“Boris said that?”
“The bosses aren’t pleased with your choice of lover. They think you need more time to learn from your mistake before you are given heavier responsibilities. So you will continue to drive for me.
“You know, Kuzmina, we’ve all wondered why you haven’t had a woman before now. Then you hand yourself to this one like a gift. The joke is on you. Such an easy target. Soft. That was your unlucky day. With such faulty judgment, you’ll never make capper.”
He tossed his cigarette to the ground, then mashed it with his boot before getting back in his car. After he’d driven out of the parking lot, Max reached for his cell phone. Now he was the one trembling as he punched in Gideon’s number.
Come on. Pick up.
“Max? I heard Nikolai paid you a visit at the game.”
“Thank God he did! I’m no longer living a nightmare.”
“What do you mean? What’s happened?”
“I feel like I’ve been reborn. Gabriella’s not working for the mafia. You were right all along. She’s an innocent woman who was in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
There was a pregnant pause. “How do you know for sure?”
“Someone sent Nikolai to find me. I’ve been given orders to eliminate her because she’s under suspicion. I’ll tell you about it later.”
“Well, what do you know. Some dreams do come true. I’m happy for you, Max. It’s too bad you have to turn right around and get rid of her.”
“I can handle anything now that I know the truth.”
“We’ll ship her out to her parents today.”
“First I have to talk to her.”
“Then do it in the van. Just drive around while Karl and I decide how we’re going to handle it. I’ll get right back to you.”
“Thanks, Gideon.”
Feeling as though a miracle had occurred, he clicked off and raced toward the pavilion. Gabriella would be outside wondering where he’d gone. When he rounded the corner, he expected to see her standing outside the women’s rest room.
There was no sign of her.
He got on his phone and called the guys tailing them. “Calder here. Did Ms. Peris go back to the van?”
“No, sir. After she left the rest room, she walked to the south parking lot. Pretty soon a man in a blue Accord picked her up. We’re right behind them.”
Max felt as if he’d been kicked in the gut. Something had frightened her before she’d gone into the rest room. If she was so scared, why hadn’t she waited for him? It didn’t make sense.
“Did she go with this guy willingly?”
“Yes, sir. She waved to him and ran over to his car.”
Nothing was making sense. “Give me a description.”
“He’s Latino. Probably mid-thirties.”
His hand tightened on the phone. “Where are they headed?”
“Down near the Old Town area.”
“I’m on my way. Keep the line open.”
“No problem.”
What are you doing, Gabriella? What’s going on inside that beautiful head of yours?
GABY LOOKED BACK over her shoulder. “I know we’re being followed, Luis. I shouldn’t have phoned you. Especially on your day off. But I didn’t know where to turn for help.”
“I’m glad you thought of me. I’m a cop, Gaby. You needed help.”
Luis Aguirre, married and the father of two, was one of the police officers who worked with the court on cases involving illegal immigrants. Over the past months he and Gaby had become friends. But this was asking a favor that had put him in danger.
“This man is high up in the Russian mafia. Not exactly your average criminal.”
“A criminal’s a criminal. Some network better when they belong to a group whose members look out for each other. We’ve got men in the department who work with the feds on these kinds of cases. When we arrive at the precinct, we’ll find someone who can put you in touch with an expert.”
“I can’t tell you how grateful I am. When I couldn’t reach my uncle, I panicked.”
“That’s all right. We’re almost there.”
“If anything happened to you because of me…”
“Hey. I’m not exactly helpless, you know.”
“No one can defend themselves in a drive-by shooting.”
“That’s true. If and when that happens, then I’ll know it was my time to go.”
“You’re amazing.”
“In this business if you’re not a realist, then you’d better find another job.” He turned a corner, then made another right. The driveway wound around and down to an underground parking area restricted to police officers only. “Here we are, safe and sound.”
Luis helped her from the car. Together they walked inside and took the elevator to the third floor. He escorted her to the detectives’ division and told her to sit down in the front office while he made some inquiries.
Ten minutes later he returned with a cup of coffee for her.
“Thank you, Luis.”
“You’re welcome. I’ve been told someone will be here before long to talk to you. Is there anything else I can do for you?”
“No. You’ve been wonderful. Go back to your family. Just be careful. Please?”
“You sound like my wife every time I leave for work.”
“I’m sorry.”
He smiled. “Don’t apologize. It would worry me if she ever stopped saying it. See you in court.” After giving her a hug, he left the room.
In an attempt to pull herself together, she took one of the magazines from her purse and glanced through it while she drank her coffee. Nothing captured her interest. It was impossible to concentrate.
She didn’t think she’d ever recover from the shock of seeing Nikolai make contact with Anatoly at the ballpark.
“Ms. Peris?”
Her head shot up as an attractive guy in a crew-neck shirt and jeans swept into the room and shut the door. With dark brown hair and blue eyes, he reminded her some of her brother-in-law, Rick.
