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

‘Is there anyone she mentioned recently? Someone new, perhaps someone she was afraid of?’

‘No one she mentioned.’

‘And what about you?’

‘I run a large company. There are always people who wish ill of me but none I know who would take it this far.’

‘What do you do?’

Dahl sat back a little as if surprised that she didn’t know; it made her wonder just how much whisky he had been drinking to display his feelings so readily. ‘I run the family business – GDH Dahl Engineering. My grandfather set up the company after the war, then my father took the helm in the 1980s until his retirement. The focus is on shipbuilding now. Obviously the Far East is the main market.’

So that explained his timid manner; Dahl’s wealth was inherited. ‘And Russia?’ she asked, trying to make the question as casual as she could.

Now he was talking he seemed less withdrawn. ‘Do you know Kungsträdgården ?’

‘No.’

Dahl shrugged his wide shoulders. ‘There’s no reason you should I suppose, it’s a park in Stockholm with a famous statue of King Karl the Twelfth. He has a drawn sword in one hand; with the other he points a finger at Russia. I used to think differently, but now I’m with him. Eighteen years ago I invested in your country. Now…’

‘You prefer to point swords at us?’

Dahl gave her a slight smile. ‘It might be hard for an outsider to understand, but I’ve never had a problem with the people here. Sure, you’ve had dreadful governments since the dawn of creation, but the general public are wonderful, so full of life. The mistake most foreigners make is they don’t make the effort to understand the Russian psyche.’

‘Or they patronise us?’

He spoke automatically, his mind elsewhere. ‘Yes, we certainly do that.’

‘Tell me about Zena.’

‘What do you want to know?’

‘How is your relationship?’

‘Close, but Zena never understood why an inorganic thing like a company had to take precedence over flesh and blood… companies are living creatures too.’ Dahl sipped his whisky. ‘Sixty thousand families depend on me, Captain Ivanova. I have to be there for them.’

‘Is it possible Zena has gone away… perhaps deliberately?’

‘To punish me for being absent?’

‘Yes.’

‘No, I don’t believe so.’ Dahl straightened up. ‘I really don’t. As she got older, Zena came to understand my position. After all, the company will be hers one day. Recently, people like Anatoly here’ – he patted the lawyer’s shoulder – ‘have been taking more operational control and allowing me more time to be a better father.’

A missing person, she thought, was a puzzle with a hundred different combinations and only one resolution; first, she had to get inside Zena’s head. ‘Do you speak often?’

‘We got into the habit of making Skype calls about three years ago when I spent a fortnight in Nagasaki. Since then, we always put aside time to catch up. After moving to St. Petersburg, I confess the communication has been sporadic.’

‘Are you the problem or she?’ asked Mikhail.

Natalya frowned. ‘Was that her fault or yours?’ she interpreted.

Dahl stared out of the window as if weighing up how honest he should be. ‘She was distant when she came home for the winter holidays. I thought perhaps she had found a boyfriend or was struggling at the university. When she returned for the spring term I tried to Skype her, perhaps three or four times in as many months, but she was often unavailable.’

‘What do you think was the cause?’

He shrugged. ‘I have no idea.’

‘And can you think of any places she might have gone to?’

‘I honestly don’t know. Of course I’m grateful that you’re taking this so seriously and will help in any way I can.’

‘Does Zena have money of her own?’

She caught Anatoly Lagunov raise his eyebrows in a “what do you think?’ gesture.

‘OK, silly question. What banks or credit card companies does she use?’

‘A few in Sweden. I believe she has a Russian checking account too – I don’t have the details.’

She made a note to ask Primakov if he found anything in Zena’s apartment. That was an easy way to rule out an impromptu holiday.

‘When did you last speak with her?’

‘Three or four weeks ago. Sometime at the end of May.’

‘And what was her state of mind?’

Dahl stared at the whisky glass then picked it up and swallowed the remainder. ‘As I said, Zena was distant. We didn’t speak long. She told me she was busy at university and couldn’t talk.’

‘Mister Lagunov explained that Zena was adopted. Is it possible she is looking for her natural parents?’

‘No.’ Dahl smiled to himself accentuating the bags under his glacier-blue eyes. ‘As I’m sure Anatoly told you, they are both dead.’

‘And Zena is aware of that?’

He spoke while staring into his empty glass. ‘Yes, she knows the truth, and there were no reliable relatives either. I would never have taken her out of the country otherwise.’

‘What about you? Is there an ex-wife or girlfriend she is fond of?’

‘There have been a few girlfriends over the years but no one of significance. Zena is all I have, and I am all she has.’

As much as she’d gone through the whole kidnapping scenario with Lagunov, one key fact didn’t fit: the ransom demand was overdue. Dahl was a hard person to get hold of though, perhaps it was that, or maybe her abductors were taking their time getting Zena to a secure location. Two days, she mused, then studied Dahl’s pained expression as he stared at his glass. He was already assuming the worst possibilities.

He looked up and seemed to struggle to meet her gaze. ‘I called her yesterday and got her voicemail. I was going to try again tonight.’ He patted his pockets then removed a business card from his wallet. ‘This is my private number. Contact me any time.’

‘Thank you.’

She turned to see Mikhail typing on the screen of his phone and nudged him with her knee. ‘Misha, do you have something to add?’

‘Not yet, I think you’re covering all the bases,’ he replied in Russian.

She tapped her fingers on the veneer table in irritation then stopped when she realised she was doing it. ‘Can you think of anywhere she may be?’ she asked again.

‘No. Apart from this Yulia, I don’t know any of her friends. Have you tried the hospitals?’ he asked, clasping his hands together as he became more animated.

‘Yes, we’ve done that.’ She watched Dahl deflate again.

‘And where do you think she might be, Captain?’ asked Anatoly Lagunov.

‘As you say, there’s probably a normal explanation but I’d like to discuss the possibility that someone may have taken her.’

‘Do you think it’s possible?’ Dahl ran a hand through his hair, ‘Is there anything I can do?’

Mikhail stopped tapping his phone, ‘Speak to your police.’

She glared at him, willing him to shut up. ‘Major Ivanov is right. They will record your calls and advise you to keep your mobile phone on and always charged. Make sure someone who can speak Russian is available to answer it. That goes for house phones too – twenty-four hours a day. Monitor Skype, Facebook, Instagram, and any other social media that Zena uses. I suggest Mister Lagunov deals with any contact initially but it’s up to the Swedish police to advise you. I also suggest you think of a proof of life question.’

She needed to slow down. It was a bad idea to send Dahl into a panic. He needed time to process the information.

The Swede waved his glass. ‘Abbie?’

The flight attendant took his glass and replaced it.

‘By that, I mean you should think of a question that only Zena knows the answer to. It will prove they have her; more importantly, it will prove she is alive.’