'She loves him May, worships the ground he walks on. She is devastated that she has been unable to bear him a child, and feels like a failure. If you take him away from her, break up this marriage, I fear that that will be the end of her.' She paused and looked May directly in the eyes. 'You will have her death on your conscience, May.'
'Now hang on Katya, that's a bit unfair and totally dramatic!' May was angry and got to her feet, pacing around the small room, 'you can't totally blame me for…..'
'And I don't. I know that it takes two to break up a marriage, but all I am saying is that Dinara deserves a chance to get well and to save her marriage. She can't do that while you are in the picture. What plans have you and Agni made?'
May sat down again with a heavy thump. 'I'm sorry, Katya, but I really don't think that's any of your business.' She certainly wasn't going to tell Katya that they had not made any plans.
'All right then.' Katya stood up wearily, then walked over to May and put her arms around her, giving her a quick hug.
'Please think about what I have said.' Walking over to the door, she paused before opening it, turning to look back, ‘I have greatly enjoyed working with you, and have valued your expertise in this field. I also appreciate how you have treated the remains of these people with love, care, and consideration. Whatever you decide to do May, I wish you the very best.' And then she was gone. May doubted that she would ever see her again.
She sat for a long time, mulling over the things that Katya had told her. The whole thing seemed unbelievable to her, but then again, most things had since she had arrived. Nothing was sure or straightforward, there were twists and turns in every direction. She still did not completely understand why the things that Katya had kept secret from her and Agni mattered so much after all these years but knew that anything associated with the Romanovs was still a delicate subject. Here was a situation where the legitimate ruler of the largest country on earth had been overthrown as a result of a bloody revolution, imprisoned along with his family, then executed without fair trial or process by those very revolutionaries.
And not even executed, she thought wryly, but butchered, along with his wife and family; four young daughters and a sickly son, their bodies desecrated and disposed of in the foulest and inhumane way. It was no wonder that successive governments had wanted to keep what had happened in 1918 a secret from their people, to keep the name quiet, in the hope that over time, people would forget, would stop asking questions. But they didn't, the more time that went by, the more the myth grew, the more the story was handed down through the generations, grandmothers taking their grandchildren to the makeshift shrines to pray and to remember.
May sighed and picked up her library book, long overdue now. She wondered idly how much the fine would be if and when she ever returned home. She turned to the photograph section and gazed yet again on the faces of the family; they were burned indelibly into her consciousness now; she barely needed the photographs to recall their every feature.
She thought about what Katya had said to her about letting Agni go, and she knew, much as she hated it, that she was right. She couldn't stay permanently in Russia, and she couldn't take Agni from Dinara. She most certainly could not abandon her two girls. The thought of not seeing them again, or at least for a long time, filled her with grief. Not that leaving Agni was going to be easy, she dreaded it, and she knew that she was going to have to tell him of her decision soon. She did also feel slightly anxious at what Katya had told her; what if Katya was in danger and just didn't want to admit it? What if the things Katya had told her had placed her in danger too? It was a situation she had never been in before, nor could never have contemplated. She shivered, feeling a sudden chill, and moved over to close her window.
She wished that Agni would come home, she needed the comfort he provided, his ability to shake her out of any black mood she may be in.
She picked up the phone and ordered room service; she was really not in the mood to go down to the restaurant and did not want to sit at a table alone. She decided on cold meat, salad, and bread, her need to eat was not a matter solely to do with hunger, but a need to do something, something that felt ordinary and every day, that would dispel the sense of wrongness that still lingered after Katya's visit.
After she had eaten and her dishes had been collected, May enjoyed her usual long luxurious soak in the bath before climbing into bed with every good intention of staying awake until Agni got back. Within moments she was asleep.
Twenty
Chekhov Hotel, Yekaterinburg, Russia
November 1991
On their way into the morgue the next morning, she and Agni discussed Katya's sudden departure. Agni seemed satisfied with Katya's explanation, and apart from saying that he would miss her and that he wished she could have stayed until the project had been officially wrapped up did not voice any concerns regarding her leaving.
May felt uncomfortable keeping Katya's secret, and during the drive, found herself coming close to confiding in him, however, thought better of it. What difference will it make now she thought, and Katya can tell Agni herself when this is all over, and they see each other again.
She suddenly understood that she was now privy to information that her colleagues weren't aware of, and she found this unnerving. It was not something she was used to; the sharing of all knowledge was always open and transparent on every other investigation she had ever worked on.
'As you are all aware, Katya has left us to return to Moscow.' Nikhil said once everyone had arrived. Vadim and Petya exchanged glances but made no comment.
As though on cue, Petya cleared his throat and abruptly changed the subject. Strange, May thought it seemed that the topic of Katya's sudden departure was not up for discussion. However, she soon forgot bout Katya once Petya began speaking.
'I have some further information about the investigation that was done at the Four Brothers Mine back in 1918,' he said. 'It probably doesn't add anything to what we are doing here, but it is interesting. I told Katya about it yesterday afternoon as she was saying goodbye.'