“Hi. I’m Detective Gideon Poletti.”
She could see that on the official ID fastened to his shirt. After putting the cup and magazine on the end table, she shook his hand. He sat down at the desk opposite her. Nothing lay on it but a phone and a couple of paper clips.
“Lieutenant Aguirre said you’ve had a real fright.”
She nodded.
“Why don’t you start at the beginning. Try not to leave out any details. I’m going to tape you so that everything gets on the report when it’s typed up.” He pulled a recorder from the drawer and flicked a switch.
“For the record, state your name and address. Start your story from the moment you lost control of your vehicle.”
Once Gaby began talking, it was like opening the spillway of a dam. She realized this was exactly like giving a deposition, only she had always been the one taping someone else’s story.
The detective didn’t interrupt until she brought Hallie into the conversation. He wanted her to explain what she meant by “lay nun.” Gaby obliged, then went on. When she’d told him everything she could think of, he asked another question.
“You say you saw Nikolai at the ballpark today.”
“Yes.”
“Do you think he recognized you?”
“I don’t know. I don’t think so. The habit I was wearing the first time I saw him covered everything except a part of my face. When I saw him in the bleachers, I was so terrified I turned my head away.”
He sat forward in his chair. “That was a courageous thing you did for Irina.”
Gaby bit her lip. “If you could have seen how frightened and worried she was for her mother, you’d have done anything to reassure her, too.”
“I’m talking about all of it. Picking her up at the Dumpster while Nikolai was out looking for her put you in grave danger.”
“At the time I didn’t know what she was running away from, so I didn’t worry about it. I’ve been doing vo
lunteer work like that since I practiced law in New York.”
“Too bad there aren’t more people like you around.”
“Don’t give me any credit. To think that I let Sandra and Juanita come to the park with Anatoly…well, I ought to be shot. If he’d seen Irina while he was waiting for me in the foyer at Girls’ Village, I shudder to imagine what might have happened.”
“The good news is, everyone’s all right. Tell me something—how much do you think Irina knows?”
“A lot.”
“Do you think she would tell you?”
“I know she trusts me. But she’s still learning English, and I don’t know any Russian.”
“Do you think she would talk if a translator were provided?”
“Maybe. Up to now she hasn’t had a reason to believe in anyone.”
“The authorities are aware of the Pedrovas’ desperate situation. They have a plan to rescue the mother. But any light Irina could shed on the situation might mean the difference between success and failure.”
“I’m sure you’re right.”
“What I’d like to do is set up a conference call from this room with a translator. You phone Irina. I’ll leave it up to you how to get her to cooperate.”
“I don’t know if she will.”
“You’ve had phenomenal success up to now.”
She let out a shuddering breath. “All right. I’ll try.”
“Good. Use this desk phone.” He moved it toward her. “Go ahead and call her. Tell her what we want to do. I’ll be right back with the translator, then we’ll get started.”
Gaby called Girls’ Village. She asked to speak to Liz and was relieved when her friend came to the phone. After explaining that she needed to talk to Irina in private, Liz said she’d arrange for them to use the office. No one would disturb her there.
While Gaby held on, she tried to think of the best way to approach Irina.
“Gaby?” the girl cried. “You with uncle now?”
Of course! Without realizing it, Gaby had already prepared Irina. This was one time when she knew she could be forgiven for telling a white lie.
“Yes. I’m back home with Uncle Frank and safe, just like you are at the Village,” she said as Detective Poletti came into the room carrying a phone.
Another officer followed. He nodded to Gaby while the detective plugged the phone cord into a wall jack. When they sat down, he punched the speaker button. The tape was still rolling in the recorder.
“He help my mother?”
“Yes. In fact, he’s right here with me and wants to talk to you. I’m going to put him on the phone. He doesn’t know Russian, so one of his best officers is going to listen in. He will translate when it’s necessary. Okay?”
“Okay.” With the speaker on, her voice resounded in the room.
Detective Poletti flashed Gaby an approving smile.
“Hello, Irina. My Gaby has told me what a brave young woman you are,” he said into the receiver.
“She brave, too,” Irina answered back.
The ice had been broken.
“This is very important. Gaby says she’ll never speak to me again if I don’t help your mother. So I want to do that. All right?”
“Yes.”
“Good. Let’s begin with the names of all the men who have come to your apartment. If you can give me first and last names, that is even better. If you know a nickname, I want that, too.’
“Nickname?’
“I’ll let the translator take over now. He’ll explain.”
“Okay.”
For the next hour Gaby sat there fascinated as Detective Poletti whispered one question after another to the translator, who then posed the questions to Irina in Russian.
Now that she could respond in her native tongue, she sounded like a different person. So much had been bottled up inside, the information gushed out of her. Sometimes there were long sentences punctuated with tears.
