Depth of Despair (9 page)

‘She left the house and was never seen again. Despite newspaper and TV coverage, appeals from her parents, there was no trace. Sergei and Anna spent a lot of time and money searching. They had no success until we heard an English detective was making enquiries about Mitya.

‘When I’d spoken with you, Mikhail, and knew the
circumstances
surrounding the discovery of the bear, it confirmed what we suspected; that Katya was dead. Finding the other bodies made me certain Katya had become a victim of sex traffickers.

‘My involvement came because “the boy” claimed to come from
St Petersburg. Our first task was to see if there was any truth in this. There was none. All of it was a wicked hoax.

‘After a great deal of heart-searching I was able to tell Katya’s parents the probable reason for her abduction. This was one of the most difficult things I’ve ever had to do. That’s why I believe when Mitya was discovered they were relieved. That may sound strange but they could finally accept that their beloved Katya was dead. That she was no longer suffering.

‘I explained to Svetlov the scope of the traffickers’ activities. The facts and figures appalled him. He’s a big man, both in government and in person. He now understands what other parents suffer after long years with no word from their children. This gave him the incentive to take the problem to the highest level. As a result, our task force was formed.

‘This is why I’m here. When we heard of more bodies at the lake, our senior officers and those from your MCU became convinced the sensible action would be to combine the investigations. There was much to be arranged for me to have the necessary authority to visit Britain as a fully authorized police official. I believe it’s the first time this has happened apart from anti-terrorist operations with the United States.

‘That gave me full power of investigation and arrest. In the same way, if the need arises for any officer in your team to visit Russia you would bear the full authority of a Russian police official.’ Zena paused and smiled at Mironova. ‘Even Clara would be welcome in Belarus,’ she teased, ‘despite her parentage.’

There was a long silence before Nash spoke. ‘What you’ve told us underlines the extent of the evil we’re fighting. What we need is a strategy to identify those responsible.’

‘If we could get just one of them it could cause a domino effect or give the enquiry an organic life,’ Clara suggested. ‘What about the fourth man from the house where Milla was kept prisoner? He’d make a good starting point.’

‘Good idea, Clara. Everything’s come thick and fast and we need thinking space. We know nothing about those men. Even the housing application was fake. The supposed occupants: did they exist and, if so, what’s happened to them? What did those men do for money? Somewhere, someone knows something.’

They were interrupted by the phone ringing.

‘SOCO on the line for you, Sir.’

‘Inspector Nash, I’m not sure what’s going on, if I didn’t know better I’d think someone was playing a practical joke. You’re not taking the piss are you?’

‘Sorry? You’ve lost me. What are you talking about?’

‘We took prints from Garstang Avenue. Most of them belonged to Stevens. A few were those of the landlord on the outer door and the bedroom door. There was another unidentified set. Given their locations which included the headboard of the bed and the bedside table I’d guess the dead man had a girl friend,’ the officer paused.

‘I don’t see what the problem is.’

‘There’s also a single set of prints we lifted from the window frame in the lounge.’

‘Go on.’

‘We came up with a match.’

‘Tell me,’ Nash prompted him. As the officer explained Nash listened in disbelief. ‘That’s impossible.’

‘I’ve been telling myself that. We cross-checked in case someone had fed duff information into the computer or we had a system glitch. I’ve just got a copy of the originals faxed through to me from CRO and there’s no mistake. I’m glad I only collate the
information
. I’d be fascinated to know the explanation.’

Dacic excused herself. ‘I have to report to my director, and also have another call to make. A personal one.’

Nash felt a pang of jealousy. Who to, husband, lover? She plucked her mobile from her pocket. ‘Use the landline,’ he said generously.

Zena gave him a reproachful look. ‘Mikhail, I’ve heard what a heavy burden British taxpayers have to bear. I wouldn’t be able to sleep for the guilt of adding to it.’

Nash was still wrestling with the puzzle set by SOCO when Pearce arrived from Netherdale.

‘How’s it gone?’

