The Pandora Key aka The Hostage Room

13

A PHONE WAS RINGING. THE SOUND WAS LIKE A PATIENT, persistent worm burrowing ever deeper into the apple that was my consciousness. The ringing stopped. Maybe I was dreaming.

I opened my eyes, and I was looking at the elaborate tinwork that was the ceiling of Harvey’s office. What had apparently been quite an elegant feature back in the day was just one more thing Harvey couldn’t take care of. The sun streaming in through the east-facing windows illuminated the tarnished and discolored condition. It was in need of a good polishing or…whatever one did to maintain a tin ceiling. Why had I never noticed before?

I had fallen asleep sitting up. When I tried to lift my head from the back of the couch, my neck muscles objected fiercely. I was trying to gather my wits when the ringing started again. It was my ring tone, but the sound was muffled. I followed the sound to the crevice between two couch cushions.

“Hello?”

“It’s time to go.”

“Bo?”

“The meeting is set. Tishchenko is waiting for us.”

Crap. I sat up straight and nearly knocked my laptop to the floor. I’d forgotten about the meeting. That was one of my wits I had failed to gather. “Where are you?”

“Out front.”

I wobbled to my feet and peered through the front window. The way the light hit the hood of his silver Mercedes, it seemed pretty early in the morning. “What time is it?”

“Seven.”

“Seven?” I rubbed my eyes.

“He is a busy man. He will not wait long.”

Right. Busy doing what vory do at seven in the morning. Maybe getting a new tattoo. “All right. Just give me a second to check on Harvey. I’ll be right out.”

I hung up and searched for my shoes, black leather lace-ups with thick soles that were kind of clunky and a little hard to misplace. I looked under the couch and behind the desk and found them under the side table next to the wingback. As I put them on and tied them, I wondered what the dress code might be for meeting a vor. Jeans, a polo shirt, a windbreaker, and clunky work shoes were all I had to offer.

I found a clean shirt upstairs in a spare dresser where I kept a few essentials. Harvey was facedown in bed with one arm flopped over his head. I couldn’t see his eyes, but I could hear him snoring. Next stop was the medicine cabinet. I went with four ibuprofen for my stiff neck and a Pepto-Bismol chaser straight from the bottle. Then I went to the kitchen and poured a glass of grapefruit juice to wash away the filmy pink residue. Feeling marginally fortified, I grabbed my backpack, took a deep breath, and headed out the door to my first-ever breakfast meeting with a Russian mobster.

The name of the café was Grigorii’s. It was in a part of town I had never been to and saw no reason ever to visit again. Bo got out of the car, straightened his jacket, and buttoned it. He looked as if he’d gotten himself spiffed up for his first Communion. It wasn’t anything overt, but he wasn’t his usual awe-inspiring self. It made me nervous.

There wasn’t much to Grigorii’s. It was a dim space that smelled of bacon grease. The foam tiles that made up the low ceiling were stained with brown water blossoms. The predominant feature was a long bar along one wall. The tables had no cloths, and the chairs had no padding or upholstery. It had the look of a campus coffee bar but the feel of something else. Something defiant and political, as if the place itself resented even being in the United States. Almost an entire wall was draped with a yellow and teal flag, which I assumed was Ukrainian. Another wall was adorned with yellowed newspaper articles affixed with brittle Scotch tape. They emanated from a solid center like a newsprint sunburst. I was willing to bet they were not from the city section of the Boston Globe.

Every once in a while, a harsh blast of laughter would issue from a corner where a group of men who hadn’t shaved in a while sat around one of the larger tables. It wasn’t the fun kind of laughing but the edgy and wicked and loud kind. There had been an eruption when we walked through the door.

I leaned in toward Bo. “How do these men…how are women treated in this culture?”

“Not well, but they respect strength wherever they see it. I know of one Ukrainian hit man who took his wife along to do his murders.”

“Great.” I felt much better.

The opposite corner of the place was occupied by a wiry man sitting in a corner by himself reading a newspaper and smoking. He probably knew that smoking in a restaurant was against the law. He seemed to have mighty powers of concentration.

Bo approached the man behind the bar and spoke to him in a language I didn’t understand. I didn’t know if Bo spoke Russian or if the other man spoke one of the languages from the broken country of Yugoslavia. Either way, they communicated just fine.

As the bartender watched, Bo took the.357 from his shoulder holster and laid it on the counter. The two of them looked at me. I followed Bo’s lead and laid down my Glock, which looked puny next to Bo’s howitzer. The bartender tilted his head toward the smoking man. We were allowed to pass.

When we got to the booth, Bo did the talking. Again, I couldn’t understand, but it felt like some kind of tribute. He gestured first to himself and then to me. I tried to look less terrified and more honored, but it was hard, because at close range, Drazen Tishchenko was a terrifying man.

