Page 10 of Warlord’s Empire

Nuani’s voice was cold as he spoke. “Mr. Grossman was paid to give his security officers the day off. He took the money without asking questions. Coincidentally, all hotel footage in and around the building was erased and Mr. Grossman was not in the building during Ms. Koba’s attack.” He stared at Paul Grossman, his expression unchanging as he continued, “The body of a woman, Aurelia Novakova, who works with Ms. Koba, was found.”

Radik frowned. “Saskia’s boss is dead?”

Nuani nodded. “Murdered. Throat slit.” He paused before adding, “A glass of wine was found spilled on the carpet at the door to the bedroom where Ms. Novakova’s body was.”

Radik understood Nuani’s hesitation. Radik dealt in fact, not speculation, but without Saskia’s testimony, they would have to piece together the events using the information they had.

“She went to her boss’s room for a drink,” he said flatly. Thinking of her outfit, the smudges of mascara beneath her eyes, he corrected himself. “They were supposed to go out, perhaps to the restaurant or a bar. Instead, Saskia found Aurelia’s body.”

“It would seem so,” Nuani said.

Paul Grossman jerked nervously, his hands fidgeting in front of him.

“Were there signs of a struggle?” Radik asked Nuani.

“Only on the bed where Ms. Novakova’s body was found, nowhere else.”

“So the Russians left the suite before Saskia arrived.”

“I believe so,” Nuani said. “When we checked Ms. Koba’s suite, the door was unlocked and ajar and the fridge was open. Her personal items were strewn about.”

Radik paced the room as he pictured the scene, rage building within him as he imagined the Russians touching Saskia’s intimates.

Nuani continued, “We gathered her things and brought them with us.” At Radik’s sharp look, he added, “We were respectful. We asked a female hotel employee to pack her personal items.”

Radik resisted the urge to rebuke his employee. He was too sensitive where Saskia was concerned, unable to think clearly. Nuani was used to working autonomously, making decisions on behalf of Radik. Still, he preferred his staff ask if they needed to touch Saskia or her things.

“Continue,” Radik demanded.

“We believe the Russians waited for Ms. Koba in her room and chased her down the stairs to the main floor where she ran into the kitchen. Testimony from the kitchen staff had her trying to leave through the back door but she was stopped by someone on the other side, which is how she ended up in the stockroom.”

“Where I found her,” Radik finished grimly.

He knew the rest of the story. Though he had people at the hotel watching Saskia, it was by chance that he himself was there that evening. He’d finally decided to make his move. Dressing in his finest suit, he planned on knocking or her door and asking her out for a drink, but as his driver was taking him to the hotel, he got a call from an unlikely source.

“I’m calling on behalf of Jozef Koba,” Havel Tsotsarov had told him, his tone strained. “We heard that you are currently in Pretoria, and we need you for a job. We’ll pay.”

It was then that a second call came in, this one from Shola who was tasked with watching Saskia. “Ms. Koba just ran through the lobby. She was chased into the kitchen by two men.”

Pulling up to the hotel, Radik was out of the car before it stopped, rushing toward the hotel lobby where Shola met him. From there, he traced the chaos into the kitchen basement where he found two men beating Saskia, intent on killing her. He’d gone mad with rage, killing them with his bare hands.

“You say there is no footage?” Radik asked Nuani.

“No footage from the hotel. We have some from the street CCTV.” He picked up a tablet and handed it to Radik, who flipped through the short videos that had been rapidly edited for him.

He watched as the hotel manager met with three men on the street outside the hotel two days prior to the attack. It was stupid of Grossman to make a deal so close to his place of work.

Next, he saw the two Russians approach the front of the hotel before entering. He paused the video and zoomed in. “They have a key card for the elevator.”

Grossman paled as Radik pinned him with a hard stare.

Radik returned his attention to the videos. There was one of the back of the hotel, pointed at the kitchen door leading to the loading dock. It caught the moment Saskia tried to escape through it, changing her mind when she saw a man waiting for her on the other side.

The final video showed Radik stride through the same door, holding Saskia. It made his heart ache to see how small and broken she looked in his arms.

Handing Nuani the tablet, he stepped up to Paul Grossman until there were only a few inches separating them, forcing the other man to crane his neck in order to look up at Radik. “How much were you paid?”

Grossman shook his head and tried to step away, but Radik grabbed him by the neck, pinning him in place. “How much?”