Chapter 27: Samuel's observation

Upon seeing the time and location in the message, I was filled with the same euphoria that she left me with when we said goodbye. My previous feelings were mixed with reverence for her, and I literally blossomed, which surprised me.

Before this moment, I felt like I was always in agony - emotional pain that resulted from loneliness and sorrow from losing Kate as a family. And now, I felt as if I had won the lottery or solved a case that I had been working on monotonously for long nights. And it was all because of her.

I sat and thought about what to do, whether to go as is or change clothes, and how to end the evening quickly. What should I talk to her about, anyway? All of my thoughts were about her. I forgot about the important things. I forgot about work, and what was even sadder was that I only remembered her after Samuel approached me.

Suddenly, the door opened, and Samuel walked in. After he sat down, he began to speak.

"I was able to negotiate with the bishop for assistance and even arranged for his cooperation with other churches. So now we can go to the workshop," he said.

"Wait a minute," I said.

"Yes?" Samuel responded.

"Did you manage to do it that quickly?" I asked.

"No. It took more than half an hour. 'Quick' is when you leave in less than 5 minutes," he replied.

"More than half an hour?" I blurted out.

"Didn't you notice?" he asked.

"To be honest, I was too preoccupied with my own thoughts," I replied.

"I understand," Samuel said briefly.

I looked at him questioningly. "Yesterday, I noticed the atmosphere in your house. Most likely, you recently divorced or are planning to. And today, I noticed changes in you after meeting with Julia. Although in this line of work, James, you should keep a cool head," he said, ending with a hint of disappointment or disapproval.

"Perhaps I got carried away a bit, but I'm not just any detective. I know how to control myself during work," I replied, as if justifying myself to him.

"So, where are we going?" I asked.

"I think it's best to have lunch now," Samuel replied.

"But we were supposed to go to the workshop," I said.

"Yes, but I still haven't received any results from my team. So we have time for lunch, especially since it's already after 3 pm," he said.

"How do you feel about steaks?" I asked Samuel.

"Fine," he replied shortly.

"Then let's go to Rose's. She has amazing steaks," I said, pulling out onto the road.

Rose's establishment was located slightly closer to the exit from the city, or rather the entrance. It could be said that her establishment mainly served truck drivers and bus drivers with their passengers passing through our town.

On the way to her place, I drove through the area around my house, as well as past Oliver's establishment. When I noticed his coffee shop, I remembered Emma. Since the scenes were too fresh in my memory from yesterday, her tearful face and Oliver's dissatisfaction, which was visible on his face.

"I understand his disappointment and indignation about all of this," I said, referring to Oliver's reaction. Emma's emotional outburst, when she cried and screamed about Michael's murder, had stunned him. And on top of that, the fact that a serial killer was on the loose in the city was another reason for him to blame even me. After all, I had kept silent about it, but it was a matter of investigation, so to speak.

That's how we arrived at Rose's establishment. Her place seemed like the archetype of the diners you see in movies, with waitresses in old-fashioned clothes and hairstyles from the 90s. The menu had not changed for several decades, as far as I could remember. It had appeared even before I was born and, as it seemed, still existed.

We got out of the car and headed to her restaurant. Even through the door, we could see how many customers were dining in her establishment. I approached the waitress who was standing close to the entrance.

"Hello! I was wondering if there's any available seating?" I asked.

"Oh, yes," she said, briefly surprised. Apparently, she hadn't noticed us entering the establishment.

"There's some space over there, in the corner," she said, pointing to it.

I walked towards that spot, and Samuel followed me. As I walked, I wondered why I couldn't see Rose. She usually greeted guests at her restaurant.

Realizing this, I started to scan the entire restaurant in search of her. Considering her age, I panicked a little. After seating Samuel, I didn't wait for the waitress to approach and went to her myself. She was standing where she had been when she pointed us to our table.

"I wanted to ask, where's Rose?" I asked her.

"She... She's in the hospital right now," she said, a little bewildered and pitiful. Her face showed that she was trying not to cry.

"What happened?" I asked the waitress.

"We closed the restaurant yesterday, as usual," she began, her voice trembling. "But for some reason, Rosa decided to go back to the restaurant. Late at night, she had an attack, and since there was no one there, she lay on the floor until morning."

I reached out and gently patted her shoulder. "I'm sure she'll be fine. After all, she's a tough cookie. I'm sure she won't stay in the hospital for long, as it's not like her." I said, trying to reassure her. Although I said I believed in her quick recovery, deep down I was worried about her. She was already too old to continue running this business.

"Can you tell me which hospital she's in now?" I asked her.

"She's in the central one. Do you want to visit her?" she asked me.

"Yes," I replied.

"Then you'll have to check with her son Jack," she said.

"Can you give me his number?" I asked her.

"Of course, I'll go get the phone right now," she answered, wiping tears from the corners of her eyes.

While she ran to get the phone, I approached the counter and ordered lunch for myself and Samuel. In the meantime, she returned with the phone and gave me Rosa's son Jack's number.