Sharlene turned out to be a good warmup for Nadia. If Sharlene were suspicious of him, Nadia was downright hostile. She sat there squinting at him with kohl-rimmed eyes that emphasized her hard features. Kicking out one crossed leg, she took a puff on a French cigarette and slowly blew the smoke out of wide crimson lips that formed an “o”—right into in his face. Mitch tried not to cough.
“What do you want? What do you want to know here?”
“Just what Dimi Orlov’s early years were like, as background for my film.”
“Your film,” she said with a laugh. “Difficult child, but then, this isn’t the easiest life.”
“He’s done much to make it easier for the children here now.”
She nodded, reluctant to concede the point. “As you see. New paint, new classrooms, a computer lab, even a new athletic fi
