Chapter 95

Catarina quivered in John’s arms. She hadn’t stopped shaking all day. Bianca was in no better condition. Cindy was being a trouper, but was more than a little shaken herself.

“How did you know?” Cindy asked, Bianca snuggled to her side.

“Sergei had a very profound interest in both Catarina and Bianca. As much as he abused them, he was protecting them for some reason. The evidence pointed to Catarina’s father having the key to a very old fortune.” John replied.

“Where did the money come from to start with?” Catarina asked, still dazed.

“The Romanoffs. Rasputin was a mystic who ingratiated himself with the Alexandria, the wife of Nicolas II, the czar of Russia in the early part of this century. He probably stashed away gifts given to him —or extorted by him— from her. He probably put the money away as his little nest egg.” John said.

“Why didn’t he take it back out?” Cindy asked.

“Because he was killed in 1916. The Clock was probably among his possessions. When the czar fell in 1917, and then was shot in 1918, the clock became part of the possessions of the royal household that got distributed among the people. Somehow it found its way to Hungary, and Catarina’s father purchased it in the 1960’s. I think he took the back off of it. Funny, probably nobody else but him would have recognized what the information inside represented.” John said.

“You recognized it.” Catarina said.

“No, I already suspected it was there. If I had bought the clock myself, and stumbled upon the information, then I probably would have taken it for a date of manufacture, or repair. It is quite common for a clock repairman to inscribe his initials and a date onto a mechanism that he has worked on. The other numbers I would have mistaken for an oddly coincidental serial number, or an identifier for a parts assembly.” John said.

“Oddly coincidental?” Cindy asked.

“197791-791197, the last three digits of the first number are a mirror of the first three. The second number is turned inside out from the middle. Both the numbers are symmetrical. Just the sort of mumbo jumbo a mystic like old Rasputin would go for. Numerology was big back in those days.” John said.

“But what do they mean, in numerology?” Cindy asked.

“I don’t have a clue about that. Maybe his mother’s birthday or some such tripe. Maybe the number of whiskers on his chin or the number of fleas in it. Who knows.” John chuckled.

“Well, I guess that we’ve lost a European director.” Cindy chuckled.

Catarina looked at her.

“No. Unless you do not want me.” she said.

Cindy looked flabbergasted.

“You can do anything you want to now. You are rich beyond anybody’s wildest dreams!” Cindy said.

“Since I can do anything I wish to, then I wish to do something that I enjoy.

From the time my parents died, I have known no happiness until I first encountered you people. You brought me and my sister back to life. You saved us from a life of misery. You have given us great joy. I would be the biggest fool on earth to turn my back upon that joy because of money.” Catarina said, tears flowing from her eyes.

“That goes for me as well.” Bianca said, “Were it not for the love of your family. I would be still be in the throws of drug addiction. If I were alive at all. I owe you my life and I owe you my love for as long as I live.”

“Neither of you owes us anything. Love is not like money. It cannot be owed. It must be freely given or it loses all the value it possesses.” John said.

“Then since I am a free woman to do as I choose, I choose to give you my love.” Catarina said.

“Ditto.” Bianca said, chuckling.

“Bianca, how are you feeling? Is it not time for another treatment?” Catarina asked, mischievously.

“No ... I am cured. I need no further treatments. Now ... it is time ... for love.” she replied, turning to kiss Cindy.

Catarina had tears in her eyes as she turned to do the same to John.

“So tell me about this Rasputin guy.” Cindy said, much later as she lay nestled between Bianca and John.

Catarina lay sleeping peacefully on John’s other side. Bianca was also sleeping very peacefully.

Their session had been one of the most passionate that any of them had ever experienced. Seemingly every trick any of them had ever learned had come into play.

Cindy lay half atop John, her breasts split between his chest and side. His hand traced idly across her shoulder and back. Cindy was starstruck in love. Her head tilted upwards to observe his face. The touch of his fingers raising goosebumps on her skin wherever they touched.

“Oh, he was kind of an interesting character. He was born in the 1870’s. He lived most of his life in the little village where he was born. He had no formal education of any type.

When he was in his early thirties, he began traveling around the country as a monk. But he had an interesting line of bullshit that you wouldn’t have expected from most monks. He purported that one had to sin in order to be forgiven. As such he traveled around saving people by inducing them into all manner of debauchery. Sometimes in mass by instigating large orgies.

He had a magnetic personality and was able to weave an air of mysticism about himself. Somehow he caught the eye of the Czarina. She brought him into the royal court as an adviser. His presence there probably contributed greatly to the demise of the Romanoffs, but in truth, Nicolas himself —the Czar— was never very fond of the guy. He only tolerated him because of his wife. He turned a blind eye to such things as the gifts that the Czarina was giving him. He must have realized something was going on from the sheer volume of the stuff. Twenty million dollars was a whole shit-load of money back then. It’s still a lot now, but back then that much would have put you up amongst the Rockefellers. But the Romanov’s owned Russia, so it’s not out of the question that monetarily they could easily survive the outlay. Just goes to show how much influence Rasputin really had over the Czarina.