Iris Johansen - Deadlock

It is of no matter. I still have my grand palace and I'm almost as rich as if I'd found the Tsar's billions. Nartova still pays into my cof¬fers regularly. I may up the payments to punish him for thwarting me.

May 24, 1942

I have started to dream of Rasputin. Are they death dreams? I will not permit it. I will live a long time, and if I meet Rasputin in hell, I will still be his master. I will hold the hammer over his head, and he will cringe and kneel before me.

Emily closed the book. "He died in 1943. Maybe he was being haunted by Rasputin during those last years." Her lips twisted. "I won't believe it was conscience. I don't think he had one."

"Neither do I." Garrett got up and poured a cup of coffee. "But he died a rich man and years after the massacre, this Nartova was still funneling money to him." He brought the cup to her. "The question is who was Nartova? And how did Zelov convince him that he'd man¬aged to hide the amulet in the hammer? Or was it blackmail that Nar¬tova was paying Zelov?"

Emily rubbed her temple, then took the cup. "I have no clue. I was hoping that we'd be able to put a period to Zelov's part in this. Lord, I want to get away from Mikhail Zelov."

He shook his head. "We're not going to do it. He's the center, like the eye of the hurricane."

"And Nicholas Zelov must have known who this Nartova was be¬fore he came to Russia. That has to be why Joslyn paid him off." She shook her head. "But why in hell would hush money still be paid in this day and age for something that happened in 1918?"

He shrugged. "Why don't we ask Mr. Joslyn?"

"But Nicholas Zelov went to see Bishop Dimitri first. We might get more information by going to him." She shook her head. "We'll talk to Irana in the morning and see what she thinks."

"MIKHAIL ZELOV WAS TRULY from Satan." Irana finished read¬ing the notes and looked up at Emily and Garrett, who were sitting at breakfast at the room-service table across the room. "And I'm sure he's with him now. Is there anything else?"

"Just a translation of his Book of Living," Emily said. "I scanned it, but then went right to the notes." She grimaced. "I don't think you'll want to read it. Total debauchery. Total permissiveness. Whatever you want, you take. Sexual intercourse with small children and any woman who crosses your path. It's no wonder that Rasputin was drawn to it."

"But Rasputin tried to pull away from Zelov toward the end," Irana said. "I think I do want to read it."

"Be my guest," Emily said. "Keep my copy. Garrett has one if we need it."

"By all means," Garrett said. "But what we wanted from you were any ideas you might have as to why Nicholas Zelov went first to a revered bishop of the Church before he went to Joslyn?"

Irana stared down at the book. "I have a few thoughts on the sub¬ject. Let me go over what we know so that I can get it clear in my head. I'm not as familiar with this as you are." She tapped one finger on the book. "Mikhail Zelov was instrumental in the assassination of the royal family for the purpose of stealing the three amulets from the grand duchesses. The fourth amulet was supposedly hidden in the hammer he provided to the Tsar. The Tsar hid the hammer in a Soviet museum near the execution house. Zelov was unable to retrieve it." She frowned. "But Zelov felt confident that he could get money from Nartova and that the hammer would stay safely in that museum so that he might be able to get it later. He was right. In all those years, Nartova didn't try to get the hammer for himself. He obviously wanted that hammer to stay in the museum."

"But why?" Emily asked. "And who the hell is Nartova?"

"I don't know why," Irana said. "But I believe you'll find that the man who was supporting Mikhail Zelov all those years was Bishop Sergai Nartova. The time frame is right."

"Another bishop?" Garrett asked. "Mikhail Zelov hated the Church."

"That doesn't mean that he wouldn't try to use it," Irana said. "In fact, it's more likely that he'd do it."

"You're sure that this Bishop Nartova could be the same man?"

"No," Irana said. "But I've studied the period, and the Russian Church and Sergai Nartova definitely had the power to siphon off enough money to keep Zelov happy. He was regarded with great re¬spect and at one time was in line to be the Patriarch of all Russia. He refused, and said he was not worthy and would prefer to serve in a humbler position." She paused. "And after the Bolsheviks took over, he requested that he serve God and the Church here in Ekaterinaburg. It didn't please the new government since they were trying to make everyone forget what happened here."

"But steal from the Church to make that bastard rich?" Emily asked. "That would make him as bad as Zelov."

"It's definitely criminal. It must have been a very strong motive to keep him paying Zelov all those years. You say the payments stopped in 1943?" When Emily nodded, Irana said, "I'd have to check to be sure, but I think that's about the time that Nartova died. And since Zelov died shortly after the payments ended, no one learned anything about it."

"Until Nicholas Zelov got money hungry over sixty years later and resurrected it," Garrett murmured. "So he went to Bishop Dimitri and either tried to stir up some mud about past criminal practices of the Church or offered the three amulets to him so that the bishop could complete the set with the one in the hammer."

"It's guesswork," Irana said. "And I'd think that Nicholas Zelov might try to get the hammer for himself to try for the Tsar's billions."

"Too difficult," Emily said. "He's an alcoholic, and he obviously likes the easy way. That was why the steady flow of money appealed to him. He gave Babin the Book of Living and the amulets and went his way with his pockets lined." She glanced at Garrett. "But Babin was hired by Joslyn, not this Bishop Dimitri. Joslyn's got to be up to his ears in all this mess."

"Because you'd rather he be the bad guy than Bishop Dimitri," Gar¬rett said. "They both may be scum. Money does corrupt, Emily."

"I know that." It was true that she didn't want a man of the cloth to be involved in this ugliness. There were so few holy or pure things to cling to in this world. "You believe that Bishop Dimitri contacted Joslyn and they became partners?"

"It's reasonable," Garrett said. "Joslyn had the money, and I don't see how the Bishop could provide Nicholas Zelov with the cash he wanted. Nartova was able to do it with old Mikhail Zelov because it was a different world, and he wielded power in the Church. These days ac¬countants scrutinize everything." He shook his head. "No, Joslyn had to be involved."

"I'm more interested in what the Church had to do with this." Irana was already glancing through the book. "I think I should get to know more about Zelov and his relationship with it."

"I know all I want to know about him." Emily shuddered. "I keep thinking how much like Staunton Zelov is. It seems strange that two such evil men born in different generations would both be drawn by the same lure."

"Maybe not so strange." Irana didn't look up from the book. "Sometimes I think that if the evil is strong enough, it takes on a life of its own."

"Reincarnation?"

She shrugged. "I think anything is possible in God's world. But that wasn't what I meant."

"Good. I'd hate to think there could be a constant string of Stauntons emerging in every generation." She turned to Garrett. "When are we phoning Joslyn?"

He shook his head. "Soon. But maybe we should do as you sug¬gested and go to see Bishop Dimitri first."

"No, let me," Irana said suddenly. "Isn't that why you brought me here?"

"But I didn't think the bishop was actually a conspirator then," Garrett said.

"It doesn't change anything. I speak the language and I have the background. I want to do it." Garrett shook his head.