“Rather small and thin, isn’t it?” She knew this would piss him off, would backfire on her quickly, but damned if she’d let him break her.
“I admire your wit. But it won’t save you. Let me know how small and thin you find it after.” He eyed her body as if trying to decide where to begin. Fear gripped Elsa’s heart causing it to pound in her chest. His lips unfurled at the edges into the most evil smile she’d ever witnessed. Then he stepped back, raised the rod, and swung, connecting with her knee.
Elsa let out a scream as the pain flooded her body. She was sure something just broke, and the tears streaming down her face making new tracks in her already smeared mascara, dripped off her jaw and hit the floor.
Liliya cried out. “Please stop! Please!”
“Shut up over there or I’ll call Gregor down. Or is that what you want?” He tossed a contemptuous look at the dirty girl in the cage. How Gregor could touch her was beyond him. She needed to be scrubbed.
“No!” Liliya panicked.
“It’s okay, Liliya. Stay quiet, please.” Elsa begged the girl not to bring attention to herself despite her own agony.
Ivchenko gave her an admiring look. “You’re sensible. I like that about you. And tougher than you look.” He started to raise the rod again when the door slammed open and Gregor stepped in.
“We have a problem.” He stood leaning on the railing, looking down at them.
Ivchencko was not pleased to be interrupted. “What problem?”
“Dutch informed me there are detectives at the door.” He glanced down and away. “And I may have accidentally led them here.” His admission sent Ivchencko into a rage.
“You did what?” He threw the rod down and marched over to the staircase where he began to climb.
Gregor bravely turned to face him. “In church this morning, I met a couple.” He lowered his voice, and Elsa strained to hear. “They were with Liliya’s parents. I didn’t know they were police. Now they’re here asking for you.”
“How do you know it’s the same two people?”
“I saw them following Dutch into the library. They’re the same ones. I thought it strange that they asked so many questions earlier about Liliya, but her friends said the couple were family. I didn’t know.”
The coldness in Ivchencko’s voice could’ve froze fire. “You fucking idiot. I’ll deal with you later. Go out the back and take the Mercedes. It’s time for you to return to port.”
Gregor immediately looked at Liliya. “But I can’t just leave her.”
He reached out and smacked Gregor across the face. “Do as I say! I’ll take care of your mess.”
He sent one last look at the girl, and turned, disappearing through the door. Ivchencko cast a regretful look at Elsa. “I’ll be back.” Then he left, closing and locking the door behind him.
As soon as the lock clicked, Elsa fought through the pain in her leg and her entire body. “Liliya. Can you hear me?”
Through sniffles, the girl answered. “Yes. Are you okay?”
“Don’t worry about that right now. Tell me, is that rod close to you? Can you see it?” Elsa struggled to turn her head as far to the right as possible trying to see where it landed. She heard the girl shuffle as she moved around.
“Yes, I see it,” she said.
“Can you reach it? Is there any way you can grab it?” She gasped at the excruciating pain radiating up from her knee.
“I don’t think so.” She heard the strain in her voice. “Hold on. Let me see.” More grunts were heard as Liliya tried to extend her arm through the bars of the cage. “Almost.”
Elsa heard the metal slide across the concrete floor. “I’ve got it! Elsa, I got it!” Liliya’s words were triumphant. “Now what?” she asked, not knowing what she needed to do next.
“Try to pry open the door to your cage.”
“I don’t know if it will work. This cage is strong.” She sounded doubtful.
“Just try. Get it between the floor and the bottom bar and pull up. You might be able to lift the door off its hinges or at least loosen up the lock.”
“Okay.” Liliya proceeded to slip the long metal rod under the small space between the gate and the floor and pull upward. “Ugh!” She took a deep breath and tried again. “It’s not moving much at all. I’m not strong enough.”
“That’s okay. A little at a time is okay.” Elsa tried to encourage her through terrible pain. Then a lock clicked and the door at the top of the steps swung open and closed quickly. Footsteps bounded down the stairs at a fast pace. Liliya began to whimper as she hid the rod behind her and stepped backwards up against the wall of her cage.
“I couldn’t leave without you. Quickly, now. We have to make haste,” Gregor spoke as he unlocked Liliya’s cell door.
