Sins of the Master

by Catherine Taylor

  “No, no, no.” Mairead shook her head, looking to Eddie. “No, don’t let them do this. Please, please don’t let them do this. I don’t know how to contact him. I don’t know anything that can help you. Please, listen to me.”

  Eddie glanced at her, before turning back to Asya. “And what does this achieve?”

  She smiled. “For every Ivanchenko child that was not procreated because of Zaleski. For every brother and sister that Semyon, Yuri and I were denied because of him.”

  The doctor spoke up, grinning at Mairead. “I could have everything ready by tomorrow morning.”

  “Stop it,” Mairead was becoming hysterical. She fell to her knees and crawled to Eddie, clutching his trousers. “Please, please, don’t do this. Don’t do this to me.”

  “Get off me.” Eddie pushed her off with his foot leaving her bawling on the floor. He looked at Asya. “Do whatever you have to do, but she is mine tonight.” He looked to the guards. “Take her to my room and tie her to the bed.”

  “No, no.” Mairead was screaming as she leapt up and clambered over the examination table and backed into the corner of the room, cringing as the men advanced on her. There was a tall bookcase beside her and she made a desperate attempt to pull it down. One man just pushed it back as the other grabbed her, hoisting her up over his shoulder and securing her legs to stop her kicks.

  Mairead lifted her upper body and twisted back, clawing her fingers viciously into his eyes as her teeth sunk into his bald head. He was yelling as he tried to pull her off him. The other man fisted her hair at the nape of her neck and dragged her from him. She was barely aware of his fist smashing into her face.

  .

  CHAPTER FIFTY-NINE

  The sun had gone down, leaving the horizon radiant with the colour of peaches. Lena smiled sadly at herself that she often compared things to food. There were aromas that took her mind back through the years to happy places and there were shapes that made her grin with their overtly sexual design. Some of her most enjoyable moments had been shared over a meal.

  As memories swamped her again, Lena downed her glass of vodka and topped it up again. She sat on her bed, staring out the window, thinking this was the night she should have been dining with Eddie. Instead she was drowning her misery alone, having managed to lose two men in the space of a few hours. When the anger and grief had finally subsided, she was left with a loneliness, unlike anything she had felt in years.

  Tears welled up again and she drank hard, drawing upon the one thing which would take away the pain. Soon she would pass out and wouldn’t have to feel anything, and if her dreams were kind, Jahn would come to her again, and this time he would take her in his arms and never let her go.

  A smile broke through as she thought of his grumpy face and his obvious disapproval at finding her drunk. Once upon a time, there would have been no lecture, just his firm and determined action of putting her over his knee and spanking her soundly for putting herself in danger. She would have howled and squirmed and pleaded, but there would have been no getting out of it.

  Her time with Jahn had taught her the cathartic peace that came with punishment and remained long after the tears had stopped. She smiled, thinking of herself standing in the corner with her blazing red bottom on display, and her face burning with embarrassment. It seemed that age had not diminished the thrill of being in such humiliating subjugation. The mere thought of it had her clit throbbing and reviving her sexual desperation.

  “You were so strict, Jahn.” Her hand wandered down to rub her bottom. “It stung for hours, but I would miss it when it faded away and I wanted to be naughty for you all over again.”

  Lena looked about at her empty room growing darker with the fading light.

  “Jahn,” she whispered. “I thought that you loved me.”

  The silence seemed to awaken the harsh reality that he wasn’t there to hear her. There had been no punishment and he wasn’t out there, listening to her, having bugged her room as he had all those years before. She was talking to an empty room.

  Lena burst into tears. The glass slipped from her hand as she fell back on the bed. She grabbed her teddy bear and curled up, howling into the soft fur. Everyone was gone, Danil, Greta, Jahn and Eddie and only loneliness awaited her.

  When her crying eased, she got up and went to the bag in the corner, pulling out another bottle of vodka. She looked around for her glass and saw it had broken. Scowling, she opened the bottle and drank from it as she shuffled back to the bed and stared down at the large piece of glass.

