41.

Dimitri turned in bed, half asleep. He listened for the sound of the doorbell. It came again, and he groaned, muttering in frustration as he snuggled his head deeper into the pillow and tried to block out the rest of the awakening day. It had been a long night at the office, signing documents, revising contracts and scheduling meetings. He intended to sleep into the morning until he was sufficiently rested, but whoever was at the door had other plans.

The ringing stopped. Two rings and everything fell silent. Ordinarily, he would have continued sleeping, but he groggily sat up, looking at the clock and searching for his phone. If anyone of his family was at the door, they would have called when he didn’t answer after the third ring. When nothing happened, he sluggishly dragged himself out of bed and into the living room.

Still hazy from his interrupted sleep, Dimitri padded to the door. He looked at the security monitor but only saw a woven basket filled with clear p