Chernobyl Murders lh-1

by Michael Beres

  “Last summer,” said Lazlo, “at the farm near the Czech frontier, Mihaly told me his concerns about safety at Chernobyl. Later in the year, when I visited Pripyat, he told me about you. I should have followed up about the plant.”

  “Mihaly was not the only one worried about safety,” said Juli.

  “If you worked at Chernobyl, you got used to constant talk of safety, or lack of safety. The jokes higher officials called gossipmongering caused memos to be sent to supervisors. The chief engineer jokes the plant is nothing more than a steam bath, nothing but hot water.

  But death is no joke. No one laughs now. As for Mihaly telling you about me, I have my own feelings.”

  “What do you mean?” asked Lazlo.

  “Mihaly and I didn’t mean to upset his family life. Our relationship was ending when his wife found out. All three of us were hurt deeply.”

  “You think I told Nina about you? Mihaly asked if I did. I was angry with him. I felt I was being blamed for what you and he had done. I understand passion. Nothing is black and white. But to tell Nina, to hurt her…”

  “Mihaly said you wouldn’t do it. I didn’t believe him. Now I do.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I can see you. It’s easy to mistrust someone until you meet him face to face. Mihaly was not like other men, and you are not like other men. Men in power are responsible for accidents like Chernobyl. In their quest for power, they ignore the future and the environment. It is the only thing we have to give our children. And now men… always men… have destroyed what little we have. But you and Mihaly…”

  Lazlo looked straight ahead as he drove. His side window was open slightly, causing his hair to blow about. His profile, small chin and sloping forehead, was similar to Mihaly’s. A handsome man, but serious, as the situation deserved. A man determined to set things straight.

  “Are you worried about your baby?” asked Lazlo.

  “Of course. But I don’t want to think about an abortion. I’ll wait for the blood test results.”

  “And if the results are not clear-cut?”

  “I don’t know what to do. I was going to give the baby up for adoption. But now… I don’t know.”

  The house was on the edge of the town of Visenka at the end of a road, which continued as a rutted trail into farm fields. The house was small, a cottage, and along the foundation in earth kept warm by the house, spring flowers bloomed. A small arbor covered with budding vines arched over the walk. When Lazlo followed Juli through the arbor, an old woman appeared at the door. She was short and plump and wiped her hands on an apron embroidered with flowers. When she opened the door, Lazlo could smell bread baking. The small size of the house, the farm fields in the distance, the appearance of this woman at the door… all of it reminded him of his boyhood in Kisbor. When the old woman hugged Juli and they spoke in Hungarian, the spell was complete.

  “Detective Horvath is from Kiev,” said Juli. “He was kind enough to drive me here. This is Aunt Magda, my father’s sister.”

  Aunt Magda’s hand was wrinkled and tough, a farm woman.

  She looked at him suspiciously. “I’ve never met a Hungarian militiaman. Were you born in Ukraine?”

  “Near the Czech border.”

  “What do you know about this reactor business? What can I tell my neighbors?”

  “I’ll let your niece explain. She knows more than me. I must leave now because I’ve been promised a meeting this afternoon at the Ministry of Energy office in Kiev.”

  “Call me,” said Juli. “I hope you find out more about your brother’s family.”

  “You have relatives near Chernobyl?” asked Aunt Magda.

  “My brother’s wife and little girls. My brother worked at the plant… he was killed.”

  “My God,” said Aunt Magda, holding Lazlo’s hand and looking up to him. “I’m very sorry for you. It’s not right these things happen. People killed, and the news says nothing. My God. Killed.”

  She squeezed his hand. “Is there anything I can do?”

  “No.” He looked to Juli, who stood behind her aunt, her cheeks wet with tears. “But I’ll let you know about his wife and two little girls.”

  “Please do. I’ll pray for your brother and for them. I’ll keep candles burning.”

  Juli turned away, wiping her cheeks with the back of her hand.

  “Please write down your telephone number for Detective Horvath, Aunt Magda.”

