Chapter 22 Chapter Twenty

Dana wakes up and calls Tim Drew. "Have you heard more from Ambassador Hadi?" he asked. "No. I think I offended him. Tim, I need to talk to you." "All right. Call and meet me at the Boyleski Club, a quarter of the Tretrino Proiana Street." "Where? I never—" "The taxi driver will know. Take a rickety car." "OK." Dana stepped out of the hotel and into a howling, bitter wind.She's glad she's wearing that new red wool coat.A sign on an upper floor across the street reminded her that it was minus twenty-nine degrees Celsius.My God, she thought.Converted to Fahrenheit, that's about twenty degrees below zero.

A shiny new taxi was parked in front of the hotel, and Dana backed away, waiting until a passenger slipped in.The next taxi looked old, and Dana took it.The driver looked at her questioningly in the rearview mirror. Dana said cautiously, "I'd like to go to the Quarter--" She paused, "--Linu--" She took a deep breath. "—Proana—" The driver said impatiently: "You want to go to the Boyleski Club?" "yes." They set off.As they made their way down the main street clogged with motorbike traffic, the city seemed covered in a dull gray-white patina of grim-faced pedestrians hurrying along the icy streets, and it wasn't just the weather, Dana thought.

The original Boyleski Club is modern and cozy, with leather chairs and sofas.Tim Drew was waiting for her in a chair by the window. "It seems that you still found the right one." Dana sat down: "The taxi driver speaks English." "You're lucky. Some of them don't even speak Russian and they come from so many different remote provinces. It's amazing how the country is still functioning. It reminds me of a dying dinosaur. You know Russia How big is it?" "Not exactly." "It's almost the size of two Americas. It has thirteen time zones and borders fourteen countries. Fourteen countries."

"That's amazing," Dana said. "Tim, I want to talk to some of the Russians who have dealt with Taylor Winthrop." "That includes pretty much everyone in the Russian government." Dana said, "I know, but he must have had some Russian friends who were closer than anyone else. The President—" "Probably someone of a lesser rank," said Tim Drew dryly. "I daresay he was probably the closest to Sasha Shadanov of all the people who dealt with him." "Who is Sasha Shadanov?" "He's the director of the International Economic Development Bureau. I'm sure Winthrop sees him a lot on social occasions as well as on official occasions." He stared at Dana closely. "What are you looking for, Dana?"

"I'm not sure," she said honestly, "I'm not sure." The International Economic Development Agency is a sprawling red-brick building on Ozernaya Street that occupies an entire block.Inside the main entrance, two Russian police officers in uniform stood in front of the door, while a third uniformed guard sat behind a table. Dana walked to the table.The guard looked up. "Hello," Dana said. "Hello--" Dana cut him off. "I'm sorry. I'm here to see Chief Shadanov. My name is Dana Evans. I'm from Washington Tribune." The guard checked a watch in front of him, then shook his head: "Do you have an appointment?"

"No, but—" "Then you must make an appointment. Are you American?" "yes." The guard rummaged through the pile of papers on the desk, then handed one to Dana. "Please fill out this form." "Okay," Dana said, "can I see the Chief this afternoon?" He blinked. "Be patient. You Americans are always in a hurry. What hotel are you at?" "Sevastopol. I just need a few minutes—" He made a note: "Someone will notify you. Goodbye." "But—" she saw his expression: "Goodbye." Dana stayed in her room all afternoon waiting for the call.At six o'clock she called Tim Drew.

"Have you seen Shadanov?" he asked. "No. They're going to call me back." "Don't hold your breath, Dana. You're dealing with bureaucrats from another planet." Dana was back at IED early the next morning.The same guard was sitting at the table. "Hello," Dana said.He looked up at her with a cold face: "Hello." "Did Director Shadanov get my message yesterday?" "Your name?" "Dana Evans." "Did you leave a message yesterday?" "Yes," she said dully, "here you are."

The guard nodded: "Then he has received it, and all the messages have been received." "Can I speak to Director Shadanov's secretary?" "Do you have a reservation?" Dana took a deep breath. "No." The guard shrugged, "Sorry." "When can I—" "Someone will call you." On the way back to the hotel, Dana passed Jetkimir, a children's department store, and went in to browse around.There is a dedicated gaming area with a whole rack of computer games in one corner.Kenmore would like one of these, Dana thought.She purchased a game and was surprised at how expensive it was.She went back to the hotel and waited for the call.

By six o'clock she had given up hope.She was just about to go downstairs for dinner when the phone rang. Dana hurried over and grabbed the phone. "Dana?" It was Tim Drew. "Yes, Tim." "Lucky?" "I'm afraid not." "Oh, when you're in Moscow, you shouldn't miss the great things here. The ballet is playing tonight, and they're going to play Giselle. Are you interested?" "Very interested, thank you." "I'll pick you up in an hour." The ballet is performed in the 6,000-seat Parliament Palace in the Kremlin.It's been a fantastic night.The music was wonderful, the dancing was beautiful, and the first act passed quickly.

When the intermission lights came on, Tim stood up. "Come with me. Quick." The crowd swarmed up the stairs. "What happened?" "You'll know right away." When they reached the top floor, they were greeted by six tables filled with huge bowls of caviar and bottles of frozen vodka.The theatergoers who were the first to reach the top floor were busy getting their own food. Dana turns to Tim: "They really know how to put on a show here." Tim said: "This is the high society way of life. Remember 30 percent of the people live below the poverty line."

