by Pam Uphoff
He straightened and stepped away. Checked the wall clock and his wrist watch. "Official Time of Death, 00:11, 15 November 3738."
The official Councilor Observer eyed the twins. "Which of you is the elder?"
"I am." Andre straightened.
"By twenty minutes! Under law, twins inherit equally."
"And you are both how old?"
"Forty-nine. We are three months shy of our maturity." Andre was starting to look worried.
About time.
Axel stepped up. "I am their cousin, also Family Vinogradov. I have recently turned fifty and am willing to serve as executor if no other, older, close family members are available."
"You! You're a year younger than we are!"
"Three months older, actually." Axel kept his expression neutral.
The Council Observer eyed him. "When did you turn fifty?"
Axel glanced at the clock. "Thirteen minutes ago."
Andre gawped.
Nikoli hissed. "That's why you called all these Observers! You needed Father to live past midnight! You piece of . . ."
"Intelligent person, who can save you idiots the twenty percent a Council appointed Executor and Trust Manager will run you? As well as getting my own Trust out of the whole tangle this was going to be, even before you two opened your fool mouths."
They tossed a few unimaginative insults his way.
Axel sighed. "Shall I call the mortuary . . . no?"
The senior detective was shaking his head. "After all the accusations flying around, the coroner will need to take a look."
The Council Observer looked up from his phone. "My staff has run a fast search and found no other Family Vinogradov Mentalists or Old Mentalists within six degrees relationship of Young Mentalist Lord Andre and Young Mentalist Lord Nikoli living on Siberia Max.
"Mentalist Lord Axel Ivan Vinogradov, you are therefore appointed Executor of the Will and Manager of Lord Vladimir Eduard Vinogradov's Family Trust, as well as the Vinogradov House Historical Trust."
Axel bowed as the older men turned to leave.
The policeman intervened. "If you can spare a moment . . . Why three observers?"
"I was on duty tonight." The official one shrugged.
The other one grimaced. "When a Family Head dies . . . Especially this one! 4 Vinogradov! The Records Office likes to put a foot in as soon as possible. Unfortunately, I was out to dinner with my wife, a few blocks away."
Axel's boss shrugged. "Lord Valdimir was a member of the Intelligence Committee. I'm with Intel, and we get an alert anytime anything comes up about anyone on that committee." He produced a card and handed it to the policeman. "Please call if you have any questions."
"Thank you, sirs." The Senior Detective stepped out of their way, which placed him directly in Axel's way.
Nicely executed.
Axel eyed him. "So do we need to stay here, or would you like to view the scene of the possible crime?"
"Scene of the incident, please."
"Guys, why don't we all take your car?"
"It's ours!"
"Well . . . Sort of. In three months you two can fight over who gets to use it. In the meantime, sorry, Senior Detective, I didn't ask if you had a car."
"I do. Forty-one will follow along."
Ah, yes. The Cyborg.
Chapter Six
In Deep Waters
Thursday, November 15, 3738
Vlad Gagarin eyed the three men carefully.
High on the Family tree, and at each other's throats. I always wondered how the other one percent lived . . . I guess I'm about to find out. And twenty minutes in, I don't think I'm going to be pleasantly surprised.
So I've got twin heirs, acting like hot-heads and ganging up on a cousin who just pulled a fast one on them. All the while eyeing each other. Fairly strong glows flaring all over, not well trained.
And the cousin is giving me the creeps. A calculating manipulator who has just grabbed control of what I would guess is a multi-million ruble trust. From which, he can now legally take twenty percent. Which I suspect is millions. Possibly tens of millions.
So there's my first suspect.
His glow is solid, and not a quiver in it, so he's holding a rock solid shield, and is probably quite powerful. And very well trained. And he was totally unmoved by his uncle's death, other than making sure it was delayed long enough to save him some money, and put him in charge of a whole lot more.
And then there's all those high government types. Power Above, please take pity on a poor honest cop and make this just about family. No politics, no intrigue.
