Watch Over Me

by Susan May Warren

  “I could stay on the train. You can’t make me get off.”

  A muscle tensed in his jaw. His presence filled the compartment—wide shoulders, thick arms that strained the material of his jacket. He was tall enough to scrub his head on the doorframe, and he looked as fit as a soldier and in no mood to argue. His eyes latched on to hers and sent a streak of fear into her bones. She raised her chin, hoping to appear strong and defiant.

  “I could make you get off, but I won’t.” His tone was low, calm. “If this train moves, however, I stay here, in this berth with you all night until we get to Vladivostok.” He paused. “Your choice.”

  Gracie ignored his outstretched paw, stood, grabbed her bag, and brushed past him just as the train lurched. She felt his presence closing behind her as they wobbled down the corridor. The train had already begun easing forward. She paused at the door, watching pavement glide by.

  He touched her elbow. “Jump.”

  She shot him a glare and made the easy leap to the platform. He swung down right behind her. His hand again curled around her elbow.

  “Unless I am your prisoner, please unhand me,” she snapped.

  He withdrew his hand but stayed close enough to rein her in, obviously to ward off any impulses she might have to ditch him in the tunnel back to the parking lot.

  Gracie seethed all the way through the station, refusing to make room for cold fear.

  The FSBFSB. She didn’t know which was worse. Being chased by a killer or interrogated by the FSBFSB. Where was a decent hiding place when a person needed one?

  They climbed into his greasy rattletrap of a car, and Gracie huddled on the smooth vinyl seat, shooting a glare his direction. He ignored her. Motoring into traffic, he said nothing.

  “Some interrogation,” she muttered.

  He kept his eyes forward, but she noticed his whitened grip on the steering wheel.

  “Where are we going?”

  “Back to the scene. We need you to walk through what happened with us.”

  “What? No!” She grabbed the door handle. “Let me out! I’m not going back there.” She began to shake, her composure unraveling. Tears bit her eyes. Where was Miss Sass and Courage when she needed her?

  He pulled over and she braced herself, poised to fly out of the car and run until she hit the Chinese border—or beyond. Let him try to catch her. She didn’t care if they had to run her down with a tank—she wasn’t returning to the scene of her friend’s murder.

  He grabbed her arm, reached across her, and held her door shut.

  Was she that transparent? “Get away from me.”

  “Don’t be afraid, Miss Benson. I’ll be there with you.”

  She stared at him, at his eyes and the way they looked so incredibly blue, surprisingly tender for the situation, and suddenly, hot tears were running down her cheeks. “I don’t even know you.” Agony stretched her voice thin. “I just want to go home.”

  He continued to hold her arm but loosened his grip on the door. “I know,” he said. His words were a salve on her raw emotions. Oh, how she wanted to unravel into a puddle of pain.

  “I know you don’t know me. But I mean you no harm. All I want to do is find your friends’ killer.”

  His voice had turned soft, and even with the accent, she could hear a man trying to soothe a woman’s fears. He might have tried that approach when he was breaking in to her train compartment. She looked away from him.

  “You must have been horrified to find them. I’m sorry you had to see it,” he said.

  “Them?” she croaked, then realized he meant Dr. Willie. So…Evelyn’s kind, handsome husband had also been murdered. A moan ripped through Gracie, and she covered her face with her hands.

  The cop put his hand on her shoulder. Warm, strong, a presence that she should probably shrug off. But it seemed so…kind. She just closed her eyes and let herself cry.

  The sounds of her anguish filled the car. She didn’t even think to be embarrassed—she just let her grief spill out. The cop didn’t move, didn’t pull her into an awkward, polite embrace, but he didn’t remove his hand either. Somehow that balance felt comforting.

  She finally pressed her fists into her eyes, trying to stem the tears. “I didn’t know Dr. Willie had been killed.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  His tone went straight to her battered soul.

  Okay, so maybe she’d misjudged him. Or more likely, she again was falling victim to her own abysmally bad judgment.

  She glanced at him. He didn’t betray any inkling that she might look a mess, with blotchy skin and bloodshot eyes.

