Trinity: The Koldun Code (Book 1)

by Sophie Masson

  Maxim glanced at Zaitsev, who shrugged. Maxim said, “I’m not here to bandy words or cross swords with you, Repin. Just say what you came to say.”

  “I’m a businessman, Senior Lieutenant. Live and let live is my motto. Long as you don’t interfere with me, I won’t interfere with you.”

  Maxim got angrily to his feet. “If you think that threatening me is going to –”

  “Please sit down. I’m just making a general business observation,” said Repin, unflustered. “Nothing to do with the police. As I say, live and let live is my motto. But there are limits even to my patience and when someone tries to pin something on me – well, let’s say I don’t appreciate it.”

  “Get to the point.”

  The flat blue gaze devoured Maxim’s face. “I was interested in Trinity, once,” he said. “Then I looked into it and decided it wasn’t for me. But someone decided to use that knowledge, and build a whole web of lies out of it.”

  “We know. Bayeva.”

  An airy gesture of dismissal. “Not the foreigner. Think. Trinity offices attacked. Trinity men sought by the police. The rot is on the inside, Senior Lieutenant.”

  Maxim shrugged. “Old news, Repin. We have already ...” And then he broke off, for he realized that Repin had used the present tense, not the past. Repin saw the change in his expression, knew he’d hit home. He said, silkily. “No, I cannot tell you who for I do not know. That is your job. But it is the only thing that makes sense. And that is what I came to say.”

  It was then Maxim knew that his original instinct, right at the beginning – that in the Trinity case they were facing not one criminal, but two – had been right. He knew now why it had been so difficult for him to reconcile the two strands – the Rusalka murders, and the disruption of Trinity under Alexey Makarov. Because they were two separate strands, run by two different people. For very different reasons.

  He was already on his feet and hurrying away, dialing Therese Clement’s number as he went.

  Chapter 44

  They didn’t catch up with him. St Petersburg is close to the border with Finland, and even if an alert is put out at once, why should a border guard match the shaven-headed Estonian hunter whose passport appeared completely in order with a certain Nikolai Pavlovich Volkovsky, wanted in Russia for fraud, conspiracy, gangsterism, murder and accessory to murder? A man such as he, who had fooled the world for so long, would always have an escape plan up his sleeve.

  But his secret life was rapidly being uncovered. A few days after his flight, after an intensive manhunt, the Petersburg police finally laid hands on one of the Trinity office raiders. Under questioning, the man revealed he’d been hired by Slava Lomakin, acting for someone higher up. He didn’t know who the boss was. But it wasn’t the first time he’d worked for them. Closer questioning began to provide the first elements of an astonishing truth.

  There had been a shadow side of Trinity, carrying out occasional but lucrative “black ops” for a range of secretive and unsavory clients. Over the last five years or so, a nucleus of hand-picked operatives – in Moscow, Pasha, Slava and Foma; in Petersburg, Feodor, plus a junior operative named Ludmila – had been cancering Trinity from the inside, with the help of hired underworld foot-soldiers: thugs, thieves and fixers who never knew what the chain of command was. But the chain did not lead to Makarov, or Galkin, or Barsukov. How could it, when none of them knew anything about it? Obsessed by their own secret – by the Koldun project – they’d lost their grip on what was going on in the company. Trusting to the reliable, unambitious but utterly loyal manager who had never let them down, they had missed the signs and fatally dropped their guard.

  Maxim and the rest of his colleagues could have dug for months or years without uncovering the full ramifications of just what it all meant, if, a fortnight after Volkovsky’s flight, Helen hadn’t received a call in the middle of the night.

  She and her mother were still in Russia, staying in the Moscow apartment; they had got an extension of their visa and put off their return to London. Indeed, even when they did go back to London, for Helen it would only be temporary. Everything had changed for her since that moment in the apartment overlooking the Petersburg canal. Everything, that is, except the deep ache of missing Alexey. Except loving him more with every day that passed. Except longing for the moments when her beloved would be there with her.

  She saw him during the day now too. She’d glimpse him walking by the river; sprawled laughing in the Alexandrovsky gardens; waiting for her outside a shop, smiling at her from the other side of the room. His voice was in her head and the knowledge of his loving presence everywhere she went. We are keyed to the same music. Even when what separated them was death itself.

  She knew now why she had to live for him. She knew that she must not let his dream die. She must not let Volkovsky’s cold, calculating treachery and Irina’s crazy, vengeful hatred win, for that would obliterate who Alexey had been. Who he still was, walking by her side and shining in her heart and soul.

  Yes, she had to live for him, because he was worth fighting for. Because the dreams he’d fought so hard for must survive. And she would not let him down, come hell or high water or well-meaning advice that it was too much of a burden for someone of her age and inexperience to try to continue with his plans for Trinity. She knew it wasn’t so. Her will was strong. Very strong, because Alexey was with her. There was no fog, no uncertainty. The hesitant, questioning girl of the past was gone forever, and would never return.

