Robin Cook - Death Benefit

At least the fiasco was going to have a conclusion soon, thought Prek, as he heard a group of cars pull into the driveway one after the other. A moment later they heard car doors opening and then slamming shut in quick succession.

“Go wait in the bedroom,” Prek said to Pia.

As soon as Buda, Fatos, Burim, and Drilon walked into the house, they could all tell that something was wrong. The atmosphere among the three men inside was clearly strained. Neri was sitting on the couch, staring at the floor and didn’t stand up. Genti wouldn’t make eye contact, and Prek acted fit to be tied. Buda had to find out what had happened and fast.

“Gentlemen,” he said, turning to Burim and Drilon. “I left the food we picked up in the back of my car. Would you mind? I’d just like to have a quick word with my guys.”

Burim and Drilon left the room and closed the door. Buda lit into Prek.

“What the fuck is going on here? Stand up, Neri! Genti, look at me when I’m talking! Where’s the girl?”

“She’s in the bedroom,” Prek said. “She got out the window, jumped in the lake, and swam off.”

“What? Are you serious?”

“Yes, but we found her right away.”

“Did anyone see her?”

“No, I’m certain. There’s no one here but us.”

“You quite sure about that?”

“Yes.”

Buda’s three men were standing like guilty schoolboys in front of the principal.

“What happened to you?” Buda asked Neri, whose eye was closing rapidly. Neri didn’t speak but looked across at Prek.

“Did she do that?”

“No,” Prek said. “I did.”

“What for?” Buda leaned forward, his hands on his hips. Fatos was standing by the door with his arms crossed. The message was clear: No one out or in.

“Prek,” Buda said, “you better tell me what happened right now, or we’re going to have a major problem.”

“He attacked the girl,” Prek said. Neri’s face fell. He’d hoped Prek would make up some story on his behalf.

“Was that before or after she escaped?”

“Before.”

“And where were you?” he asked Genti.

Silence.

“All right, I’ll deal with this later. It all depends on whether or not this girl is the daughter. Let’s hope for you she isn’t. Fatos, let’em in.”

“Burim, Drilon,” said Buda in as friendly a tone as he could manage. “What happened here is that the girl tried to escape, but she didn’t succeed. My men are very embarrassed, as they should be.”

Burim looked at Neri but no explanation was forthcoming regarding his injury.

“My wife was certainly a tigress,” he said. “Perhaps this woman is too. Mr. Buda, I am ready to meet her.”

Buda showed Burim into the bedroom and left. Pia was sitting on the bed, facing the window, shivering.

“Afrodita. Pia,” Burim said. “Is it really you? I am Burim. Burim Grazdani. I think I’m your father. Pia, look at me, please.”

Pia sat for a second and then turned, glowering at the man, her face clouded with unadulterated fury and loathing. Burim’s expression went from disbelief to pure amazement.

“Oh, God,” he said. “You’re exactly your mother’s image.” Burim knew the look she had on her face, from the first Pia, a beautiful woman full of hatred. Burim had feelings he’d never experienced and couldn’t come close to articulating.

“I’m told you’re a student at Columbia Medical School. That’s amazing. You must be very intelligent.”

Pia had turned around again, and Burim continued talking to her back.

“You look like your mother, you know that? Probably you don’t. The same hair, the same eyes, it’s amazing.”

Pia said nothing. Could it possibly be him?

“I feel this is a miracle, our meeting. Pia, please say something.”

Silence.

“Your uncle Drilon is here.”

Now Pia reacted. She hacked up some spittle and spat loudly on the floor by the bed. Burim was disconsolate.

“Pia, I’m sorry I never came for you. I was young and stupid. I meant to come, so many times, but I knew that if I came forward they would find out I was illegal in this country and send me home, and then I would never have a chance of seeing you. I was working with these guys, the Rudaj group, you know, and the organization fell apart, and Drilon and I had to go underground. Then when we started working for Ristani, we had to change our names and leave our pasts behind. I wish we didn’t have to do it, but we did. Pia, please.”

As soon as Pia saw Burim’s face, she knew who he was. This was the man she had waited years for, the man who put her through torments while she fervently hoped that he’d come back to save her. He never did. Now he was showing up, and for what? And he had brought that monster with him? What were they going to do, kill her? At this point, Pia barely cared.

“Listen, I know I abandoned you, but suddenly, now that I see you, it’s important to me that you are my daughter and that you’re safe.”

“Safe? Do you have any idea what it was like for me in foster care?” Pia snarled. Burim was startled by the sound of her voice.

“Do you?”

“But you’re going to be a doctor, look how it all ended up!”

“ This is how it ended up, you moron. Guns, gangsters, murderers . That’s what I remember from being a kid. And my mom was there, and then she wasn’t. What happened to her?”

“I don’t know.”

“You’re a liar!” Pia turned and screamed the words. Buda opened the door-he must have been standing right outside.

“Everything okay?”

“Leave us, please,” Burim said. Silent tears were tracking down Pia’s face. She turned back around and faced the wall. Pia couldn’t make sense of what was happening. How was her father involved with the people who murdered Rothman, Yamamoto, and Will McKinley? They had been waiting for him to show up, which meant that he might be able to stop them killing her too. When she spoke again, Pia’s voice was quieter.

“That’s all I know about you. That you’re a liar.”

“I’m here now.”

“Are you here to finish the job they started?”

“I understand why you say these things, but you have to believe me, I am here to save you.”

“You and your white horse.”

“What?”

“Whatever.”

“What I am telling you is no lie. Those guys in the other room, they have been paid money to stop you because you were looking into some deaths. And they want you to stop looking.”

Pia said nothing.

“They know you have an Albanian name and they asked around if anyone knows you, and I said, ‘Yes, maybe.’ It’s the case that Albanian cannot kill Albanian: not in our business unless the killer wants to die too. If you weren’t Albanian, if you weren’t my daughter, you would be dead already. Do you understand?”

“That’s very nice of them.”

“Actually, it is, yes.”

“They murdered my teacher and another doctor by giving them typhoid fever and a massive dose of polonium. Tonight they murdered my friend by shooting him in the head because he was helping me. I should be grateful to them because they’re sparing me?”

“I can’t do anything about the other people. What I can do is save you.”

“And how will you do that?”

“I guarantee them that you will give up your investigation. And that you won’t mention their involvement to the authorities. Take a vacation. Something. We can work it out.”

“You? You haven’t seen me since I was six. They’ll take your word?”

“If I give it, yes. I have shaken their hand, and my family honor is at stake.”

“Or they’ll kill me.”

“Or they’ll kill you.”