'What is it?' asked Agni, pulling up a chair, 'and how do you know so much about it?'
'Turns out that great uncle of mine assisted with the search of the shaft, and was there when they drained it and collected the evidence that was left. He regaled the family with stories about it for years, but I didn't pay any attention at the time, thinking it was just the vodka talking.' He laughed, 'but our conversation about it the other day got me interested.'
'He can't still be alive, though?' May asked incredulously.
'No, he passed away a few years ago now, but he thought the whole thing important enough to record in a set of diaries he kept over the years. His son has them now and was happy for me to borrow them.'
'That's amazing. What did he have to say?'
'I thought about Katya's question about whether or not the missing bones could have been there, and I wanted to make sure that the area had been thoroughly searched.'
'And was it?' Vadim asked.
'Yes. The mine shaft was drained entirely, all of the water was pumped out. Men, including my great uncle apparently, were lowered down on ropes, to search it to the very bottom. They found one thousand bones.
'Well, that's good.' May remarked. That accounts for a number of the missing bones.
'Yes and no. It eliminates one scenario; however, it does not help us any further with solving the mystery of where they might be.'
Petya continued, 'My great uncle's diaries say that the human remains that were found at the mine were packaged up into one of Alexandra's chests and taken, along with twenty-nine other chests of items that had belonged to the family, out of Russia.'
'Seriously?' May was flabbergasted. 'Twenty-nine chests? What happened to them?'
'Apparently, the chests of family belongings ended up in England. They contained the things that the Bolsheviks considered worthless and were therefore left behind at the Ipatiev House; such as l
inen, books, unused medicines, perfumes and clothing, Alexey's board and card games, and such like.'
He paused, gathering himself. 'The Bolsheviks must have been in a hurry because they left behind what I would consider being valuable items such as bottles of wine, porcelain china, and diamond-studded photograph frames.'
'And the chest containing the human remains?' asked Nikhil, the first time he had joined in on the conversation.
'The whereabouts and contents of that is another mystery I'm afraid,' Petya sighed heavily. 'Just another one to add to all of the others. It's understood that it contained the items we already know about, as well as several of what appeared to be animal bones. They were never tested, so their type was never confirmed.'
'Could it have been the dogs?' Agni wondered.
'Maybe, for although we know that Alexey's spaniel Joy was rescued from the house by one of the guards and was eventually rehoused in England, nothing is known of the fate of the other two.'
'They were killed too,' said May with surety, 'and probably disposed of at the mine, burnt perhaps?'
'The box containing the human remains was said to be a small wooden chest, covered with a mauve cloth that had belonged to Alexandra.' Petya continued.
'It doesn't sound large enough to have contained the thousand plus bones that are still missing, does it?' remarked May.
'No, that's my thinking too, so obviously, I think we can eliminate that as an explanation for the missing bones,' Petya said ruefully. 'I was hoping it might be when Uncle's diary started mentioning chests being removed but……'
'What did Katya say when you told her this?' May asked with interest.
'Oh, she was understandably very disappointed. She had hoped that the bones were still there somewhere. She felt great sadness and regret about it.'
'She did. She seemed to take it quite personally, as though she hadn't done her job properly, which needless to say was ridiculous, and I told her so too.' May replied.
At that moment, one of the morgue staff came into the room to tell Agni that he had a phone call in the office, and he excused himself to go and attend to it.
'I doubt that we'll ever know.' Nikhil declared with a finality that did not invite comment, and they returned to their tables to continue working.
May missed Katya's presence; perhaps it was because she was the only woman on the team now, and she found that an unusual situation to be in. Most of her colleagues back in London were women, and she missed the camaraderie of being able to have girly discussions when things were going a bit slow, or they were dealing with a particularly nasty or intense situation. The men here were dour, and when they did talk amongst themselves, it was mostly in Russian, so she could never be sure if they were being humorous or not.
She heard a slight noise and looked up. Agni was standing stock-still in the doorway. He held the door open with one hand; the other was pressed tightly over his mouth. He looked at May, she could only describe the look as stricken. His face was devoid of colour.
'What is it?' she asked in alarm, rushing over and taking hold of his arm. He was shaking.
'Agni! What is it?' May repeated as he made no response. He was looking directly at her but straight through her, his eyes glazed and unfocused.
'Who was on the phone?' she gave his arm a sharp shake, and he finally acknowledged her, his eyes at last, intensely focused on hers.
'It was the Police.' Agni replied in a clipped, anguished tone. 'They're at the hotel. They've found a body in Katya's room. They think it's Katya.'
He seemed to collapse inward at his own words, and May gently led him over to the chair that he had just vacated a short time ago.
'Katya! What did you say?' Nikhil was there in an instant, standing directly in front of Agni, bent at the waist, his face close to Agni's demanding answers. 'What has happened? What did they say?'
'I don't know; they just said they have found a body in the room where she was staying, and they want me to go there and identify her.'
'Why you? Why there?' Nikhil was barking his questions at Agni, and May put her hand up to stop him. It wasn't helping.
