Missy did not let him finish but interrupted to say, “No, no! No more tests. I’m confident all the tests you’ve done are showing I am fine. I do have one request, however. Nurse Mei assured me that my jewelry and the tiara I was wearing were placed in safe keeping here but unfortunately all my clothing was ruined. Can you have some woman over at my hotel bring back an outfit which I can wear for my interview? I’d really rather it be a woman bringing me back some of my underwear if that’s okay.”
The doctor grinned and said, “I think that can be arranged, Miss Kabachnik. We have spoken to folks at your hotel and they are anxious to assist in any way they can. Everyone is very upset about the tragic circumstances surrounding the death of Yury and the others.”
They continued to talk while the doctor gave Missy a thorough examination. It was obvious she was fully recovered, other than for her cuts and scrapes which were all healing nicely. Her many bruises also seemed to be much better as well.
When the doctor finally left her, Nurse Mei came rushing in.
Missy was surprised to see her again as she had been with her until late into the previous evening when the nurse had finally gone off shift. Missy exclaimed, “Why are you back again, Mei?” Her manner was very welcoming as she indeed had liked this nurse and all the assistance which she had received from her.
Nurse Mei held out the magazine which had Missy on its cover from that night back in April when she’d famously tossed knives in that Beijing nightclub. She breathlessly asked, “Can I get you to autograph this for me, Missy? I simply couldn’t resist rushing back here this morning after my friends told me what a famous celebrity you are over here!”
Missy chuckled and reaching for the magazine, she said, “I’ll be glad to do that for you, Mei. It’s the least I can do after you took such great care of me last night.”
Chapter Twelve
Sunday, June 12, 2022
When Missy entered the hospital’s conference room, she was dressed in a somewhat revealing black dress but, since she was in mourning for Yury, it wasn’t a surprise that was what the woman at the hotel had picked out for her. Her bra and panties were also black but those, of course, were not visible.
Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail and, since she had no makeup on, she appeared to be very young. Innocent. Right. That’s the look she wanted to go with for this interview. She was not wearing any jewelry and there were still a few small bandages which only added to her image of someone both grieving and vulnerable.
Doctor Zhang led her into the room but he quickly excused himself and left her with two Chinese police investigators and Jiakun Wu. They all stood up when she came in and she quickly approached Jiakun who gave her a reassuring hug. He then introduced Mr. Daozhi and Mr. Masuto after which they all sat down around the conference room table. Missy sat on one side directly opposite the two policemen while Jiakun sat further away but also on the same side as them.
To break the ice, Missy smiled and said, “How can I help you gentlemen. As I’m sure you must realize, I am devastated by the death of my Yury.” She was pretty sure these men had been inside her and Yury’s suite and she was glad she had unpacked all her things in there so it appeared they had shared the same bedroom. Let them all believe she was Yury’s mistress andconcubine. This was now the role she intended to capitalize on despite her sincere feelings of regret over his death.
Mr. Masuto answered by asking, “Can you recall anything about that final ride with Yury which might help us? Did he tell you about having any enemies? Or, perhaps was he upset about anyone?”
“No, not at all,” said Missy. “Yury and I did talk about his associates but, like last night when we were with Jiakun, those people all liked Yury from what I could see.” She looked over at Jiakun who was slowly nodding his head in agreement. “As for enemies, I don’t know of any. I have been with Yury for several months now and have never known of anyone who might wish him harm.”
“Was there anyone perhaps who resented the relationship the two of you were having?” asked Mr. Daozhi. “You are a most beautiful woman, MissKabachnik … was there maybe someone who was jealous?”
Missy shook her head no and said, “No, I don’t believe so. Would any such man wish to have me killed as well? Even his wife was okay about Yury being with me. If you are looking for a motive, it probably is because of his many businesses. Someone very well might be jealous about something to do with those, rather than anything personal.” Again, she glanced over at Jiakun for support and he seemed to be pleased with her answers.
“We have seen some reports concerning Yury’s energy contracts,” explained Mr. Masuto. His office had indeed been provided with numerous documents suggesting other Chinese operators were unhappy about the deals their government had made with Yury. These had come from Stepan, of course, butthe police had no way of knowing that. “Were the exhibit booths which his businesses were displaying at our Conference … well … did Yury tell you anything related to those which suggested any special concerns he may have had?”
Missy knew they were fishing and she could see the direction this was taking. While she knew Stepan and his two buddies were Russian, these policemen both seemed to believe the assassins were Chinese. Their earlier questions suggesting otherwise had merely been a smokescreen.
Her mind had been racing ever since this horrible tragedy and she had wondered how the story would play in Russia. Was it better for the public to believe this had been the result of some Chinese conspiracy? Obviously, that’s what the killers were hoping for. She asked, “Was there any forensic evidence to suggest our attackers were Chinese? As you know, I never even reached that Conference during my visit this time. I was with Yury on two prior occasions when he was reviewing the preparations for it but there were nospecialconcerns back then.” The way she pronounced “special” made it clear she understood what they were getting at.
Mr. Daozhinodded and said, “Actually, yes, the preliminary findings do reveal the explosives used were made in China. We also have learned there was a Chinese girl involved. She seems to have interfered with the man responsible for monitoring the security cameras in the garage where those three vehicles were parked overnight. We believe the explosives were planted when that man was, err …distracted.”
Missy nodded in understanding. Yeah, whoever had hired those three guys back in Russia was hoping to blame this on some Chinese conspiracy. She said, “I wish I could be morehelpful. Yury and I were veryclosebut, as far as his many business arrangements, I’m afraid I don’t really have anything which I can contribute.” She glanced at Jiakun again as she added, “I may have been responsible for helping him to win favorable terms for some of his deals, but that was due to our social interactions. Everyone really seemed to like Yury. I know I certainly did.”
With that, Missy dabbed at her eyes with a handkerchief which she had been clutching all during this interview. Yeah, she had a role to play, right? She found it wasn’t difficult to now shed some tears. Yury had many faults which she had teased him about and she had especially chastised him for his treatment of his former mistresses, but she had never wished any true harm to come his way.
Jiakun now finally spoke and said, “I believe Miss Kabachnik has shared all she could. Let’s allow her to grieve without further troubling her. She is also a victim of this horrific assassination and only by some miracle has she managed to survive.”
Mr. Masuto looked at Missy and asked, “When do you plan to return to Russia?”
Missy shrugged and said, “There is nothing for me here. I will fly home to Moscow tomorrow provided the hospital will release me and you investigators are okay with me doing that.”
Both Mr. Masuto and Mr.Daozhi nodded in agreement and they briefly looked over at Jiakun. Mr. Masuto said, “We appreciate your willingness to meet with us today, MissKabachnik. And, yes, we are okay with you going home tomorrow. You can stay in touch with your friend Mr. Wu herefor updates on our investigation. Both men then stood and after bowing slightly in Missy’s direction, they left the room.
Missy looked at Jiakun with sad eyes and said, “Thank you for helping me get through this today. It has all been a tremendous ordeal and my heart is very heavy. I must say goodbye and go back to Moscow. I don’t know just what I will need to deal with back there but as you can imagine, things now will be very different for me.”
Jiakun said, “Well, I never saw Yury behave with any woman the way he did with you, Missy. You both will be greatly missed over here. If there is anything I can do …”
“No, no, you’ve done more than enough already,” interrupted Missy. “We must now wait and see what might lie ahead in the future. Yury’s businesses helped Russia in many ways and I like to think they were good for you here in China. If there was some conspiracy …” She let that thought hang for a while. “Well, we may never know. Such is life. Again, I am very grateful to you and wish you all the best.”
