Chasing the Night - Iris Johansen [103]
Eve jumped up from her chair and was across the room in seconds. She gazed down at the yellow pad. “Show me.”
Kelly tapped the first peak on the graph. “This is the first call from Rakovac to Catherine. He was still at his apartment in Moscow. It’s not really important because he evidently hadn’t arranged any permanent stash for Luke.” She pointed to another peak. “This call was particularly cruel and came shortly afterward.” She pointed to the name underneath it. “Surveillance showed an appointment with Mikhal Czadas on the day before the call at the town of Sergriev. Rakovac had an arms deal with him.” She pointed at another peak. “The next meeting was with Ivan Rithski at Krasnos. Arms deal, again. The same day as the phone call.” She pointed to another peak. “A year later. Rakovac met with James Nordell at Vichaga. Nordell was using him to bribe Russian politicians. A call to Catherine the next day.” She tapped the other names on the peaks of the graph. “It’s the same every time.”
“What are you getting at, Kelly? These are all separate individuals. Are you saying they all had something to do with Luke’s kidnapping?”
Kelly shook her head. “I’ve checked into every one of Rakovac’s customers on these surveillance reports. I investigated them in depth. They were all power houses in their own right. Rakovac wouldn’t have been able to manipulate them, he only used them.” She paused. “Except one.” She pointed to the second peak in the graph. “Mikhal Czadas, a man who was born in the Republic of Georgia and became caught up in all the ethnic madness and guerilla fighting there. He’s a fighter who’s been involved in a dying cause since he was a boy. He hated the Ossetians and the Russians. He never gave up. Therefore, he would always need money. I can see that he might be persuaded to hide Luke away. And he wouldn’t be under suspicion. Rakovac had betrayed Czadas’s cause and gone over to the Russians. It would be assumed that he and Rakovac would only have a guarded relationship.” She shook her head. “But if you study Rakovac’s pattern, that isn’t necessarily true. He has no loyalty and will work with anyone if it benefits him. If he could use Czadas, he’d find a way to overcome any obstacle. He’s a master manipulator.”
“But he only met with him once?”
“As far as the surveillance report shows. It would have been too great a risk. That first visit to Czadas was probably to set up the situation. Rakovac wouldn’t be stupid enough to show frequent visits to anyone. But he’d still want to keep in contact with Czadas and the boy. And he wouldn’t be able to resist calling Catherine afterward to taunt her. That’s part of his basic makeup.”
“Oh, yes,” Eve said bitterly. “That goes without saying. How would he do it?”
“All of these cities are where he met with his other clients.” She pointed to Krasnos, Vichaga, and the other Russian cities down the line of the graph. Then she put Sergriev in the middle of them. “They’re all within an hour-and-a-half drive to Sergriev. The meetings with all his clients on these particular days were at hotels, not their own offices, or on their own turf. Rakovac must have arranged them. He could conduct business, then slip away and go to meet with Mikhal Czadas at Sergriev.” She looked at Eve. “Connect the dots, Eve.”
Eve gave a low whistle. “Kelly, you may just be as brilliant as they say you are.”
“Of course I am.”
“Czadas,” Eve repeated. “You think Luke’s being held by Mikhal Czadas?”
“It’s only an educated guess.” Kelly’s grin widened. “I’m lying. And being modest. That pattern is pretty clear. I’d bet that Rakovac arranged with Czadas to keep Luke.”
“Rakovac boasted of making Luke kill.” Eve was thinking, trying to put the pieces together. “If Czadas is still active in the Georgian resistance movement, that would mesh with what he said. There would be an opportunity.”
“Call Catherine.” Kelly closed her