What did he expect? Everyone was looking through him, he was just a doll in a white shirt with a black bow tie, in tight pants. In the suit that Will had brought him the day before, it was incredibly stuffy and unusual, he felt like a guy from a boy band.
The idea of sending Serret into Dr. Gasztold’s party was Howard’s … For clown – masquerades, Allex didn’t mind. He was ready to bet, Dr. Gasztold was also aware of what was happening, Gatti consulted with him about the details of the investigation, and only once did Agent Serret communicate with him personally.
The impression was mixed, Lukas Gasztold gave him goosebumps, and if he were an animal, his fur would stand on end. The psychiatrist was smart, tactful, witty – in his odd jokes that were funny only to him – but as if empty inside.
Allex was too familiar with these associations, too unpleasant … But he did not say anything to Will Gatti or anyone else. His relationship with his father was his personal business, to use it as an argument for his suspicions about Dr. Gasztold’s insincerity would be absurd.
Dr. Gasztold, for instance, looked at Gatti with warmth – this is not typical of narcissists. Will, as always, closed off from any external stimuli, seemed not to notice the gaze of dark eyes, the velvet soft timbre, the slightly bowed head, the receiver tuned only to him … Dr. Gasztold is not a narcissist or a psychopath, not a serial killer – he simply has a mind of his own, like all gifted and talented people … It is just that Allex begins to see monsters and demons everywhere, devouring representatives of the human race, he is simply tired.
Could the Heartthrob be, say, de Lavender? And could Miss Gustavsson be a potential victim?
De Lavender is too slight in appearance, he does not fit the profile of an athletic killer … And Miss Gustavsson, although a socialite, stands out from the entire dinner party crowd. She is too … alive for these walking dead in silk suits, masks of social makeup on their faces, diamonds, and pompous speeches.
Or does Allex just believe so … What is Miss Gustavsson doing here then, if she is not like them?
No, he definitely needs to rest – but most likely, it will not be possible anytime soon.
5. Feed a Friend
At nine in the morning, Will Gatti rang the doorbell of Dr. Gasztold’s house, the loud, resonant bell echoing in the hall on the other side of the door. Will shivered from the frosty air, covering his nose with the collar of his jacket, yawned widely, a cloud of steam escaping from his open mouth.
Lukas Gasztold, opening the door, found Special Agent Gatti standing on the threshold with a distorted face, with the mouth of a shaggy dog open wide.
“Hello, Will.”
“Good morning, Dr. Gasztold,” Will responded after a pause for mouth to close and a brief moment of eye contact.
“Please, come in.”
Will Gatti had visited Dr. Gasztold only a few times, most often in the office at work, at crime scenes, in the psychiatrist’s office two blocks away, or Gasztold had visited Will in the suburbs of Vienna. Gasztold’s home was a contradictory place – tempting with sophistication and a certain excess, but oppressive with gloom, lofty motives, despite the spiritual images, stifled with an unbearable weight.
Will preferred subdued colors, minimalism in details, so that nothing would distract or catch the eye, but in the home of Dr. Gasztold, things, one more bizarre than the other, constantly drew his attention, he felt uneasy.
“I just made breakfast,” Dr. Gasztold pointed toward the kitchen, from where the enticing smells of fresh bread, meat, and spices were coming. “It’s already waiting for you.”
Will nodded. He hadn’t had time to eat before leaving, had barely slept, had spent the whole night thinking about the Heartthrob case. The journey had taken more than two hours, he didn’t mind refueling – fortunately, Dr. Gasztold always spoiled him with something tasty …
When Special Agent Gatti saw Serret tucking into a scrambled egg at the dinner table, he was taken aback.
“Hi, Will!” he exclaimed with his mouth full. “You’re just in time!”
Dr. Gasztold was amused by Will’s reaction, he smiled with thin lips, pointed to the laid table and the empty seat for the guest.
“I suggested that Allex stays the night after yesterday’s event, his resilience is something to be envied,” Lukas Gasztold explained.
“That’s very kind of you, Dr. Gasztold,” Serret responded, taking a bite of the baguette. “I don’t even know what I would do without you – and without your care!”
He was not lying, he was truly grateful. After the dinner party, when Allex had already changed into his usual clothes and was heading for the exit, and the service personnel had been sent home, Dr. Gasztold called out to him.
“It is truly a crazy night, Agent Serret,” he said.
“I can’t believe it’s over,” Allex replied.
“Are you hungry? I haven’t seen you take a break while you were working.”
Allex tried to understand Gasztold’s intentions, but so far he found no reason to worry. He likes to feed people … There was nothing reprehensible about it.
“I tried a few appetizers, couldn’t resist,” the young man shrugged. “It’s quite the thing, I’ve never eaten anything like it in my life … But if you’re offering me dinner, I’m out,” he added. “It’s a long way to Quantico, I’ll turn into a zombie tomorrow if I don’t get at least a couple of hours of sleep.”
Dr. Gasztold’s dark eyes stared at him without looking away, and Allex felt naked for a moment … Will Gatti had a reason for ignoring this kind of attention.
“You can stay here for the night, Will will come in the morning, you can discuss everything you need with him without wasting time on the road.”
Allex had no objections.
“That changes things,” he nodded. “Thank you!”
Allex unashamedly ate the treats, sitting at the end of the long dining table in the empty hall, Dr. Gasztold cleared the dishes, bowing briefly to the recurrent enthusiastic exclamations of the young man, walked around the house, not embarrassing the guest with his presence. Then Allex went to sleep on the couch in the living room, with a full stomach, legs buzzing from fatigue, and an aching lower back.
In the morning, Dr. Gasztold fed him again. With his disheveled shock of chestnut hair, Allex resembled an animal that could only be tamed with affection and hot food, he responded to good treatment like the sensitive soundboard of a musical instrument … Agent Serret worked his jaws, the food disappeared from the plate with incredible speed, as if there was a bottomless abyss inside the young man.
Will ate with appetite, but more slowly. Allex did not bother him with conversation, waiting for the end of the meal, despite the unbearable desire to finally share his thoughts about the last evening; Dr. Gasztold was silent and watched them, barely perceptibly smiling at his thoughts.
The moment Agent Gatti placed the utensils on the plate, Allex asked, “Do I understand correctly that Dr. Gasztold is aware of all the details of the investigation, and we can discuss the Heartthrob case openly in front of him?”
“Yes,” Will replied into his mug.
“I spent the whole evening in the thick of things, but I didn’t