Lara saw that this could lead to an argument, "Let's join the group, they are returning to the bus." She walked ahead of the men, with Fatima in tow, and the two men followed without saying another word.
Chapter 13
Dr. Yuri Bakavlev watched the local news and was horrified to see a copy of the front page of his Uzbekistan passport that belonged to Bogdan Borisovitch Basov and his photograph. The comely blonde narrator said that Basov was wanted for murder and that he was dangerous and armed. She appealed to anyone who recognized the man or saw him or knew his whereabouts to notify the police. Although Yuri had altered his appearance since placing the coffin in Tikhvin Cemetery he was worried that someone might identify him or disclose the coffin's location. He had heard about the shooting incident and had no doubt that the driver of the hearse, Ali Yashar, was dead. In a way, he felt relieved now that the only man in the city who knew something about his plan was silenced for good.
As a precaution, he had left the small hotel in which he had stayed the first night, and in which he had booked himself as Bogdan Borisovitch Basov, and after disposing of the coffin, moved to another section of the city. In fact, it was Ali who found him a place to stay with the family of one of the members of the Chechen community in St. Petersburg. The owner was an old woman, partly blind and totally deaf, who was glad to make a little extra cash by subletting her bedroom while she moved to the small living room and slept on the sofa. She had an old black-and-white TV set and allowed Yuri to watch the news. She didn't hear the announcer asking for help in finding the murder suspect and only saw a blurred picture when Basov's passport was shown. She didn't know that this saved her life, because Yuri was ready to kill her if there was a chance that she'd be able to identify him and report him.
Yuri had been given instructions by Le Docteur to call a certain number in Moscow every evening at exactly eight pm. He was told to let the phone ring four times and if no one answered to hang up. Le Docteur also told him to use a different phone-box each time and not to use his cellphone, which he been turned off and removed the battery. Le Docteur had explained that no answer meant that there was no information on Putin's visit to St. Petersburg, so the contact would only answer the call when he had the specific date of the visit. Le Docteur had also instructed Yuri not to worry about Putin's exact schedule because the powerful nuke would destroy most of the city and kill everyone within a radius of a few kilometers, so Putin's death was assured wherever he would be in the city when the bomb exploded. Yuri, who knew more than Le Docteur about the effects of nuclear explosions, wasn't sure that was the case and decided to time the detonation when Putin's location would assure his demise. Meanwhile, he stayed away from public places and didn't leave his room except for making the scheduled phone-calls and shopping for some items to change his appearance. In an antique shop, he bought a hollow metal cane with a hidden sword that could be drawn by pulling on the handle, and at another shop near the theater he purchased a wig with gray hair to cover his bald head. He also stopped shaving and let his beard grow — its color matched that of his wig. His landlady didn't notice the difference, or if she did, she didn't care about it and made no comment.
After seeing the appeal for information on the TV, the owner of the small hotel in which Bogdan Borisovitch Basov had stayed reported the fact to the FSB. The owner said that the man kept to himself and left after one night. He added that he didn't believe that the guest was really from Uzbekistan but had no proof of that. When Colonel Alexandrova heard this, she ordered that the hotel owner should be arrested for withholding vital information from the authorities. The poor owner protested that at the time there was no public warning that the man was wanted but this did not impress the FSB colonel. After three days in the cold basement and some sessions in which his left hand was dipped in scalding water, he was ready to admit that he had killed Jesus, Czar Alexander and Trotsky. However, this didn't help the police and FSB to locate the man posing as Bogdan Borisovitch Basov.
The Mossad team split into two groups. David sent Edna Rieger and 'The Fish' to Kiel, to coordinate with the German intelligence service, the BND, to board the cruise ship when it docked in port at the end of its cruise. They were to make sure that Le Docteur and the women were apprehended for questioning, and possibly for extradition to the United States where Le Docteur and Lara were still on top of the FBI's 'most wanted' list. They were also supposed to question the captain of the ship about the coffin and the passenger who unloaded it in St. Petersburg.
David, with Mata and Joe, remained in St. Petersburg, and began an independent search for the man posing as Bogdan Borisovitch Basov who was seen by Joe riding in the hearse. David was quite sure that he was a Muslim and that he would seek refuge in a part of the city which had a large Muslim community. Although Colonel Alexandrova told him that there were many areas in the city in which Muslims resided, David thought it best to start near the mosques and Islamic Cultural Centers.
The building of the Great Mosque of St. Petersburg at 7 Kronverkskiy Prospekt had begun a decade before the communist revolution and it officially opened in 1913. At the time, the mosque was the largest mosque in Europe (outside Turkey) and could accommodate 5000 worshippers, almost the entire Muslim population of the city at that time. Its impressive twin minarets were 49 meters high, just 10 meters higher than the dome. Surprisingly, the communist regime allowed it to operate until 1940, when it was closed by the authorities. It was reopened in 1956 and was soon found to be too small for the rapidly growing Muslim population of the city.
The three Mossad agents were impressed by the building and especially by the decorative main entrance which reminded them of the Omar Mosque in Jerusalem. Joe, the human chameleon, posed as a Muslim worshipper and entered the mosque, while David and Mata strolled around the area. Posing as tourists, they took several photos of the mosque and the surrounding buildings. They focused their attention on the building at No' 5, Kronverkskiy Prospekt, adjacent to the mosque that was at No' 7. The building looked in need of renovation and several hand-drawn 'For Rent' signs were posted on both sides of the wrought iron gate. Mata proposed that they rent a third-floor apartment that had a window facing the side door of the mosque. David said that he doubted if the culprit would dare enter the mosque at all. He cursed himself for sending Edna, the only member of their small group that spoke Russian fluently, to Kiel. He could have used her linguistical skills to negotiate the rental. Mata told him not to worry — if the owner was a man she would do the negotiations. David looked her up and down and smiled — if anyone could do it, she was the right person for the job.
They rang the bell, and a grumpy old lady, the concierge, limped to the wrought iron gate and asked what they wanted. The only common language, the green color of a $10 bill, was sufficient to get her to open the gate and allow them to climb the stairs to the third floor. Mata knocked on the door of the apartment that had a 'For Rent' sign, while David stood back. When nothing happened, she banged on the door with her fist. It was opened by a young man who looked as if he had just been woken up by the intrusion. Mata smiled, and the man's face cracked into a smile when his eyes cleared, and he saw her standing there. Fortunately, he could speak a little English. He said that he wanted to sub-let the apartment for a month, as he was going on vacation. The price was agreed on and the Israelis were told they could move in the next day. The young man invited them for a drink to seal the deal, but it turned out that he had emptied all the vodka bottles the previous evening. David wasn't surprised — judging by the man's disheveled appearance — and said that they had to go and would arrive the next day to pick up the key from the concierge.