Red Moth

Pekkala arrived

Pekkala arrived at the Cafe Tilsit at 5.30, half an hour before the meeting was due to take place. It was his custom to arrive early for meetings. This gave him time to study his surroundings, even those which were as familiar to him as the Tilsit. Out of habits that had been drilled into him since his first days of training with the Okhrana, he never sat with his back to a window or a door, but always positioned himself against a wall by an exit, preferably the kitchen, through which he could escape if needed. The other advantage of being near the kitchen was that anyone entering the restaurant through the service entrance would inevitably be halted by the staff. The change in tone of their voices was as good as any watchdog, even if he could not hear what they were saying. And if, as was likely, the intruder responded by pulling a gun on any waiter or dishwasher who tried to bar his way, even if he did not pull the trigger, the sudden silence from the kitchen was equally efficient in warning him that something was not right.

No matter how safe Pekkala knew his surroundings to be, whenever circumstances forced him to sit facing away from a window or a door, he felt the skin crawl on the back of his neck.

These rules of survival had been so engrained into Pekkala’s mind that he no longer gave them any conscious thought.

The cafe was bustling as usual for that time of the evening. Most of the customers sat at long tables, elbow to elbow, strangers side by side, enjoying the strange solitude that came with being alone in such a crowded place. As Pekkala made his way towards his usual table at the back, he saw that it was already occupied. As he turned to look for an alternative, the figure at his chosen place raised a hand and smiled.

It was only then that Pekkala realised the man was Kovalevsky, who had arrived even earlier, no doubt with the same instincts as Pekkala’s.

The two men sat hunched over the little table, elbows resting on the bare wood, not knowing where to begin after so many years apart.

In spite of the years since they’d last seen each other, Pekkala felt immediately at ease with Kovalevsky. Their shared past had given them a particular angle of vision on the world which could not be blunted by time.

‘Did you think I wouldn’t show?’ asked Kovalevsky.

‘You’re here now‚’ replied Pekkala. ‘That’s what matters.’

‘I see you are not wearing your weapon.’

‘I knew I wouldn’t need it.’

With a smile, Kovalevsky drew open his coat, showing that he’d also come unarmed. ‘Ever since you stepped into my classroom this afternoon, I’ve been wondering how you tracked me down.’

‘You talk in your sleep,’ replied Pekkala.

‘I what?’

Without offering any further explanation, Pekkala asked a question of his own. ‘How on earth did you know I came here to the Tilsit?’

‘I come here myself from time to time. I’ve seen you here.’

Now it was Pekkala who seemed baffled. ‘How is it that I didn’t spot you?’

‘One thing I did not forget from my days with Myednikov is how to vanish in a crowded room. Besides, when a man is dead, you do not look for him. In that way, at least, Dzerzhinsky did me a favour.’

Valentina, the owner, arrived at their table with two wooden bowls of sorrel and spinach soup, into each of which a dollop of sour cream had been ladled. ‘Ah,’ she said to Pekkala, ‘I see you have made a new friend.’ And with those words, she bent down and kissed Kovalevsky on the cheek. ‘The professor is my favourite customer. Aren’t you, Professor?’

‘I try to be,’ he replied.

Pekkala smiled politely as he watched this exchange, but he couldn’t help remembering his last visit to the Tilsit, when Valentina had touched his shoulder. And he was embarrassed now at how that touch had made him feel, even if only for an instant.

‘So we are to go on a mission together,’ said Kovalevsky, when the two men were alone again.

‘The last one you will ever need to do.’

Kovalevsky nodded as he spooned some of the bright green soup into his mouth. ‘A fitting end to my career, since you were also my companion on the first mission we ever undertook.’

‘A humbling experience,’ remarked Pekkala, ‘thanks to Chief Inspector Vassileyev.’