Spider - Michael Morley [105]
‘Glad to see that all those years in the restaurant business taught you how to be a waiter,’ joked Howie as they made their way into the other room to see Grazyna. Howie opened the door and the young woman sitting opposite them looked up; her shoulders hunched, her face white and gaunt.
‘I’m Howie Baumguard, Miss. This human food trolley here is Jack King. He’s brought you some breakfast.’
‘Morning, Grazyna,’ said Jack, gently. ‘We’re here to try to help find your friend.’ Jack didn’t ask if she wanted food, he just put it down on the table in front of herand uncappedher coffee. Experience had shown him that many people didn’t want to be seen to have to accept anything from a cop, so it was better to give without even asking.
Howie sat down next to her. ‘We’re told that you’re in no doubt that the girl in the video reports on the TV, the girl being held hostage somewhere, is your friend Ludmila Zagalsky. Is that right?’
Grazyna picked up the coffee. Her hand shook so badly that she had to put it down again, so she didn’t scald herself. ‘That’s right,’ she answered in a tiny voice. ‘We’re like sisters, I recognized her straight away.’
‘When did you last see her, Grazyna? Can you remember?’ asked Jack.
It was something Grazyna had thought a lot about. ‘It was six nights ago, about one a.m., outside Primorski’s restaurant down Beach Avenue.’
Howie and Jack exchanged quizzical looks. ‘How come you’re so sure?’ asked Howie.
This time Grazyna hesitated. Shechewed her lip and looked away from them. ‘I’ve been seeing this waiter at Prim’s, a guy called Ramzan. Lu was keen on him too, but I made amove on him when she wasn’t around and I just couldn’t bring myself to tell her about it. I’d arranged to meet him at the end of his shift and as I was coming up the street Is a wLuat the window, waving to him. I kind of stepped back into a doorway across the road and hid for a while.’
‘Why did you do that?’ asked Howie.
‘Dunno,’ said Grazyna. ‘Guess I thought he might be cheating on me. So I hung around to see if he’d come out and kiss her or anything.’
‘And did he?’ asked Jack.
‘No, he didn’t. After a bit, she sort of waved at him again and thenseemedtoloseinterest. Some guydrove up a few minutes later and used the ATM machine near the restaurant and she clocked him.’
Jack and Howie’s instincts bristled like porcupines.
‘I guess the machine wasn’t working’cos I saw Lu pointing down the street. Then she started working him, you know, flirting with him. Well, Ithought, good for you, sister, you go get yourself some extra Benjamins. Sure enough, seconds later she rides off in this guy’s car.’
‘Which direction?’ asked Howie.
Grazyna frowned for a moment. ‘I’m not good at directions. Let me think.’ She pointed her hands out from her body. ‘He turned east. Yep, I’m sure of that. They headed off eastwards.’
Howie held his breath. ‘You got the registration?’
Grazyna frowned. ‘No. It was a yellow Hyundai; I saw the badge on the back.’
‘Two doors or four?’ asked Howie.
She looked up at the ceiling for inspiration. ‘Four.’
Howie left the room and instructed Fernandez to start the search for a four-door Hyundai. He suggested that they look for white as well as yellow; the sodium street lights might have affected her colour judgement.
Jack’s head was buzzing with excitement.
At last, some critical questions were getting answered. They now had a name for the victim – Ludmila Zagalsky; the place where she had been taken from – Beach Avenue; and perhaps a time of the possible abduction – one a.m. on 2 July.
The one crucial question that they couldn’t answer was whether she was still alive.
71
Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, New York
The FBI and NYPD started checking car plates, surveillance footage from street and road cameras, and canvassing Hyundai dealers and second-hand car salesmen.
Fernandez stayed with Grazyna Macowicz while she tried to identify the man she had seen Lu leave with. A police artist worked on body shape, build and posture while a policewoman put together an E-fit of his facial components.