  When Aunt Magda began searching through a cabinet, Juli stepped close to Lazlo, kissed him quickly on the cheek, and said, “I lived in Moscow when I was a girl. They have the finest hospitals.”

  When Lazlo left the house and stepped beneath the arbor, he saw a momentary flash of red up the road. He held several thick vine branches apart with his fingers and saw the car parked on the opposite side of the road about fifty meters away, facing the opposite direction. It was a faded red Zhiguli, partially hidden by an old truck. The left taillight was out, but he knew it had been lit a moment earlier.

  Lazlo got into his car, turned around, and drove up the road.

  After passing the old truck, he saw two men in the red car. At the main street in Visenka, he turned north and drove slowly. Soon the faded red Zhiguli was on the main street behind him, and stayed with him as he made several turns to the highway. The Zhiguli followed him all the way back to Kiev. He knew it had to be KGB, KGB driving a faded Zhiguli instead of their usual black Volga.

  When the KGB followed someone, they did it one of two ways.

  The more obvious way was men in dark overcoats driving a black Volga. This method was meant as a warning to the person being followed. The other way was undercover, changing vehicles, using even a cheap red car like so many others on the crowded streets of Kiev. The men in the red Zhiguli followed cautiously, and it was obvious he was not supposed to know.

  A light rain began in Kiev, the droplets plummeting down through the upper atmosphere where the wind was changing direction.

  17

  Monday afternoon, thirty-six hours without sleep, and Lazlo was back at the Ministry of Energy. The news of Mihaly’s death and the hours spent with Juli Popovics seemed transcendental, having happened to another Lazlo Horvath. Had he reached his physical limit, or was something else taking place inside him?

  Vatchenko, deputy chairman of the Engineering Council, met Lazlo in a conference room. Minister of Electric Power Asimov left the room after introducing Vatchenko, and Lazlo sat at the conference table, watching Vatchenko draw diagrams of reactor operating principles on a chalkboard. Vatchenko was a thin, intense young man with short, light-colored hair. What had at first glance seemed an overlarge upper lip was actually a mustache of flesh-colored hair.

  Although he was dead tired, Lazlo listened intently.

  The explosion took place shortly after one in the morning on Saturday, April 26. A steam explosion was first, followed by another explosion caused by hydrogen gas. The second explosion disrupted the reactor core and ignited the graphite. Helicopters dropped sand onto the exposed core, followed by boron and lead. Because of the radiation released, a ring of approximately twenty to thirty kilometers was being evacuated.

  Vatchenko sat across from Lazlo at the conference table, glancing back to admire his diagrams on the chalkboard. “I can understand your concern, Detective Horvath. It’s unfortunate it sometimes takes incidents like this to make higher officials take an interest in technology. Has any of this made sense?”

  “The first few diagrams were clear,” said Lazlo. “I understand the backup systems, and your lecture on hardware would be fine if I wanted to become a nuclear engineer. What I’m really curious about is quality control, the inspections of all these pumps and valves and sensors. Who does it? When is it done? And mostly, have there recently been changes in procedures?”

  Vatchenko smiled. “To understand procedure, one must understand the total system.”

  “I’m talking about simple inspections,” said Lazlo. “I’m talkin
g about changes in the past six months. If plant hardware has not changed since it was put into service, wouldn’t reductions in safety procedures during critical testing make things less safe at the plant?”

  “This talk of so-called reductions in safety procedures is puzzling, Detective Horvath. I assure you a technical investigation will be conducted by those most qualified.”

  “Those qualified to place the blame wherever they want?” asked Lazlo.

  Vatchenko leaned back in his chair, folded his hands on his chest, and twirled his thumbs. “Detective Horvath, since concern for your brother’s role in the incident is obvious, I must tell you that as senior engineer on duty, his actions, or lack thereof, will be scrutinized. I’m truly sorry he has become a victim, but I must be honest with you.”

  “What about the chief engineer?”

  “The chief engineer was not on duty.”

  “Did he order tests he knew would be dangerous?”

