Private Moscow (Private 15)

“Oh no. I’m sorry, Jack. Is she OK?”

“Not really,” I replied.

“And you?”

I hesitated. I wasn’t sure what I was feeling, but I knew it wasn’t good. “I’ll be OK,” I lied.

Feo entered the dining hall, and I could tell by his demeanor that he had news. He scanned the room, and when he spotted me, he strode over.

“I’ve got to go, Justine,” I said. “I’ll call you as soon as I can.”

?

??Please be careful, Jack,” she replied.

“I will,” I assured her before I hung up.

Feo’s face was devoid of the levity I’d grown accustomed to. He looked stern and fearsome, and his size made his dark mood even more palpable.

“I’ve been to the city,” he said, taking the seat opposite. “My old colleagues in the Moscow police have been told to find you.”

My shoulders slumped and I exhaled slowly. I knew what was coming. It was the smart move and I should have expected it.

“They say you are the main suspect in the murder of Leonid Boykov,” Feo continued. “The story is beginning to leak to the newspapers. By morning, every police officer in Russia will be looking for you. I tried to tell them …” He trailed off and held my gaze. “Even if they’d believed me, it wouldn’t have made a difference. One or two officers can’t overturn this. There’s something much bigger behind it.”

He paused, clearly building up to something he didn’t want to say.

“You’re going to be labeled a cop killer,” he said. “We don’t treat such people well in this country. If you stay in Russia, there’s a good chance you will die before you make it to trial.”

CHAPTER 80

I STARED ACROSS the table. I was grieving for a man who’d worked for me, but I was also mourning the loss of a friendship that had turned out to be nothing more than an illusion. And now I was being framed for murder. My anger rose, making my skin flush with a crackling heat.

“You must go,” Feo said.

“You know I can’t do that,” I responded flatly. “Not until this killer has been caught.”

“I had a feeling you might say that,” Feo replied. “You seem an honorable man. A coward runs. He might live, but he lives as a coward, and he can never run from himself. The honorable man might die, but he passes in glory. Just like Leonid Boykov.” He glanced around. “Listen to me, talking wisdom like I know about life. I need a drink,” he said, getting to his feet.

As he went to a table with bottles and glasses, I saw Anna and Dinara enter. Everyone fell silent, and then a few of the assembled residents rose from their seats and offered Dinara their sympathy as she crossed the room. Her eyes glistened and I could see her fighting back tears. Anna gave her a steadying hand, and I stood as they approached.

“How are you feeling?” I asked.

Dinara replied with a faint smile, but she looked punch-drunk. She took the seat Feo had vacated, and he returned with a drink and sat next to her. Anna pulled up the chair to my left.

Feo spoke to the two women in Russian, and their eyes widened and they both looked at me.

“I was there. I can tell people the truth,” Anna offered.

“You’ve been reported missing,” Feo said. “Be very careful.

Missing can become dead.”

“They wouldn’t. I’m a police officer,” Anna remarked.

Feo inclined his head and gave her a withering look. “You know the kind of people who are behind this. Police officer means nothing to them.”

“I’m sorry,” Dinara said. “If I’d been faster …”