'My Luschka,' he said. 'How could this happen? What kind of a country is this?' He broke off when he saw us. 'You're the brother,' he said to Peter. 'And you?'
'Matthew Scudder.'
'You been working for Kenan. Good. Thanks to both of you for coming. But how did you get in? You walked right in? I had two men in the lobby, they were supposed to—' He caught sight of the man who had come up with us. 'Oh, there you are, Dani, that's a good boy. Go back down to the lobby and keep an eye out.' To no one in particular he said, 'Now I post guards. The horse is stolen so I lock the barn.
For what? What can they take from me now? God took my wife, the dirty bastard, and these other bastards take my Luddy, my Luschka.'
He turned to Kenan. 'And if I post men downstairs from the time you called me, what good does it do? They get her out of school, they steal her away under everybody's nose. I wish I did what you did. You sent her out of the country, yes?'
Kenan and I looked at each other.
'What's this? You told me you sent your wife out of the country.'
Kenan said, 'That was the story we settled on, Yuri.'
'Story? Why did you need a story? What happened?'
'She was kidnapped.'
'Your wife.'
'Yes.'
'How much did they hit you for?'
'They asked a million. We negotiated, we settled on a lower figure.'
'How much?'
'Four hundred thousand.'
'And you paid the money? You got her back?'
'I paid.'
'Kenan,' he said. He took him by the shoulders. 'Tell me, please.
You got her back, yes?'
'Dead,' Kenan said.
'Oh, no,' Yuri said. He reeled as if from a blow, threw up an arm to shield his face. 'No,' he said.
'Don't tell me that.'
'Mr. Landau—'
He ignored me, took Kenan by the arm. 'But you paid,' he said.
'You gave them an honest count? You didn't try to chisel them?'
'I paid, Yuri. They killed her anyway.'
His shoulders sagged. 'Why?' he demanded, not of us but of that dirty bastard God who took his wife.
'Why?'
I stepped in and said, 'Mr. Landau, these are very dangerous men, vicious and unpredictable. They've killed at least two women in addition to Mrs. Khoury. As things stand, they haven't got the slightest intention of releasing your daughter alive. I'm afraid there's a strong possibility that she's already dead.'
'No.'
'If she's alive we have a chance. But you have to decide how you want to handle this.'
'What do you mean?'
'You could call the police.'
'They said no cops.'
'Naturally they'd say that.'
'The last thing I want is cops here, poking into my life. As soon as I come up with the ransom money they'll want to know where it came from. But if it gets my daughter back… What do you think? We have a better chance if we call the cops?'
'You might have a better chance of catching the men who took her.'
'To hell with that. What about getting her back?'
She's dead, I thought, but told myself that I didn't know it, and that he didn't have to hear it. I said, 'I don't think police involvement at this stage would increase the chance of recovering your daughter alive. I think it might have the opposite effect. If the cops come in and the kidnappers know about it, they'll cut their losses and run. And they won't leave the girl alive.'
'So fuck the cops. We'll do it ourselves. Now what?'
'Now I have to make a phone call.'