  Vatchenko stopped twirling his thumbs. “For someone who knows little about nuclear plants, you imply a great deal, Detective Horvath. You use militia credentials to demand answers. Yet it is too soon for answers. I’m sorry about your brother and for the other victim.”

  “Only two victims? I’ve seen the faces of evacuees. They are homeless, frightened, and confused. Perhaps it is better to keep everyone confused. Perhaps for your holy Ministry of Energy it is more important to save face than to care for the people who put their safety in your hands. I can read between the lines of official news from Pravda, Comrade Deputy Chairman. I know two deaths announced reluctantly means many more were killed or will soon die!”

  Vatchenko smoothed down his flesh-colored mustache with his fingertips and stared at Lazlo for several seconds before speaking. “I am neither a journalist nor a politician, Detective Horvath.

  But I do understand the need to avoid throwing gasoline into the flames. I assure you everything possible is being done for the people in the area.”

  “How do you know? You’re not there. Is groundwork already being laid for the possibility of a scapegoat being needed? Don’t be afraid to talk to me, Comrade Deputy Chairman. I understand how these self-perpetuating ministries work!”

  Vatchenko’s face reddened, making the fine hairs of his mustache clearly visible. “You act as if the world is in environmental crisis.”

  Lazlo stood, aware of the bump of his holstered Makarov against his ribs. “Perhaps the world is in crisis! A crisis of shoddy engineering and safety precautions! A crisis created by men in power who want more power and don’t care how they get it!”

  “I believe our conversation is at an end,” said Vatchenko as he stood and left the room.

  A minute later, Asimov, the minister of electric power who had arranged for Lazlo to meet with Vatchenko, entered the room, asked Lazlo to return to his seat, and sat across from him.

  “Deputy Chairman Vatchenko tells me he was unable to satisfy your thirst for knowledge. During your meeting, I made inquiries of our Moscow representative. Your sister-in-law and nieces are being well cared for at Municipal Hospital Number Six, and their situation is not critical. I’m sorry I have no more details. Let us not lose hope, Detective Horvath. Your brother would certainly have wanted you to remain hopeful.”

  Hopeful was a word Lazlo had heard misused throughout his life. When his mother was dying, his aunts had said to remain hopeful. When victims of crime were hospitalized, relatives were told to remain hopeful. When he was taken back to the farm village to investigate the shooting of the deserter, his captain said he was hopeful the parents and sister would understand the circumstances.

  Boys killing boys. The strings of his violin silenced in youth.

  A person might pray, but remain hopeful? It was an impossible request. A person faced with tragedy must not trust hope. A person faced with tragedy must visualize the future realistically in order to prepare for the inevitable.

  Before Lazlo left the Ministry of Energy, Asimov gave him the address and phone number of Municipal Hospital Number Six and said he could inquire daily about any information relayed from Moscow. Asimov smiled and said good-bye, and Lazlo thought, All of the ministries in the union are populated with puppets attached to Moscow’s long strings.

  Outside the ministry, the faded red Zhiguli was parked a half block away on the far side of the street. When Lazlo pulled out into the late-afternoon traffic, the Zhiguli followed. But what did it matter now? He was of no help to Nina and the girls. He was of no help to Juli Popovics. He could barely help himself as he drove wearily to his apartment.

  When he parked in front of his building, he didn’t even bother to look for the red Zhiguli. Tonight at midnight when he went on duty, they would most likely have switched cars. With several hours of sleep behind him, he would spot them. But for now, as he climbed the stairs to his apartment, a deathlike sleep beckoned him to join his brother, and he tried to forget about the Ministry of Energy, the KGB, and the frightened faces at the roadblock.

  Major Grigor Komarov of the KGB stood at the desk and switched off the intercom. He had overheard Asimov’s attempts to reassure Detective Horvath. Instead of sitting back down in the guest chair, Komarov walked around Asimov’s desk, sat in the larger chair, rested his elbows on the desktop, and waited. When Asimov returned to his office, he narrowed his eyes at Komarov, walked to the window, and looked out. Komarov knew he was expected to vacate the chair because its owner had returned. But he stayed where he was, and Asimov, circling the room like a vulture, finally settled in one of the guest chairs as if it were carrion.

