Julia Gousseva - Gray Shadows - Russian Historical Thriller

“That’s right.”

“Why not?”

“Svetlana was so upset at first that she did not want to have anything to do with me. Then, we lost touch for a few years. For quite a few years. It was only in the last twelve months or so that we started talking again. Gradually, we’ve been getting closer. A few weeks ago, she told me that she thinks it’s time for me and our son to get re-introduced to each other. I can’t tell you how happy I was to hear it. Happy and a little nervous, of course. I just can’t wait to meet him.”

“So, he’s about nineteen or twenty now?”

“He must be,” Pyotr Alekseevich said. “I don’t know anything about him. But I’ve always been giving money to Svetlana for our son. It’s the least I could do after the way I treated them.”

“I see,” Nikolai said.

“I’m really grateful for your help, Nikolai. This is a difficult time for me and the company.” Pyotr Alekseevich paused and shook his head. “When I took over the company, I was ready for hard work and challenges, but I didn’t expect things to get this dangerous. But I have to stay positive, right? At least, the pipeline problems are mostly solved. Pollution from oil spills could be another reason to shut us down or drown us in fines. But that’s not your problem, Nikolai, sorry. You have enough to deal with.”

“It’s quite all right. I’m here to help,” Nikolai said. “And the more information I have, the better I will be able to help you.”

“There’s something else you need to know,” Pyotr Alekseevich said. “Remember that security guard who was killed in a jealous rage?”

“Sure. Anything new about it?”

“Yes. I don’t think jealousy had anything to do with the murder.”

“How so?” Nikolai said.

“The murdered guard was a night watchman. He walked the perimeter of the compound once an hour, with breaks in the security office in-between. He had a precise schedule. Every hour, he would walk for forty-five minutes and take a fifteen-minute break inside the security office. The night before he was killed, he dozed off during his scheduled fifteen-minute break. Slept for forty-five minutes, until another security guard came and woke him up. He went back outside, but his schedule was off, so we have reasons to suspect he ended up in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

“But what about his affair with the other guy’s wife? Is that no longer a possible motive for his murder?” Nikolai said.

“The investigators are not ruling it out, but it seems less likely, now that we know more details.”

“What kind of details?” Nikolai said.

“The night of the murder, he was alone, in his own apartment, and his neighbor, the woman he was supposedly having an affair with, was working late. Since they were not together, the crime of passion theory doesn’t quite work. There’s another motive behind this murder, and I think that the real motive is related to his job as a night guard.”

“Like what? He saw things he wasn’t supposed to see when he went on his rounds? And somebody saw him and decided to get rid of him?” Nikolai said.

“That’s what I think. I don’t know what he saw. But whatever it was, it was obviously serious enough to warrant someone taking this man’s life.”

“That’s important information. I’ll have to do some investigating to find out what or whom he might have seen. What else do I need to know about?”

“About a few phone calls I’ve been getting.” Pyotr Alekseevich pointed to the office phone. “Every time I get these calls, the message is the same. Sell the company or die.”

“And you can’t trace the calls or identify the voice, right?”

“That’s right,” Pyotr Alekseevich said. “And that’s about it for now. Probably enough to keep you busy.” He shook his head. “What a mess. Thank you again, Nikolai. If you need any other information, call me or stop by anytime. And if I learn anything new, I will let you know, of course.”

As they were finishing the conversation, Natalya came into the office. She greeted Pyotr Alekseevich, ignored Nikolai, and sat down at her computer to type her translations.

After confirming with Pyotr Alekseevich that Natalya would stay in the office until he came back, Nikolai headed for the security office. He had a few things to discuss with Vanya.

Inside the security office, two young guards sat at the table chatting about the previous night’s hockey game. When they saw Nikolai, they stopped talking, and greeted him politely. One of them immediately went outside, probably to do his rounds, the other moved to the desk with all the security monitors.

“Most of the cameras have been installed, but the monitors are still offline,” the guard said. He looked at Nikolai. “Vanya knows, and he already called Oleg.”

Nikolai nodded and stepped outside. He was getting used to the brisk chilly air and was even beginning to enjoy it. The air was so much clearer and cleaner here than in Moscow. Without the heavy foot and car traffic and the pollution of the big city, Upper Luzinsk’s snow was whiter, fluffier, and purer. It reminded Nikolai of his college days and weekends he spent skiing with Olga and their friends at the dacha, his family’s modest cottage outside of Moscow, with the cold and crisp days and cozy evenings by the fire. Those were simpler times of his youth that he sometimes longed for.

There was still no sign of Vanya, so Nikolai called Anatoly to check on the details of his replacement’s arrival.

“Vasily Petrovich stopped by today,” Anatoly said. “He knows the government lawyer who is coming to the meeting and doesn’t trust him. That lawyer used to represent one of the major banks, and they worked together on the economy stabilization initiative.”

“Sounds impressive, but I have no idea what that initiative was. Do I need to know?”

“Yes. The idea was that a bunch of big banks got together and offered loans to the government, ostensibly to help support the most critical areas for the economy, such as the oil and gas industry.”

“You’re talking about the time before these industries were privatized, right?” Nikolai said.

“Right. At the time, Luzinsk Oil and Gas was still government-owned,” Anatoly said.

“So where’s the catch? There is a catch, correct?”

“When banks and governments are involved, there’s always a catch. Without cluttering your mind with all the details, I can tell you that the scheme worked basically like this: the government used Luzinsk Oil and Gas as collateral to get the loan and invested the money back into the industry, supposedly. And Luzinsk Oil and Gas was valued high, much too high, so the loan was high as well.”

“Invested the money? Down some black hole?” Nikolai asked.

“Most likely. The officials probably bought yachts and mansions for themselves on the Mediterranean, on Cyprus, or in Florida. So, when the time came to repay the loan, the money was not there. And, miraculously enough, the value of Luzinsk Oil and Gas had dropped significantly right at that time.”

“With some creative accounting?” Nikolai asked.

“Of course. So, the government could not repay the loan and was about to transfer ownership of Luzinsk Oil and Gas to the banks. And that’s where Vasily Petrovich comes in. He discovered this creative accounting, saw through the whole scheme, had proof for it, and stopped the deal. So, Luzinsk Oil and Gas was never transferred to the bank and remained government property. Since everyone involved had their hands in embezzlement and misappropriation of funds, things got quiet for a while.”

“That was before Pyotr Alekseevich took over?” Nikolai asked.

“Right. It was all under the old director, and that’s when Vasily Petrovich, in his role as the government lawyer, started looking at the company’s books more and saw evidence of tax evasion, too. Right after that, Pyotr Alekseevich took over as the director of the company. Soon after, the company went from being government-owned to private ownership. This was done legally, and the transition allowed the company to start public trading.”