Horowitz, Anthony - With a Mind to Kill by Horowitz Anthony

Author:Horowitz, Anthony [Horowitz, Anthony]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2022-03-28T00:00:00+00:00

14

The Finger of Suspicion

The next morning, Katya Leonova went out on her own.

It was only a short walk to the building on Sretenka Street but she felt uncomfortable walking there and worse still going in. She had passed it often enough and, like anyone living in Moscow, knew the organisation that it had once housed. She was a good communist. She had never spoken a word against her party or her country. But the address reminded her that she would never be completely safe. Even a woman like her, who had devoted much of her life to helping the state, could still make mistakes.

For example, there had been that moment, just a few weeks ago, when she had complained how difficult it was to buy stockings that did not wrinkle and itch. How could she have forgotten herself, speaking like that in public? And then, in the company of two girlfriends she had listened to an illegal recording of the British band of musicians that called themselves the Shadows. Of course she had mocked them for being trite and decadent but even so she had secretly enjoyed what she had heard. And she had laughed at a joke about Comrade Khrushchev! She knew that, in the past, even these minor offences could have resulted in her arrest. She saw herself being dragged out of bed in the middle of the night, thrown into the back of a van and brought to a building like this for questioning. It was only what she deserved. But it was no wonder that she felt the grip of fear around her throat as she approached the main door.

She had spent thirty-six hours with the British spy but had told him that he would have to visit the State Central Museum of Contemporary History of Russia on Tverskaya Street without her. He had not looked pleased although he had quickly assured her that he had been very much looking forward to the museum with its unique collection of porcelain, posters, rare negatives and original historic paintings but that he would have enjoyed it twice as much if she could come too. Katya had to disappoint him. Although she couldn’t tell him anything about her movements, she had received a note while they were having dinner at the hotel the night before, summoning her to a meeting with Colonel Boris at the old headquarters of Smersh. She was to report on her progress with Bond. His life or his death would depend on what she had to say.

And the truth was, Katya didn’t know what to think. She could not deny that she had enjoyed the last two days (just as she was still unable to get the Shadows and the tune of ‘Wonderful Land’ out of her head). In fact, she had never met a man like James Bond even though his looks – the blue-grey eyes, the dark hair, the easy smile with just a hint of something cruel – reminded her a little of .

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