The Sky Is Falling (24 page)

He shrugged. “I’m sorry. Without an appointment—”

Dana held on to her temper. “I have an appointment.”

He looked at her skeptically. “
Da
?” He picked up a telephone and spoke into it for a few moments. He turned to Dana. “Third floor,” he said reluctantly. “Someone will meet you.”

Commissar Shdanoff’s office was huge and shabby and looked as though it had been furnished in the early 1920s. There were two men in the office.

As Dana entered, they both stood up. The older man said, “I am Commissar Shdanoff.”

Sasha Shdanoff appeared to be in his fifties. He was short and compact, with wispy gray hair, a pale, round face, and restless brown eyes that constantly darted around the room as though searching for something. He had a heavy accent. He was wearing a shapeless brown suit and scuffed black shoes. He indicated the second man.

“This is my brother, Boris Shdanoff.”

Boris Shdanoff smiled. “How do you do, Miss Evans?”

Boris Shdanoff looked totally unlike his brother. He appeared to be about ten years younger. He had an aquiline nose and a firm chin. He was dressed in a light blue Armani suit with a gray Hermès tie. He had almost no accent at all.

Sasha Shdanoff said proudly, “Boris is visiting from America. He is attached to the Russian embassy in your capital, Washington, D.C.”

“I’ve admired your work, Miss Evans,” Boris Shdanoff said.

“Thank you.”

“What can I do for you?” Sasha Shdanoff asked. “Do you have a problem of some kind?”

“No, not at all,” Dana said. “I wanted to ask you about Taylor Winthrop.”

He looked at her, puzzled. “What is it you wish to know about Taylor Winthrop?”

“I understand that you worked with him, and that you saw him socially, on occasion.”

Sasha Shdanoff said cautiously, “
Da
.”

“I wanted to get your personal opinion of him.”

“What is there to say? I think he was a fine ambassador for your country.”

“I understand he was very popular here and—”

Boris Shdanoff interrupted. “Oh, yes. The embassies in Moscow have many parties, and Taylor Winthrop was always—”

Sasha Shdanoff scowled at his brother. “
Dovolno
!” He turned back to Dana. “Ambassador Winthrop sometimes went to the embassy parties. He liked people. The Russian people liked him.”

Boris Shdanoff spoke up again. “As a matter of fact, he told me that if he could—”

Sasha Shdanoff snapped, “
Molchat
!” He turned. “As I said, Miss Evans, he was a fine ambassador.”

Dana looked at Boris Shdanoff. He was obviously trying to tell her something. She turned back to the commissar. “Did Ambassador Winthrop ever get in any kind of trouble while he was here?”

Sasha Shdanoff frowned. “Trouble? No.” He was avoiding her eyes.

He’s lying
, Dana thought. She pressed on. “Commissar, can you think of any reason why someone would murder Taylor Winthrop and his family?”

Sasha Shdanoff’s eyes widened. “
Murder
? The Winthrops?
Nyet. Nyet
.”

“You can’t think of anything at all?”

Boris Shdanoff said, “As a matter of fact—”

Sasha Shdanoff cut him off. “There was no reason. He was a great ambassador.” He took a cigarette from a silver case, and Boris hurried to light it for him.

“Was there anything else you want to know?” Sasha Shdanoff asked.

Dana looked at the two of them.
They’re hiding something
, she thought,
but what? This whole thing is like walking through a maze with no exit
. “No.” She glanced at Boris as she said slowly, “If you think of anything, I’ll be at the Sevastopol Hotel until tomorrow morning.”

Boris Shdanoff said, “You are going back home?”

“Yes. My plane leaves tomorrow afternoon.”

“I —” Boris Shdanoff started to say something, looked at his brother, and was quiet.

“Good-bye,” Dana said.

“Proshchayte.”

“Proshchayte.”

When Dana got back to her room, she telephoned Matt Baker.

“There’s something going on here, Matt, but I can’t find out what it is, damn it. I have a feeling that I could stay here for months and not get any useful information. I’ll be home tomorrow.”

There’s something going on here, Matt, but I can’t find out what it is, damn it. I have a feeling that I could stay here for months and not get any useful information. I’ll be home tomorrow.

Tape ends.