As Gaby listened, she realized Detective Poletti wasn’t just any detective. By the kinds of questions he asked, she could tell he’d been working on this case for a long time. He was probably attached to a special task force cooperating with federal agents.
“Irina? You were wonderful! Thank you for being so patient. I assure you that with this information, we are going to free your mother and bring her to you. Okay?”
“Okay,” she answered in a trembling voice.
“My niece wants to say goodbye.”
“Okay.”
Gaby took a deep breath. “Irina?”
“Gaby? I answer okay?”
“Better than okay. You’ve been so brave. Be brave a little longer. I promise to be in touch with you again real soon. Say hi to Juanita and Sandra for me.”
“Okay. Goodbye.”
“Goodbye.” She hung up the receiver.
The detective stared hard at her. “You do good work, Ms. Peris. Have you ever thought of joining the force? You’d make a crack detective. It must run in your family.”
She averted her eyes. “How can you say that when I’ve been cavorting with a known gangster? Worse, I put two defenseless young mothers at risk. I wouldn’t say that qualified for any medals.”
“There’s no smoother operator in the business than Anatoly Kuzmina.”
“You can say that again!” Her face went even hotter than before. “All the time I was falling for his con, I knew deep down something was fishy. All those foreigners in the sleek black Audi running away scared from the scene of the accident.”
Detective Poletti nodded. “We’ve had him under surveillance for a long time. But there’s a problem with the mafia. It’s hard to pin a wrap on them that will stick.”
“Anatoly’s so slick he could give Houdini lessons.”
He chuckled, then sobered. “I’m sorry. I realize this is no laughing matter, but I have to say I’m not surprised you caught his eye. The man’s known for his discriminating taste. He just didn’t realize who he was tangling with.”
An image of herself tangled on the couch with Anatoly sent a wave of heat through her body.
“I’m sure there’ve been thousands of other pathetic females like me who didn’t see him coming until it was too late.”
“I think you’ve got that backward. You crashed into him, remember?”
“Don’t remind me.” Her voice shook. “He should’ve stayed in Russia and married that fiancée of his. You know what I think? He must have left Moscow before she could find out what he was up to. Now that he’s a millionaire, who probably owns half the Southern California coastline, he decided to send for her.
“He told me he’d ended his engagement, but now I know that’s not true. Anatoly figured he’d have a little fun with me until she showed up again. To think I felt so sorry for him, I went to great lengths to get overnight clearance on her visa!”
“Ms. Peris?”
Hearing her name brought Gaby up short. She’d let her temper get away from her again. It was humiliating.
“Sorry. I sort of got wound up.”
“That’s completely understandable. But for the record, Anatoly Kuzmina has never been engaged.”
What? “How do you know that?” she fired back in shock. “I’ve seen her picture.”
“He was born in New York. Later on he moved from Brighton Beach to work with the Russian mafia.”
Her eyes widened. “New York?”
“That’s right.”
“You mean, all that stuff he told me about living with his grandfather in Moscow was a bunch of baloney?”
He nodded.
Gaby jumped to her feet. “But I found both their names in the INS immigration data bank!”
“Kuzmina has connections everywhere. It was a simple enough matter to enter bogus profiles.”
“He had me do all that work for nothing?” she practically shrieked.
“He’s an American citizen.”
Will you come and watch me take the oath of citizenship? We will celebrate afte
r. Yes?
“There’s more. He operates under other names as need be.”
“Like what?”
“Since you’ve been so involved with him, you’re entitled to know what we know. He comes from Russian and Irish ancestry. Sometimes he uses the name Max Calder.”
“Max— You’ve got to be kidding! That was the name of my basset hound before he died of old age. My dad used to call him Mad Max.”
“An apt description I’d say.” He got to his feet.
“Ms. Peris? Because of what we’ve learned today, we’re going to put you on a flight to Atlantic City tonight. It’s for your protection. While I make all the arrangements, I’ll ask you to wait here. There’s a federal agent who’s been working undercover on this case from the very beginning. He’ll be arriving any minute to talk to you. He’s my best friend. We go way back to our days as rookie cops in the NYPD.
“Because of you and the testimony we have on tape from Irina, this case has been cracked wide open. Arrests are forthcoming. He wants to thank you personally for all your help. Without it, we might have been forced to wait another year or longer before we got names of the mafia bosses. More feds and police officers working undercover might have been killed. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if you’re recommended for a civilian medal of honor for such unprecedented courage and bravery.”
Poletti rose to his feet. “You’ve got guts, Ms. Peris. It’s a pleasure to know you.”
He shook her hand, then left the room with the tape recorder.
Gaby appreciated all his kind words, but now that she knew she was out of immediate danger, her body bristled with anger, pain, incredulity.
She must have sat there for half an hour going over everything. Damned if her mind didn’t replay every second of the time she’d spent with Anatoly. Damned if her body didn’t remember the way it felt to lie in his arms and be kissed like she’d never imagined.
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