Agni stumbled to his feet. 'I have to go; they want me to come immediately.'
'I'll come with you.' May said, 'you're not in any fit state to drive there on your own. Wait here while I get my bag.'
Not even bothering to take off their lab coats, they rushed out to Agni's car, leaving Nikhil, Vadim, and Petya standing as if stuck in a frozen tableau in the middle of the morgue.
'I can drive.' May offered, but Agni folded himself into the driver's seat and started the engine. He took off with a squeal of tires, but once out of the car park and on the main road, drove at his usual steady, careful pace.
He looked a wee bit better, May thought, watching him closely, a bit of colour had returned to his cheeks, but his jaw was clenched tightly, and May grimaced at the sound of his teeth grinding together.
She had a million questions for him, but knew he had no answers; what he had told them back at the morgue was the sum total of what he knew, so she bit her tongue. They would soon both find out whether it was Katya, and if so, what had happened to her, she reasoned.
The receptionist at the hotel pointed them out to the waiting police officer as they entered. He got up from the couch on which he had been sitting and sauntered over to them, inclining his head towards May and asked Agni a question in Russian. Agni replied, and the officer gave May an appraising look before asking her for her identification. She had half anticipated that and had it ready in the pocket of her lab coat. She hadn't thought it likely that the Russian police would be happy with some unknown person wandering around what could potentially be a crime scene.
The officer seemed satisfied and handed it back to May, then led them to the lift. Katya had been staying on the floor above them, and May had never been to her room before. She was nonplussed to discover that Katya had been staying directly above her.
The door to the room was open, and three men stood directly inside. The police officer said something, and they turned towards Agni and May. They spoke in Russian, but May knew that introductions were being made, and at her turn, she shook each of them by the hand, stating her name firmly silently challenging any one of them to deny her entry to the room along with Agni.
They didn't, and began instead to engage Agni in a long conversation, no doubt explaining what they were likely to discover in the room.
Agni asked a couple of questions in return, and the men stepped aside, allowing them to enter.
The first thing that May noticed, inconsequentially, was that the room was exactly the same as hers one floor below, right down to the fabric of the curtains and bedspread. The second thing she noticed was the body of a woman sprawled on the floor between the bed and the bedside table.
May had not attended a recent possible crime scene for many years; she was used to scenes where remains had been discovered after many years, and she had to force herself to remember everything that she had been trained to do; to notice every little detail. She took a notebook and pen out of her bag and started recording what she saw.
The body lay on its side, its back towards them. They approached slowly, taking care not to disturb anything that might be on the floor, and leant over to get a look at the face. They both donned rubber gloves, and Agni reached down and gently lifted a lock of her blond hair from her face. May didn't need to look again to see that it was Katya, and she reeled away in shock and regret.
Agni turned his face away, towards the men standing at the door and said softly, 'Da. Katya Titova.'
May looked around the room. Apart from the bedside table, which was moved some way from the bed, it seemed to be in order; the room was tidy, and nothing else was out of place. May figured that if the bedside table had been initially in the same position that hers was in her room, a body would not be able to fit between it and the bed. She judged that it had been moved about a foot or 30cm, and Katya was partially wedged agains
t the bed. The bed was made; however, the bedspread was rumpled, appearing as though it had been pulled partially onto the floor and was hanging from the bottom end of the bed. An open suitcase, packed with clothing and other personal items sat on the chair. May noticed a bag containing toiletries and a hairbrush sitting on top of the folded clothes.
She turned her attention back to Katya. She was fully clothed, in a skirt and top that May had seen her wearing many times before, and this brought a lump to her throat; she felt tears stinging her eyes and fought them back, telling herself that this couldn't be personal, not yet anyway.
Her first assessment was that Katya had been shot. There appeared to be a significant wound on the left side of her forehead, and the carpet underneath her head was soaked with blood. May could not see any other visible injuries, but she knew that they were often not noticeable until a full examination and autopsy had been conducted. Neither were there any signs of a sexual assault, but again, this would only be determined at autopsy.
May took another quick look around the room. She could not see a gun or, indeed, any other weapon. Kneeling down, carefully lifted the bedspread and looked under the bed, but could see nothing there either. She wanted to open the dresser and bedside table drawers and have a proper search, but she could sense that the men and the police officer were getting restless, moving further into the room and eyeing her and Agni. Agni had done what was required, he had identified Katya, and now they wanted them gone.
She moved out into the corridor, taking one last quick look around her, and leaned against the wall for support, checking her notes to make sure that she had recorded everything. While the picture was still vivid in her mind, she drew a quick sketch of both the room and its contents and the position that Katya was lying in, She felt her knees buckle and felt herself sliding slowly, and probably she thought hysterically, not very gracefully down the wall until she was sitting on the floor, her legs stretched out before her.
She could hear Agni talking to the men still inside the room, and the sound of his voice calmed her somewhat. She closed her eyes and listened to his rich baritone, taking deep breaths as her heart rate returned to normal.
The Girl With the Crystal Soul Page 19