He looked to be in his late forties or early fifties, with a face made by God but substantially rearranged by man. His nose was too thick, his mouth was a grim, crooked line, and his ears seemed to be too low on his head, as if someone had grabbed them by the lobes and yanked. Most disturbing were the tattoos. They slithered out from under the collar of his tight black V-necked sweater, up both sides of his neck, and into his hairline. They covered both his forearms and even his hands and fingers. If murder was how you earned your badges in this Boy Scout troop, then Drazen Tishchenko was an Eagle Scout.

But I didn’t need the tattoos to tell me he was a killer. He told me with his eyes. I looked into his eyes and felt the value of my life drop to nothing.

“Step out,” he said in English. He made a motion with his hands as if he were reeling me closer. “Do not be afraid of me.”

I stepped forward so that I was next to Bo instead of behind his right shoulder. “Thank you for seeing us.”

“Do you speak Russian like my friend Djuro?” It took me a second to realize he was referring to Bo by his given name.

“I’m sorry, I don’t.”

“We will speak English, then, so you will understand. Please, sit with me.”

Bo and I sat on one side of the booth, Tishchenko on the other. I slipped in first, giving Bo the outside in case he had to make a quick move. It didn’t matter. If he did, we were both dead. Undoubtedly, everyone in the place was armed and dangerous and belonged to Drazen.

“What would you like?” he asked me.

“I’m fine.”

He sat back so that only his fingertips still touched the table. “What is your name?”

“Alex. Alex Shanahan.”

“Short for Alexandra?”

“Yes.”

“Sashen’ka.” He clasped his hands and pushed them forward on the table. “Please, Sashen’ka, you will order something.” It didn’t seem like a request.

“I’ll have a cup of tea. Thank you.”

“Yes. Very good.”

He called over to the bartender, held up two fingers, and pointed to his own empty espresso cup. He was ordering for Bo. Interesting. I wondered how well these two men knew each other.

“My friends, what can I do for you?”

I glanced at Bo to see if I was supposed to talk, but he took the lead.

“I lost a friend yesterday. Someone came into his home and took him away.”

“This is sad news.” Tishchenko shrugged. “But what concern of mine?”

“We made a mistake,” Bo said quietly. “We are here to ask your advice.”

“What mistake?”

“We took him back.”

Tishchenko’s gaze slid over to me. Whether he had known all along we had been the ones or whether he figured it out right then, I couldn’t tell. But he knew now. “What is this man’s name?”

He was looking at me, so I answered. “Harvey Baltimore.”

“And who is he to you? Is this man your father?”

“He’s my business partner. He’s also my good friend. He’s also…he’s sick.” I glanced at Bo. I wasn’t sure how much to say. “He has multiple sclerosis. We were afraid if we didn’t get to him soon, he would die.”

A small boy appeared from behind the counter. He had a sucker in his mouth and a tray in his hand. On the tray were two steaming cups of espresso, which he distributed to the men. He put the small carafe of milk, the little pot of brewing tea, and a cup and saucer in front of me. He handled it all like a pro, despite the fact that he couldn’t have been even seven years old.

He grasped the tray under one arm, put his other hand on Tishchenko’s shoulder, and casually leaned in toward him. Maybe he was there to pull a thorn from his paw.

Tishchenko put his arm around the boy, pulled him close, and kissed him on the top of his head. “My grandson.”

The boy’s face was vulnerable and mischievous at the same time as he whispered something in the older man’s ear.

Tishchenko laughed, spoke to the boy in his language, and shooed him away. As his grandson wandered off, Tishchenko called out to the bartender, who nodded in return.

“Such a smart boy. He wants ice cream, but he knows his mother won’t permit treats before school.”

I looked over. The man at the bar had an ice cream scoop out.

Tishchenko stirred milk into his cup. When he picked up his spoon, Bo did, too, but I let my tea steep. I was afraid to handle anything hot with my unsteady hands.

“Do you think this man, Harvey Baltimore, might have something of value? Is that why he would have been taken?”

“He doesn’t have any money.”

“Whoever took him, I do not think it would be for money. There are easier ways to get money, you know?” The corners of his mouth quivered into what might have been a smile. “Something he knows, perhaps?”

“We do not know why he was taken,” Bo said. “We know that if he had died, whatever he might know would have died with him. Perhaps the people who took him did not know that.”

He seemed to consider that. “Djuro, if you were Tishchenko and two people came to you in this way, how would you advise them?”

Bo put his hands in his lap and stared at the table. “I would advise them to find out what it is that Harvey Baltimore has, or what it is that he knows, and to let the man have it, this man who took him. But”-he held for an extra beat-“I would also understand that they meant no disrespect in taking him back. They didn’t know.”