“No! You can’t take her. You’ve done enough to her,” Elsa screamed.
Faster than she thought possible, Gregor came to stand before her where he reached out and slapped her hard across the face. “Quiet, whore,” he said in a low voice. “She’s mine, and I won’t leave her behind with him. Look what he’s done to you! I won’t have my Liliya treated this way.” The look on his face was sheer madness. He spoke of the girl as if they were a couple and not predator and victim.
“And how you treat her is better? You’ve taken her against her will. Raped her! She’s just a girl!”
His expression contorted from anger to anguish, and then back to anger. “I love her. And she loves me.”
Behind him, Liliya screamed, “No, I don’t,” and brought the metal rod down on Gregor’s head once, twice, and then a third time as he fell over unconscious.
She stood there a moment staring at him, his head bleeding from her heavy blows. Elsa brought her back to reality. “Liliya, good girl! Okay, now unstrap my hands and feet. Quickly!” The girl dropped the rod and brought unsteady hands to the task of releasing the leather straps. With her hands free, Elsa had to lean onto Liliya, who bent down to get the restraints at her ankles. “No, not that one yet.” The pain in her voice indicated this was the leg Ivchencko brutally injured. Liliya bent her blonde head to the other leg and let that one down first. With Elsa balancing on that foot and leaning on her, she gently undid the second strap. A loud groan of pain passed her lips as Elsa tried to put the foot down.
“Here, let me.” Liliya supported her on the injured side and helped her over to the chair where her clothes were strewn.
“Scheisse. I don’t have anything to put on.” She eyed the shirt and pants that lay there in tatters. Tears slid down her cheeks as she sat down gingerly.
Liliya looked at Gregor. “Well, he won’t be needing his clothes.” She walked over cautiously and kicked him. He didn’t move.
“Wait! Get those handcuffs off the wall...just in case he wakes up.” Elsa directed as Liliya grabbed two pairs of manacles. She used them to shackle Gregor to the upright table one wrist at a time while she pulled off his shirt. She tossed it over to Elsa who pulled it on. Now secured to the bottom end of the table that met the floor, she pulled off his pants. The look of disgust and fear on the young girl’s face showed that it took a great deal of courage for her to complete the task.
“Here.” She handed over the pants, and then stepped in to help when it became apparent Elsa couldn’t do it on her own. At least her shoes were still intact. Getting it onto the foot of the injured leg, however, was a trial, but they finally managed. She used her ripped shirt to wrap around her knee, tying it tight for support.
Elsa rummaged around in her coat pocket and found her phone. There were several missed texts and calls from her brother, Lukas, and Heinz, but at least it was on, and now she knew they were looking for her. It might even be them upstairs, but she didn’t know, so she strapped on her holster, and took the safety off her gun. She wasn’t sure if she could even walk. It was beyond painful, and she was sure her knee was broken. If Ivchencko came back through that door, she was going to shoot him. For now, she sent a text to Heinz.
DUTCH LED THE TWO DETECTIVES into the library. “Herr Ivchencko will be with you soon.” He walked back out, closing the double doors. The look on his face clearly suspicious.
“Strange man, indeed. He looks more like a Russian mafia thug than a butler. Bruce was right.” Mahler watched Heinz who checked out the room noting exits as he lifted books off a shelf and then picked up some papers off the desk reading their content.
“We just need to keep him talking for fifteen minutes, unless that warrant comes through, and then Faust will be storming the house sooner.”
The door swung wide, and Yuri Ivchencko entered. “Good evening, detectives. What can I do for you?”
Mahler noted the tall man wearing all black had the coldest, gray eyes she’d ever seen. There was a flush on his cheeks she was certain was not natural, but rather, came from some form of exertion. She wondered exactly what they’d interrupted.
Heinz spoke first. “I’m Kommissar Heinz, and this is my partner, Detective Mahler.”
Ivchencko’s cold, gray eyes narrowed, focusing on Heinz. “Heinz, you say?”
“Yes.” In that moment, Heinz knew that Ivchencko knew exactly who he was. The look that passed between them was not lost on Mahler.
The Russian recovered and went to pour himself a drink. “So, what is it you need?” He tossed in two ice cubes and swirled the amber liquid around the glass.
