The Twelfth Department (27 page)

“You’ve even managed to lose your son.”

Korolev was momentarily angry, but more than that he was concerned. Did Zaitsev have the boy? The colonel seemed to follow his thoughts because he smiled, apparently satisfied that he had Korolev’s full attention now.

“Korolev, if I wanted to cause you difficulties, we wouldn’t be talking about things in such a comradely way. If I wanted to make life awkward for you, those fellows outside would be having the conversation, not me. And they’re very efficient at what they do, believe me. The big one, Blanter, looks on it as training for the ring. He’s tireless, believe me: punch, punch, punch. All night long. The other one, Svalov, looks softer but don’t be deceived—he’s the more inventive of the two. You can take my word for it, compared to Svalov, Blanter’s the soft one.”

“I can believe it,” Korolev said, strangely pleased that he’d spotted Blanter as a boxer, while at the same time feeling his guts trying to make their way down to his toes.

“Korolev, I want to make life easy for you. I’ve a proposal, a generous proposal. If you accept it—then, believe me, you’ll have a new friend. And friends like me can be useful in times like these. Of course, if you decline it—well—that would be a different story.”

The colonel gestured in the direction of the two Chekists on the other side of the street.

“Comrade Colonel?” Korolev said, reaching into his pocket for his cigarettes. “Do you mind if I smoke?”

It wasn’t that he wasn’t afraid, he was. But when a man’s afraid for a long time, Korolev knew, he begins to treat it as normality. And normality for him involved smoking cigarettes.

“Of course not. We’re going to be friends, after all. Aren’t we?”

Korolev found himself offering the Colonel the packet and, to his surprise, the Chekist took one, beginning to root around in his pockets for something to light it with before Korolev discovered his hand was now offering his matches as well.

“Thank you, Korolev, a busy night—I smoked the last of mine a couple of hours back.”

“I’m pleased to have the opportunity to assist you, Comrade Colonel,” Korolev said, thinking that cigarettes didn’t grow on trees.

Perhaps the colonel heard the reservation in his voice because he laughed, smoke coming out of his mouth as he did so—before reaching into the pocket of his tunic for a handkerchief to dab the sweat from his face, a smile still on his lips.

“Do you know why I want to help you find Professor Azarov’s killer?”

Korolev decided that the colonel’s question wasn’t one he could safely answer.

“Because,” the colonel continued, “it will stop you, and others, digging around in our affairs. Which would be better for everyone, wouldn’t it?”

“From where I’m sitting, I’d have to agree with you,” Korolev said—and something about that amused the colonel all over again.

“Well, if that’s your sincere wish—then I’ve something for you. Pass me that briefcase.”

Korolev did as he was asked and Zaitsev pulled from it a sheet of typed paper, which he inspected briefly before handing it over.

“This is a witness statement—evidence that establishes that there’s no direct connection between the murders and the institute. It was Shtange who killed the professor, so there’s a connection in that regard—but the reasons have more to do with personal animosity than science.”

Korolev found himself struggling to keep his amazement from showing.

“Personal animosity?” he said in a quiet voice.

“The professor denounced Shtange as a saboteur, maliciously, so the good doctor killed him in revenge—or perhaps self-defense, if you consider the likely consequences if he’d been arrested on basis of the professor’s accusation. It doesn’t matter, either way, now they’re both dead.”

Korolev read the first few lines of the document, before glancing back to the top of the page to find out who’d provided this helpful information.

“But this is Priudski, the doorman. What did he have to do with it?”

“Shtange promised him money to let him into the professor’s apartment on the morning of the murder. Shtange then refused to pay him, so Priudski went to his apartment to confront him. When the doctor still wouldn’t pay up, he stabbed him. It all turns out to be very straightforward.”

Korolev read the statement and it was as exactly as the colonel said. At first glance, there was nothing obviously wrong with it—the signature was clear and firm and it was in the correct format. Of course, it was typed, which was unusual for Militia witness statements—but perhaps not for State Security. And perhaps its coming from the NKVD accounted for the fact that the paper was of surprisingly good quality, white and crisp to the touch. In Korolev’s world, statements were written on thin brownish paper that sometimes looked as if it had been an active participant in the interrogation. He’d opened files to find statements that had been smudged by what might have been sweat, or even tears—and sometimes other substances as well. His instincts told him this statement was too well written and too tidy. And then, of course, there were the anomalies in the story—anomalies that couldn’t be just winked away, either.