  Raising dark eyebrows, he smiled sadly. “Ready?”

  She shook her head, then nodded, completely confused.

  “Okay.” He eased the car out into traffic and they rode in silence until he pulled up to the Youngs’ apartment building. Gracie felt emptied. The front door hung open, and she recalled with pain the suspicious gaze the old babushka had sent her when she had tumbled outside.

  Of course. She’d been covered in blood. No wonder the old woman had gaped at her. Thankfully, now the bench outside the building was empty.

  The FSB agent—whatever his name was—got out, came around the car, and opened the door. He held out his hand, and after a second she took it. He held it a second longer than was necessary, it seemed, to help her out of the car.

  “Thank you…”

  “Captain Vicktor Shubnikov.”

  He smiled, and the warmth in his expression helped her rally.

  “Ready to go up?”

  She nodded.

  They rode up the lift. Dread pushed down on her with every passing flight. The doors bumped open on the sixth floor and she shuffled out, Captain Shubnikov on her tail.

  The Youngs’ door hung open. She heard voices inside—gruff, angry Russian.

  “This way,” Captain Shubnikov said and pointed to Evelyn’s kitchen.

  Gracie obeyed, greatly relieved not to have to enter the room where her best friend lay murdered.

  “She’s not there.” Larissa hung up the telephone and sat back in her office chair, folding her arms over her silk blouse. “Are you sure she’s not at the Youngs’?”

  Andrei fiddled with his car keys and shook his head. “I went up there, peeked in. The place is a cop circus. She’s nowhere to be found.”

  Larissa had never seen her cousin so…shaken. She knew he was in love with the American, but Gracie’s disappearance had him unglued. His hair was mussed, his jacket hung on slumped shoulders. Had he even shaved today? His jingling car keys frayed her nerves.

  Where was Gracie? Larissa chewed her lip. They had to find her, fast. Before the FSB got to her. The last thing Gracie needed was a day with the FSB to force her back inside her turtle shell. The poor thing was just getting used to taking public transportation. The sooner she was out of Russia, the better—for all of them. Even if it did rip a hole through Larissa’s heart. She’d come to truly care about the American with the obsession about God that matched that of the rest of her mother’s family. Religion was the opiate of the masses. Of the Tallin family, for sure. Look what it had done to Andrei.

  Larissa stood up and crossed to the front of her desk, grabbing Andrei by the collar of his coat. “Find her. Make sure she’s safe. Bring her back to her place and I’ll meet you there later.”

  Andrei’s brow furrowed. “You’re not coming with me?”

  She circled back to her desk chair, pausing for a moment to give him a frown. “I have work to do.”

  Vicktor strode in behind Grace Benson, feeling sorry for the lady every step of the way. It seemed utterly unfair that she should have to face the horrific scene twice in one day. That had never seemed clearer to him than in the car when she nearly shattered before his eyes. Oy, he had to admit he’d never seen a woman so completely wear her feelings on the outside of her body. And when she looked at him with so much fear in her eyes, well, he’d had to fight the weird desire to pull her into his arms. />
  Her wounded expression had reached out to him on the train and turned him into some sort of cream puff.

  He felt like a jerk for suspecting her, but that was his job. He shoved his hands in his pockets and fought to harden the soft places she’d touched in his heart.

  Grace crossed her arms and stared out the kitchen window. Her erect posture gave her dignity, but Vicktor had seen the slight quake of her shoulders and the two deep breaths she’d gulped as she entered the kitchen.

  “Ask her what she knows,” Arkady said, following them both into the room.

  Vicktor shot a look at him. The chief leaned against the counter, watching the American’s body language like a psychiatrist. After a moment, he turned his gaze to Vicktor, a hard edge to his brown eyes.

  “Zdrastvootya,” he said with a biting tone, “you can still speak English, right?”

  Vicktor glared at him. “Miss Benson, could you please tell us what happened here?”

  She breathed a sigh of palpable sorrow, but she tucked a stray blonde hair behind her ear and lifted her chin.