“You have a young man living here with you? One Greg Koslov?” Heinz asked.
Ivchencko walked over to his wingback chair and sat down indicating Heinz should do the same. He declined. “I did. He’s no longer here, though. Why?”
“Is he your nephew?” Mahler walked to the opposite side of the room where she could better view Ivchencko.
“No. He’s an employee.” He took a sip of his drink, completely calm.
“What does he do for you exactly?” Heinz asked, walking two steps closer to the roaring fireplace.
“He’s a hired hand on one of my ships. What is this about, Kommissar?”
“It’s about three missing girls. We need to question him. Where is he now?”
“I’m afraid he’s gone back to port. He ships out tonight back to St. Petersburg.”
“What was he doing here so far from port,” Heinz asked.
“That is not your business, Kommissar Heinz. That is my business. Are you planning to charge my employee with a crime?”
Mahler paced the length of the room and was coming back up behind the chair where Ivchencko sat when she noticed a wadded-up piece of paper on the floor. She bent down to retrieve it as Heinz continued questioning of the Russian. She smoothed the paper out and saw Elsa written across the backside. Her eyes widened. She unfolded it further and began reading.
“At this time, Koslov is a person of interest only. It seems he went to church with these girls. Any information he can share with us about the last time he saw them would be helpful.”
“Still trying to solve missing girls’ cases, eh?” Ivchencko murmured quietly. It was almost too quiet, but Heinz caught it. He looked over at his partner and saw the look on her face. It was pure rage, something only someone who knew her well would recognize. Anyone else would see only a blank expression, but Heinz saw the fire in her eyes. She glanced down at the paper in her hand, then stepped forward.
“Aren’t those Paul Christiansen paintings?” She pointed up over the mantle.
Ivchencko, caught off guard, smiled. “Why, yes. They are. I just acquired them yesterday. Are you an art appreciator, detective?” He stood up, facing the paintings.
“Not really, no. I do know the artist. He was having an exhibit last night. One of our officers attended. Perhaps you met her. Elsa Kreiss? Lovely woman. She’s a friend of the artist, as well.”
“Can’t say that I did.” Ivchencko’s voice flattened as it lost any passion for the subject at hand.
“Really? Are you sure? Red hair? She was on a date with one of the gallery’s employees, a Lukas Trommler.”
Heinz watched as Mahler tightened the verbal noose waiting to see exactly what she was getting at. It seemed to have something to do with the paper clutched in her hand. His phone vibrated in his pocket. He pulled it out and glanced at the screen.
Heinz, I’m locked in the basement of a Yuri Ivchencko. He lives in Charlottenburg, 1211 Baumgartenstrasse. Get here fast! He has an accomplice who kidnapped a girl. I’m with her now. Bring help, and hurry! Elsa
Heinz’s expression darkened. He now knew what Mahler was getting at. She knew Elsa was here. He quickly forwarded the message to Faust. The warrant would be granted, but how fast was another question. He added Trommler and Beimer to the forward knowing they were outside trying to find their way in from the back of the house.
He looked up and saw that Mahler was practically in Ivchencko’s face. “Don’t believe me? I see you’ve drawn your own conclusions, detective.” He set the glass down noting the paper in the petite woman’s hand. His eyebrow rose, and a smirk tugged at the corner of his thin lips. “And you’d be right!” He reached out and grabbed her hand, swinging her around and forcing her arm up behind her as he whipped out a handgun from his pocket. He pointed it at her temple and spun them both facing Heinz.
“Don’t do it, Kommissar, or I’ll put a bullet in her head.” Heinz ceased reaching for his gun and put his hands out still holding the cell phone.
“There’s no need for that, Ivchencko. Calm down and listen.”
“Listen to what? You came here looking for your officer, didn’t you? Well, she was great fun, but I’m generous. You can have her back. However, I’ll not be coming with you. You need to back up over to the side.” He tilted his head indicating the direction Heinz should go.
“Yuri,” Heinz began. “There’s nowhere for you to go. There are officers outside right now. One has a warrant for your arrest. So don’t make any foolish moves. Just put the gun down.”
