A Blind Eye: Book 1 in the Adam Kaminski Mystery Series by Jane Gorman

more so given what he now knew about Łukasz. And Basia.
    Orange light from lamps along Ulica Nowy Świat barely reached down this narrow path and the cobblestones flowed ahead of him like a dark and slippery river. But rowdy sounds from the bar just ahead on his right seeped out into the night as the door opened to admit a lone figure, presumably seeking warmth and comfort from the cold outside.
    Adam followed the stranger into the small space, coming almost immediately into contact with the blackened oak bar that wrapped around one end of the place in a horseshoe curve. A few gray figures huddled around its counter in clumps but most of the noise came from the cluster of tables near the back of the room.
    Students had gathered there, loudly sharing beer and conversation with the occasional spilled drink and accompanying laughter. The smell of beer that lingered in the air hinted at many nights of spilled drinks, not all of them completely cleaned away.
    Adam turned back to what he assumed were the locals at the bar and soon spotted Łukasz at the far end.
    “Interesting crowd here,” Adam commented as a greeting. “Come here often?”
    Łukasz looked around him and grunted. “It has changed over the years. There was a time when students were here to study, they had no money for entertainment. Or drink. But now” — Łukasz waved his hand in the direction of the tables where another peal of laughter had just broken out, combined with some angry shouting — “Now the students come to enjoy themselves. The university is very close, you know, just a few blocks away.”
    “Yeah, right next to our hotel. It’s certainly convenient for me, meeting here.” His eyes met those of the bartender and he said to Łukasz, “What do you recommend?”
    Łukasz raised his glass toward the bartender and tapped the edge with two fingers. The bartender moved to his taps to pull two more of the same.
    Settling onto his stool, Adam took a slow drink from his glass while looking more closely at the people around him. Including Łukasz.
    The man’s face was grim, even while he drank. He leaned heavily against the bar on his left arm, and after placing his glass down, he ran his right hand along his face, as if trying to wipe away the exhaustion and fear visible there.
    The bitter tang of Adam’s beer brought to mind the winterized wheat fields he’d seen from the train to and from Toruń and left him with a feeling of wanting something more, though he wasn’t sure what. He never found beer satisfying, not the taste, not the way it left him feeling. He checked out the bottles behind the bar as he drank, hoping to see a good whiskey or two, but there was none.
    Adam had considered his options carefully before coming out this evening. He knew the first tool a policeman had to use was information, so he’d gathered what he could, from the person he trusted most. He’d called Pete.
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    “ H ey , Kaminski.I wasn’t expecting to hear from you. How are things in Poland?” Pete’s words came quickly, as they always did, not slowed at all by the thousands of miles between them. Adam could hear the sounds of the precinct in the background, Pete still at his desk.
    “Polish,” Adam responded. “Kind of what you’d expect, but a little different.”
    “Yeah, okay. Thanks for the description, it’s like I’m there,” his partner responded with sarcasm. Again, as he usually did.
    Adam smiled, glad to hear Pete’s familiar voice. His smile faded when Pete continued, “Hey, Julia called me yesterday.”
    “Why’s my little sister calling you? Is there something going on between you I should know about?”
    “Calm down, Kaminski, don’t get your panties in a twist. She needed a little help, that’s all. I guess with you out of the country she turned to the next best thing.”
    “Hmph.” Adam tried to stifle his laugh. “She turned to you because she knew she’d get another lecture from our dad if she asked my parents for