  “I came this morning to check email. When I arrived, the doors were open.”

  “Both of them?”

  “Da. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?”

  She nodded. “It was creepy. Evelyn is very careful about keeping her doors locked, so I knew something was wrong. I never guessed…” Her voice plunged to a whisper, and Vicktor fought the urge to take a step toward her. His face must have revealed pity, however, for Arkady shot him a scowl.

  Vicktor fisted his hands in his pockets. “Where did you find her?”

  “The bedroom. I checked the house and decided to do email before I left.”

  “Do you often check your email here?”

  Her eyes sparked. “I don’t have my own computer.”

  He couldn’t imagine life without his laptop. Odd for an American.

  “What did you do when you found her?”

  Grace’s shoulders shook, but her voice emerged steady. “I untied her hands. Then I called my friend Larissa. She told me she would call the police.”

  Vicktor translated her answer for Arkady, who lit a cigarette. “Ask her why she took off.”

  “Why did you leave, Miss Benson?” He wanted to cringe at the sight of her red-rimmed eyes.

  “I was afraid. I thought the murderer might still be in the flat.”

  “Smart,” he said and was instantly glad when he saw one side of her mouth tug up.

  Arkady scowled at him. “Did you ask her what these Americans were doing here? What organization were they with? Did they have any enemies?”

  Vicktor waved him quiet. “This doctor and his wife—what did they do here?”

  Her eyes aged before him, and he found himself wondering how old she was.

  “They were missionaries. Dr. Willie worked mostly with the leaders of the church, but sometimes he would help out a few doctors he knew.” She shook her head as if anticipating his next question. “No, I don’t know any names. It seemed like Dr. Willie knew just about everybody, but I can’t tell you whom.”

  “Did they have any enemies?”

  Her eyes locked on his. “No.”

  He turned to Arkady. “She doesn’t know anything.”

  “Tell her to stick around.”

  “She’s headed for the border, Chief. I pulled her off the Okean to Vladivostok.”

  “Take her into custody.” Arkady let the ash from his cigarette fall to the ground.

  “Right. And have the US Consulate hound me for the next decade? No thanks. She doesn’t know anything.” Vicktor glanced at her. “Let her go home.”

  “She’s hiding something.” Smoke puffed out of Arkady’s mouth with each word. “Did she see anyone? Ask her again.”

  Vicktor shot Arkady a crippling look. “Is there anyone else who could have come here today?” he asked in English.

  She frowned, as if the possibility hadn’t occurred to her. Then she closed her eyes and rubbed her index finger between her pinched brows. The gesture seemed so forlorn, it made him want to take her home, lock the doors, and dare the Wolf to come hunting.

  The Wolf. He’d nearly forgotten that these weren’t just any murders—these were Wolf attacks.

  “Please, anything,” he said, flinching at the earnestness in his voice.

  “Well, maybe,” Grace replied.

  He raised his eyebrows, fighting hope.

  “My driver, Leonid, didn’t show up today, and I thought maybe he would come here.” She scowled and shook her head. “But probably not. His car wasn’t here, and he hasn’t been very dependable lately.”

  “This Leonid…what’s his full name?”

  She gave him a pitiful look. “I don’t know. We call him Leonid the Red.”

  Vicktor frowned.

  “His hair. It’s red.”

  Gracie’s wretched answer sounded hollow even to herself. She was useless. She turned back to the window before the captain could see her crumple.

  It didn’t help that the other cop studied her as if she were evidence. She crossed her arms and glowered at him over her shoulder. Let him try to push her into a corner. She might be a foreigner, but she was still an American citizen. She knew her rights. She watched him wrap his fat lips around his foul-smelling cigarette, and she wrinkled her nose in disgust. The cop glared back at her as if she had the answers and was hiding them.

  If it hadn’t been for Captain Shubnikov’s presence, she would have been afraid. The captain’s voice bolstered her courage. She had the oddest feeling she was safe with him in the room.

  Behind her the two cops argued in Russian, probably about her. Then, strangely, they left her alone in the kitchen with only a cloud of smoke as a reminder of her showdown with the FSB. That and the quiver she’d somehow managed to hide. But she hadn’t collapsed. That counted.

