Iris Johansen - Deadlock

"No use being sloppy," Pauley said. "It reflects on the essential work. But I read bits and pieces of this book, and it's damn ugly. It doesn't de¬serve my effort, but I had to do my best anyway." He turned to Emily. "See? I'm not just a pretty face."

"I never thought you were."

"A woman of judgment. Will you marry me?"

"No."

"Will you go to bed with me?" "No," Garrett said.

"I wasn't asking you to-" Pauley glanced warily at Garrett. "I don't believe I'll pursue that subject." He waved his hand. "You've got what you want. All of you. Get out of my room so that I can get some sleep."

"Delighted," Dardon said. "See you in the morning." He looked at his watch as he moved toward the door. "Which isn't that far away."

"He's right," Garrett said, as he and Emily stopped outside in the hall. "Do you want to do this in the morning?"

"No." But she didn't want to be alone either while she read what even Pauley termed ugly. "Can we go to your room and work on them? I thought we'd split it up. We'll scan through the first part that has the philosophy that so appealed to Rasputin. That shouldn't take long. Then we hit the notes that he said he wanted only in his Book of Living."

He nodded. "That sounds like a plan. I'll order coffee, and we'll see what Mikhail Zelov has to say for himself."

WHAT ZELOV HAD TO SAY FOR himself was twisted enough to make Emily feel ill. After scanning his doctrines for the best part of an hour, she looked up at Garrett, who was sitting across the room. "No wonder Rasputin embraced him as a brother. This allows every de¬bauchery known to man. It recommends everything from sexual abuse of children, to rape, to destroying the icons of the Church. There's even a section describing the methods of torture and murder of the enemies who oppose Zelov that's worse than anything I've read about the Inqui¬sition."

Garrett nodded. "He wanted to start his own church, with him¬self as high priest. He spent fifteen years in Jerusalem and tried to es¬tablish his own temple there, but he gave up and came back to Russia to write this book. But there's so much venom in this doctrine that I can't even tell who he'd worship, God or the devil."

"Himself." Emily shivered. "If he could have taken the throne away from the Tsar, he would have done it. Now let's see how he ap¬plied that doctrine to the royal court."

She flipped to the last section of the book that was merely la¬beled Notes.

September 15, 1916

Rasputin is becoming uncontrollable. I have given him everything, but he is beginning to think he is all that I have made the world be¬lieve he is. I am losing my influence over him.

October 1, 1916

Rasputin tells me that he no longer believes my doctrines. He thinks I lied about the temple in Jerusalem. He thinks I lied about the sorcery of the hammer. He loves his position as the Tsarinas advisor and is going to cling to her skirts and that of her Church. I think he fears me too much to betray me, but I cannot be certain.

October 10, 1916

I stand alone. Rasputin shunned me when I called on him today. I must destroy him. What a fool he is.

November 19, 1916

Rasputin may be influencing the Tsar against me through the Tsa¬rina. The Tsar and I have talked many times about the hammer, and I thought we were in agreement. Lately he avoids the subject, and I sense coolness. Does he not realize that chaos surrounds him? I could hold out my hand and save him as I did his son when the boy was bleeding to death. But he must first give me what I want.

December 5, 1916

I board my ship for America tomorrow evening. I have long thought of America. It is a country where a peasant could become a king if he has the money to buy the throne. I will have the money. I thought that I might stay here to gain my destiny, but it isn't wise. What I have to sell has no value for those Communist vultures who are soon going to devour the court and everything else around them. I can see it coming. Even the Tsar should see it coming.

I left a fond message of farewell for Rasputin.

He ignored it.

Good-bye, Rasputin.

January 12, 1918

I am back in St. Petersburg. I got off the ship in Liverpool as I planned, crossed to Marseilles, and made my way back to St. Peters¬burg by land. I traveled slowly, and more than a year has gone by since I left Russia. I had to make sure no suspicion fell on me, and the passage of time makes everyone forget what I want them to for¬get. Rasputin's murder was not as clean as I would have done it. Fe¬lix Yusupov and those other conspirators tried everything from poison, to shooting, to drowning before he managed to get the deed done. Perhaps Rasputin acquired some of my power over the years that made him resistant to death. Not enough. He is dead and no longer a problem for me. I understand the royal family grieves bit¬terly for him. That is good. But they should grieve for themselves. The Tsar has been forced to abdicate, but he still has hopes that all will be well. What will it take to show him he should flee the coun¬try? I will wait a while longer in this small hamlet and not ap¬proach the Tsar at all for a time so that my appearance does not seem too suspicious. Then I'll go to them and tell them I heard of Rasputin's death and came back to comfort them in their sorrow. Then when the Tsar is convinced of my sincerity, we will once again talk of the hammer. I dare not move too fast, but he may have little time.

May 15, 1918

I waited too long! The Tsar and his family have been moved from St. Petersburg to Ekaterinaburg under house arrest. I must follow them. I will have no trouble blending in with the people holding him. They are peasants, and I am also a peasant. Though a thousand times more clever than they will ever be. I can still get what I need. The Tsar may be more inclined to listen to me now that he knows his only hope is es¬cape.

June 18, 1918

The Tsar is a fool. He says he has no need of my hammer or its sor¬cery. He has coded the directions to the map in the four amulets worn around the necks of his daughters and his wife. He said that the amulets will be placed on a map according to the ages of his daugh¬ters. Olga will be the first, her amulet covering St. Petersburg and the scrollwork showing the first route out of the city, Marias andAnas-tasia's will follow. The last amulet, the one worn by the Tsarina, shows the final route to the destination and also has the final direc¬tions to the treasure engraved on the gold beneath the painting. It is ironic that the amulets are paintings of Rasputin and the messages hidden in the wrought-gold framing of one of his prayers. Put them together, and they can lead a man to paradise or at least to the map that points the way.

I tried to persuade him to tell me a few details as to the place he found to store such a vast treasure. He would only say that it was in Austria and hidden so well that it would not be foundfor a thousand years without the amulets. When he escapes, he will use the amulets to guide him to the cave in the Alps where the treasure was placed years ago. I must be with him every step of the way if I cannot get him to cooperate.

The Tsar said he would have no trouble getting the girls to wear the amulets to show their love for Rasputin, but his wife wished to make sure her pearls were safe and had asked him to have their son carry the final amulet. That was my opportunity! I told him that it would endanger his heir and offered him the hammer to hide the fi¬nal amulet. I was very eloquent, and told him that Rasputin had blessed the hammer, and it was sure to bring him additional good fortune. He said he would think about it.

June 21, 1918

The Tsar sent for me and told me he would accept the hammer to hide the final amulet.

Accept? Arrogant bastard. I wanted to bludgeon him with it. But I smiled and bowed and told him how grateful I was that he would let me help.