voice and asked him about his personal life and professional achievements.

‘I’m stuck in the same job. You wouldn’t believe how burnt out I am these days. I’m constantly at work. And I got divorced,’ Robert confessed, ‘But on the bright side, it was for the better. I’m seeing someone.’

‘A man?’

‘How do you...’

‘Robert, I always knew you were kind of on the other side. You never even talked about women. They weren’t so interesting for you. You never joked with us. I was actually surprised that you got married to a woman. It’s no problem with me, believe me. Why are you calling me?’

Robert explained the case of Woźniak and Pieczka.

‘I doubt there is any common denominator. I can call here and there, but I don’t think we’ll find something of significance... Have you thought about getting in touch with Maya?’

‘Do you know where she is at the moment?’

‘Probably in Poland. We used her help a couple of times last year but now she is off duty. She helped us immensely. You ought to call her. She could know something. She could foresee.’

‘Thanks. I should have thought about her earlier.’

‘So this is something you are working on these days? Missing professors?’

‘In my free time, yes. It’s a private matter. Police take care of another academic employee, Henryk Tamka. As a matter of fact, I have a partner to whom I relegated the case. Tamka is also a history professor. There might be some connection.’

After wishing Johan Yzerman all the best and hoping to hear from him soon, Robert searched for a different contact in his phone.

‘I knew you will be calling,’ he heard Maya’s calm voice, ‘I haven’t heard from you for years.’

‘I could say the same about you. I have a case to solve. Can we meet? Are you in Warsaw?’

‘Yes. We can meet today. I didn’t plan anything in case you wanted to come round.’

Robert was glad. Did he believe in Maya’s gift? After several cases they solved with her help, he was definitely sure that she had abilities that no one else was in possession of. She could see beyond reality. She could connect facts and see flashbacks of the future. But did he openly admit that he believed in the powers of a fortune teller? He was rather timid about it.

Maya looked like an ordinary woman. She was no witch with cats, messy hair and a boiling kettle on a stove. She lived in a modern flat and had an ordinary job. In her free time, she helped those, whom she could help, whether they were businessmen, people at the crossroads, uncertain lovers or those who didn’t know what to do with their lives. Occasionally, she helped the Berlin police department. And she also did some favors for Robert.

‘Cards?’ she asked without much introduction.

Robert nodded. He sat at the table and looked at how manual she was with Tarot. How precise. He knew these cards: The Devil, The Page, The Tower, The Star. He didn’t know all 78 of them. He didn’t remember their images and their meaning. He couldn’t explain their position. Maya’s convoluted explanations didn’t stay in his mind for a long time. He caught just glimpses of them and attached them to facts, which were known to him. But he and Maya had something in common. Robert had intuition. Maya could reach beyond what was considered reasonable. Together they created an admiringly telepathic duo, which more than once proved to be successful.

‘I want to know if there’s any pattern. Is there any connection between Woźniak, Tamka, and Pieczka?’

Maya looked at the cards.

‘There is no connection between two professors who disappeared recently. There is something, something from the past and from the present. You know only a very small part of what really happened. This was one event. There’s something more. There’s background.’

‘More?’

‘It’s a peak of an iceberg. I cannot tell you more. I see a suitcase. It can mean travel.’

Maya went into a detailed explanation of how his work will be mobile and how cards suggested movement, change, progress. She paused for a while, looked at Robert, then looked at the cards.

‘You have a friend. A close friend. A woman. She will be helpful. I can see the money. Big money.’

‘Whose money?’

‘Money which she will bring. You need money. I can see cold. And forest. Children. I can see a child. Your child.’

‘Excuse me?’

‘I just tell you what I see. Remember that what I see now can come true in years, depending on the decisions you make and choices that will be right for you. It can also mean that you will be like a father to the child. Or a father figure.’

Robert patiently listened to her words and observed the uncovering of the cards like a child playing the memory game.

‘I see a lot of self-searching. I can see physical fulfillment. Love.’

‘Love?’

‘There’s a lot of love here. Different love. The Devil suggests obsessions, jealousy, selfishness. I can see love on many fronts. Unrequited love. Mad love. Obsessive love.’

‘Is there something I can do? Whose love is it? Professors? The kidnappers?’

‘I cannot tell.’

‘And the professors, are they dead?’

Maya looked at the cards.

‘One is dead. One is alive. One is somewhere in between. This is strange. I cannot be sure.’

‘That didn’t help much,’ Robert hid his head in his hands.

‘Patience. You also need some changes.You have to wait and it will be a start of something new. You will be surrounded by many people. You will feel needed and you will reevaluate your professional life.When all the pieces fall into place, you will know what to do. You will start something new.’

After almost three hours of reading and analyzing Maya felt tired. She offered Robert some tea, but he was in a hurry. She gave him his coat and smiled.

‘You will come back to me.’

Robert thanked her and left her flat.

‘Lena?!’ he shouted, entering his own flat ‘Are you planning to have a child?’

Lena looked at Robert over the pile of her little students’ tests.

‘Do I look mad?’

‘Occasionally,’ Robert admitted.

Lena rolled her eyes.

‘Why do you ask?’

‘I’ve been at the fortune teller.’

‘Well, that’s interesting.’

Lena raised her eyebrows in a sarcastic manner. She didn’t believe in fortune tellers, just as she didn’t believe that she could ever be a mother.