“Why wait? I can tell you everything now.”
I glance over at Dominic, who was slouched on the bed and staying out of the camera view.
“Why do you already have their information?” I ask.
“Maxim requested it before he left for Russia. He never called back to get it, but I have it ready.”
“Okay, hit me with it.”
“Okay, I’ll start with Oleg, because he’s the one with the most military contacts. He’s second-in-command of the security firm his father runs. They employ several former military personnel. His father, Yuri, maintains close ties with those in charge of the military. There are rumors that Yuri and Oleg have been helping the military increase their recruits since the invasion of Ukraine.”
“How?”
“Rumors of men going in for interviews, but not getting the job, only to disappear a day or two after. Some citizens have reported the disappearances, but you know how it is. The cops aren’t doing anything to locate the men. They claim the men left.”
“They likely know what’s going on,” I muse.
Prescott nods his head. “Likely. Yuri and Oleg are wealthy, as you can imagine. I’ve dug into their financials and found some hefty payments from the army, which pretty much confirms my suspicion.”
“Anything else about the type of man Oleg is? What about his relationship with women?”
“Maxim didn’t ask for that information, but I dug around just in case. Oleg has had a few steady girlfriends and a few one-night stands. The women never reported him for poor behavior on the dates, but they accused him of stalking after they broke up. Women have reported seeing Oleg’s men following them, and they’ve discovered security cameras installed in their homes without their knowledge. He’s never been arrested. The cops claimed they couldn’t find proof he was responsible. But I honestly don’t think they tried very hard, either.”
“Lovely. Anything else?”
“No, but I should probably tell you that I’ve contacted the women and offered my services to help them escape. Dina suggested it.”
I grin at Dom, who rolls his eyes. Of course, Dina would suggest that Prescott help these women. She has a soft heart.
“That’s fine. Just don’t leave a trail,” I bite back a chuckle at the affronted look Prescott sends me. “So we think Oleg is the most likely to have betrayed Alexi. What about the others?”
“Artem Sorokin and his father, Denis, own several art and antique galleries. They also run an auction house. They’re the wealthiest of the three, but I think it’s because of the productsthey move that they don’t have posted on their websites. I haven’t finished digging on him yet, but I know he and his father come from a long line of smugglers. They deal in everything: drugs, women, weapons, and stolen goods. They provide safe passage out of or into Russia to anyone who can afford to pay their fee.”
“He’s involved in human trafficking?” I ask, my tone going ice cold.
“Yeah. He has his hands in all things illegal. He’s had a series of girlfriends who have gone conveniently missing after he broke up with them. Even though he dates women, there is a rumor that he’s gay. As for the missing girlfriends, it’s the same deal with the cops. Families have reported the missing women, but the cops push back and claim they couldn’t find evidence of foul play.”
“You think Artem shipped them out of the country?”
“If I had to guess? Yeah, I do.”
“Shit. Okay, does he have any connections to the military?”
“Not like Oleg, but he does provide transportation of troops and aid into Ukraine.”
“So, it would have been easy for him to transport Alexi behind enemy lines?”
“It would.”
“Okay, how about Pavel Nazarov? What’s his story?”
“He has three nightclubs in Moscow, two in St. Petersburg, and another in Kyiv. They’re pretty popular, even though they have a bad reputation for not protecting the women who party there. There are several police files about missing women who were last seen at his nightclubs. There are even more reports from women claiming they were drugged and raped.”
“Did any of the women blame Pavlov?”
“I didn’t see anything specific under his name. However, several of the women reported they were partying in the VIPsection. Pavel often hangs out in the VIP section along with Oleg and Artem. A nightclub is a great place to hunt for victims. It’s dark and chaotic. Traffickers could easily snatch a woman or a man and have them out of the club and into a van pretty quickly. These three men are often seen together, usually at one of Pavlov’s clubs. They’re almost always in the company of several women. Rumor is that they study the crowd and send their security guards to invite the women to join them. I’ve checked the reviews on the place, and several women have reported that they didn’t feel they had much of a choice.”
“Shit, that’s cold,” Dominic says.
