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

‘She didn’t,’ Natalya put an arm over Zena’s shoulders, ‘but Lagunov thought she would. I was asking him awkward questions about the adoption and her death stopped the investigation into your disappearance. We thought she was you because her body was burned and they left your Hermès handbag near it.’

Zena frowned, ‘Are you saying Anatoly had Yulia killed?’

‘Yes.’

Zena faced Lagunov, ‘You killed my friend?’

Lagunov shook his head, ‘I didn’t’

Natalya got in between them before it turned ugly.

‘Get off me!’ Zena tried to brush Natalya way.

Lagunov stepped back then taunted her, ‘Your real father was a thug, it looks like you’ve got his genes all right.’

Natalya strained to hold Zena. ‘For God’s sake put him inside.’ Rogov shoved him roughly into the back of the Primera.

She tried to placate the girl. ‘He’s going to prison for a long time.’

‘Yeah, and it’s not like one of your Sven holiday camps,’ added Rogov.

She said goodbye to Thorsten and Zena then climbed into the Primera. Rogov drove onto a verge to let the backlog of cars clear. Soon the air stank of exhaust fumes and was filled with a cacophony of horns as motorists competed for the opening spaces. She watched Thorsten Dahl hold open the door of the BMW for Zena. Before climbing in, she hugged him. A few minutes later she saw the black car edge slowly into the traffic.

‘How long are we going to be here, boss?’

‘Just wait.’

It took another twenty minutes for the BMW to cross the border and just once, Natalya thought, she saw Zena turn to wave but the car was too far away by then.

The sky had grown dark again and was threatening rain. Rogov opened his window a crack then lit a cigarette. He grinned, expecting her to order him to put it out. His smile looked unnatural, she thought, like an air steward’s – only without the orthodonture to back it up.

‘Can we go now, boss?’

‘You really are an insolent bastard, Rogov.’

He grinned even more.

Chiefly, I wish to thank “Vaka”, the necessary pseudonym for an ex-St Petersburg Ministry of the Interior officer who generously gave his time to explain the workings of the city’s police force; Piter natives Stanislav Levtov and Denis Tsybulia also offered invaluable information on subjects ranging from local slang to music that Natalya might enjoy.

As for the business of literally getting here, Jenny Abson deserves a special mention for reviewing numerous drafts without once raising the subject of divorce; and Anna Dougherty, Kathy Dixon, Dan Merrett, Sarah Spence, and Kate Simants were invaluable readers and critics.

My fabulous agent (and Russophile), Kate Hordern, of the Kate Hordern Literary Agency, was tremendously supportive and helpful, as was Richenda Todd, whose superb editing eased MOTHERLAND through an early re-write.

I am indebted to the team at Mirror Books: Paula Scott, Fergus McKenna, Jo Sollis, Simon Flavin, Cynthia Hamilton, Julie Adams and Mel Sambells, for having that rare blend of warmth, humour, and professionalism that makes them such a pleasure to work with.

Finally, while researching MOTHERLAND , the following works of non-fiction merit particular attention:

Karen Dawisha. Putin’s Kleptocracy . Simon & Schuster, 2015.

Bill Browder. Red Notice: How I Became Putin’s No.1 Enemy . Transworld, 2015.

Peter Pomerantsev. Nothing is True and Everything is Possible: Adventures in Modern Russia . Faber & Faber, 2015

Published by Mirror Books, an imprint of Trinity Mirror plc,

1 Canada Square,

London E14 5AP, England

www.mirrorbooks.co.uk

© G. D. Abson 2017

The rights of G. D. Abson

to be identified as the author of this book have been asserted, in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

ISBN 9781907324833

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

Every effort has been made to fulfil requirements with regard to reproducing copyright material. The author and publisher will be glad to rectify any omissions at the earliest opportunity.

Front cover images: Trevillion, Millenium Images