“Then you believe this man should…”

“I would ask that he forgive any disrespect that was shown and accept in exchange the full and true disclosure of whatever it is that Harvey Baltimore knows that he needs.”

Tishchenko sat back and scratched his chin. “If he did, that man would be a very understanding man.”

“Yes.”

“A benevolent man.”

“Yes.”

“And in line,” I said, “in front of the FBI, who also wants this…this thing, whatever it is, which…which we don’t know what it is because…because…” They had both turned to look at me. “Because Harvey is home recovering and hasn’t told us yet.” They turned away, and I knew how it felt to get smaller.

“This man who took your friend, Djuro, would he not be stupid to forgive the thief who stole his chicken before he got his eggs? With no chicken and no eggs, he has nothing now. My six-year-old grandson knows this much.”

“He would have my word.”

Tishchenko picked up his cup and drank down the rest of his espresso. Then he picked up the spoon and dropped it into the cup, where it clanked delicately.

“Sashen’ka.”

“Yes.”

“Do you have a brother?”

I looked at Bo. He gave me a subtle nod. “Yes.”

He put his hand on Bo’s forearm. “Djuro reminds me of my brother Vladislav. Vladi was also my business partner. We came here to America together. I miss my brother very much.”

“What happened to him?”

“Someone killed him.”

“I’m sorry he’s dead, but Harvey never killed anyone.”

“Perhaps. But this man who took your friend, he might believe Harvey Baltimore knows something about the man who killed my brother, a man who left this country and to this day has never paid the price for what he did.”

“Wait a second. Roger Fratello killed your brother?”

Tishchenko sat back abruptly. He reacted as if I’d squirted lemon juice in his eyes. Bo was also staring at me. I had apparently violated the code of vague communication. I tried again.

“Why do you-” I had to pick my pronouns carefully. “May I ask why the man who took Harvey thinks Harvey can help him with his problem?”

“He might have friends who know such things.”

Friends in the FBI? That was a scary thought, though not entirely out of the realm of possibility.

Tishchenko aimed his steady, impassive eyes at me. “Would he have your commitment, Sashen’ka?”

“For what?”

“If this man were to let your friend go and forgive your mistake, would he have your commitment to provide a service in return?”

“What exactly is the service requested?”

“Find the man who killed Vladi. Tell me where he is. That’s all.”

“First of all, I have to be clear. Are we talking about Roger Fratello?”

He offered a curt nod.

As far as I knew, no one knew where Roger Fratello was hanging out. Certainly not the FBI. Maybe Harvey did, maybe he didn’t. “If Harvey knows something-”

“I do not believe in if. It is a weak word. Something either is or it is not. You either do or you do not.”

I was afraid my voice would come out as a squeak, so I made myself calmly reach for the teapot, lift it, and pour the tea into my cup. I put the pot down, picked up the cup, and took a sip. It was strong and hot, and as I settled my cup back on its saucer, I looked at Tishchenko.

“If I did this, then this man we’re speaking of would no longer have interest in Harvey?”

“He would have no interest in Harvey Baltimore.”

I glanced at Bo. He was giving me no cues. This was apparently up to me. I looked at Tishchenko’s dead eyes. “Yes, he would have my commitment. I’ll find Fratello.”

“Conscience and honor,” he said, looking at Bo. “This is the law I live by. Not the laws of this country or my country or any country but the laws of man. You know this, Djuro.”

“Yes.”

“A commitment means everything. Do you understand, Sashen’ka?” He watched me closely.

“I understand.”

He looked straight at Bo. “Make sure that she does.”

If I hadn’t been in Bo’s Mercedes, I would have thrown up on the way back to Harvey’s. As it was, I couldn’t stop trembling. I heard myself talking to Bo. I heard the words that came out of my mouth, but I couldn’t make any kind of cognitive connection to them. My mind was back in that dank café, playing over and over again the moment where I had made the commitment to Tishchenko. Something told me I had just made a very large bet.

“Bo?”

“Yes?”

“What if I can’t find him?” That he didn’t respond was not reassuring. “Roger Fratello disappeared four years ago and hasn’t been seen since. The FBI hasn’t been able to find him. Obviously, the…the tsar back there hasn’t been able to find him, and I’m sure he looked. Both of those organizations would have way more resources than I have.”

“He believes that Harvey Baltimore knows where he is. If he believes this, then it is true, even if it is not. Do you understand?”

I did. I opened the window on my side and let the cool air rush over my face. “This is not a good situation.”

“He will not kill you if you give him what you said you would give him. He is a man who lives by his commitments.”

“What if I can’t?”

He stared straight ahead. “As I said, he is a man who lives by his commitments.”