Garry Abson - Motherland - A Gripping Crime Thriller Set in the Dark Heart of Putin's Russia

She turned to Mikhail. ‘Speaking of which, I’ll leave Anton a note, telling him we’ll be out this evening.’

Lagunov nodded solemnly then checked his watch. ‘It’s getting late, Thorsten will be arriving around 11 p.m. and it will take an hour to get there. Shall we go?’ He tipped the remnants of the black tea into his mouth and swallowed.

Natalya locked up and followed Lagunov outside. The rain had eased off and the sun, occasionally obscured by clouds, hung above the roofs of Tsentralny District’s neoclassical apartment blocks. He was waiting by a black Series 6 BMW that smelled of fresh plastic when he opened the door for her. Mikhail, with a couple of Ochakovos under his belt, was almost certainly over the legal alcohol limit as he climbed into his Mercedes on the other side of the road; he performed a neat U-turn to follow them.

Lagunov’s eyes flicked to hers then back to the road as he drove. ‘Captain, is there really any need for concern? Thorsten will ask me and I don’t want him to worry unnecessarily.’

She paused, wishing she’d gone in Mikhail’s car and they’d both followed Lagunov. In these situations, searching for the right words only brought platitudes and vague promises but at least she was dealing with a lawyer and not a parent. ‘We’ve already tried the hospitals and the city’s morgues. There is nothing in her apartment to suggest she has gone on holiday. Perhaps she’s behaving out of character? The first year at university is tough and she’s in a strange country.’

‘And if not that?’

‘She might have had an accident and been unable to get to hospital; there’s suicide of course, and murder… all speculation and it doesn’t help anyone.’

She leaned forward and pointed left ‘You want to get onto Moskovsky Prospekt.’

He tapped the console to show he was following the directions on the car’s satnav. ‘Let’s keep speculating. What else?’

‘Abduction. There are four types. Tell me, has Mister Dahl been involved in a custody battle for Zena?’

Lagunov almost smiled as his eyes flicked to hers. ‘No, nothing like that.’

‘Then that leaves three: terrorists, criminals and sick bastards. Terrorism is rare outside of the Caucasus these days, thanks to Kadyrov and his merry band of psychopaths, and if the motive was sexual or some other twisted reason, then I’m sorry to say this but she was probably killed soon after she was abducted. If she has been taken, then my money is on money. After all, your boss has plenty of it to share around.’

‘It seems so far-fetched.’

‘As I said, there may be an innocent explanation; kidnapping is just one line of enquiry.’

‘What happens if it is a kidnapping?’

‘ If it is, then the people who took her are most likely to be natives with poor English. The university has broken up for summer so they may try to send a message through one of Dahl’s companies or to contact him directly. It’s the smart thing to do when there’s no official cooperation between the Swedish and Russian police. For several reasons I advise you to take the call, not him. Once the kidnappers make contact, notify the consulate here and the Swedish state police, and I will arrange to have a crisis team put in place.’

‘How is Zena’s Russian?’ she added.

‘Good. Thorsten felt it was important for Zena to know her ethnic background… some Swedish thing. He hired a tutor and made sure she knew she was a Russkaya .’

‘That will help her if she has been taken. What about him?’

Lagunov tilted a hand in a see-sawing gesture to indicate it was mixed.

‘If his Russian is poor then you must to take the call. Believe me, you don’t want misunderstandings that get a kidnapper frustrated. Also, Thorsten will be emotional. So firstly, and this is important, in that call you will establish that Zena is alive and unharmed—’

‘And how do I do that?’

‘I’ll explain that on the plane. Next, assure them that nobody has spoken to the police and nor will they. Third, don’t try to negotiate.’

‘What the hell am I supposed to do? Discuss the latest SKA game?’

‘No, you tell them calmly that you don’t currently have the authority to make a deal. Next, you agree a time and method for them to contact you again. Before you hang up, give them a code word – it will prove you’re taking it seriously and will stop other criminals posing as the kidnappers.’

‘Why delay it for another call? We just want to get Zena back.’

She looked over her shoulder to check Mikhail was still trailing in his light blue Mercedes; he was. ‘Because it gives us time to get the bastards without you having to pay a ransom for a girl who may not be returned. If the call is taken in Sweden, get the police to email me a recording. We’ll try to identify them but our priority is the same as yours: to get Zena back unharmed. Try to think of it as a business deal.’

‘A deal with a gun to Zena’s head.’ Lagunov sounded irritated.

‘Keep in mind they need her alive. You want to buy something; they want to sell it. Start around a third of the ransom amount and work upwards. Try to stay calm. There are three hundred ransom kidnappings a year in this country.’

‘They won’t hurt her?’

‘Zena needs to be smart. If they show their faces, she looks at the floor… she must be respectful, that kind of thing. For you, it means don’t renegotiate the ransom once it’s agreed. Above all, be careful who you talk to, especially the menti . Policemen have been known to supplement their salaries by kidnapping.’

Lagunov grunted. ‘But I can trust you?’

She lifted her left arm, waving it at him like a bird with a broken wing. ‘Young Pioneer’s honour.’

Lagunov smiled though he looked doubtful. She didn’t blame him, the police had a bad reputation but most of the time it was undeserved. She watched him take the P-21 on Moskovsky Prospekt, the same direction she had indicated.

‘Could it be the mafia?’ Lagunov was saying. ‘I heard the Tambovski gang own Piter .’

She knew what he was insinuating: if it came to it and there was mafia involvement in Zena’s disappearance, how far would she go to stop them?

‘It’s unlikely.’

The lawyer glanced at her. ‘Would you go against them… if it comes to it?’

‘Believe me, it’s not a problem.’

‘Why?’

‘Because a ransom is Kopecks to them. Twenty years ago, they seized the city’s banks and big companies. A kidnapper is more likely to be an individual or belong to a small, unaffiliated group. They might have the funds to bribe a policeman or two, but not enough to stop an investigation.’

She paused. ‘So, did I convince you that not all Russian police are corrupt?’

Lagunov stirred in his seat then lit a cigarette, opening the window a crack to let the smoke escape. ‘Of course,’ he said, turning away from her.

At Pulkovo airport, the BMW and Mikhail’s Mercedes parked at Terminal 3 – an area of the airport she had never been to before – and they were met by an official with a neat red beard who checked their identification cards before escorting them to a VIP lounge. The experience confirmed her suspicion that the super-rich had broken away and become an entirely separate species of human being altogether.

They sat around a table in leather armchairs where she spotted a barman who was so discreet his presence hadn’t registered with her at first. Mikhail was more observant and Lagunov noticed him watching. ‘You want a drink? I could do with one… it’s been a long day. Thorsten won’t mind.’

Mikhail got up. ‘Sure.’ He looked over his shoulder at her. ‘Angel, you want one too? There’ll be some good stuff here.’