Page 55 (1/1)

God, I was going to throw up I fumbled for the controls to try to crack theand let in soust intervened, leaning between the seats to reason with hiht I’d puke right there on the floor

I focused by drills, until"Distract ave you this infor at the back of the driver’s head "It’s at an art squat Used to be an old department store, and then it was a Nazi prison Now it’s almost like a city unto itself There’s a café, a cinema, ateliers--it’s a shared space, and soh with a glass of wine, look at what the artists are working on If you’re a dealer, it’s a good chance to see what’s out there, though it’s best if you keep those intentions to yourself They don’t love businessmen"

"You sound like you’ve done this before"

He srimly "Dead men hobbies My name around here is Felix, by the way"

"Felix? Really?"

"Shut up, Simon," he said in such an uncanny i

August had the cabbie drop us half a block away, so we approached the building froe Frankensteined building against the darkening sky I could hear h I couldn’t pinpoint frolitter and nails and little paintings of eyes I hesitated, ust pushed my hair back from my face "Button your shirt up to the collar Tuck it in Cuff your pant legs No, further And ditch your socks, you wear your trainers without them You don’t speak ht? You’re bored Get a drink in one hand and scroll on your phone with the other"

"Did you learn this from Holmes, or the other way around?" I asked him as I looked for a place to stash ust said, his eyes as hard and blank as stones "Let’s go"

The building was strangely lit, with staircases that crawled up along the walls I didn’t have any trouble i it as an old-time department store--the walls had a tall, h to hold a steady stream of shoppers But the paint had all chipped away Chunks of the walls were ry hand had scooped the was painted electric blues and yellows, the walls and the s and the stretching ceilings, and while most of the limpse of a drawn-on face hidden inside the paint, its eyes watchingup

"I know," he said, and held a hand up while he listened "Thefrom up above--the third floor, maybe? We’ll try up there"

We cli was structurally sound, but there was so so precarious about a place that had been repurposed so many times, like its essence had been stripped bare in the process On the second landing, we stepped to the side as a crowd of tattooed girls pushed past us, laughing One of theford sohout the third floor, breaking up the giant space into sust had called the, so you could see the cluster of lights each artist had set up to illuminate their space A table was set up near the stairs, and August filled two plastic cups with vodka and soda and handed one to htly Don’t talk, the look said And don’t drink this either

He sha people in German "Ja," he’d say, yes, and jerk his head atmurmur Then we’d stand for a iantdown uys what happened to London so bored I ignored it, and instead, pulled up the collection of Leander’s emails, but I couldn’t pay any attention to those either

I was listening for the edges of Holust always kept himself turned toward the atelier’s open door so he could see if she walked by Sloeblack-and-white newsreels from the 1940s while disco ed on a pink platter to look like snack food Tiny paintings of naked girls presented by a s-faced man I wanted to punch in the throat Instead, I scrolled through Leander’s eet thean, Dear Jaan Dear Jamie, dated early this Dece for Charlotte

Dear Jae to write to you by that na allaround these art school teachers and their little student flocks They all have soaffection for each other, these students, like they’re all drowning and si each other’s lifelines Honestly, I don’t see how they don’t all end up at the botto and sculpting and drawing under their teacher’s benevolent eye Nathaniel even goes to their parties I think he fancies hiood for my purposes, but of course, terrible for his It’s always a bad idea to fall in love with your dealer