  * * * * *

  A long silence had prevailed for several minutes before Sean Kavanagh looked up from the letter he was reading. “How does this happen to her all the time? How does Mairead even get into these situations?”

  Vanessa was rubbing her temple against the headache throbbing behind her eyes. “This is not Mairead’s fault. I only wish I had suspected something sooner.”

  “And you’re certain these aren’t the ravings of a very sick girl?”

  “Sean.” Vanessa sat forward and looked at him. “Mairead went to incredible lengths to get me away from Sophie, to save my life. I was the last one who wanted to believe your daughter, but the proof is there. That photo is a Russian driver’s licence with my girlfriend’s picture on it and a completely different name.”

  “And how did Mairead get this?”

  She looked at the tall, elderly man sitting across from her. Like his son, Thomas Vaughn was a calm man, who had been reflecting quietly on the related events. Only his deep frown told of the worry he was feeling.

  “She must have got it from Sophie’s apartment. I don’t know what alerted her, but she got her proof and I found the app Sophie put on my phone. She’s heard every one of my calls, read all my texts and…” She sighed. “And because I told her that James needed my old car. Because of that, your son nearly lost his life.”

  Tom nodded gravely. “It just doesn’t seem credible, that they should be caught up in something like this. I mean, it just sounds preposterous to believe that Russian criminals on this scale, could operate in a place like New Zealand.”

  The small grey-haired woman next to him was trembling slightly. “Mairead is having a baby, our grandchild. Is James aware of this?”

  “I don’t know, Beth.”

  “This woman, Sophie,” Beth continued. “What exactly was Mairead going to do about her? Surely she will report her to the police. Mairead needs to be with us, where’s she safe.”

  “I only know what Mairead explained in the letter. She wanted me out and away from Sophie, and wanted me to make sure that all of you were protected, and that’s why she won’t come here. She would never put any of you in danger.”

  “Silly girl,” Tom remarked. “She shouldn’t be out there alone, especially in her condition. This needs to be handled by the police.”

  Beth looked at her husband cynically. “The same police who have our son in jail and are denying us access to him?”

  Tom looked at Sean. “The legalities of this, Sean? How does this happen?”

  “It should never have happened,” Sean growled. “And every Member of Parliament knows it, but no one wants to speak up. It was bloody awful what happened to Lance Easton and his family, but Kutcher used that to push his own agenda through. It’s been no secret that he’s wanted his precious GCSB to extend its power, and what better justification than a political assassination to make a case for domestic terrorism? Nobody wanted to vote no, and they rushed a bill through without the proper legal consultation, without even putting it through a select committee. Now that everyone has calmed down, the legal challenges are starting to mount up, beginning with my own, but it’s a bloody slow process.”

  Joanne had been sitting silently, staring down at the carpet, with her hands folded in her lap. “Can we get back to Mairead? She’s out there, on her own, in god knows what danger… I want to know what we’re going to do.”

  “I wish I knew,” Vanessa replied. “I wan
ted to go back to the apartment, to confront that bit… Sophie, but she won’t be there now. Her phone’s already disconnected.”

  “You know,” Sean uttered. “This could all be Mairead’s delusion. She’s pregnant and god knows how that might be affecting her…”

  “Sean,” Vanessa snapped. “There was nothing delusional about it. Don’t you think I wanted to deny it? I’ve been in a relationship with this girl for five months. Because of her, my best friend is in jail and his wife is missing. She used me…”

  Vanessa stopped as Joanne burst into tears. Sean put his arm around her as she buried her face into his shoulder. His own face was ashen and grim. Beth went across to them and gripped Joanne’s hand as she looked anxiously at Vanessa.

  “We do understand your loss as well, Vanessa,” she told her kindly.

