Эльвира Барякина - White Ghosts

“Where did he get the rifles?” asked Klim.

“He says the Germans gave them to him. But I’m sure he’s lying. We don’t have any German smugglers here.”

Klim was relieved a little. It seemed that Labuda had said nothing about Nina so far.

“Labuda got hysterical,” Felix continued, chuckling. “He was crying like a baby up there, hitting his head against the wall. We put him into the cell to cool down, and I reported everything to Captain Wyer.”

Johnny Collor came up to them and gave Felix a friendly pat on the shoulder. “You deserve a medal, mate.”

Klim was questioned as a witness, and when the papers were signed, Johnny sent him to the Commissioner’s office. “Wyer wants to have a word with you.”

7

The room was furnished with cheap furniture and portraits of kings and presidents of the Great Powers.

“Sit down,” Wyer told Klim, pointing at a worn chair. “Are you the one who covers the Criminal Chronicle in the Daily News?”

Klim nodded. “Yes, I am.”

Wyer had a cold and kept clearing his throat hoarsely.

“When you write an article about today’s arrest, make sure to insert the notion that the suspect cohabited with a woman named Nina Kupina and that he’s the father of her child. Am I clear?”

It was clear as day: Wyer wanted to save Edna’s honor and put all the blame for his son-in-law on Jiří.

“Nina Kupina has just given birth, and we have put her under house arrest,” said the captain. “During the interrogation, Labuda told us that she was the one who made him establish a false consulate. Don’t forget to mention that too.”

Klim’s heart skipped a beat. Obviously, the captain was going to send Nina to jail. And the heroes responsible for making it all happen would be none other than Klim Rogov and Felix Rodionov.

“I need more details for my article,” Klim said. “Can I have a look around the suspects’ house and speak to the guards?”

“Why?” Wyer frowned.

“My editor wouldn’t accept my material without a comment from them.”

“The man sounds like an imbecile,” Wyer muttered, but he nevertheless obliged Klim with a note for the chief of the guard.

8

At Nina’s house, Klim demanded to be allowed to speak to the prisoner, but the pot-bellied duty sergeant didn’t even want to listen to him.

“Come in the morning,” he said. “It’s too late today.”

Klim handed him his silver watch. “I need to talk to the prisoner now.”

The sergeant weighed the watch in his palm.

“Well, you can try if you want, but I’d say she probably isn’t in the mood for an interview at the moment.”

As they entered the ransacked living room, the lower-ranking officers who had been playing cards promptly stood to attention.

“The suspect is in her room and all is in order, sir,” one of them reported.

A baby’s cry could be heard from the second floor, and without waiting for permission, Klim ran upstairs. He couldn’t find Nina’s bedroom in the dark, and it seemed to him that the baby’s screams were coming from all directions.

Finally, Klim saw a door with a faint crack of light underneath it. He knocked and entered the room.

“What else do you want?” groaned Nina and fell silent, staring at him.

She was slumped on her bed—barely recognizable, disheveled and with dark circles under her eyes. A baby, its little face distorted from crying, was wriggling in her arms.

The room had been trashed by the police. The large rug lay in a heap on the floor; Nina’s lingerie, papers, and bits of broken chair were strewn all over the place.

“Nina…” Klim called quietly.

She pressed her hand to her mouth and started to cry, her whole body shaking.

Klim looked at her, not knowing what to do. He took off his coat and sat down next to her, averting his gaze from the baby.

“I can’t feed Katya,” Nina said between sobs.

So she’s called her Katya after all, Klim thought. As we had decided.

The girl butted her head against Nina’s distended breast but was incapable of taking the nipple.

“Put something under her neck,” Klim said. “It’s difficult for her when you’re holding her like that.”

For a while, they fussed over the baby, every now and then exchanging angry whispers.

“Don’t you see, you have to lift her.”

“No, she’s uncomfortable that way.”

Finally, Katya figured out what was required of her, and Nina leaned her head back on the pillow. She was so tired she could hardly keep her eyes open.

“If they send me to jail, will you take care of Katya?” she asked.

“I won’t abandon your daughter,” Klim said flatly.

“She is your daughter as well.”