The twins, not identical, but with a close resemblance, had grabbed the forward facing seat, elbows and knees out. The cousin had given a contemptuous snort and sat facing backwards, and Vlad had sat beside him. Like lesser beings.
"So . . . If Lord Vladimir was fourth in line for the Vinogradov Seat on the 300, how do you three rank?"
The twins glared at each other. Then turned to look at Axel.
"I was last notified that I stood at thirty. Twenty-nine now, no doubt." He pointed at his cousins. "Thirty and thirty-one."
Vlad got his boggle under control. "You're very young for those numbers."
Axel nodded. "Both my father and grandfather married late, so we're all three very young members of our generation. Our next youngest relative on the line is a hundred and fifty."
So there's actually a good chance this man will wind up in the seat. And if I arrest him . . . it'll get really, really complicated.
"So . . . what do you gentlemen do . . . on a daily basis?"
Lord Nikoli raised his nose. "We assist Father in managing a very sizable estate."
A sneer from Andre. "The lying layabout womanizer shows up occasionally and runs a few errands."
Lord Axel Vinogradov smiled thinly. "If I can't find anything more amusing to do on any given day."
"And you think that's enough to earn your room and board?"
"My Father's Trust takes care of that. Over the next three months we will organize Uncle Vladimir's Trust and hopefully in three months you will both understand how I am going to split it between the two of you, and agree and we can peacefully split it on your almost mutual birthdays."
"Almost?" Vlad looked between them.
Cousin Axel answered. "Andre was born ten minutes before midnight, Nikoli ten minutes after. So, technically speaking, they were born on different days. Then Nikoli was presented and passed his challenge a week before Andre . . . which makes the legalities awkward as the law reads 'first born or first advanced' for choosing between twin heirs."
Now the brothers were glaring at each other.
"Fortunately the estate is large. Splitting it between them wouldn't be difficult, if not for the complications involving the house." Cousin Axel shrugged. "Tomorrow I'll have Mr. Solovsky digging up the contact list. Lawyers, stockbrokers, bankers and so forth. Tonight . . . I need to figure out who needs to be called, who should not learn about Lord Vladimir's death on the morning news.
The limo—the two brothers, rushing to the hospital, took a limo? With a uniformed Cyborg chauffeur?—turned onto a street of huge mansions.
I've never been in one of the homes of the truly rich, and in this case important, Old Mentalists.
A curving climb up one of the low rises on the edge of the valley floor. A drive past what looked like a park but was probably the grounds of a private . . . the limo turned, gates opened, a curving drive through trees, to a spotlit edifice . . . Instantly recognizable.
Like a glittering crystal-encrusted jewelry box, panels of multipane glass, some beveled, some etched, a large center pane of plate glass . . . he'd heard about it before, seen pictures. Every panel twelve feet by twelve, four rows of panels, around the whole building. Two hundred and thirty-two panels. Shining in the dark.
"Oh. I hadn't realized that particular house was still occupied." He hoped he didn't sound too stunned.
Andre smirked. "We're a
ll great grandsons of The Ivan Andre Vinogradov."
Nikloi snorted. "Not that Axel should count. His mother's an experiment."
Cousin Axel just looked amused. "Aren't families amazing?"
Not in my experience.
And the oldest Family on the World? Director of Research Doctor Lord Ivan Andre Vinogradov's descendants? The effing Founder. The man who saw a worthless World and said "This would be the perfect place to run experiments." And financed the . . . oh shit . . . brilliant German scientist, Lord Axel von Richter. I wonder if he's a relative as well.
And here I am. Investigating them.
The limo swung around and stopped at the front entrance. Two menservants popped out to open the limo doors, two more held the double doors of the mansion open. There were faces looking through all the well lit windows. And now two women rushing out to them.
Wives, acting concerned, and wondering if and how much their husbands have just inherited. Well, I've seen a lot of that before. Just . . . not on this scale.
The wives were all fluttery and "How is Lord Vladimir?" "Oh No! How Horrible!"
And the one hanging on Nikoli, with a bit more brain power than the other . . . "But who will be the executor? Who will run the Trust?"