  Where were Andrei and Larissa? Four hours had passed since her phone call. A horrifying thought struck her—what if the murderer had already pounced? How much danger were they in? She shuddered, remembering the eerie phone call unanswered in her flat. Five days left on her visa suddenly seemed like an eternity.

  Gracie rubbed her eyes with her thumb and forefinger and scanned her memory for anything that might help Captain Shubnikov find the Youngs’ killer. It was doubtful that anything she’d learned in Russia would be valuable to anyone with an appetite for murder. Her memories were of sweet children singing praise songs, the weird advice of well-meaning babushkas, and friends laughing over tea. Nothing in that batch seemed suspect.

  She heard a knock at the door. More cops, then a Russian voice calling her name. She turned, and in strode Andrei. Worry knotted his face.

  “Gracie?”

  He hesitated before her, as if suddenly unsure what to do. Tears rimmed his eyes.

  Then, wordlessly, he held out his arms.

  “Oh, Andrei, it was just so awful,” she whispered and walked into his embrace. She rested her head on his shoulder, wrapped her arms around his waist, and let herself cry.

  His arms tightened around her. She’d never been so grateful for his friendship.

  After a few moments, he put her away from him, scanned her from head to toe. “Are you okay?”

  Gracie managed a shaky smile, not sure how to answer.

  “Kto eta?”

  Blue-eyed Captain Shubnikov stood in the doorway.

  Andrei answered in English. “Andrei Feodorvich Tallin.” He hesitated, then stepped forward and extended his hand, eyes wary. “I’m a friend of Gracie’s.”

  Shubnikov fired off a question in rapid Russian.

  “Speak English, please,” Gracie muttered.

  The investigator ignored her.

  Andrei looked at Gracie as if confused. Then he replied in an even quicker staccato.

  What was Shubnikov’s problem? The shift in his demeanor astounded her. Only moments before, he’d seemed a friend. Now she’d been sucked back to the Cold War.

  “What doe
s he want?” Gracie asked and frowned at him. He met her gaze with cold eyes that felt like a slap.

  She’d been duped. She should have kicked him harder.

  From this angle, he looked every inch a FSB menace. His neatly clipped Army-style haircut did nothing to soften high cheekbones that slanted to his square, pure tough-guy jaw. A hint of dark stubble punctuated otherwise smooth skin, and he had folded his arms across a sturdy-looking chest, rumpling his sports coat. Arrogance in his dark blue eyes gave him a dangerous look. He started to drum his fingers on his arm, as if waiting for an answer.

  Andrei leaned over and translated. “He says he has to ask you more questions.”

  “What? We’ve already talked. You tell him whatever he has to ask, he’ll ask it now.” Wait, who was she kidding? Mr. Games knew how to speak English. She glowered at him.

  Andrei closed his eyes and grimaced. She waited for him to translate, but instead he breathed wisdom into her ear.

  “Gracie, he’s with the FSB. They don’t understand the word no. They’re like your FBI—above the law.”

  “The FBI is not above the law.”

  Andrei shrugged. “Believe what you like, but here the FSB doesn’t answer to anyone.”

  Gracie dug her fingers into Andrei’s arm. “Don’t you dare tell him where I live.”

  “He probably already knows.”

  Gracie felt like a child with a giant name tag around her neck, the type they gave her in kindergarten to help her find her school bus. She had absolutely no control over her own life.

  Acting like she didn’t exist, Andrei and Investigator Shubnikov talked a moment longer. Gracie turned away and sulked.

  Andrei finally settled a hand on her shoulder. “He’ll call you if he needs anything. You’re supposed to stay in town. I think we can leave now.”

  She shrugged off his touch. Oh, sure, she’d stay. Long enough to pack a carry-on for her trip south. “I need to get Dr. Willie’s computer.” She whirled and leveled a piercing glare at the two-faced captain. He blinked as if shocked, but she jutted her chin and brushed past him, hoping her cold shoulder sent him frostbite.