‘Nothing positive to report. The dead girls’ DNA soup is too mixed to give a clear definition of their origin. The best guess would be just that, merely a guess. If I had to bet I’d go for Ukraine,
Latvia, or Belarus, somewhere in that region. Probably Ukraine because it’s the largest. It’s unfortunate we can’t be more specific. Tom wants you to call him when you have a moment. Something to do with a visit tomorrow from the Home Office.’

‘Now what?’ Nash reached for the phone.

The call took longer than the Superintendent had expected. ‘Thanks for calling, Mike. I need you here in the morning. Armistead’s bringing some high-powered official from the Home Office and you’ve been asked,’ Nash could almost hear the grin. ‘Or more correctly, commanded to attend.’

‘Any particular reason?’

‘Not one Armistead’s prepared to share.’

‘I’ll be there,’ Nash reassured him. ‘Whilst we’re on the subject of Whitehall, I wonder if you could do me a favour?’

‘Fire away.’

‘It’s in connection with the death of a doctor. At the moment it’s little more than a suspicious death but there’s a lot I’m not happy with. I’m fairly certain he was murdered. I’ve just had a report from SOCO and something doesn’t add up. I need certain facts checked and the quickest way would be through the Ministry of Defence.’

‘What do you need?’

Nash explained. ‘If the request comes from someone of more senior rank it might be dealt with quicker.’

‘I’ll ask Armistead. I know a single suspicious death is hardly MCU’s cup of tea but from what you’ve told me it might tickle his curiosity.’

Nash wandered out of his office. He found Mironova and Pearce sitting with mugs in front of them.

‘I’ll make you a coffee, Mike,’ Viv volunteered.

‘Where’s Zena?’

‘She got a phone call and went off to talk in private,’ Clara told him.

‘From St Petersburg?’

‘No, it was from Moscow,’ Clara paused and added thoughtfully. ‘I think it was from the Kremlin.’

‘Janko, the Soldier is on the line.’

Vatovec picked up the phone at once. ‘Yes?’ he said cautiously.

Janko’s deputy wondered not for the first time about the identity of ‘the Soldier’. Vatovec inspired fear within their organization and terror to many outside it. Yet even he seemed afraid when this man called.

The Soldier only contacted Vatovec by phone. Even telephone security was at the highest level. The language used was
Serbo-Croat.
Guaranteed to fool all but the most learned eavesdropper.

The deputy waited, listening to one half of a one-sided
conversation
. Janko’s part was limited to a series of grunts interspersed with the occasional ‘yes’ or ‘no’. He could tell from his leader’s expression the news wasn’t good.

Eventually Janko put the phone down. He stared at his second in command. They’d known each other all their lives, hailed from the same village, yet in that short space of time it was as if Vatovec was looking at a complete stranger.

‘More problems,’ he said bluntly. ‘England again. The man who escaped from the house has vanished. If he gets picked up and squeals we’re all in deep shit. I’ve been ordered to England. Get me a ticket on the first available flight. The Soldier has just told me the Snow Woman is in England.’

Next morning Nash drove through to Netherdale for the meeting with Armistead, Pratt and the Home Office official. They were informed that following consultation between the two
governments
, Katya Svetlova’s parents would be visiting England and would be travelling to Yorkshire. Nash was left in no doubt that the onus for ensuring the visit was a success would be down to him. He was surprised to find even Armistead seemed to approve. He was even more surprised at the offer of additional resources should they be required.

An hour later Nash left, carrying the file Pratt had obtained for him. As he left the building Nash turned on his mobile. The only message was curt to the point of rudeness. ‘Ramirez. Call me.’

Nash did as instructed.

‘Your Doctor Stevens was drugged. He drank a couple of pints of beer and ate a pizza a few hours before he died. The beer was laced with temazepam. Enough to render him unconscious within a couple of hours.’

‘Couldn’t he have taken sleeping tablets?’

‘There were none at the flat and the drug had been dissolved in the beer. It’s possible Stevens did that himself. But I think it more likely his drink was spiked, which would suggest he was murdered.’

Nash studied the file from Pratt. Attached to the official records was a newspaper cutting dated four years previously. He picked up the phone. He was making his third call when Zena wandered into his office unannounced and perched on the corner of his desk. She leaned across to see what he’d been reading.

