Julia Gousseva - Gray Shadows - Russian Historical Thriller

“It’s possible.” Vanya nodded.

“So, let’s say this is a getaway tunnel then.”

“You mean, the murderer plans to come in through the main gate and then leave through the tunnel?” Vanya said.

“I think so. And it can also be used to bring stuff in,” Nikolai said.

“Like what stuff?” Vanya said.

“Something small enough to fit through it.”

“Not roof panels, I’d guess,” Vanya said.

Nikolai chuckled. “You’re catching on quickly.”

“You think the death threats and this tunnel are related?”

Nikolai nodded. “Pretty sure.”

“So whoever is trying to kill Pyotr Alekseevich or his two board members will use this tunnel to come in or to bring their murder weapons in?”

“That’s a possibility. Let’s think logically. There are many ways to kill somebody. Which would be the method of choice here?”

Vanya shook his head. “Anything, really, from poisoning to drug overdose, anything at all, right?”

“Not necessarily. If the tunnel is used to smuggle something into the compound, then we can probably exclude poisons and other substances, right? We don’t check for those at the gate, so why bother digging a tunnel?”

“As a getaway, you said it yourself.”

“But a getaway would not be needed in case of poisoning or drug overdose. Most poisons and drugs take some time to take effect, and some more time for those effects to be discovered, so our murderer could just walk out the front gate, right?” Nikolai said.

“I guess so,” Vanya said.

“The way I see it, the most likely possibility is a firearms attack. That’s what you check for at the gate, right?”

Vanya nodded. “And we have been searching all cars coming in for weapons.”

“And the murderers, whoever they are, know that. That’s why they need the tunnel, to bring the firearms in.”

“That makes our job a little easier and narrows down the possibilities, right? We just need to watch out for firearms,” Vanya said.

Nikolai thought for a moment. “I bet that whoever is planning to kill Pyotr Alekseevich or the two board members is already inside the compound. The question is who it is.”

For a few minutes, Nikolai and Vanya stood next to the tunnel. Nikolai kept shining his flashlight into the twilight around them.

“What are you looking for?” Vanya said.

“I’ll know it when I see it,” Nikolai said.

He peered into the dark tundra trying to see something that could give him a clue. Any clue. Then, a group of trees caught his eye. “Not much of a clue, but I see it,” he said.

“What? I don’t see anything.”

“Whoever made this tunnel made sure that it was well-hidden,” Nikolai said shining his flashlight towards the trees. “See these three dwarf trees?”

“What about them?”

“They are not growing here. They have been moved from somewhere else and stuck in the snow.”

“Why do you think that?” Vanya said.

“Look around. All the other trees are leaning every which way, and these three are perfectly straight, like they are not affected by the permafrost layers melting and freezing,” Nikolai said.

“That’s right. I didn’t even think about it,” Vanya said. “Good point.”

“Thanks. Anyway, enough forestry discussions. And it’s not much of a discovery anyway. It’s not surprising that whoever built this tunnel tried to hide it. I don’t think we’ll find anything else, so let’s go before someone finds us.”

“Should we close it? The tunnel?” Vanya said. “Mess up their plans?”

“No. We should leave it as is. We have a clear point in our favor here: the killers had a secret, and we discovered it. Now we have the knowledge they don’t suspect we have, and we can use it to our advantage.”

“So, just install a new camera then?”

“Only if that was a part of the original security plan. We don’t know who is involved, so we shouldn’t do anything that could arouse anyone’s suspicions,” Nikolai said. “Let’s go back into the compound and put those panels back where they were.”

Nikolai bent down and started squeezing back through the cold and dark tunnel. A few moments later, they were on the other side. They quickly loaded the roof panels back in their spot, covering the entrance to the tunnel.

“Shall I tell the guys not to replace the lights?” Vanya said. “That way, we won’t arouse any suspicions.”

“Don’t tell anybody anything,” Nikolai said. “First, we don’t know who we’re up against, so alerting anyone to our knowledge is not a good idea. Second, it’s best to keep the routine as it always has been. Let your guys discover that the lights are out and replace them as they see fit, like they always do.”

“You’re a smart one, aren’t you?” Vanya said. “You really think everything through.”

“It’s just experience and training,” Nikolai said as the two of them continued their walk. “I’ve been dealing with these kinds of things for a while now.”

“How long have you been doing this work?”

“Just over three years.”

“You learned a lot in a short time,” Vanya said.

“It’s a question of survival. Moscow has not been the safest place lately. Free enterprise tends to come at a high price. Of course, that’s why I have this job.”

“Right.” Vanya thought for a moment, then asked, “So, what’s our next task?”

“Pyotr Alekseevich promised to leave some files in your security office for me. I’d like to look through them and see if we find anything that can give us any clues.”

“Look through the files? I thought you were a bodyguard, not a detective.”

“I have to be both. Detectives are reactive and investigate after a crime has been committed. Bodyguards have to prevent crimes, so we have to be proactive and stop crimes before they happen. It’s our job. We have to do anything we can to accomplish that purpose, including sort through paper files.”

Back in the security office, Vanya put on the tea kettle and turned on the space heater.

“Thanks,” Nikolai said. “I need that after crawling through the tunnel.”

“Me too,” Vanya said.

Nikolai opened a large box labeled with his name that Pyotr Alekseevich left for him. The box was filled with papers, files, maps, and other various materials. Nikolai started sorting through it. For a while, nothing caught his eye: there were old minutes of various meetings, maps and blueprints of sections of the oil field, summer and winter routes between wells, and pages of technical notes written in barely discernible handwriting.

Vanya put a cup of steaming tea on the desk next to the box.

“Thanks,” Nikolai took a sip and kept sorting. He glanced at his watch. It was getting late in the day, and he needed to talk to Pyotr Alekseevich before the director headed to another meeting or home for the day. Nikolai picked up one more paper. It was a printed page that looked like a guest list. Clipped to it was a draft of an old invitation to a corporate picnic. Nikolai looked at it closely as something caught his attention.

“An old picnic invitation?” Vanya glanced at the page.

“And a guest list.” He handed the page to Vanya. “Read the names of this couple.” Nikolai pointed to a line on the guest list. “The woman’s last name is the same as the old director’s. Are they related?”

Vanya nodded. “She’s is the old director’s sister. I don’t know much about them. They lived in Moscow and rarely came here.”

“Are they still in Moscow? What do they do there?”

“Not sure about the woman, but her husband is a big shot in some company that owns a bunch of other companies.” Vanya thought for a moment. “As a matter of fact, I remember him talking about buying Luna Oil and Gas some months ago.”