“I don’t think so, Kommissar.” The voice came from behind Joseph. He glanced back and saw Dutch emerging from a hidden door behind the bookshelf with a shotgun drawn and aimed at his head.
“Tie him to my chair,” Ivchencko ordered his man who prodded Heinz in the back with the barrel of the gun propelling him toward the desk chair.
Heinz refused to sit down. “You’re not going to get away with this. You’re outnumbered.” To that, Dutch smacked him on the side of the head with the butt of the shotgun. Heinz fell back, and as he lifted his hand up to his face, the butler clenched a beefy fist and punched him hard, sending Heinz reeling.
“Joseph,” Mahler screamed, unable to break out of the hold Ivchencko had on her.
Heinz was quickly tied to the chair with both hands secured to the oak wood arms, and then his feet, despite his kicking and struggling, were tied tightly to the thick oak legs.
Ivchencko forced Mahler’s arm higher behind her back. She cursed, spitting out expletives Heinz had never heard pass her lips before. Her face was ashen from the pain in her arm forced to near-breaking.
Joseph’s own complexion paled dramatically seeing Birgitta in the clutches of this man who he was now one hundred percent sure kidnapped Marlessa Schubert or ordered someone else to do it. He couldn’t protect the girl then, and he was in no position to help Mahler now. He hoped Beimer, Faust, and Trommler would hurry the hell up and get in here.
“Don’t hurt her! You bastard, I’ll kill you!” Heinz struggled against the ropes.
Ivchencko laughed. “That’s the second time today my life’s been threatened. Funny. I’m still here and breathing. Dutch, come here and confine the lovely detective.”
Dutch grabbed more rope and bent down to wrap it around Mahler’s legs. She kicked him in the face, bloodying his pug nose.
“Now, now, detective. We’ll have none of that.” He looked at the butler. “Dutch?”
Dutch punched Mahler knocking her out.
Heinz yelled. “You fucking bastard! You dirty bastard! I’ll kill you! Mark my words. I’m going to k
ill you both!”
“Get in line,” said Ivchencko. Mahler’s hands and feet were tied, then Dutch hoisted her over his shoulder. Then he picked up his shotgun, and he and Ivchenko moved to the hidden door behind the bookshelf.
The Russian turned to look at Joseph with a smile on his face. “Always so close, Kommissar. So close, yet not quite close enough to save the girl, eh?” He saw the fury in Heinz’s eyes. “Well, better luck next time.” He turned and walked into the hidden hall. As the door closed behind him, he could hear Heinz raging impotently at his retreating back and laughed.
“I’m coming for you, Ivchencko. There’s no place on Earth you can hide where I won’t find you. Count on it!”
BEIMER FELT HIS MOBILE buzz and looked down at the screen as he pulled it out of his pocket. His eyes widened, and he turned it to Trommler to read.
“Fuck! Okay, Beimer. This is what we’re going to do.” Lukas quickly outlined a plan where they would enter through a back window on the right side of the house. The blueprint indicated it was a powder room so no one would hear the glass shatter.
Hugo pulled his hand inside the sleeve of his jacket and punched through the glass. He used the tip of his gun to break away more of the shards and reached inside to turn the latch. He swung the old window in and turned to Lukas. Bending down, he let Trommler step up onto his back so he could climb through. Once inside, He reached out to help steady Beimer as he scaled up the wall and fell through nearly on top of him.
“You could lose a few pounds, you know.” Lukas extended his hand to help him up.
“Bite me,” said Beimer. They picked up their weapons and went to the bathroom door, cracking it open to look out into the hallway.
Trommler gave the all clear, and they slipped out, guns drawn, heading toward the doorway at the end of the long hall that, according the blueprints, led down to the basement.
They stopped when they heard a door close at the other end of the hallway. Silence again. They quickly came to the door at the back of the hall. Lukas dropped low and reached to open it, keeping his gun aimed in the event someone was inside. Beimer protected his back standing behind and over him. They inched their way in, noting a landing and a staircase going down. As the door closed behind them, a shot rang out zinging past Trommler’s ear, barely missing him. He turned right and aimed down about to pull the trigger when he heard her.
The Checkpoint, Berlin Detective Series Box Set Page 36