That’s all I need, Klim thought. Now, she’s going press gang me into her crew of “gullible” fathers along with Bernard and Labuda.

“You don’t have to lie me to get what you want,” he said. “If I promise to do something I always keep my word.”

“Get the hell out of here,” Nina whisper, her jaw trembling. “If you don’t believe me, there’s just no point.”

With great difficulty, Klim succeeded in mastering his emotions.

“Do you have a lawyer?” he asked.

Nina nodded. “Yes. His name is Tony Aulman. He’s promised to help me and Jiří.”

“Is it true that you and Labuda pulled that scam with the Czechoslovak Consulate?”

“I had no choice. We didn’t have any money left, and I couldn’t think of anything better.”

“So you started selling guns?”

“What?”

Klim told her the story of Jiří’s arrest, and Nina was stunned.

“I had no idea this was going on,” she said. “We were only selling champagne and cognac, and I told Jiří to stop all operations until I had the baby.”

“Well, then, he obviously didn’t listen to you,” sighed Klim. “Now Wyer wants me to write that the father of your baby is Jiří, not Mr. Bernard.”

“Why didn’t you tell him about the night you and I spent together in Lincheng? It is almost exactly nine months since then.”

“Nina, stop it!”

“I know I’ve wronged you badly. But you surely aren’t planning to take revenge upon me like that. After all, you did play your part in getting me pregnant.”

“But did I?”

“You slipped out of the railroad car and never even left me a note. I was waiting so long for you!”

Klim had become so accustomed to being the injured party that Nina’s words baffled him.

“I was late,” he said with indignation. “You were the one who came to Lincheng for the fun of it; I went there because I had a job to do.”

“What’s taking you so long?” the sergeant shouted from the corridor. “My shift is almost over.”

Klim rose to his feet. “I have to go.” He picked up his coat and headed for the door.

“Wait!” Nina called him. “I… well… Thanks for coming over.”

Apart from the encounter in Lincheng, this was the first time in a year and a half Nina had made it clear that she appreciated her husband.

“I’ll be back tomorrow,” Klim said and left the room.

He walked quickly through the monotone city, trying to make sense of what had happened. His confusion gave way to hope. What if Katya really was his daughter? Klim was completely unprepared for this eventuality and had no idea what he should do about it.

He had always wanted children, but when he thought about them, he imagined that he would be well-established with a house of his own and a loving and unquestionably loyal wife. And now what? On the one hand, Klim could not remember with any certainty whether he and Nina had been careful that night, but on the other hand, only a very naïve person could take Nina completely at her word. She had proven many times that honesty wasn’t her strong suit.

Yet despite all this, Klim was overwhelmed by a totally inappropriate, inexplicable joy. Nina had come back into his life. And if she had given birth to Daniel Bernard’s baby, then so be it. Many people bring up children who aren’t theirs, and the world hadn’t stopped spinning on its axis as a result.

If only he could keep Nina out of jail! Klim lifted his eyes to the magnificent winter sky. Countless stars peeped over the roofs of the city like an audience at the Coliseum, waiting with bated breath for the outcome of the battle unfolding before their eyes.

1

Nina shuffled around the house in a delirious trance. Her body wouldn’t obey her, and she had had to turn her life on its head in order to adapt to her house arrest and ensure that she and Katya had the basic provisions they needed.

Terrified, her servants had scattered to the four winds; her financial assets had been seized, and the police could barge into her bedroom at any time. The telephone had been confiscated, and Nina felt completely cut off from the world. She didn’t even know what she had been accused of and what was going to happen to her.

How could Jiří have used my car and house to trade arms behind my back? she wondered. He had the courage and decisiveness of a mouse, and ever since Nina had known him, the most daring thing he had ever done was to tease and irritate her.

It must have been Don Fernando who had put him up to it, Nina decided. Oh, I’ll take him down a peg or two when I get out!

Klim came to visit her again, and Nina could sense immediately that he didn’t even want to look at Katya. He didn’t hold the baby, didn’t ask how she was doing, and every time Nina started talking about their little girl he tried to change the subject. Katya was not a blessing for him but a problem and his attitude hurt Nina deeply.