Tom Callaghan - A Killing Winter

‘So who is it, then?’

‘Which family controlled everything in this country until the last revolution? Which family pillaged the state treasury, the foreign aid reserves, every last som they could lay their hands on, then jumped on a private jet with the loot? Leaving their stooges in the army to gun down civilians outside the White House while they celebrated with champagne at forty thousand feet?’

I realised that my voice had risen, and there was anger in it. The Chief shook his head, unable to believe my stupidity.

‘And who’d follow their cause now? They’re hated from here to Karakol. Believe me, Inspector, that’s a crazy theory.’

I nodded agreement, then turned over my cards.

‘It’s crazy if you think they’re expecting the support of the people, the way things stand now. But out of all the millions they took away with them, they found enough to make a deal with the Circle of Brothers. Here’s a few million dollars, cause terror and confusion, make the people see they need a tough leader, and we’ll cut more deals when I’m back in the White House.’

The Chief looked at me, and there was a sort of grudging admiration there.

‘It’s a very interesting theory, Inspector. One you could follow that leads all the way to the cemetery next to your wife.’

I nodded.

‘Of course, terror isn’t enough, not on its own. You need to manipulate it, take each twist and coil and turn them to your advantage. Stir up trouble, quell it, show you’re the tough guy the country needs.’

I didn’t hear any disagreement, so I pressed on.

‘Tyulev and Lubashov, the shoot-out at Fatboys? At first, I did think Saltanat had set me up for it. Then I thought that they’d been involved with the murders, and this was to stop me going any further. But the truth? Tyulev was a zhopoliz ; he’d kiss anyone’s arse if there was money in it. He was too deep into something too big for him, and he wanted to sell me information. So Lubashov was sent to silence him. It wasn’t a hit on me, but on Tyulev. He got the long sleep, and I tucked Lubashov away.’

I ticked both names off on my fingers, and moved on.

‘Gasparian? Well, that’s an easy one. Planning a coup like this isn’t cheap. You need someone who can move money around. Word of mouth is all very well for moving money from one country to another, even tens of thousands of dollars. But we’re talking millions, and Gasparian knew how to shift them. The UAE kicked him out for doing just that. I imagine he did a little creative accountancy on his own behalf. The Circle of Brothers found out and ordered you to organise his dive, once he was no longer useful.’

The Chief stared at me, his face unreadable.

‘Go on.’

‘The two hookers, well, that’s straightforward. They were sleeping with Gasparian, and who knows what a man might mumble to impress a woman? Making sure they can’t pass on any pillow talk is just an elementary precaution. And if you kill them to make it look like yet two more slayings by some maniac to boost a job, even better.

‘The deal with the pakhan , the local salesman for the Circle of Brothers? Well, it was a bonus for the big guys if his tongue didn’t dance once his usefulness was outlived. And having Uzbek Security take care of it made it even more secure.’

I remembered Saltanat placing a shot into her bodyguard’s head next to Gulbara’s headless corpse, and blinked to erase the image. For a second, I smelt the cordite and tasted the blood.

‘Of course, having a turncoat in Uzbek Security was a great way of keeping track of Saltanat’s movements. Until Illya gave himself away. We knew he’d talked, just not who was listening.’

I made a gesture with my hand, like moving an invisible chess piece.

‘All the pieces were on the board, but only one player could see them all.’

The Chief considered everything, nodded slowly.

‘I don’t say I agree, but I can see you’ve got a case to be made.’

I held my hand up.

‘There’s more. The dead Russian woman? Spetsnaz ? Nothing more likely to wind up the Russians than the murder of one of their top force. Pride and revenge kick in. Add the chance to regain more control over the region, and get the US airbase at Manas closed down, and their tanks would be rolling down Chui by the end of the month. And, of course, a Russian air-force plane was the ideal way to get the krokodil to all those Russki junkies. But Barabanov found out, and you had his girlfriend slaughtered. Was he paid off by you? A part of it? I don’t suppose I’ll find out. But it doesn’t matter; her death served your purpose.’

I ticked off yet another finger. I needed more fingers. The way the burn was scouring my nerves, like a dog gnawing at the bones, maybe I’d need a new hand.

‘It helped to add to the confusion with that fake police ID, to show that maybe I was involved as well. So if I got too close to anything, they could turn suspicion back on me.

‘And the death that kicked all this off? The Minister’s daughter? No one gives a fuck about some dead peasant girl, but take out a top family member and all the nomenklatura start worrying which of their children is going to turn up face down. Government in disarray? Plenty of terror and even more confusion.’

I paused to let this sink in, then continued.

‘Easy enough to get the killings done. Plenty of mindless thugs in the prisons, and anyone with access to records could tell you who the rapist-murderers are, who’s got some surgical skills for dissecting the victims. Even easier to recruit the krokodil crowd and the simply stupid, who don’t mind inflicting a bit of pain and shedding someone else’s blood.’

I held my hand up to show the little souvenir that Leather Jacket had given me to remember him by. The smell of burnt fat lingered in the air.

The Chief pushed his chair back, but I raised my hand and he stayed slumped.

‘Inspector, as conspiracy theories go, there’s one major flaw in your argument, but you’re probably so blinkered that you’ve overlooked it.’

He leant forward and waved a finger in the general direction of the vodka bottle.

‘Say you’re right, just for the moment, for argument’s sake. The people you claim are behind this, they’re abroad and living very comfortably, thank you. You’ve got murders, shoot-outs, not just here in Bishkek but all over the country, even over the border. How could they control and coordinate it?’

He settled back with a satisfied smile and poured a short one, tossed it back and poured another.

‘You’re right, of course, Chief, but I spotted that flaw as well. You’d need to have someone on the ground, directing traffic, making calls, keeping an eye on things, pushing the pawns forward.’

I made the gesture of a chess player toppling his opponent’s king.

‘And they did have someone. You.’

The Chief looked over at me. My accusation hadn’t thrown him into panic or outrage. Kursan didn’t look too concerned either.

The Chief drummed his fingers on his desktop, considering everything I’d just said. When he spoke, his tone was reasonable, explaining to a small child.

‘All very clever, Inspector, but hypothetical, circumstantial. You don’t have anything to link me to any of this. And without evidence, your career isn’t even going to take you to border duties. Or breathing.’

I shifted my weight on to one hip, moved my hand closer to the Yarygin.

‘I don’t have to prove very much at this stage, Chief, I just have to point the finger.’

I jerked my thumb at Kursan, who watched the two of us play it back and forth.

‘There’ll be questions asked about your relationship with a notorious smuggler.’