looked like he’d swallowed something bitter. “Where did you say you were from?”
“North of Moscow. Anyone else mentioned in the file?”
“An emergency contact by the name of K. Melnik. There’s an address in Kyiv. Might be a physician. Or a family friend. I don’t know. I never interacted with this person, and there is no record of him in my notes.”
Luo thanked the administrator and went back to his car. He placed a series of calls to Korosten and learned that Eva’s uncle had been a Soviet hockey player before being convicted of manslaughter. He drank and gambled his pension away. He also died seven months ago.
That left one lead, the mysterious K. Melnik noted as an emergency contact for Adam. Luo drove to Kyiv. K. Melnik lived in an elegant old four-story apartment building overlooking the River Dnipro.
A police car was parked at the curb in front of the building. The front door was open, and two uniformed policemen stood chatting near the stairs.
Luo walked by the policemen into the foyer and studied the names by the buzzers and apartment numbers. A person named Ksenia Melnik lived in apartment 4B. Luo wasn’t surprised the contact was a woman. Unlike the administrator, he’d made no assumptions about the person or her relationship to the boy. He’d learned during his tours in Chechnya not to make assumptions about any civilian.
He pressed the buzzer to Ksenia Melnik’s apartment. No one answered.
One of the cops appeared beside him. “You know this person?” He looked suspicious and angry, like most Ukrainian cops.
“I’m a friend of a friend. He asked me to stop by and say hello to her.”
“Tell your friend that won’t be possible.”
“Why not?”
“Because Ksenia Melnik is dead. Robbery—homicide. Last night.”
“How did she die?”
“A bullet to the head.”
Just like the squatters in Chornobyl. “Anyone in the neighborhood see anything?”
“No, but her son was hiding in the closet the whole time. He says he didn’t see their faces. Said he hid in the closet like a coward and let them kill his mother.”
“Is he home right now?” Luo said.
“Yeah. The detectives are with him upstairs right now.”
“I’d like to extend my condolences when they’re done.”
The cop frowned. “I thought you didn’t know her.”
“I didn’t. But my friend does. And he’ll never forgive me if I don’t pay my respects on his behalf.”
CHAPTER 9
N ADIA WONDERED IF someone was waiting for them at the airport. The trip to JFK took a little over an hour. The driver dropped them off at the departure area for terminal one. The curbside was jammed with vehicles. Shuttle buses, limos, and cars pulled up and then moved on. “Do you see our friends anywhere?” Nadia said.
“No,” Bobby said. “But they know we’re here. If there’s just two of them, they’re behind us. But if there’s another team, they’re already here. Waiting for us. The good news is they don’t know where we’re going yet. Because if they knew, they wouldn’t have asked the driver what airport and what terminal.”
“You are my nephew, aren’t you?”
“Actually, I’m your cousin.”
Bobby was right, but Nadia loved to tease him otherwise. “So disrespectful. Haven’t you been through this with your aunt before?”
They checked in, proceeded through security and passport control, and emerged at the corridor leading to the gates.
“There they are,” Bobby said. “Up ahead. On the left. Near the golf store. In suits. Sipping coffee, pretending they’re having a conversation.”
Nadia glanced their way. Two more rugged-looking Slavs seeming just a little out of place. They glanced at Nadia.
“They saw me looking at them,” Nadia said.
“That’s okay,” Bobby said. “They know who we are. We know who they are. Now they know we know who they are. What do they say in America?” He switched to English. “Level playing field.”
“Our gate is up ahead.” Nadia checked her
“North of Moscow. Anyone else mentioned in the file?”
“An emergency contact by the name of K. Melnik. There’s an address in Kyiv. Might be a physician. Or a family friend. I don’t know. I never interacted with this person, and there is no record of him in my notes.”
Luo thanked the administrator and went back to his car. He placed a series of calls to Korosten and learned that Eva’s uncle had been a Soviet hockey player before being convicted of manslaughter. He drank and gambled his pension away. He also died seven months ago.
That left one lead, the mysterious K. Melnik noted as an emergency contact for Adam. Luo drove to Kyiv. K. Melnik lived in an elegant old four-story apartment building overlooking the River Dnipro.
A police car was parked at the curb in front of the building. The front door was open, and two uniformed policemen stood chatting near the stairs.
Luo walked by the policemen into the foyer and studied the names by the buzzers and apartment numbers. A person named Ksenia Melnik lived in apartment 4B. Luo wasn’t surprised the contact was a woman. Unlike the administrator, he’d made no assumptions about the person or her relationship to the boy. He’d learned during his tours in Chechnya not to make assumptions about any civilian.
He pressed the buzzer to Ksenia Melnik’s apartment. No one answered.
One of the cops appeared beside him. “You know this person?” He looked suspicious and angry, like most Ukrainian cops.
“I’m a friend of a friend. He asked me to stop by and say hello to her.”
“Tell your friend that won’t be possible.”
“Why not?”
“Because Ksenia Melnik is dead. Robbery—homicide. Last night.”
“How did she die?”
“A bullet to the head.”
Just like the squatters in Chornobyl. “Anyone in the neighborhood see anything?”
“No, but her son was hiding in the closet the whole time. He says he didn’t see their faces. Said he hid in the closet like a coward and let them kill his mother.”
“Is he home right now?” Luo said.
“Yeah. The detectives are with him upstairs right now.”
“I’d like to extend my condolences when they’re done.”
The cop frowned. “I thought you didn’t know her.”
“I didn’t. But my friend does. And he’ll never forgive me if I don’t pay my respects on his behalf.”
CHAPTER 9
N ADIA WONDERED IF someone was waiting for them at the airport. The trip to JFK took a little over an hour. The driver dropped them off at the departure area for terminal one. The curbside was jammed with vehicles. Shuttle buses, limos, and cars pulled up and then moved on. “Do you see our friends anywhere?” Nadia said.
“No,” Bobby said. “But they know we’re here. If there’s just two of them, they’re behind us. But if there’s another team, they’re already here. Waiting for us. The good news is they don’t know where we’re going yet. Because if they knew, they wouldn’t have asked the driver what airport and what terminal.”
“You are my nephew, aren’t you?”
“Actually, I’m your cousin.”
Bobby was right, but Nadia loved to tease him otherwise. “So disrespectful. Haven’t you been through this with your aunt before?”
They checked in, proceeded through security and passport control, and emerged at the corridor leading to the gates.
“There they are,” Bobby said. “Up ahead. On the left. Near the golf store. In suits. Sipping coffee, pretending they’re having a conversation.”
Nadia glanced their way. Two more rugged-looking Slavs seeming just a little out of place. They glanced at Nadia.
“They saw me looking at them,” Nadia said.
“That’s okay,” Bobby said. “They know who we are. We know who they are. Now they know we know who they are. What do they say in America?” He switched to English. “Level playing field.”
“Our gate is up ahead.” Nadia checked her
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