Dead Meat

Hey, hey,' said Grushko, that's my star-witness you've got there.'

Grushko took out his cigarettes and offered the boy one. He took it, dipped the end on Grushko's gold lighter and puffed it expertly.

Rodya,' he said finally. Rodya Gutionov.'

Well, Rodya,' said Grushko. You're a brave fellow. Most boys of your age would have run away when they saw what you saw.'

The boy shrugged modestly. Me? I wasn't scared,' he bragged.

Of course you weren't,' said Grushko. So, what did you see?' He tucked the rest of his cigarettes into the pocket of the boy's greasy jacket.

The man who got shot had just pulled up at the traffic lights,' said Rodya, when, a few seconds later, this other car pulls up alongside him. The passenger in the front seat leaned out with a chalk and waved it, like he was after a light. So the other man, the one who got shot, winds down his window and is handing over some matches when the other man the one with the cigarette, grabs him by the arm and starts shooting.' He shook his head excitedly and mimed the action of the gunman. Bam-bam-bam just like that. I never heard such a noise. Well, then they drove off, fast. The car went up Nevsky a bit, towards the Admiralty building and then did a U-turn, tyres squealing like it was something out of a movie.'

What kind of car was this, Rodya?'

Zhiguli. Beige colour. Local plate.'

And how many men were in it?'

Three. But I think the one in the back was a woman. He shook his head. 'I couldn't be sure, because the other car was in the way. And when they started shooting I was trying to keep my head down in the doorway there.

He pointed at the cinema entrance. The film was some old historical epic of the early sixties starring Anthony Quinn. His was a face not unlike Grushko's own.

You did the right thing,' said Grushko. Tell me, Rodya, where do you live?'

Block 1, 77 Pushkinskaya Street,' replied the boy. Flat 25.'

You're out a bit late, aren't you?'

The boy looked down at his filthy trainers. My father's on leave from the navy,' he said. When he's on leave he likes to get drunk. And then he hits me. So I make myself scarce.'

Grushko nodded. It sounded plausible. Pushkinskaya Street was only a few blocks away. The drunken father was a common enough feature in a Russian home. With mine it had been my mother.

All right, Rodya, you can go. But be careful.'

The boy grinned and walked carefully away.

The lying little scrap,' Grushko muttered. Escaped from an institution more like, if that haircut is anything to go by.'

So why are you letting him go?' I asked.

Because I've been in a few of these places and I wouldn't keep an animal in them. You might better ask why he risked being sent back to an institution to speak to us.' He chuckled as he answered his own question. Bravado, I suppose. So he can brag to his mates about it, I wouldn't wonder.'

Grushko turned and went round the far side of the car to inspect the contents of the dead man's pockets that had been laid out on a plastic carrier bag. He picked up Sultan's revolver.

Milyukin was shot with an automatic,' he said, and flipped open the gun's cartridge chamber to inspect the barrel. Not that this would have shot anyone. It's a replica.'

Nikolai was examining a packet of Kosmos cigarettes.

Russian chalks,' he said and lifted one of the filter ends clear of the foil wrapping. And opened from the right end of the packet.'

Grushko unfolded Sultan's wallet. He tossed a wad of dollars on to the carrier bag, then some food coupons, a condom, a railway warrant and a cutting from Novy Mir about Milyukin's death. One thing seemed to interest him. It was a small piece of paper with an official-looking rubber-stamp on it.

Well, well, well,' he said quietly.

What is it?' I asked.

Sultan's alibi,' said Grushko. I imagine this is what he wanted to talk to me about. It's a release form, from the Petrogradsky Region Militia. According to this piece of paper, Sultan Khadziyev spent the night of Mikhail Milyukin's murder drunk in the local LTP. That was why he felt so confident about meeting me. If this is genuine and he did spend that night in the drying-out tank, then he would have been in the clear.'

Grushko handed Nikolai the document.

You'd best check this out in the morning,' he said. Just to make sure.'

He sighed and stared up at the purpling sky. It would soon be dark, if only for about fifty minutes.

And that is that.'

So why buy him a ticket upstairs?' said Nikolai.

The Georgians put two and two together and made five,' said Grushko. Just like we did.' He shrugged. Or that's what they want us to think. Either way we're back where we started.'

Still want us to pick the Georgians up tomorrow?'

Grushko looked at his watch. You mean today, don't you?' he murmured wearily. Yes, I do. More than ever.'

There is some good news, sir,' announced Lieutenant Khodyrev.

Well, don't make us beg for it,' said Grushko.

We've found your burglar. One of my men picked him up this evening. At Autovo Market. He was trying to sell Mr Milyukin's Golden Calf.'

Who is he?'

His name is Valentin Bogomolov,' she replied. He's a juvenile offender, lives with his parents in the same building as Milyukin.'

Grushko nodded appreciatively at her. Well done, Lieutenant,' he said. And Lieutenant?'

Sir?'

Sorry. sorry for biting your head off like that. It's been a long day.'

That's all right, sir.'

First thing in the morning, Nikolai, I want you and the lieutenant here to interview him.'

What about the Georgians, sir?'

You can leave them to Sasha and the OMON squad boys. I want to hear this little punk singing before lunchtime. Got that?'

Sir.'

By now Zverkov and his crew had succeeded in getting past the militia line. The cameraman was as close to Sultan's dead body as his lens permitted. Zverkov stood beside him describing the scene into the microphone he was holding. There was a bright, intense sort of look on his face and he was grinning wildly, as if he was excited by what he saw. He reminded me of the small runaway boy, Rodya, who was still hovering near the scene. Once again Zverkov called out to Grushko and followed us as we walked back to the car.

Colonel Grushko? Can you tell us what happened here please? For St Petersburg Television.' Zverkov covered the microphone. Come on, Grushko. You're not going to sulk about what happened the other night, are you? I was just doing my job. Same as now. Trying to find out what happened here. Was it a Mafia killing?'

Grushko stopped and looked at Zverkov with undisguised loathing. His lip wrinkled and for a second I thought he would punch the man. Instead he nodded towards the car and Sultan's body.

Why don't you ask him?' he said.

14

The OMON squad was a special-purpose unit, a sort of militia-commando outfit. They wore military-style uniforms with helmets, blue flak jackets and carried machine pistols and AK47s. While awaiting the order to move they sat in a large room in the Big House and watched an Arnold Schwarzenegger video, their weapons cradled in their strong arms like schoolboys emulating their screen hero. The film, Predator, was in English, but only the action seemed to matter. Most of the squad's members were in their twenties. Good-humoured and slightly nervous, they seemed more like a team of footballers trying to relax a little before a big match than a dedicated group of police gunmen. But there was nothing sporting about the way they tackled criminals and it was rare that anyone was inclined to offer these ruthless young men more than a token resistance.

Grushko put his head round the door and spoke to a man with a moustache who was smoking a cigarette and seemed less interested in the film than the others.