documents. The blinds to Nesterov’s office were drawn shut and it was impossible to see in. He checked his watch: he was late, two minutes late. Unable to see how that would matter particularly, he knocked on the door. Almost as soon as he did the door was opened, as though Nesterov had been waiting behind it. Leo was ushered in with a sudden, inexplicable urgency, the door shut behind him.
Nesterov was moving with an uncharacteristic impatience. His desk was covered with documents from the case file. He took hold of Leo by the shoulders and spoke in a hushed, hurried voice.
– Listen very carefully and don’t interrupt. I was arrested in Rostov. I was forced to confess. I had no choice. They had my family. I told them everything. I thought I might be able to persuade them to help, persuade them that they should to elevate our case to an official level. They reported it back to Moscow. They’ve accused us of anti- Soviet agitation. They think this is a personal vendetta you have against the State, an act of revenge. They dismissed our findings as an elaborate piece of Western propaganda: they’re certain that you and your wife are working as spies. They offered me a choice. They’re prepared to leave my family alone if I give them you and all the information we’ve collected.
Leo’s world fell away. Even though he’d known danger was close he hadn’t expected it to cut across his path just yet.
– When?
– Right now. The building’s surrounded. Agents will enter this room in fifteen minutes, arresting you in this office and collecting every piece of evidence we’ve amassed. I’m to spend these minutes finding out all the information you discovered in Moscow.
Leo stepped back, looking at his watch. It was five past nine.
– Leo, you have to listen to me. There’s a way for you to escape. But for this to work don’t interrupt, don’t ask any questions. I’ve come up with a plan. You’re going to hit me with my gun, knocking me unconscious. You’re then going to leave this office, go down one flight of stairs and hide in the offices to the right of the stairway. Leo, are you listening? You need to concentrate. The doors are unlocked. Go into them, don’t turn on the lights and lock the doors behind you.
But Leo wasn’t listening-all he could think about was.
– Raisa?
– She’s being arrested as we speak. I’m sorry but there’s nothing you can do about her. You need to concentrate, Leo, or this is over.
– This is over. This was over the moment you told them everything.
– They had everything, Leo. They had my work. They had my file. What was I supposed to do? Let them kill my family? They still would’ve arrested you. Leo, you can get angry with me, or you can escape.
Leo shook free of Nesterov’s grip, pacing the office, his mind trying to catch up. Raisa had been arrested. They’d both known this moment would come but had understood it only as a concept, an idea. They hadn’t understood what it would mean. The prospect of never seeing her again made it difficult to breathe. Their relationship, their relationship reborn, consummated barely two hours ago in the forest, was over.
– Leo!
What would she want? She wouldn’t want him to get sentimental. She’d want him to succeed, to escape, to listen.
– Leo!
– All right, what’s your plan?
Nesterov continued, recapping the first part:
– You’re going to hit me with my gun, knocking me unconscious. You’re then going to leave this office, go down one flight of stairs and hide in the offices to the right of the stairway. Hide in those offices; wait until the agents enter the building. They’ll come up to this floor, passing you by. Once they’ve gone past, you descend to the ground floor, exiting through one of the windows at the back. There’s a car parked there. Here are the keys, which you will have stolen from me. You have to leave town, don’t look for anyone or stop for anything, just drive. You will have a small advantage. They’ll believe that you’re on foot, somewhere in the town. By the time they realize you’ve taken a car, you should be free.
– Free to do what?
– To solve these crimes.
– My trip to Moscow was a washout. The eyewitness refused to talk. I still don’t have any more of an idea of who this man is.
That took Nesterov by surprise.
– Leo, you can do this, I know it. I believe in you. You need to head to Rostov-on-Don. That’s the centre of these crimes. I’m convinced that’s where your efforts must be focused. There are theories about who is killing these children. One involves a group of former Nazi-
Leo interrupted.
– No, it’s the work of an individual, acting alone. He has a job. He appears normal. If you’re sure the concentration of murders is Rostov then it’s likely he lives and works there. His job is the connection between all these locations. His job means that he travels: he kills as he travels. If we can work out his job, then we have the man.
Leo checked his watch. There were only minutes left before he’d have to leave. Nesterov put his fingers on the two towns in question.
– What is the connection between Rostov and Voualsk? There have been no murders east of this town. At least that we know of. That suggests that this is the end point, this is his destination.
Leo agreed.
– Voualsk has the car assembly plant. There are no other significant industries here other than the lumber mills. But there are lots of factories in Rostov.
Nesterov knew both locations better than Leo.
– The car factory and the Rostelmash share close ties.
– What is the Rostelmash?
– A tractor factory, enormous, the biggest in the USSR.
– Do they share components?
– The tyres for the GAZ-20 come from there while engine components are shipped south in exchange.
Could that be the connection? The murders followed the train lines up from the south and across into the west, point to point. Running with this theory, Leo remarked.
– If the car plant sends deliveries to the Rostelmash factory then that factory must employ a tolkach. Someone travels here to make sure the car plant fulfils its quota obligations.
– There have only been two child-murders here and they were recent. The factories have been working together for some time.
– The murders in the north of the country have been the most recent. That means he’s just got this job. Or that he’s only just been posted along this route. We need the employment records at Rostelmash. If we’re right, by cross-referencing those records with the locations of these murders we’ll have the man.
They were close. If they weren’t being hunted, if they had the freedom to act at their leisure, they could’ve discovered the killer’s name by the end of the week. But they didn’t have a week, or the support of the State. They had four minutes. It was eleven past nine. Leo had to leave. He took one document-the list of murders, compiled with dates and locations. That was all he needed. Having folded it into his pocket he moved to the door. Nesterov stopped him. He was holding his gun. Leo took hold of the weapon, delaying for a moment. Nesterov saw this hesitation and remarked:
– Or my family will die.
Leo struck him across the side of his head, splitting the skin and sending him to his knees. Still conscious, he looked up.
– Good luck, now hit me properly.
Leo raised the gun. Nesterov closed his eyes.
Hurrying into the corridor, Leo reached the stairs only to realize he’d forgotten the car keys. They were on the table. He turned around, ran back down the corridor into the office, stepping over Nesterov, grabbing the keys. He was late-nine fifteen, agents were entering the building. Leo was still in the office, exactly where they wanted him. He ran out, down the corridor, down the stairs. He could hear footsteps coming up towards him. Reaching the third