Andre and Nikoli both looked around at Lord Axel.
"But, but . . ." the woman looked horrified.
Andre growled. "It appears that one of his stupid tricks involved lying a year off his age."
Nikoli nodded. "He very conveniently turned fifty just minutes before Father died."
Cousin Axel appeared to be indifferent to the four hostile glares.
"As it's only for three months, I'll involve the pair of you in every step of what needs to be done. So that you two will be taking over with full knowledge of . . . everything.
"Right now, because of Lord Vladimir's prominence in our World's Leading historical Family, our society, and our government, his death will be fully investigated."
He waved down exclamations of dismay and outrage. "This is Senior Detective Vlad Gagarin. I recommend you answer his questions honestly and completely.
"Tomorrow I'll be arranging an auditor, so the money side will also be investigated." Lord Axel turned back to him. "What can we do for you?"
"Show me the dining room."
The wives looked poisonous when they heard about Lord Axel. All the servants looked dubious. Well, the family layabout is in charge, whether they like it or not.
Except he doesn't sound like a layabout.
Inside . . . as if he hadn't seen this in dozens of films . . . The Grand Hall ran front to back, all four above ground levels splitting the mansion in half.
Each level set back, the barrel-arch roof from front to back as wide as the top floor set back, sunrays of beveled and etched glass in each end of the roof.
The Founder built it this way on purpose. His home and the Colonial Governor' office on the right, the Council Hall and offices on the left.
The seat of government for a hundred years. Until they built the even bigger Council Hall because being the gateway to new worlds, we were no longer an unimportant experimental world.
And now a gray-haired woman in an upper servants dress, black with white collar and cuffs, was stalking up to Lord Axel. Pointing down the hall. "Will you please get them out of the way? We need to clean up!"
Lord Axel shook his head. "Don't worry, Anya, Your crew can clear and clean later, much later. Why don't you all go to bed. You've heard the news, everything else can wait."
Vlad stepped up and looked where the housekeeper had pointed.
Four youngsters sitting stubbornly in two doorways, blocking them.
Oh really? He walked down to the first doorway and looked in. A formal dining room. A long table that could easily sit three dozen people. Plates of food still on the table. On this end a heavy arm chair, laying on its side. A broken plate on the floor.
"Well. I didn't expect this." He eyed the two boys. Black pants, white shirts. Blond and light brown hair. Blue eyes. Bright-eyed and alert. They must not be chipped yet. Poor things.
Lord Axel walked up. Crooked a finger at the pair down the hall. "So, how soon did you lot block off the room?"
"Right after Lord Vladimir was carried down to the front parlor. Just in case there was a crime."
Good grief. That one's a girl! Dressed like the boys, apart from the long brown braid.
"Did you enter the room or disturb anything?" Vlad eyed all four as they drew together. And looked to Lord Axel.
"This is Senior Detective Lord Vlad Gagarin. Answer his questions fully, honestly, yes even the dirty gossip, if he wants it. In fact . . . I think you four should assist the Senior Detective. Watch how a real cop works instead of all the nonsense in those cheap mysteries that everyone around here seems to read."
He got four innocent looks.
"W-we sorta stood around f-for a bit, then wh-when the maids came to clear, Nat-tasha said they ought n-n-not, in case of p-poison." Hideous low class accent, under the stutter. Hair in the dark blonde-light brown range, blue eyes.
They all look alike. And like the twins. Ugh. Lords abusing the servants, no doubt for generations.
"Did any of you enter the room?"
The girl squirmed. "I went in and grabbed these chairs. No one was sitting in them or anywhere near them at dinner."
Vlad blinked. Looked at Lord Axel. "Are they training to be police?"
"Umm, no, but I have attempted to train them in observation, memory, and clear reporting."
Vlad hesitated.
"Would you prefer me to leave?"
"Sorry, but . . . yes."
Lord Axel flashed a smile. "No problem. I'll take a nap. Tomorrow's going to be busy."
Vlad watched him walk away, then pulled out his phone and ordered up a lab unit.