“Where’s Priudski now?” Korolev asked.

“Where you would like him to be?” the colonel said, and seemed pleased with Korolev’s reaction. “You seem surprised—why?”

Korolev’s hunch, after reading the statement, had been that Priudski was dead. That the doorman was available for questioning was indeed a surprising development.

“No reason in particular. Of course, it would be usual procedure for me to interview any witness whose statement we relied upon.” Korolev spoke carefully—he wanted to sound as if he were going along with Zaitsev’s proposal, but he also wanted to give himself some breathing space. Rodinov had been right, he’d have to play this game for himself now—and he needed time to think.

“You see,” he continued, “Colonel Rodinov won’t be satisfied with this statement just on its own. I’ll have to present him with a completed file—every full stop in the right place, every page numbered.”

“Priudski will back up the witness statement, and you may question him as you see fit. I’m aware that Rodinov will need to be fully satisfied by your conclusions. I know the colonel well.”

Korolev didn’t need to have been involved in Professor Azarov’s telepathy experiments to realize Zaitsev didn’t have loving feelings toward his Chekist colleague.

“And custody?”

“Priudski will remain in the custody of the Twelfth Department, the two dead men were ours.”

It seemed this was a point that wasn’t up for negotiation.

“We still haven’t spoken to all the persons we need to,” Korolev said. “I won’t be able to rely on the statement alone.”

“Speak away, as long as we agree on the outcome. You’ll need these.” Zaitsev handed him a sheaf of photographs of Priudski, as well as a fingerprint card. “I shouldn’t be surprised if Priudski’s prints show up at Dr. Shtange’s apartment.”

Korolev looked at the black smudges on the card and read the date beneath them—yesterday’s—and the location where the card had been filled out—“Internal Prison of the NKVD, Moscow—Butyrka.”

“It sounds as if the case is solved,” Korolev said, but he didn’t like the sound of it much.

Zaitsev nodded, closed the briefcase then tapped the confession Korolev was still holding.

“You can keep this. Listen to me, Korolev, and listen carefully. You have a reputation and it’s an admirable reputation in many ways. It’s said you get the job done, no matter what the risks or the obstacles. They tell me you follow the trail to the end. All of that might be very good when you’re hunting bandits or hooligans, but this is a different matter. Know your limitations. I want an end to this investigation within forty-eight hours and I don’t want any cleverness out of you. Just so you understand me.”

“It should be possible,” Korolev said. “I’ll do my best. But Colonel Rodinov is the one I report to.”

“Forty-eight hours, Korolev,” the colonel said in a voice that was as cold as a snowstorm in Siberia. “And there’s something else.”

“I’m at your command, Comrade Colonel.”

“There is a report, prepared by Dr. Shtange. About the institute. I want it.”

Korolev did his best to look as though this was all news to him. It was difficult, under the colonel’s intense examination, but he thought he managed it well enough.

“A report? What kind of a report?”

The colonel seemed to consider how to respond—and if the report contained half of what Anna Shtange thought it might, then Korolev understood why. After all, Zaitsev was the man in ultimate charge of the institute—and that meant he would be responsible for any of its failures.

“I haven’t read the report myself, Korolev. But I understand it is critical of Professor Azarov—serious allegations that I want to investigate thoroughly, without interference. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Comrade Colonel.”

“There may be more than one copy. I know Azarov had one, but there may be others. Shtange may have kept one for himself. I need all the copies.”

“I’ll do my best, Comrade Colonel. Believe it.”

“Do better than that, Korolev. I think if you put your mind to it, you’ll find them for me.”

“But—” Korolev began.

“But nothing, Korolev.”

The colonel reached inside his trouser pocket and produced a small pearl-handled pocket knife. A familiar pocket knife. The colonel handed it to him. It felt warm, as if it still held the warmth of Yuri’s hand. Korolev closed his fingers around it, remembering the boy whittling at his stick as they’d walked down to the river.

