Page 202 of Dark King Daddy

I looked at my wife. She smiled innocently and unlocked the gate.

The bathhouse stood behind it, three storeys of weathered brick and tall windows overlooking the harbor. A board beside the entrance carried the project name and, beneath it, KSENIA ORLOVA. She paused beside the sign to find the door key.

“Wait,” I said.

She looked up.

This time I took the photograph.

“Daniil.”

“Project records.”

Her smile changed. She stayed beside the sign for another moment, letting me take a second one.

Inside, the entrance hall was cold enough to see our breath. Small blue and cream tiles stretched towards a broad staircase. There were gaps where tiles had lifted, patches covered with protective boards. Above us, a piece of old lettering survived over a doorway.

Ksenia pointed it out before I could ask.

“They painted over it. Three times. We found it beneath the last layer.”

She was already moving, showing me the remnants of the reception counter, the curve of the stair, the place where the old changing rooms began. I followed her through rooms I would otherwise have dismissed as empty and watched her fill them.

“The floor here stays,” she said. “These partitions go. That opens the view all the way to the stairs.”

“You’ve wanted to do this for a long time.”

She stopped with her hand on the banister.

“Years.”

Then she grinned.

“Try to look more impressed. I had an excellent presentation prepared.”

“I’m enormously impressed.”

“Too much. Now you sound frightened.”

“You did threaten me with a screwdriver early today.”

She laughed and led me upstairs.

On the landing, she showed me a window sash marked with blue tape. The glass bent the view of the harbor slightly; a crane beyond the water seemed to waver when I moved my head.

“The contractor wanted to replace these.”

“Did he survive the conversation?”

“He’s still breathing. And getting another quote. From someone who repairs windows.”

“A diplomatic success.”

“I was extremely diplomatic.”

I looked at her.

“I didn’t use the word vandal,” she said. “Out loud.”