Donally, Claire - Cat Nap (A SUNNY & SHADOW MYSTERY)

Jane made the turn, and had to jam on the brakes—the SUV was right in front of them.

And then, a second later, another SUV came pulling up behind, boxing them in.

Sunny and Jane looked at each other. Well, Dad, looks as if you were right, Sunny thought. I’ve definitely bitten off more than I can chew.

11

A figure ina heavy overcoat got out of the truck behind them and stepped over to Jane’s window, his hand in one pocket. At the same time, the big guy had appeared beside Sunny’s door, blocking her in, too. And he also had his hand in a pocket of his big, floppy coat.

The guy by Jane rapped on the window with his free hand. She lowered it a little.

“We have to talk,” the man said in a pleasant tenor voice. Sunny caught a slight accent. “Please to come out.”

With his big friend keeping watch over both Sunny and Jane, the smaller guy went into the alley and opened a door. Sunny exchanged a look with Jane. They really didn’t have a choice in the matter. So they got out of the BMW and went inside.

They found themselves in a sort of foyer, a plain, concrete-floored box with a heavy metal door facing the entranceway. Sunny was pretty sure if she tried the handle, she’d find it locked. As for the way back out, the big guy planted himself in front of that, more effective than any lock.

The fellow who’d spoken before put out his hand. “Identification, please.”

Sunny and Jane wordlessly handed over their wallets. While he looked through them, Sunny noticed that, despite his heavy overcoat, he was actually a slim guy. The big man would probably make about three of him.

Mr. Slim held up Jane’s driver’s license, his sharp features relaxing a little. “Mrs. Doctor Rigsdale,” he said. “Please accept my excuses. And you, too, Miss Coolidge. When Olek here calls me, says someone is following him, and asks for instructions, you might understand why we worry.”

“But now that you know who we are, you’re not worried?” Jane asked.

“Yes,” the man said simply. “I am Dani, by the way. And while I don’t know you, I do know—did know—Mr. Doctor Rigsdale.”

He breathed hard through his nose. “He owes me money.”

Hmmm, Sunny thought. He uses past tense for Martin, but present tense on the owing part.

“I tell you a story,” Dani said, handing back their wallets. “It goes back to the time I live in Kiev—Ukraine. My father, he has a business . . . let us call it moving things.”

“That can be a useful business,” Sunny said. “Like when people need to get their furniture to a new house.”

Dani shrugged. “That’s not exactly what we’d do.”

“Or when you need to get food from the country into a city,” Jane suggested, but Dani shook his head.

“There are things that people might want,” Sunny said slowly, remembering her friend Vanya’s comments on Ukrainian smuggling rings, “That other people—like a government—wouldn’t like to move.”

Dani nodded and smiled. “Exactly right. Sometimes it could be cigarettes, or vodka—or even money.”

“Sounds like a good business,” Sunny said.

“Thank you.” Dani gave her a courtly bow. “But then my father dies, and since I am a younger son, I must go from Kiev, or there will be trouble. So I go to Montreal, where some of my countrymen are, to start my own business there. Olek comes with me, because, well, because he takes care of me since I was a small boy.”

He shrugged. “But instead of business, I get trouble again. So Olek and I leave Montreal and come to this city. Everything looks good so far. But I have to ask—do you want to make trouble, too?”

Jane was pale, but she didn’t lack for nerve. “I just want to find out who killed my husband. It’s bad enough that I’m being blamed for it. But nobody should get away with murder.”

Dani nodded. “Oh, yes, that makes trouble for me, too—on top of the trouble your husband makes. But first a question. How is it that you follow Olek?”

Sunny explained about finding the cigarette and tracking down a source. Dani shot his bodyguard a reproachful look. Olek ducked his head, like a big dog who realized he’s done wrong.

“How many times do I tell you, ‘Don’t smoke those things, Olek!’” Dani scolded. “If you want to burn your tongue, there are American cigarettes like the Camels! They’re cheaper and they’re bigger!”

Looking downcast, Olek mumbled an apology. His voice was so low and rumbly, Sunny couldn’t tell whether he spoke in English or Ukrainian.

Dani reached up to clap his bodyguard on the shoulder. “I can understand, Olek. You want a taste of home, even if it tastes terrible. But see what you do here? These lovely ladies are thinking we killed the Dr. Rigsdale.”

“We’d be just as happy if you could show us we’re wrong,” Sunny suggested.

“I can tell you you’re wrong, and I can prove it,” Dani said. “It is a thing of business. The Dr. Rigsdale is better for us alive than dead.” He gestured as if he were carrying a large imaginary package in his hands. “We have much money coming in from people who owe us. The doctor, he has a bank account. We put our money though his bank—”

Sunny stared. “You were using Martin’s practice to launder money?”

Dani nodded vigorously. “He helps us make nice, clean money.”

“Let me guess,” Sunny said. “You gave Martin the money to try and fix up that house—at least to build that impressive-looking office.”

“Looks good, doesn’t it?” Dani said. “He had all kinds of plans to set up things just the way he likes it. But it all costs more money than he expects.”

Sunny nodded. “And what happened when he couldn’t pay it back?”

“Then he had to do favors for us. It’s only fair.” Dani adopted a virtuous look that morphed into a crafty smile. “Besides, it’s a good kind of business. Many people pay in cash. That makes it easy to bring in money from other places.”

“And that’s what you do,” Jane said, “move around money?”

Dani beamed. “Exactly. So we have a good thing with your husband. To keep it going, we needed him alive.”

“But you said he made trouble,” Sunny pointed out.

That dimmed Dani’s smile a bit. “He was a very charming man. Very handsome and charming. He got a bank officer—a very foolish woman—to tell him when an important transaction would clear. And then he took the cash.”

“Well, that sounds just like Martin,” Jane snorted. “Handsome, charming, and untrustworthy as hell.”

“It also sounds like the kind of thing that could get a person hurt,” Sunny said. “Or even killed.”

“No, no, no. I am still starting out here and would rather not have trouble,” Dani replied. “But I find out about this quicker than Dr. Rigsdale expects, and I tell him he is not as smart as he thinks he is. He promises it was all a misunderstanding, that he just needed it to impress an investor. It will go back. To make sure, I have Olek keep an eye on him.”

That explains the observation post and the cigarettes, Sunny thought. “Did Olek see anyone come to the office the night that Martin died?” she asked.

Dani shot off a question in quick Ukrainian. Olek rumbled an answer, shaking his head negatively.

“He saw no one,” Dani reported.

When he saw the look on Sunny’s face, the mobster burst out, “If I wanted him dead, you don’t think Olek could do that? He could—” Dani slammed his hands together as if he were squishing a snowball. “We don’t need to fill him with poison.”

“That might be another way to avoid trouble,” Sunny said, “making it look as if other people did it.”