  “I assume you continued listening while I spoke to the detective?” said Asimov.

  “I listened, Comrade Minister. And I’d like your opinion of what should be done.”

  Asimov adjusted his position in the chair. “My ministry will keep Detective Horvath informed of the health of his brother’s family as we receive information from Moscow.”

  “What about his provocative antigovernment statements?”

  “His brother has died. What can I do? Paint rosy pictures and upset him even more? The Chernobyl situation is serious. The new openness of the general secretary dictates…”

  Komarov interrupted. “You and your people assume the KGB’s goal is concealment, when in fact the opposite it true! For example, your representative never told Detective Horvath what kind of material is being released.”

  Asimov sat forward in the chair. “What does it matter to you?

  You are not there.”

  Komarov glared at Asimov, then continued in a calmer voice.

  “Comrade, I ask a question, and this is the kind of answer I get?”

  Asimov waved his hand in the air. “Many things have been released by the explosion. Iodine, cesium, cadmium, hundreds of radionuclides… the same kind of material as in an atmospheric test or at Hiroshima. For this reason alone, the KGB should understand at a time like this, when one’s own family…”

  Komarov interrupted again, but lowered his voice. “The KGB, Comrade Minister, understands many things. Do you think we make a habit of tormenting grieving relatives? Don’t you realize we have valid reasons for inquiry? The KGB head in Pripyat met with Party committee personnel immediately after the accident, and I’ve yet to hear from him. No matter what you think, the KGB will do its part. Disaster suggests violence and terror, and I’ve come here for information to help deal with those possibilities. Can you guarantee at this early stage what happened at Chernobyl was an accident?”

  Asimov stood, walked behind the desk, forcing Komarov to swivel around in the large desk chair. Asimov stared down at Komarov, contempt obvious on his face.

  “Major Komarov, what is it you want from me?”

  “You must file an official request to the KGB for an investigation of Detective Horvath.”

  “On what grounds?”

  “Comrade Minister, you and I both listened to Detective Horvath’s attempts to intimidate your engineer. He asked detailed questions, and
in my opinion, your engineer told him too much.

  We both heard his tirades. He was upset about his brother. But there is something beneath the surface, something I have seen in others who try to hide their true concerns.”

  “What if I choose not to file such a report?”

  “Because I am here on official business, it is mandatory I fill out a report. In my report I will have to say the minister of electric power was reluctant to document a situation critical to the investigation of circumstances surrounding the incident at Chernobyl.”

  Komarov stood, invited Asimov to sit in his own chair behind his own desk. Before he left the office, Komarov gave Asimov the address of Deputy Chairman Dumenko’s Moscow office to which the request for investigation should be sent. He told Asimov to have the request ready by nine the following morning so a KGB courier could pick it up.

  When Komarov left the building, he lit a cigarette and walked slowly to the Volga, where Captain Azef waited. He continued smoking the cigarette after entering the car.

  “What did I miss?” asked Azef. “Detective Horvath left some time ago. Our men radioed to say he went to his apartment.”

  “The energy minister and an engineer fresh out of university with fur on his lip empathize with Detective Horvath and in doing so have forgotten their duties.”

  “Where do we go now?” asked Azef.

  “To militia headquarters to see our old friend Chkalov.”

  “Ah,” said Azef. “The next victim.”

  Komarov puffed on his cigarette and glared at Azef, who faced forward and began driving. Azef was wrong. These were not victims.

  More like stepping-stones on his journey to his chairmanship. As Azef drove past late-afternoon homebound workers exiting a metro station, Komarov visualized a circus performer walking upon the bobbing heads of the crowd.

  Chief Investigator Chkalov was arrogant until Komarov informed him of the death of Detective Horvath’s brother, and of the meeting with his brother’s lover in Kiev.

  “On orders from Moscow,” continued Komarov, “the Chernobyl incident will be subject to an in-depth investigation leaving no stone unturned. I’m here to inform you of anti-Soviet statements made by your detective.”