Sheremetyevo II Airport was crowded that night. Waiting for her plane, Dana had the same uncomfortable feeling that she was being watched. She scanned the crowd, but she could not single out anyone in particular.
They’re out there somewhere
. And the realization made her shiver.

MRS. DALEY AND KEMAL were waiting at Dulles airport to meet Dana. She had not realized how much she had missed Kemal. She flung her arms around him and hugged him tightly.

Kemal said, “Hi, Dana. I’m glad you’re home. Did you bring me a Russian bear?”

“I did, but darn it, he escaped.”

Kemal grinned. “Are you going to stay home now?”

Dana said warmly, “You bet I am.”

Mrs. Daley smiled. “That’s good news, Miss Evans. We’re that glad you’ve come back.”

“I’m that glad to be back,” Dana said.

In the car, driving to the apartment, Dana said, “How do you like your new arm now, Kemal? Are you getting used to it?”

“It’s cool.”

“I’m so glad. How are you getting along in school?”

“It’s not the pits.”

“No more fights?”

“No.”

“That’s wonderful, darling.” Dana studied him a moment. He seemed different somehow, almost subdued. It was as though something had happened to change him, but whatever it was, he certainly seemed a happy child.

When they reached the apartment, Dana said, “I have to go to the studio, but I’ll be back, and we’ll have dinner together. We’ll go to McDonald’s.”
Where we used to go with Jeff
.

When Dana entered the huge WTN building, it seemed as though she had been away for a century. As she made her way to Matt’s office, she was greeted by half a dozen fellow workers.

“Glad you’re back, Dana. We’ve missed you.”

“Glad to be back.”

“Well, look who’s here. Did you have a good trip?”

“Wonderful. Thanks.”

“The place isn’t the same without you.”

When Dana walked into Matt’s office, he said, “You’ve lost weight. You look terrible.”

“Thank you, Matt.”

“Sit down.”

Dana took a seat.

“You haven’t been sleeping?”

“Not much.”

“By the way, our ratings have gone down since you’ve been away.”

“I’m flattered.”

“Elliot will be glad you’ve given this up. He’s been worried about you.” Matt did not mention how worried he himself had been about Dana.

They talked for half an hour.

When Dana got back to her office, Olivia said, “Welcome back. It’s been —” The phone rang. She picked it up. “Miss Evans’s office… Just a moment, please.” She looked at Dana. “Pamela Hudson on line one.”

“I’ll take it.” Dana went into her own office and picked up the phone. “Pamela.”

“Dana, you’re back! We were so worried. Russia is not the safest place to be these days.”

“I know.” She laughed. “A friend bought me pepper spray.”

“We’ve missed you. Roger and I would love to have you come by for tea this afternoon. Are you free?”

“Yes.”

“Three o’clock?”

“Perfect.”

The rest of the morning was taken up with preparations for the evening broadcasts.

At three o’clock, Cesar was greeting Dana at the door.

“Miss Evans!” There was a big smile on his face. “I’m so pleased to see you. Welcome home.”

“Thank you, Cesar. How have you been?”

“Just wonderful, thank you.”

“Are Mr. and Mrs.—?”

“Yes. They’re waiting for you. May I take your coat?”

When Dana walked into the drawing room, Roger and Pamela both exclaimed at once, “Dana!”

Pamela Hudson gave her a hug. “The prodigal is back.”

Roger Hudson said, “You look tired.”

“That seems to be the general consensus.”

“Sit down, sit down,” Roger said.

A maid came in carrying a tray of tea, biscuits, scones, and croissants. Pamela poured tea.

They took seats, and Roger said, “Well, tell us what’s happening.”

“What’s happening is I’m afraid I’ve gotten nowhere. I’m completely frustrated.” Dana took a deep breath. “I met a man named Dieter Zander who said he was framed by Taylor Winthrop and sent to prison. While he was there, his family was wiped out in a fire. He blames Winthrop for their deaths.”

Pamela said, “So he had a motive for killing the whole Winthrop family.”

“That’s right. But there’s more,” Dana said. “I talked to a man named Marcel Falcon in France. His only son was killed by a hit-and-run driver. Taylor Winthrop’s chauffeur pleaded guilty, but the chauffeur now claims that Taylor Winthrop was the driver.”

Roger said thoughtfully, “Falcon was on the NATO Commission in Brussels.”