“Yes, Korolev, it belongs to him. Last night he volunteered to assist the State with an important matter, so I know you won’t object. Of course, there are risks that come with this task, but like any good Pioneer, he knows that duty comes first. Now, I want you to think about that. I understand you don’t like dead bodies—that they make you ill. How would you feel if you were standing over your own son’s corpse, Korolev? Can you imagine what that would be like?”

Korolev said nothing—he couldn’t say anything.

Zaitsev nodded. “So you’ll close this investigation and you’ll find me those reports, won’t you?”

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

“What happened here? In your own words.” Korolev spoke dispassionately. His calm came, strangely, from ice-cold fury. He hadn’t wanted any part of this but they’d dragged him into it all the same—and now they’d taken his son. Why shouldn’t he be angry?

They’d gone through Priudski’s story once already—how he’d opened the door to the Azarovs’ apartment for the doctor, heard the sounds of an argument and the pop, pop of a small revolver. How he’d been horrified by the murder, how Shtange had told him he wanted to spring a surprise on Azarov, nothing more than that. And then, to make matters worse, Shtange had refused to pay up—leaving him with a dead tenant and a guilty conscience. He’d described, step by step, his journey across town to have it out with the murderer, and the meeting’s fatal result—for the doctor at least. From time to time, Slivka had looked more than a little puzzled—unsurprisingly. The story still had plenty of holes in it and, to complicate matters, Zaitsev had sent along his pet boxer, Blanter, who had spent most of the interview cracking his knuckles, one by one—all the while staring at Korolev with what seemed to be intense hatred. The man looked as though he hadn’t slept in a couple of days, his eyes red-rimmed and his stubble a sweaty gray shadow. Perhaps he blamed Korolev. In any event, it wasn’t the ideal atmosphere in which to conduct an interrogation.

Now Priudski stood, in the hallway where Shtange had been killed, looking confused.

“Here?” Priudski asked, looking around him. “You want to know what happened here?”

The carpet had been taken away and the walls cleaned, so that the only sign of the doctor’s murder was a dark stain on the floorboards—a stain which could have been caused by anything. Still, Priudski knew this was the doctor’s apartment and this was the hallway so he must know this was where the murder had been committed—he’d already told them as much in the study. And yet it seemed he didn’t.

“Where are we exactly?” Priudski asked, speaking slowly, as if not wanting to commit himself.

“You’re in an apartment building on Chistye Prudy,” Korolev said, casting a wary glance in Slivka’s direction. Even if this might all be complete nonsense, it was important he persuade Slivka to play along, even if only temporarily—and for that he needed Priudski to play his part just a little better.

“Chistye Prudy?” Priudski scratched his head, dropping his gaze to the floor as if there might be a clue there—but Shtange’s maid had done a good job of making sure that particular clue wasn’t as obvious as it had been the day before.

“What did the doctor say to you when he opened the door?” Korolev asked, deciding to give him a clue. Fortunately the word “doctor” seemed to have the desired effect.

“He didn’t say anything at first,” the doorman said, looking to Blanter who, Korolev noticed, gave him a small nod. “He just looked at me as if I was dirt. But I wasn’t having that—I’d come for my money and told him so. He said we were both going to a camp in Kolyma if I squealed, so why should he pay me anything. Then he threatened to kick me down the stairs. So I pulled out the knife and told him to pay me what I owed, or else I’d go to Kolyma with him on my conscience. And what do you think he said to that?”

“Tell me,” Korolev said.

“He called me an old fool and told me I was too old to play with knives. So I lost my temper.” Priudski stopped, and did a passable imitation of regret. “I didn’t mean to kill him but—it just happened that way.”

The Shtange Priudski described bore little relationship to the Shtange Korolev had met but, then again, neither did this Priudski bear much relationship to the doorman he’d encountered just four days before. Either Zaitsev had Priudski’s son in his care as well as Yuri, or something else was going on. Maybe the professor’s research had been more successful than Dr. Shtange had given him credit for.

“How many times did you stab him?”

“A great many. I was angry as hell. There was blood all over the place—that much I can tell you. All over the place.”