  Vanessa shook her head. “There is no loss. I feel nothing but anger that I could have been so gullible. I was trained to locate the enemy, sort soldier from civilian in a blink of an eye, and I didn’t even see the enemy right under my nose. Some soldier I turned out to be.”

  Beth smiled. “You were the soldier you needed to be for our son, to get him through his pain in that hospital. You understood the nightmare he was going through, when Tom and I were helpless. None of us could have got through that without you.”

  “I only helped James to stop feeling sorry for himself and get him out of that bed. It was Mairead that healed him.”

  “Who could well be in danger herself,” Tom frowned. “I don’t understand your reservations of calling the police.”

  “Mairead was incarcerated for two weeks without charge or representation.” Vanessa glanced at Sean who was holding Joanne and sullenly staring down at the floor. “I don’t think the police are looking out for Mairead’s interests at the moment. I want to give her time to contact us.”

  “Well, she’s managed to evade them for the past several days,” Tom nodded. “And at least we know she’s alive.”

  “And that was one incredible elaborate plan to get me away from Sophie.” Vanessa grinned. “I still don’t know how she did it.”

  There was a knock at the door and Vanessa rose from her chair. “Are you expecting anyone?”

  “It could be room service,” Beth suggested.

  She paused before she opened it. “Who is it?”

  A deep older male voice came back. “It’s Inspector Collins and Senior Detective Sergeant Cooper. We’re hoping to have a word with Sean Kavanagh.”

  Vanessa opened the door. She was about to greet them when she saw the woman standing behind them and her mouth fell open.

  “What the hell…”

  Adele stepped forward. “I know I’m not anyone you want to see right now, but I’m here to help, I promise.”

  “We thought… everyone thought…”

  “That I was dead,” Adele finished for her.

  Vanessa eyed Cooper and Collins angrily. “Would you like to explain this?”

  “Not really,” Collins replied. “I was more surprised than you, but not stupid enough to ignore what I was being told. We’re here in a bit of an unofficial capacity.”

  “I don’t believe this,” Vanessa raged. “I have two sets of traumatised parents waiting in that lounge…”

  “Vanessa,” Adele stepped forward. “I’ve confessed to everything. Inspector Collins and Elizabeth here have my sworn statement, of how I tried to have Mairead murdered, my offshore accounts and how I’ve put you all in more danger than ever. Tomorrow morning a press conference will be called, but I need Sean Kavanagh behind this and other MP’s, willing to stand with me for support of what I am about to say, to go up against Parliament legislation, so that the media can get behind this, and that James will be out of prison within hours.”

  Vanessa stared at her furiously and shifted her gaze to Cooper. “And what do you have to say about this?”

  “I believe her,” Cooper replied. “And my boss here does too, and he’s not easily convinced about anything.”

  Collins nodded. “I’ve heard enough to put my own neck on the block. Right now I should be talking to my own superiors, but Miss Easton has given me enough reasons to do it her way. It’s going to be an interesting morning.”

  “I still don’t understand.” Vanessa glared at Adele. “Why now? Why would you want to help Mairead?”

  “My parents are dead because of what I did. Other people are dead because of me. James is in jail because of me and I understand that you have no idea where Mairead is.” Adele bowed her head. “I think she could be in danger and the only one who can help her is the man who has looked after me for the past month, Dylan Tyler.”

  “The bastard who started all this.”

  “Yes,” Adele nodded.

  Vanessa scoffed. “Well, it’s not me you have to sell this to. The four people who love James and Mairead more than anyone, are sitting in the next room, and you’re probably the last person in the world they want to see.”

  “I know, but I still have to try.”

  Vanessa stared coldly at her, but stood back to let them in. “Good luck.”

  * * * * *

  Her head was pounding as Mairead slowly opened her eyes. Her mouth was stinging and there was an icy numbness in her cheek. As she went to shift herself up, there was pain in her wrist and she was unable to move her hand. Panicked, Mairead came awake and clawed back with her free hand at the restraint tying her hand to the mattress.

