Black Seagull - gripping family saga with a thrilling mystery at its core by Rinat Klein

Author:Rinat Klein [Klein, Rinat]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-09-13T16:00:00+00:00

Moscow

Monday, August 2, 2009

Tamara sat in a dingy waiting room, sipping water from a glass handed to her by a jittery clerk. The coincidences in this investigation weighed on her. She realized she should have shared everything with Gidi. The clear conflict of interest couldn't be ignored.

After landing in Moscow, a police representative took Tamara to a run-down hotel in a quiet neighborhood on the outskirts of the city. Though she wasn't expecting luxurious accommodations or an official welcome, she was still taken aback when she had to make her own way to the Ministry of Internal Security and then wait for two hours.

"Mrs. Attias?" asked a policeman in heavily accented "Please follow me to meet the commander."

Tamara considered telling him she spoke Russian but decided to hold back until she knew why she was being treated so coldly. A maze of elevators and stairwells left her completely disoriented. Finally, they passed through a glass door and approached a secretary's desk.

The woman looked up and gave Tamara a cursory glance through thick glasses. She nodded to the policeman and gestured towards a heavy wooden door.

"Major Zhukov, head of the investigation team, is currently in a meeting with the commander. Please wait here until they're ready for you."

The young policeman motioned to a row of chairs before hurrying away. The sign on the office door read, "Major General Alexander Sergeyevich Shulgin, Head of the Special Crimes Division."

Tamara stared in disbelief, looking more closely to ensure she wasn’t mistaken. The secretary noticed Tamara's reaction, translated the words into English, and then asked her to step away from the door.

She took a seat, putting her bag and coat on the chair next to her. The weather was cold, and ominous black clouds hinted at rain. Tamara thought about how different this gray city was from the romantic stories her grandmother, Rosa, used to tell about Mother Russia.

She wanted a cup of coffee. The food at the hotel hadn’t been satisfying and she’d had a headache all morning. As she waited, she pondered the latest development, that she knew the head of the Special Crimes Division Shulgin must be Uncle Sasha, the other member of the Seagull alumni trio.

At least the family allowed his name to be mentioned at holiday gatherings, though few dared to bring him up. Tamara didn't know the details of what happened between her father, Sasha and Yuri, and she wasn't particularly interested in finding out, but she had childhood memories of Sasha and his family.

He was a policeman and his wife, Oksana, was a painter. Tamara spent countless hours at their house playing with Seryozha, their blond son who had been Tamara's best friend. Oksana’s art adored the walls of their home and the families enjoyed joint birthday celebrations and vacations to the Black Sea. Sasha was her father's best friend. But then one day, when she was around seven years old, everything abruptly came to a halt.

Tamara was angry and even tried to run away to Seryozha's house, but her mother caught her and delivered a sharp scolding.

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