4 p.m. The repeated ringing of the bell pulls me from my dreams.
In pajamas, I open the door. The surprised look on the delivery man's face reminds me of the gap between this world and the other. He hands me a package and something to sign. I scribble my signature and close the door.
I look at the parcel-quite large-with a small card.
...My Brother, many thanks for Florenska, your old Droog*, the phoenix of the Balkans...
A smile spreads across my face. I thought he was dead The press had announced it.
This story is improbable. I had seen the photo of his body riddled with bullets.
Perplexed, I open the package...
A beautiful wooden box with the famous PP* logo.
Excited, I lift the lid...
That madman
Platinum and rubies shine with a thousand sparks. It's magnificent. Nautilus.
Nothing is accidental in his choice. Impossible coming from him...
All of it takes me back several years...
To the great days of CazinoLA...