Eyed his four young and highly un-official assistants. "Lord Vladimir's death looks like a perfectly natural stroke. Because of his position in the Council, an investigation to rule out anything else will be useful in quieting down rumors and scandals."
He sighed. "And because Lord Andre and Lord Nikoli accused Lord Axel of murder in front of witnesses, there will be a great deal of fuss."
They all looked indignant.
"However, since you've preserved the scene so well, we'll start by testing everything for poisons. Now, where was everyone sitting?"
All three boys looked at the girl. She blushed. "I . . . peeked in . . . several times. And listened. Up here at this door, because I could hear better."
Vlad just raised his brows.
"His Lordship was at the head of the table. Lord Andre on the far side, on his Lordship's right side. Lord Nikoli was on this side with his back to me. Lord Axel sat with an empty chair between him and Lord Nikoli."
She bit her lip. "Lady Anastaciya, Lord Andre's wife, sat three chairs down from her husband, and Lady Veronika sat next to her. His Lordship didn't like hearing all the ladies' chatter. Three of the children came to dinner. Do you want . . . Right. Ivan Nikoli is seven and sat next to his mother. Eduard Vladimir, aged six, sat next to him, and then Evgenia, who is five. Those two are Anastaciya and Andre's older children. There are four more, younger ones. Anyhow, they got bored after the soup and salad courses and started whining and their nannies took them away."
"Then they brought in the fish course. Nothing exciting happened, just His Lordship griping about worthless relatives, and looking down the table at Lord Axel, who just ate and nodded. I think he answered once."
"Oh?"
"Well, His Lordship said, quote. 'Worthless relatives ought to be tossed out of family homes to starve on the streets. What do you think, Axel?' and Lord Axel nodded and said, quote, 'Certainly. It would be good for their souls, if a bit hard on their bodies.' And Andre and Nikoli both snickered."
She glanced through the door. "Then they brought in the steaks. His Lordship was griping about someone on the Council and then I heard something break, like a dropped pl
ate or something and I looked in as His Lordship's chair tipped, he was about half standing up and he fell with the chair and . . . just laid there . . . "
A gulp. "Lord Andre was just gawping, and Nikoli sort of scooted his chair back. Lord Axel got to him first; he had his phone in his hand and was ordering an ambulance. He knelt down beside His Lordship and, and . . ." Swallow. "Lord Axel, on the phone, told someone that his uncle appeared to have had a stroke. Then he ordered Harro, the butler, to turn on all the exterior lights and get down to the street to flag down the ambulance."
A deep breath. "Then Lord Axel suggested they move His Lordship to the couch in the front parlor, and Nikoli yelled about how Lord Axel didn't give orders around here and he wasn't going to inherit anything.
"Then the ambulance arrived, and took him away. I was too far back to hear anything. Then Lord Axel came out of the parlor, ordering a cab. Then Andre ordered the big car to the front. The cab came first and . . . then I saw the maids heading for the dining room and I went and told them to not touch anything and that they ought to not even go into the room. And I called the guys to come help me keep the scene undisturbed."
"So we sat here telling people that, no, they couldn't clear yet, and I even had to go lock the servant's door."
Vlad looked back in the room. No door.
"It's the panel between the seascape and the horse." One of the other boys pointed.
"Really?"
"Yeah. There's a bolt down low, you can lock it from this side, but not the other."
Vlad eyed his under-aged . . . assistants. Pointed at the girl. "Right, so . . . You're Natasha." Pointed at the stutterer.
"P-p-pauli. That's D-dimitri, and Va-va-va-va . . ."
"Varfolomey." The so-far silent boy grinned. "Everyone calls me Barf."
Vlad winced. "How about I try to emphasize the V. Now . . . I never did get the Lords straightened out. Exactly how is Lord Axel related to the others?"
Barf jumped in to answer. "Their fathers were half brothers. Lord Axel's father was the older by quite a lot, and His Lordship the younger. Lord Axel's father died, umm, fifteen years ago? Something like that, his mother had died a few months before that in a car accident."
