The Russian by Ann Howes

Author:Ann Howes [Howes, Ann]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-05-05T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Sixteen

When her dad returned from the corner store, Nicky noted with relief the lack of cigarettes in his pocket, and he didn’t smell like he’d snuck a smoke either. Fuming and silent, he stayed with Luca who was engrossed in a game on his Nintendo, while Vasily escorted Nicky downstairs. He helped her into a black Cadillac Escalade.

This did not decrease her anxiety or stop the sweat from popping on the back of her neck.

A silent, yet solemn-faced Yev sat behind the wheel and gave her a nod in greeting. According to Vasily, the man had spent half the night and morning guarding her place and although he looked a little stubbly, he seemed alert and smelled pretty good too. Like fabric softener and spearmint gum. Kinda unfair, really.

In the backseat sat another, just as serious-looking man, only he wore a well-fitting suit and had a black briefcase placed between them.

“Derek Granger,” Vasily introduced him. “Your lawyer.”

He was a few years older than Vasily, probably late thirties, with wavy brown hair and just a smattering of gray at his temples.

“Hi, Derek.” Nicky took his offered hand. Granger’s grip had just the right amount of firmness, and he had a pleasant face that came along with an athletic build and a relaxed smile. The kind that would make it easy to forget he was a mob lawyer. But mob lawyers knew their shit, didn’t they? Since Vasily was still walking free, that reality eased her anxiety by half a notch.

“Take care of her,” Vasily said to both men, his tone serious. With a last, lingering yet reassuring glance at Nicky, he closed the door of the car, tapped the roof, and stepped away.

Why did men do that—tap the roof?

She watched him walk in his loping, easy way to yet another Cadillac Escalade, this one white. He slipped into the back seat and then they drove in the opposite direction.

“We don’t have much time,” Granger said, regaining her attention and making her blush for staring. “Tell me everything that happened last night and don’t hold back. Warts and all. I want the smelly parts no matter how bad you think it may be.”

So, she did, but it took longer than the ride. Yev circled the block until Granger was satisfied. The fact he was thorough and seemed to care helped to calm her.

At the police station, they were escorted to a bland room with mirrored windows. They waited a few minutes before Detective Fetzer joined them and sat on the opposite side of a long utility table. The cop had a way of moving that was confident and purposeful, yet his soulful brown eyes were bloodshot and tired. His hair was disheveled and his tie was slightly askew. Nicky couldn’t help wondering if he was adopting the Columbo effect—the bumbling, yet wily television detective of old, only minus the ratty beige raincoat.

It was as she waited for him to get settled that she noticed the camera in the corner facing her. A blinking red light indicated it was on.

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