  Her mother, desperately anxious for her daughter, had gently tried to dissuade her. But Maxim understood. He had not argued. He had not canvassed ifs and buts. He had simply said, calmly, “He chose you. And that’s good enough for me. Whatever it takes, whatever you need, I will help you to the very best of my abilities.”

  It hadn’t been mere words. Over the last couple of weeks Maxim had gone with her to meetings with lawyers, immigration officials, police, bankers and all kinds of other hard-nosed people whose role in life is to put roadblocks in the way of dreams. He was like the father she’d never really had, keeping her from losing her temper, patiently explaining the finer points of yet another obstacle, informing himself on all kinds of facets of company law so he could help guide her. With the little lawyer Isakov, who had also proved to be something of a rock, he refused to allow authority or slippery shysters to bully, browbeat or bamboozle her. He spoke to the rest of the Trinity staff – shattered by what had happened, several had handed in their resignations – and with Ilya and Sonya’s steady support managed to persuade them to hold off for a while, at least till things were sorted out. Both offices were closed till things were on a proper legal footing again, but everyone was still being paid a retainer. Helen had insisted. She knew it was what Alexey would have wanted.

  The night of the phone call, she’d fallen early into a dreamless sleep, absolutely exhausted by another day battling with officials and then with the Russian conversation lessons Maxim’s friend Anna Dorskova had been giving her. Early days yet, but Anna was most encouraging as to her progress. Helen had a real ear, she told Therese Clement, with whom she’d struck up an unexpected friendship. She felt sure that before too long the young woman would speak Russian fluently.

  “Yelena.” The ringing cell phone had brutally jerked Helen out of deep sleep, and she was groggy when she picked it up and clicked the button. But the sound of the voice on the other end instantly woke her up, like a freezing shower.

  “Don’t hang up,” Nikolai Volkovsky said. “Or you’ll never know.” A pause. “And you want to. I know you do.”

  She’d been about to hit the end call button. Now she halted. But she didn’t speak.

  He said, “You might not believe me, but I never intended what happened. Not to Alexey. No – listen. Let me speak. I liked Alexey. I regret his death. And, whatever you may think, I had no part in Bayeva’s plot. I had no idea Galkin’s death was anything but an accident. I’d been running my operation undetected
by then for two years. But when I caught Grisha in Galkin’s office, and saw what he’d found, things changed. He had no idea what he’d found. He’d been after cash, trinkets. The photo in the desk meant nothing to him. Not to me, either, at first. Then I wondered – why would Galkin hide a photo of what looked like a shabby American motel? It was that question that eventually led me to Irina Bayeva Simmons and her crazy plot. Not before Barsukov had died too, though.”

  Helen felt like she was suffocating. “But you knew then. And yet you didn’t stop it. Even though Ivan Makarov was your friend. Even though he’d made you godfather to his son. You are worse than her. She was mad. You’re not. She didn’t really know them, not as people. You did. And yet you kept quiet. Worse still, you spun a web of lies, to deceive him. You set false trails, like Repin’s. For your own foul ends. So you could have control of Trinity.”

  His voice was tight. “That company was as much mine as theirs. Just as much! I’d given my life to it. And yet not once did it ever enter their heads to offer me a partnership. Not once. All those years of slaving my guts out and I was still just a salaried employee to them. Never part of their charmed circle. Their most important initiative in years – the Koldun project – they kept from me completely. Didn’t breathe a word of it to me. Not a word! I only found out when the policeman did. How do you think that made me feel?”

  She said, very quietly, “But Alexey had no part in it. And he would have sold the company, if you hadn’t persuaded him not to. If you wanted Trinity so much, why do that? Why not wait till it was up for sale?”

  “Because I couldn’t afford to buy it. Not outright. It was as stark as that. And I was damned if I was going to have to go cap in hand to Repin or anyone like him. Never. No – my operation would function better under Trinity cover. I could run both sides of the business – if we only had an absentee director. A rich young man who hated his father and all he’d stood for. Who’d been years out of Russia. Whose passion was music. Who’d never intended to keep on the business. But who could be persuaded to keep it on, for idealistic reasons. Yet who would follow my advice. Leave it to me. Give me a free hand. It was the perfect solution. It should have been the perfect solution. Look, I had nothing against Alexey. I even liked him, like I told you. And then – well, he started to show that he really was Ivan Mikhailovich’s son. Showed that under the charming exterior, there was still the iron Makarov will. I tried to persuade him he didn’t need to be personally involved, but it was no good. He refused to listen to reason. Refused to listen to warnings.”

  “You knew Irina was in Uglich,” she said, breaking in. “Yet you deliberately made sure Alexey would be there – like – like bait for a hungry wolf.”

  “No! I didn’t expect what happened! I didn’t plan for it to end that way.”

  “I don’t believe you. You had the gun,” she said. “You could have shot her straight away. But you waited. Because you wanted it to happen. You wanted Alexey to die.”

  “It was your fault he was there,” he said, angrily. “Yours! If you hadn’t persuaded him to stay at her place, and if he hadn’t been with you, she wouldn’t have got to him that day. Have you thought of that?”