Dana and Tim moved toward the window, away from the group. The lights began to flicker, "It's time for the second act to begin." The second scene is intoxicating, but Dana's mind keeps flashing back to snippets of previous conversations. Taylor Winthrop is smart.He's smart, very smart.He framed me... It was an unfortunate accident.Gabriel was a wonderful kid... Tyler Winthrop ruined the future of the Mancino family... As they got back in the car after the ballet, Tim Drew said, "Would you like a nightcap at my apartment?" Dana turned to look at him.He's charming, smart, and lovable, but he's not Jeff.Dana's words were "Thank you, Tim. But no." "Oh." His disappointment was palpable. "maybe tomorrow?" "I'd love to, but I have to be ready to go early in the morning." And I'm madly in love with another person. Early the next morning, Dana was back at IED.The same guard sat behind the desk. "Hello." "Hello." "I'm Dana Evans. If I can't see the Chief, can I see his assistant?" "Do you have a reservation?" "without me--" He handed Dana a piece of paper, "You fill out this form..." After Dana returned to her room, the cell phone rang, and Dana felt a "Gordon" in her heart. "Dana..." "Jeff!" They wanted to talk too much, but Rachel stood between them like a shadowy phantom, keeping them from discussing what was most preoccupied with them: Rachel's illness.Conversation is reserved. At eight o'clock the next morning, a phone call came unexpectedly from Chief Shadanov's office.A heavily accented voice said, "Dana Evans?" "yes." "I'm Yerik Karbavo, assistant to Chief Shadanov. You want to see the chief?" "Yes!" She kind of expected him to ask, "Do you have an appointment?" But instead he said, "Be on time at IED in an hour." "Okay. Very impressed—" The phone line hung up. An hour later Dana entered the great hall of the massive brick building.She walked over to the same guard sitting behind the desk. He looked up: "Hello?" She forced a smile. "Hi. This is Dana Evans. I'm here to see Chief Shadanov." He shrugged. "Sorry. No appointment—" Dana held her temper: "I have an appointment." He looked at her suspiciously, "Really?" He picked up a phone and talked into it for a while.He turned toward Dana. "Third floor," he said reluctantly, "you'll be greeted." Director Shadanov's office is spacious and shabby, with furniture that looks as if it had been furnished in the early 1920s.There are two men in the office. They both stood up when Dana walked in.The older one said, "I am Director Shadanov." Sasha Shadanov looked to be in his fifties.He was short and stocky, with locks of gray hair and a round, pale face with restless brown eyes that kept darting about the room as if looking for something.He had a heavy accent, and he was wearing a shapeless brown suit and scuffed black shoes.He pointed to the second person. "This is my brother, Boris Shadanov." Boris Shadanov smiled: "Hello, Miss Evans." Boris Shadanov looked completely different from his brother, who was probably ten years younger.He has a hooked nose and a strong jaw, and he wears a light blue Armani suit and a gray Hermes tie.He barely has an accent. Sasha Shadanov said proudly: "Boris is visiting from the United States. He works at the Russian embassy in your capital, Washington." "I adore your work, Miss Evans," said Boris Shadanov. "Thank you." "What's the matter with you?" said Sasha Shadanov. "What's the matter with you?" "No, not at all," Dana said. "I wanted to ask you about Taylor Winthrop." He stared at her, puzzled: "What do you want to know about Taylor Winthrop?" "I heard you worked with him and that you saw him socially a lot." Sasha Shadanov said cautiously: "Yes." "I want to know your personal opinion of him." "Say what? I think he's an excellent ambassador for your country." "I hear he's popular here and—" Boris Shadanov chimed in: "Oh, really. There's a lot of parties at various embassies in Moscow, and Taylor Winthrop—" Sasha Shadanov scowled at his brother: "None of your business!" He turned back to Dana: "Ambassador Winthrop sometimes attends social gatherings at the embassy. He likes the people, the Russian people like him .” Boris Shadanov is at it again. "In fact, he told me that if he could—" Sasha Shadanov yelled, "Shut up!" He turned his face away. "As I said, Miss Evans, he's an excellent ambassador." Dana watched Boris Shadanov.He was clearly trying to tell her something. She turned back to the Director. "Has Ambassador Winthrop ever had any trouble here?" Sasha Shadanov frowned. "Trouble? No." He avoided her eyes. He's lying, Dana thought.She persisted. "Director, can you think of a reason why a man would murder Taylor Winthrop and his entire family?" Sasha Shadanov's eyes widened. "Murder? The Winthrops? No. No." "Can't you remember anything?" Boris Shadanov said: "In fact—" Sasha Shadanov interrupted him: "There's no reason for that. He's a great ambassador." He took a cigar from a silver case, and Boris hurried over to light it for him. "Is there anything else you want to know?" asked Sasha Shadanov. Dana watched them both.They're hiding something, she thought.But what is that?The whole thing was like navigating through a maze with no exit. "No," she said slowly, glancing at Boris, "if you remember anything, I was at the Sevastopol Hotel until tomorrow morning." Boris Shadanov: "Are you going home?" "Yes. My flight leaves tomorrow afternoon." "I—" Boris Shadanov was about to speak, but when he glanced at his brother, he fell silent. "Goodbye," Dana said. "goodbye." "goodbye." Dana called Matt Baker as soon as she got back to her room. "Something's going on here, Matt, but I can't find out what it is, damn it. I have a feeling I won't find anything useful if I stay here for months. I'm going home tomorrow." Something's going on here, Matt, but I can't find out what it is, damn it.I have a feeling I won't be able to find useful information even if I stay here for a few months.I'm going back home tomorrow. The tape is over. That night, Sheremetyev No. 2 Airport was very crowded.Dana also had the uncomfortable feeling of being watched as she waited for her flight.She watched the crowd carefully, but she couldn't pick out a single person in particular.They're out there somewhere. This alertness made her tremble.