Arthur squinted as he stood over the body, letting the coroner examine the corpse while he waited for Francis to return. After some time, he moved to return to the car, letting the cluster of reporters flood the scene. He let the other officers duck in, confirming or disproving some theory he had had concerning the victim. Actually, victims-two more had been found farther down the way, hidden in a garbage heap. Each bore the mutilation of various instruments, but one had been hacked to pieces, while the other two had been sliced with surgical precision. Each bore the mark of more than one attacker-that much fit Arthur's profile of the two Americans. However, the fingermarks lifted from the bodies were giving a much larger picture, and the Russian police were beginning to call in reports of bodies found around the city.
Francis had found the bodies amusing, even if he had to turn away as they were revealed, and the Frenchman was busy considering a number of different possibilities while Arthur tried to think. Eventually, in slight annoyance, he reached up to snatch the file from Francis's hands, flipping through the descriptions of the two men. "There's something we're missing."
"Missing, it has to be them! We sent out the warnings, the entire country is on the lookout for them-the pattern matches exactly!" We can't afford to be wrong!, the unspoken implication behind Francis's words, didn't escape Arthur's attention, and he nodded half-heartedly before noting something on the file.
"Both our boys have siblings. Is there any possibility that they stayed with them?"
"The one is still in America. He hasn't had contact with the suspect since they were teenagers."
"And the Russian one?"
"Older sister…it should say, died in her early twenties-the other one still lives here in Russia."
"Has anyone contacted her?"
Francis hesitated, answering Arthur's question. The shorter man scowled, folding up the portfolio again, and shoved it back in Francis's direction. "We didn't need to bother with the search if the brother's with his fucking sister."
Francis opened his mouth, about to speak, but hesitated as he tried to figure out the sentence. "Wait, what? What about the American?"
"They're partners, they'll need to stick together. And if they found refuge, well-wolves enjoy their packs, don't they. The bigger question is how they got out of the country if the border was secured."
"They did have the advantage, Kirkland. Also, we have evidence that they have false identification."
Arthur tensed, but nodded as he stepped out of the car. "The mole?"
"The mole. He doesn't know the suspect's real name, but recognized the mutilation reported by the American media. You know they kept finding bodies-"
"Everyone knew, it was the worst kept secret of the news." Arthur waved him off, glancing at the three victims. "Any ID?"
"Two were local bums, but no one's been able to find positive identification-the third was heavily intoxicated at the time of death. As far as we know, he's a steelworker in a plant not far from here, unless the ID was planted."
Arthur nodded, eventually sighing before beckoning to the car. "Intoxication sounds good. Christ, but it's freezing out here-do what you need to, then check back at the hotel. I need an aspirin."
O
The two men had hardly spoken a word since leaving the train station, seated beside each other in stony silence as they headed further south. Other dialects began to pepper the air around them with traces of Polish, Ukrainian, and Belarusian Russian, piquing Alfred's interest. However, he resisted the temptation to ask Ivan for specifics, and let the taller man make the accommodation arrangements, eventually tossing his suitcase onto the bed as they found their bedroom.
Ivan seemed to ignore him for the most part, which suited Alfred just fine-however, without Natalya to intervene, very little communication actually took place. For example, they somehow ended up with two orders of take out, and thus had twice as much food as they actually needed, the leftovers sitting in the refrigerator. Ivan managed to find the remote first, and insisted on watching the news, leaving Alfred to try and read the hotel directory for some sort of entertainment.
They had managed to survive for so long without speaking, but Alfred was trying to find a way to break the ice properly-addressing the "What the hell is your problem" question that was plaguing him-when the door opened. Being their third day out of Moscow, Ivan had decided to go shopping properly, and Alfred sat up to open the door for him when he hesitated.
"Um-you're not Ivan."
"No. I'm not." Natalya shrugged off her coat, folding it over her arm to lay it aside, then strode into the room before sighing. "Of course. Just like him not to be here."
"Wait, why do you need him-why are you here?"
"I've got surveillance on the apartment now. I rented a car, and came here."
"Bringing the surveillance with you?!"
"Don't be stupid. Of course I didn't." She kneeled to glance at the refrigerator, pulling out the leftovers of the takeout before stuffing it in the microwave. "Mind if I…"
"Um, no, not at all, but-"
"Good, I've been driving non-stop to get here." She waited for the device to quiet, then pulled the food out, locating a plastic fork before taking a large bite.
Alfred stared at her, unable to speak, when the door opened again to let Ivan in. He didn't seem to notice his sister, but eventually glanced up before stopping short.
"What is she doing here?"
"Nice to see you too, brother."
"Did you ask her to come, why is she here? She could be implicated-"
"It's too late for that. They know you were staying with me. I may already be a suspect." She nodded, taking another bite. "I had to come."
"Not with us! You could have gone to Odessa-"
"And been cornered when they caught up? No, if we stay together, we can help each other. It's simple."
Ivan scowled, but set the plastic bag on top of the microwave, leaving her to deal with it as she ate. Alfred moved to speak, approaching Natalya, but a glare from both siblings made him pause.
"So, ah-I heard Belarus was supposed to be nice this time of year?"