  “Yes,” she said, very sadly. “I have. But – if it hadn’t been that day, it would have been another. She was never going to give up. But you could have stopped her. She would have been locked up. He would have been safe. But you never even tried. Because you saw a perfect chance to get your hands on Trinity.” She outlined the chilling scenario Isakov had suggested to them, the other day. “If Trinity was seen as irredeemably corrupt – white-anted by gangsters like Repin – if key staff like Pasha started defecting, major fraud was uncovered and its reputation was fatally undermined – then the company would rapidly lose value. And if Alexey died without a will, then you’d have a chance to get hold of it at a bargain basement price. Even for nothing. You could step in as its savior. As its white knight.”

  He laughed, harshly. “Well, well, someone’s been doing their research! Think what you want, Helen, but know this for certain: if Alexey had not been such a headstrong young fool, if he’d not ignored every bit of advice that was given to him – then he’d still be alive today. I’d have protected him from that mad witch. I’d have denounced her long since! Dear God, why did he have to turn out to be so overbearingly like his damned father?”

  She said, very calmly, “Listen well to me, you bastard – because these are the last words I will ever speak to you. Whatever it takes – however long it takes – you will pay for what you’ve done. For I will never rest till you are destroyed. And you will never, ever get your hands on Trinity or the Koldun file or anything that you ever wanted. Never! You have lost, you vile, disgusting traitor. You have failed – because you never understood Alexey and you never will.”

  He shouted down the phone, “Little fool, you think you hold all the cards but you’re wrong! Trinity will be mine one day, no matter what. I have powerful friends. Very powerful friends. And you don’t even have a particle of Alexey’s will. You’ll never be able to keep it. And you might have the file but we’ve cracked the code, we know what Koldun is, and –”

  She disconnected. Switched the phone off. Sat there on the bed staring into space for a moment, then picked up the phone again, and dialed Maxim’s number.

  Also by Sophie Masson

  Trinity: The False Prince (Book 2) by Sophie Masson

  Truth is the first casualty of war.

  A year and a half have passed since the events that changed Helen’s life forever. With Maxim and her other friends, she is fighting to uphold the legacy entrusted to her, but struggles with the weight of memory, the stress of trying to keep Trinity afloat, and the continuing manipulations of the company's enemies.

  Meanwhile, in a remote coastal settlement in southern Mexico, a young fisherman is made an offer he can’t refuse, triggering a chain of events which will completely transform the struggle for the ownership of Trinity and the secrets of the Koldun code.

  For more information, please visit http://www.momentumbooks.com.au/books/the-false-prince/

  Acknowledgments

  Writing this book was an exciting and challenging journey and along the way I was greatly encouraged by the practical help and wise advice of other people. I’d particularly like to thank my husband David Leach and my friends and fellow writers Jon Appleton and Wendy James for their close reading of the early drafts, and their many helpful suggestions. Thanks also to Anna for helping me get the intricacies of Russian names right! In Russia, thanks go to the two Sashas, and to Yulia, Elena, Yuri and Valery, whose conversation and anecdotes opened my eyes and my ears to many extraordinary aspects of Russian contemporary life, history and myth during my two visits there in 2010 and 2012.

  And a big thank you to the wonderful team at Momentum for their enthusiasm and care for this story, and for delivering it to readers in such a beautiful package.

  Note: Alexey’s translation for Helen is my own paraphrase of part of the original Russian words of “Подмосковные вечера” or “Moscow Nights”, by Mikhail Lvovich Matusovsky and Vasily Solovyov-Sedoi (1955).

  About Sophie Masson

  Born in Indonesia of French parents, and brought up in Australia and France, Sophie Masson is the award-winning author of more than 60 novels for readers of all ages, published in Australia and many other countries. Her adult novels include the popular historical fantasy trilogy, Forest of Dreams (Random House Australia). Sophie has always had a great interest in Russian myth and history, an interest reflected in several of her books for younger readers.

  First published by Momentum in 2014

  This edition published in 2014 by Momentum

  Pan Macmillan Australia Pty Ltd

  1 Market Street, Sydney 2000

  Copyright © Sophie Masson 2014

  The moral right of the author has been asserted.

  All rights reserved. This publication (or any part of it) may not be re
produced or transmitted, copied, stored, distributed or otherwise made available by any person or entity (including Google, Amazon or similar organisations), in any form (electronic, digital, optical, mechanical) or by any means (photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise) without prior written permission from the publisher.

  A CIP record for this book is available at the National Library of Australia

  Trinity: The Koldun Code (Book 1)

  EPUB format: 9781760082017

  Mobi format: 9781760082024

  Print on Demand format: 9781760082031

  Cover design by XOU Creative

  Edited by Deonie Fiford

  Proofread by Thomasin Litchfield

  Macmillan Digital Australia: www.macmillandigital.com.au

  To report a typographical error, please visit momentumbooks.com.au/contact/

  Visit www.momentumbooks.com.au to read more about all our books and to buy books online. You will also find features, author interviews and news of any author events.