Read A Blind Eye: Book 1 in the Adam Kaminski Mystery Series for Free Online Page A

in fur coats and men in business suits on the crowded sidewalk. As they stepped to the side to avoid a group of students, Adam put his hand on her back. He felt a tingle run through his fingers as he touched her, but if she felt it, too, she gave no indication.
    “So what do you think about our time here?” He smiled.
    She looked up at him without a word, so he kept babbling. “I’m just asking for your take on things, what you think about our activities here. That’s all.”
    “I see.” She didn’t smile back. “I think your work here is very important, Mr. Kaminski. I believe we must strengthen our ties with the United States if Poland is to grow and thrive.”
    “Is that why you agreed to serve as our guide?”
    “It is.” Sylvia nodded. “Plus this is one more way for me to learn about America — your language, your culture.”
    “Your English is perfect already, I don’t know how much you can improve on that.”
    He hoped she’d appreciate the compliment, but her face remained grave. “I take every opportunity I can to strengthen my knowledge and skills, Mr. Kaminski. You know that I work for the Warsaw government, of course. But I am also a student, at the Szkoła Głowa Handlowa , the Warsaw School of Economics.”
    “Studying Polish economics?”
    “No.” The smile she gave him made Adam feel like a student himself, one who’d just asked an obvious question. “I am taking an international MBA program in English. This way, I learn international business and improve my English skills, and have a chance to meet other students from all over the world.”
    “That’s ambitious.”
    She shrugged. “I take every opportunity I can to develop my career. To be successful.” Her pale blue eyes stared out at the street as she spoke, giving the impression she was speaking to herself rather than to Adam.
    He waited, but she added nothing more. He finally broke the silence. “I only just got added to this team at the last minute, you know. Three days ago I had no idea I’d be here.”
    “You are glad that you are here, no?”
    “No… I mean, yes. I’m sorry, I’m not saying things right.” Adam shrugged and smiled, raising his hand to his cheek. He gestured at the street around them. “I love history. Being in a place like this makes it all so real. It’s almost like seeing history firsthand, if you know what I mean.”
    Sylvia smiled at him. “I am glad to hear that you are a fan of history. For that is something we have quite a lot of here in Poland.”
    Adam laughed. “Someone who can make history jokes, I like that.” He glanced at Sylvia, then looked back down at his hands. “It is serious, though, isn’t it?”
    “History?” Sylvia asked, her brow furrowing.
    “Sure,” Adam shrugged. “You know what they say, those who don’t know history are doomed to repeat it.”
    Sylvia’s smile faded and Adam noticed small lines forming around her eyes, as if she were about to squeeze her eyes shut but changed her mind.
    “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you.” Adam put his hand out toward her, then pulled it back, unsure.
    “No, no.” Sylvia waved away his concern and his hand. “I’m fine. It’s just here we have what you in America might call a love-hate relationship with history.” She shook her head but her smile didn’t return.
    Adam was about to ask her what she meant when the next tram came, already overflowing with people. Sylvia and Adam stepped into the back of the car, gripping overhead leather straps for balance as the tram lurched through the city streets.
    “There, Ulica Miodowa .” Sylvia pointed out a tree-lined street to Adam as they crossed over it. “That is where I live, just off the Old Town Square, a building called Wojska Polskiego , named for the church next door.”
    Adam nodded and ducked his head to watch as the yellow stone buildings that lined the cobblestoned street passed out of view. “It’s a beautiful area.”
    “It is. The apartment