“Right. And the chauffeur told him that it was Taylor Winthrop who killed his son.”

“That’s interesting.”

“Very. Have you ever heard of Vincent Mancino?”

Roger Hudson thought for a moment. “No.”

“He’s Mafia. Taylor Winthrop got his daughter pregnant, sent her to a quack, and she had a botched abortion. The daughter is in a convent and the mother is in a sanitarium.”

“My God.”

“The point is that all three have strong motives for revenge.” Dana sighed in frustration. “But I can’t prove anything.”

Roger looked at Dana thoughtfully. “So Taylor Winthrop was really guilty of doing all those terrible things.”

“There’s no question about it, Roger. I’ve talked to those people. Whichever one of them is behind the murders orchestrated them brilliantly. There are no clues — none. Each murder had a different modus operandi, so there is no obvious pattern. Every detail was carefully worked out. Nothing was left to chance. There was not one witness to any of the deaths.”

Pamela said thoughtfully, “I know this may sound far-fetched, but — is it possible that they’re all in this together to get revenge?”

Dana shook her head. “I don’t believe there was collusion. The men I talked to are very powerful. I think each would want to do it on his own. Only one of them is guilty.”

But which one?

Dana suddenly looked at her watch. “Please excuse me. I promised to take Kemal to McDonald’s for dinner, and if I hurry, I can do it before I go to work.”

“Of course, darling,” said Pamela. “We understand completely. Thank you for stopping by.”

Dana got up to go. “And thank you both for the lovely tea and for your moral support.”

Driving Kemal to school on Monday morning, Dana said, “I’ve missed doing this, but I’m back now.”

“I’m glad.” Kemal yawned.

Dana realized that he had been yawning ever since he had awakened. Dana asked, “Did you sleep well last night?”

“Yeah, I guess so.” Kemal yawned again.

“What do you do at school?” Dana asked.

“You mean besides horrible history and boring English?”

“Yes.”

“I play soccer.”

“You’re not doing
too
much, are you, Kemal?”

“Nah.”

She glanced at the frail figure next to her. It seemed to Dana that all the energy had gone out of Kemal. He was unnaturally quiet. Dana wondered if she should have a doctor look at him. Maybe she could check and see if there were some vitamins that would give him energy. She looked at her watch. The meeting for this evening’s broadcast was half an hour away.

The morning went by swiftly, and it felt good to be back in her world. When Dana returned to her office, there was a sealed envelope on her desk with her name on it. She opened it. The letter inside read:

“Miss Evans: I have the information you want. I have made a reservation in your name at the Soyuz Hotel in Moscow. Come immediately. Tell no one about this.”

It was unsigned. Dana read the letter again, unbelievingly.
I have the information you want
.

Of course it was some kind of trick. If someone in Russia had the answer she was looking for, why hadn’t whoever it was told her about it when she was over there? Dana thought about the meeting she had had with Commissar Sasha Shdanoff and his brother Boris. Boris had seemed anxious to talk to her, and Sasha had kept cutting him off. Dana sat at her desk, thinking. How had the note gotten on her desk? Was she being watched?

I’m going to forget it
, Dana decided. She stuffed the letter in her purse.
I’ll tear it up when I get home
.

Dana spent the evening with Kemal. She had thought he would be fascinated by the new computer game she had bought him in Moscow, but he seemed indifferent. At nine o’clock his eyes started to close.

“I’m sleepy, Dana. I’m going to bed.”

“All right, darling.” Dana watched him go into the study and thought,
He’s changed so much. He seems like a different boy. Well, from now on we’re going to be together. If something’s bothering him, I’ll find out what it is
. It was time to leave for the studio.

In the apartment next door, the tenant looked at the television set and spoke into a tape recorder.

“The subject has left for the television studio to do her broadcast. The boy has gone to bed. The housekeeper is sewing.”

“We’re live!” The camera’s red light flashed on.

The announcer’s voice boomed out, “Good evening. This is your eleven o’clock news on WTN with Dana Evans and Richard Melton.”

Dana smiled into the camera. “Good evening. I’m Dana Evans.”

Seated next to her, Richard Melton said, “And I’m Richard Melton.”

Dana began, “We start our news tonight with a terrible tragedy in Malaysia…”