Turkish Gambit - Fandorin 02 by Boris Akunin

Author:Boris Akunin [Akunin, Boris]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Historical Novel
ISBN: 9780753819999
Publisher: Phoenix Press
Published: 2006-04-17T23:00:00+00:00

letters:

19 —

Z - 1500

20 —

Z - 3400 -

i

21 —

J + 5000 Z

- 800

22 —

Z - 2900

23 —

J + 5000 Z

- 700

24 —Z - 1100

25 —J+ 5000 Z - 1000

26 — Z - 300

27 — J + 5000 Z - 2200

28 — Z - 1900

29 —J + 15000 Z + i

She read it through again more slowly, and then again. She wanted desperately to demonstrate her keen acumen.

'Is it a cipher? No, the numbers run consecutively ... A list? The numbers of regiments? Numbers of troops? Perhaps casualties and reinforcements?' Varya chattered, wrinkling up her forehead. 'So Lukan was a spy after all? But what do the letters mean -"Z", "J", "i"? Or perhaps they are formulas or equations?'

'You flatter the deceased, Varvara Andreevna. It is all much simpler than that. If these are equations, then they are extremely simple. But with one unknown.'

'Only one?' Varya asked, astonished.

'Take a closer look. The first c-column, of course, consists of dates. Lukan follows them with a long dash. From the nineteenth to the twenty-ninth of July in the Western style. How was the colonel occupied on those days?'

'How should I know? I didn't follow him around.' Varya thought for a moment. 'Well, he was probably in the staff building, and perhaps he visited the forward positions.'

'I never once saw Lukan visit the forward positions. In fact, I really only ever came across him in one place.'

'In the club?'

'Precisely. And what did he do there?' 'Nothing, he played cards.' 'B-Bravo, Varvara Andreevna.'

She glanced at the page again. 'So he kept notes of his gambling accounts! "Z" is always followed by a minus sign, and "J" always by a plus sign. So he marked his losses with the letter "Z" and his winnings with the letter "J"? Is that all?' Varya shrugged in disillusionment. 'What has that got to do with espionage?'

'There was no espionage. Espionage is a high art, but here we are dealing with elementary bribery and treason. The swashbuckling Zurov appeared in the club on the nineteenth of July, the day before the first assault on Plevna, and Lukan was drawn into the game.'

'That means "Z" is Zurov!' Varya exclaimed. 'Wait a moment . . .' She began whispering to herself, gazing at the figures. 'Forty-nine . . . carry seven ... A hundred and four . . .' She summed up: 'In all, he lost 15,800 roubles to Zurov. That seems about right: Hippolyte also said something about fifteen thousand. But then what is the "i"?'

'I p-presume that is the infamous diamond ring - inel in Roumanian. Lukan lost it on the twentieth of July and on the twenty-ninth he won it back again.'

'But then who is "J"?' Varya asked, rubbing her forehead. 'I don't think there was any "J" among the card-players. And Lukan won . . . mmm . . . oho! thirty-five thousand roubles from this man. I don't recall the colonel ever having such large winnings. He would have been certain to brag about it.'

'This was nothing to brag about.

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