Page 48 of Canyon of Deceit

FORTY-SEVEN

BLANE

Rurik had made heroic gestures, but that didn’t make him a hero.

He’d also successfully frightened Therese—and me for her.

The men who’d bled and died placed my caution on high alert.

Who else had Ivanov talked to on the burner phone, and what was said?

If not for my commitment to Alina, I’d walk away.

Hard to sift through the truth from a man who’d been trained to conceal it.

When this ended, Rurik might spend the rest of his life in prison.

I pulled out my phone to record the remaining conversation. “I need details about every call you’ve made on the burner supposedly only to talk to Jurg.” I pointed to my phone. “This will be recorded and sent to the Rangers and the FBI.”

Rurik slowly nodded. “There weren’t many. Not sure I remember them all.”

I kept my demeanor in check. “I think you have excellent recall.”

I suspected he formed his words... carefully.

“I already told you, the original call about Daria’s murder came from Jurg.

I was afraid to tell you. I have no idea of the other person’s identity that night in the garden.

Jurg told me he’d been eliminated. The day of Daria’s death and Alina’s kidnapping, I returned home to find the burner phone on the kitchen counter.

Attached to it was a note instructing me to answer if it rang, not to use it for anything, not to tell anyone about the phone or Alina would be killed. I complied with all the demands.”

“Did you recognize the handwriting?”

“Typed.”

“The first call from Jurg happened while you were at the university. He phoned you late that afternoon again.”

Rurik nodded. “He restated the note’s contents and asked if I had followed instructions. I said yes and asked what I must do to ensure Alina’s safe return. He said she was with him, and if I wanted to see her again, I must join the ROC.”

“Which you did.”

Rurik tightened his jaw. “I didn’t have a choice with my wife dead and my daughter’s life in jeopardy.”

“I agree you were blackmailed with your most prized possession.”

“Thank you.” He exhaled heavily. “I wasn’t sure you’d understand.”

I didn’t fully comprehend or agree, especially when too many lives had been sacrificed. “Have you ever been an active member of any terrorist activities initiated by the Russian government other than what you just confessed?”

“No, sir. My political views don’t coincide with terrorism.”

“What were Jurg Falin’s demands besides keeping him informed of what the FBI, Rangers, and police were doing?”

Rurik rubbed his forehead. “To book a flight through Istanbul and on to Moscow on the evening of Edik Baranov’s arrival to the port.”

“Which is a week from today.” He agreed, and I continued. “What name did you use to book the flight?”

“Isaak Mishin.”

“False ID?”

“Yes. The passport would be provided sometime later.”

“What else?” I said.

“To write out in my own handwriting and sign my name to a document confirming I supported the ROC and was a part of the organization prior to leaving Russia five years ago. In the event of my death, all my assets in Russia were to go to the ROC under the management of Jurg Falin. I complied and mailed it to an address in Russia that Jurg provided.”

“Did you make a copy of the document?”

“Jurg forbade it. Neither did I write down the address in Russia.”

“You have the means to conceal a copy of the documents,” I said.

“And risk my daughter’s life?”

If Rurik was telling the truth, Falin had covered his tracks and nailed Rurik for anything the US might uncover. “Who were you to contact in Moscow?”

“I have no idea. I assumed Jurg would tell me at his convenience.”

“What were the contents of the calls since then?”

“Nothing specific. Jurg thanked me. Told me Alina was alive. Said my usefulness hadn’t expired and to be prepared for other duties.

He also instructed me to attend an ROC meeting, but the agents arrived.

He expressed his concern about the FBI staying here, but I told him I was a person of interest in Daria’s and Alina’s missing status.

He called me a liar and asked who told the FBI my family were missing.

I said Alina’s school had contacted the authorities when she was absent, and no one returned their calls to the home.

I told him the FBI agents assigned to me were in place until they found my family. ”

“Did he ask about your job at the university?”

“Yes, and I said I’d taken a personal leave, which I have.”

“Do you think he believed you?”

“I have no idea. According to the agents here, no one has called since they found my phone early this morning.”

“Why not contact the school about Alina’s absence?”

“Jurg instructed me not to talk to school officials.”

I deliberated the reasoning of not letting the school believe a problem existed.

.. But if Rurik was set up to take the fall for Daria’s murder, possibly Alina’s too, and Edik Baranov’s assassination, his lack of communication with the school added more evidence to his guilt.

“Why has Falin leveled the guilt your direction?”

“I don’t know.”

I toyed with telling him about Daria and Falin’s affair. “Let’s go back to the document mailed to Moscow. Who was the recipient?”

Rurik paused, obviously not wanting to respond.

“Who was the recipient?”

“First deputy prime minister of Finance, Economy and National Projects.”

“Looks like you’re a member of the ROC, guilty of falsifying documents to leave the US, and involved in criminal activities to support the ROC.”

“No need to say how it looks, but I’m innocent.”

“Rurik, if your case reached a US court, there’s enough evidence to convict you of spying, terrorism, and murder. The sentence ranges from prison to death.”

“I’m a dead man whether I face your justice system or Russia’s.”

I leaned in. “Not if you leave the US on next Wednesday’s flight.”

Rurik shifted uncomfortably. “I won’t leave this country without my daughter.”

Ah, new info. “Is Alina scheduled on the flight to Moscow?” Rurik nodded, and I continued. “What name is her ticket under?”

“Larisa Mishin.”

“In the event of your inability to care for Alina here or in Russia, who has custody?”

“No one. My sister in Russia is in poor health, and neither does she have an interest. That’s why I asked Therese to adopt her. My sister claimed I betrayed her by leaving Russia to teach in Houston. She needed financial help. However, I have sent money to her while living here.”

“On a professor’s salary?”

“My wife had inherited her family’s wealth.”

“What about Falin?”

“The other side of the family.”

“In the event of your death, the money transfers to Alina?”

“Yes. It is a reason for my demise.”

“Would Falin have the role of Alina’s legal guardian?”

Rurik clenched his jaw. “Yes. Another reason I placed Therese as her guardian and future adoptive parent. I regret the loss of life and the suffering, but I don’t regret anything I’ve done to keep her alive.”

Therese touched her mouth. Alina had no quality of life without a rescue. Neither did a future with Rurik nor Jurg Falin hold much optimism.