The Boy Who Glowed in the Dark

CHAPTER 11

Nadia called Simeon Simeonovich from the plane. He wasn’t available so she left a message with his assistant that she would be on a plane for thirteen hours and she would call back.

The Russian oligarch had recently retained Nadia’s services as a forensic security analyst to scrub the books of a Ukrainian energy company he wanted to buy. Nadia had travelled to Kyiv on his behalf and met with the company. She’d also investigated Bobby’s past during the same trip, and discovered the backstory behind his arrest for murder in New York. That information had helped Johnny win the case.

Simeonovich was forty-two years old, divorced with two young children, and dating a twenty-seven-year-old Russian socialite. Still, they weren’t married and Simmy, as his friends called him, was one of the world’s most eligible bachelors. He was the opposite of what Nadia had expected — understated and humble. He’d helped Nadia and her brother get out of Ukraine when they’d feared for their lives. Simmy had expressed interest in seeing Nadia again in New York. They’d shared instant chemistry.

Nadia called him again an hour later. She was put on hold for less than ten seconds.

“Where are you?” Simmy said.

“Not sure. Somewhere over Canada?”

“Where are you headed?”

“I’m afraid I have to postpone our dinner plans for Friday night. There’s a risk I won’t be back home in time and I don’t want to cancel at the last minute.”

“That’s very thoughtful of you. I appreciate the call. It leaves me with a bit of a problem, though.”

“I know. You said you were looking at a new company. You need an analyst. If you can wait twenty-four hours, I’ll know more about my immediate availability. I still might be back in New York by Friday. If not, I’d be happy to recommend someone else.”

“Whoever it is you have in mind, that person won’t do.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“What are the odds this person will pick up a menu and know better than I do what I want for dinner?”

Nadia always started out the conversation with business, and secretly hoped he’d twist it into flirtation. “You never know,” she said. “Someone else might do an even better job than I did in Lviv. Imagine the implications if that person were a man.”

“The implications would be that I’d leave the restaurant hungry.”

“Why’s that?”

“Because I’d be asking for the check right away and getting out of there as fast as I could.”

“That’s understandable. We all react to temptation in our own individual ways.”

“How dare you…” He laughed. “You are so insolent sometimes. Nobody else talks to me like that. If you were working for me on an assignment right now, I would fire you for that.”

“That would be unhealthy.”

“Why?”

“Because there’d be no one to order dinner for you and you might starve.”

“I hate when that happens.”

“What? When you starve?”

“No. When I don’t have the quickest wit in the room.”

“Shall I dumb it down for you?”

“On the contrary. But I’ll tell you what you can do for me.”

“What’s that?”

“Tell me where you’re going.”

A wave of disappointment washed over her. If only the repartee could have gone on indefinitely. But it couldn’t, and now he’d guided the conversation back to where he’d started. Her location. She was tempted to tell him. No, she realized. She wanted to tell him. She’d called to make sure he knew she might not make dinner on Friday. But she’d had a subconscious motive, too. She wanted him to know where she was. Simmy had offices all over the world, including a small one in Tokyo. Nadia had no one to rely on other than Johnny. A motivated billionaire could provide a safety net. The kind only global power and unlimited resources could buy.

Then an image of her father flashed before her, warning her that a Ukrainian should never trust a Russian.

“I’d like to tell you,” Nadia said. “But I can’t.”

“Can’t? Or won’t?” Simmy hesitated. “Still can’t trust the Russian, can you?”

Nadia started to protest.

“That’s okay. The oligarch doesn’t get love unless he’s giving his money away. Then the people adore him. Now. Let’s see. You’re somewhere over Canada and you’re flying for at least thirteen hours.”

“That’s assuming I told your assistant the truth. I could have made up the amount of time I was going to be in the air just to confuse you.”

“No. That wouldn’t be your style. You’re an honest person. Non-stop to Russia is only nine hours. Europe is even shorter. India is a bit longer…”

“Sometimes the fog is so heavy over San Francisco, it takes twice as long to get there.”

“Very funny. Africa is about right, but what personal business could you possibly have there? The Middle East is also the right distance. That’s a possibility. And then there’s Asia. Japan, Hong Kong, China.”

“I’ve always wanted to go on safari.”

“I’m intrigued. You know I love a good mystery.”

“I’m pleased you’re pleased.”

“I have offices in Beijing, Tokyo, and Dubai. Granted, they are small offices. Mostly consisting of two men, one local, one of mine. But my men are capable. They speak the local languages. If I can be of any assistance, you have my cell phone.”

His words carried an ominous foreboding. The last time Simmy had offered her his assistance, she’d ended up being chased by killers through the Priest’s Grotto, an underground network of gypsum caves in western Ukraine.

“I’m sure I won’t need any help, but it’s incredibly kind of you to offer.”

Nadia meant what she said, except for the first part.

She wasn’t sure of anything at all.