Page 101 of King’s Ransom

He jerked his chin at his son.

Dmitri Oberov threw something at me.

I caught it.

It was a brick of cash: hundred-dollar bills wrapped in tape.

Ten thousand dollars.

‘A down payment,’ Oberov said.

I looked at the cash.

Then tossed it back to Dmitri Oberov.

‘Mr Oberov, let me speak professionally. You blackmailed my client for years. I work for her, not you.’

Oberov’s killer’s eyes assessed me. ‘You are honourable man. I like this. It is rare.’

‘A final question,’ I said. ‘The Grandmaster’s body. Where is it? Has it been released for burial?’

‘No. The FBI haven’t released it yet. It is still at morgue in Sleepy Hollow,’ Oberov said. ‘They haven’t even let Sergei’s wife Olga see it.’

‘Can you give me his wife’s number?’ I said. ‘I might be able to help her out while getting some information at the same time.’

Oberov nodded to his son, who gave me Mrs Kazan’s number.

‘Good luck, Doctor Speedman,’ Roman Oberov said through his cigar.

We left.

Once Georgy and I were out on the street, I turned to my skinny companion.

‘Georgy, what did Dmitri say to his father that freaked out the old man so much? Something to do with that darknet company, Modern Alchemical Solutions. What was the word he should never say?’

Georgy shifted uncomfortably.

He gave me a worried look.

‘It is Russian word. A frightening word. A superstitious word. Perevertyshe.’

‘What does it mean?’

‘It is—um—old Russian creature. Monster. From tales to scare children. It is hard to translate. But you could say it means skinwalker. Or maybe more accurately: one who walks around in another’s skin.’

Midtown Manhattan

26 December, 1800 hours

Skinny, nervy and terrified of his own shadow, Georgy, it turned out, was a pretty darned good lawyer.

While I’d been making my calls during our drive earlier, he’d been making his own and they’d borne fruit.

Shortly after we left Roman Oberov’s tower, he got a return call.

The District Attorney’s office was allowing him, as Yasmina Ivanova’s authorised legal representative, to go to 59West to retrieve legally privileged belongings, including her laptop and diary, plus security footage for her defence.

(The laptop and diary were meaningless.