  “Keep still or you’ll do yourself more damage.”

  She froze and turned her head slowly to see Eddie looking at her. Mairead felt the pain come flooding back into her face and eye, which was only half open.

  “Please,” he told her quietly. “Calm down. I’m not going to hurt you. You’ve been hurt already.” He held up a small pillow-shaped bag. “This is just an ice-pack for your face. You need it on you.”

  Mairead stared at him terrified and pressing herself to the headboard.

  “I didn’t want that to happen,” Eddie explained. “You shouldn’t have resisted. Now, you’re not so pretty.”

  His remark incited her bitter reply. “But that won’t stop you, will it?”

  “You think I want to rape you?” He smirked. “I don’t. I actually prefer a woman who wants to be with me. Now take this and hold it against your face.”

  The pain was enough to make her comply. The coldness brought some relief.

  Mairead’s lip trembled. “They’re going to kill my baby.”

  He sighed deeply. “Zaleski really had no idea what you were doing, did he?”

  “It doesn’t matter.”

  “Yeah, it does, because now you’re in a lot of trouble and I have to find a way to get you out of it.”

  Mairead shook her head. “Don’t even pretend that you want to. You’re just a monster like the rest of them. What kind of evil slime even considers what you are going to do to me?”

  He frowned. “The worst kind, my brother’s daughter. She never even knew her father, but she’s like him in every way.”

  “And you’re no better.”

  Eddie bowed his head and nodded. “So I’ve been told, and I’m sorry that I hit you, but it wouldn’t help if they thought I was on your side. I had to make it look…” He shook his head. “I hated hitting you, whether you believe that or not. In some ways, Zaleski and I are very much alike.”

  “You’re nothing like him.” Mairead gritted her teeth against her anger and terror. “He may have killed your brothers, but he must have had a fucking good reason.”

  “He did,” Eddie nodded. “He brought an end to one of the most vicious Bratva that Russia has ever known. The meeting that night was to consolidate a pact between several other Pakhans that would have seen Moscow seized and under the rule of criminals other than the ones that are in there at the moment.”

  “And how did you get out of that?”

  Eddie stared down at the bed. “Because he chose to spare me.”

  “Why?”
r />   “It doesn’t matter. I got out and for thirty years I never spoke his name again, or my own name of Ivanchenko.”

  “Then why?” Mairead insisted. “Why come after him if he spared your life?”

  “That was Asya’s doing. She made it her life’s ambition to find her father’s killer and she did, through your friend, Adele. Now, we’ve all been dragged into it. Yuri was going about his business happily, legitimately.” Eddie chuckled softly. “He’s a useless criminal. Semyon, I haven’t worked out yet. He stays on the outside and doesn’t like to get his hands dirty.”

  “And you?”

  “Me? I just got out of prison after twelve years. Maybe I should have stayed there.”

  “I don’t understand. Why are you helping them if you don’t want to be involved?”

  “I didn’t have a choice. I became involved, when I killed your friend, Barry Underhill.”

  Mairead stared at him.

  “Don’t look shocked,” Eddie smiled. “He was an arsehole. I didn’t need an excuse to kill him. I thought I could do that and move on, but they came for me when I got out. Now, I’m one of them and Zaleski won’t stop until every one of us is dead. Trouble is, they don’t know him like I do. They underestimate him. He will come, but I don’t know if it will be in time to help you.”

  “You said you wanted to help me,” Mairead reminded him.

  “Except I don’t know how, unless you know how to contact him.”

  “Don’t you think I would do anything to save my child? I really don’t know how to get hold of him. He didn’t contact me. I thought he would, but he didn’t. He left me alone.”

  “And so you came after us yourself. I knew Zaleski would never have allowed it. You put your life and that of your child’s at risk. For what?”

  Mairead stared at him silently.

  “Tomorrow morning, your silence will mean the death of your child. Do you understand that? Tonight, you can talk with me, the only hope in hell that you have.”