The Cold Room by Robert Knightly

Author:Robert Knightly [Knightly, Robert]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Fiction, Mystery
Publisher: Severn House Publishers
Published: 2011-08-01T04:00:00+00:00

TWENTY-TWO

The home of Formatech Money Services was long and narrow, a single open space broken only by a small bathroom at the rear. There was a gray ping-pong table in the center of the room, chest-high workbenches along three walls, and a desk and a velour-covered couch along the fourth. Whorehouse red, the couch was the only spot of color in the room.

Aslan Khalid was sitting at the desk when I made my appearance, followed closely by Hansen Linde. Though Aslan’s mouth expanded slightly, he did not rise to greet us. On the other side of the room, two men stood next to the workbench. The older, a Latino, was stripped to the waist. He held a screwdriver in his left hand and his narrow face was streaked with sweat. The younger man was in his early thirties. He wore a white polo shirt over a pair of decently-tailored linen slacks and lattice-work sandals without socks. Silky fine, his carefully-styled hair reached his shoulders, while his beard and moustache were immaculately groomed.

‘What’s your name?’ Linde asked the younger man.

‘Nicolai Urnov.’ He took a deep breath, then walked to within a few feet of Linde. ‘I own this business. Who are you?’

‘Oh, yeah,’ Linde said, ‘I almost forgot.’ He reached into his jacket, withdrew the billfold containing his gold shield, then flicked it open for an instant before slapping it closed. ‘Now, what about this other guy? The guy standing behind you. What’s his name?’

‘What do you want with him? He just works here.’

‘I want his name.’

The older man turned to face Linde. ‘Miguel Sierra,’ he said. ‘I am not do nothing.’

‘Just work here, right?’

‘Si.’

‘Well, I’m giving you the night off, Miguel. Come back tomorrow.’ Sierra didn’t have to be asked twice. He was still buttoning his shirt when Hansen closed and locked the door behind him.

Thus far, I hadn’t said a word, nor had I turned my full attention to Aslan, though I could feel his gaze boring into the side of my head. Linde had placed himself at center stage and I was content to watch his performance. The fever that had driven me had now vanished. There would be time enough.

‘I’m going to call my attorney.’ Nicolai’s gaze became more intense and I got the distinct impression that he wasn’t accustomed to being ordered around. Still, he was a small man, not more than five-nine, and slightly built, a sullen monkey to Linde’s menacing gorilla.

‘Okay, great, but first I’m gonna have to search you. I mean, a guy could get himself in a whole lotta trouble by not checking a suspect for weapons.’

‘Suspected of what crime? I’m a legitimate businessman.’

Linde walked over to the workbench and pointed to a row of ATM machines. ‘Tell me about these, if it’s not too much trouble.’

‘I’m a legitimate businessman,’ Urnov repeated. ‘I place ATM machines in stores and split the service charge with the owner. I have a license from the Department of Consumer Affairs.’

Linde held up a slim plastic panel. ‘And what’s this?’ When Urnov didn’t answer, Linde said, ‘It’s a card reader, Nick.

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