Nash was acutely aware of her closeness, her sensual, slightly musky perfume invading his senses so that he found increasing difficulty in concentrating.

She knew the effect she was having on him. Which she conveyed with an arched eyebrow and a grin of pure mischief overlaid with sexual innuendo. It was with some relief that Nash was able to ring off. ‘Vixen,’ he muttered, but Zena appeared not to notice.

She scanned the newspaper cutting. ‘Mikhail, why are you reading this?’

Under the headline
DISGRACED SOLDIER’S SAD END
it described the death of a former army captain, Martin Hill, who’d perished in a fire at his Nottingham home. The article stated, ‘Hill was expelled from the army after serving three years imprisonment for abusing prisoners during the Bosnia conflict. Later he’d served as a mercenary in several African countries.’ The article concluded, ‘Hill was so badly burnt he’d only been identified by dental records. He leaves no relatives.’

‘I’m reading it because it puzzles me.’

‘Surely this was a straightforward case? Why is it of interest now?’

‘I’m trying to figure out how the fingerprints of a man who died four years ago came to be on the window frame of the flat where Dr Stevens was murdered?’

‘That’s not possible.’

‘I agree, but I’ve had time to think. Let’s have the others in.’

‘Do you wish me to leave? This isn’t my concern?’

Nash looked at her and smiled. Zena felt her face warming. ‘No,
I don’t want you to leave. I’ve a feeling Stevens’s death is connected to our main enquiry but don’t ask me how.’ He opened the door and signalled to Mironova and Pearce.

‘Each of you knows different parts of what I’m about to tell you. Bear with me whilst I bring the others up to speed. We’re about to get some important visitors from Russia. Visitors who are here following Zena’s investigation and with the blessing of the Home Office.’

Nash explained the significance of Katya’s parents’ journey. During his account of the meeting Viv’s attention was on Nash whilst Clara’s gaze switched between her boss and Zena. Clara’s expression was one of interested speculation. Possibly due to the fact that Zena was still perched on the corner of Nash’s desk. ‘There’s also been a development in the case of Doctor Stevens. Something tells me the two are linked.’

Nash repeated what he knew. ‘The likeliest explanation; Martin Hill didn’t die in the fire. We must assume he’s alive. So, who died in the fire? Second, how did they come to be identified as Hill? Third, why did Hill need to disappear? He wasn’t wanted by the police or military authorities. Fourth, where and who is he now?’

‘That’s a shopping list of questions,’ Zena commented.

‘True, but I think we can take one or two items off the list. I’ve already made a start.’

He glanced down at the file. ‘I rang Nottingham Coroner’s office, got his clerk to check their file. He gave me details of the dental practice that treated Hill. I’ve had a very interesting
conversation
with their senior partner. He told me about a month before Hill’s “death” there was a break-in. The thief only got some petty cash, too small an amount to claim on insurance. I believe the theft was to conceal the real motive, to switch Hill’s dental records for those of another patient, someone already selected as a victim. Hill’s intention was to kill the other man, set fire to his own house with the dead man inside and disappear. When the dental records matched those of the corpse everyone would believe it was Hill who’d perished.’

‘That sounds brilliantly simple.’ Clara commented. ‘It’s
cold-blooded
but it has a touch of genius.’

‘Your choice of words is interesting. I’ve obtained a copy of Hill’s
service record. Until he was cashiered and imprisoned, Hill’s career was on its way to being distinguished.’

Nash read aloud from the file, ‘Hill’s leadership is direct, simple and brilliant.’ He replaced the sheet. ‘I see no reason to think Hill has changed his way of operating. I suggest the simplest, most effective way for Hill to disappear would be to assume the identity of the man he murdered.’

Nobody seemed inclined to challenge this logic. ‘There’s also a note on his service record to the effect that the motive behind the abuse for which Hill was court-martialled was their refusal to hand over money in exchange for their release. The note goes on to comment that Hill’s principal motive seems to have been
accumulation
of wealth.

‘If Hill’s become a professional assassin we must consider what’s brought him here. A series of crimes have been committed here that are linked to a highly lucrative operation. Surely it doesn’t take a gigantic leap of faith to connect the two?’