Valera, do something, shut him up.
P-a-a-a-a-a-r-a-a-a-s-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h- h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h. Immediately! Orlovsky jumps up from his seat and runs towards Pronyakin, clenching his fists in fury, I will not tolerate an impostor here, Pronyakin! Friends, do not listen to him, he says to those at the table, He is a common malicious slanderer. There is no testament that our dear Sergei Milyutin left all his property to his son Ivan and to Pronyakin! I was the deceaseds lawyer for 20 years, and I know what Im talking about.
He lies, he lies, Orlovskys daughters followed Orlovsky in shouting and pointing their fingers at Pronyakin, he is an impostor. Impostor.
When he reaches Pronyakin, Orlovsky tries to hit him, but he easily parries the blow and hits the lawyer back in the solar plexus, after which the latter, bent in
half, falls to the floor.
So you are a fighter, says Pronyakin contemptuously through his teeth to the lawyer, while at the same time several strong men, friends of the family, rush up to him and force him out of the room.
Well hire a detective, too, the widow shrills loudly and shrilly, running up to Orlovsky. Well sue him, she says to everyone present, for slander and hooliganism. We will defend our honor. No matter what it costs us.
***
Andrei Zhuk was small in stature, puny in build, with three days worth of stubble on his chin, eyes as small and quick as a ferrets, and a cowboy hat on his head. The meeting with Pronyakin did not begin at all as he had planned, but he managed to win this client over, promising that he would be able to find him the missing will.
They met at the Second Breath Liquor House, where nobody cares about anybody. This place is at the bottom of society, where there is no place to go
below: both aristocrats and degenerates come here to recover from their hangovers. From furniture there are only round tables at which you can only stand, and from snacks there are sandwiches with zucchini caviar or herring. That is why people do not linger here. Have a drink, have a snack, go away. An ideal place for business negotiations, especially if things are dark.
And Pronyakin was clearly a man with a dark past and greedy for money. Thats one thing, but in his career as a detective, Andrei had learned to understand people very well.
Ill pay you if you make me rich. And I will be rich only when I get my will back, said Pronyakin for the umpteenth time, tapping his index finger knuckles on the table. Understand? I like you.
And you dont, Andrei answered to himself and began to explain to his client once again that he had to pay for the current expenses during the investigation, regardless of the amount of the agreed fee, at his first request.
Include your expenses as an extra line in your contract, Pronyakin disagrees, But Ill pay them only when I get my will. Ill get billions, and youll get your 10% of everything I inherit. Youll be a millionaire in no time. So take a chance, thats what its all about! Look around you, said Pronyakin, What have you got to lose? This?
All right, having realized that it was impossible to agree on his own terms with Pronyakin, he decided to take the risk, lets do as you say. Tell me again everything you know about the will and about Miliutin.
On the day of his death, he himself called me in a terrible agitation, screaming that he had been ordered.
Was it just like that, shouting ordered?
Just like that, he shouted that it was his wife and daughters who did it. And all because he disinherited them. He bequeathed all his money to his son Ivan, and his collection to me. All this he formalized and signed all the necessary papers. He said that when he died, everything should go to Vanya and me.
What is included in the collection?
About 5,000 paintings worth more than 7 billion rubles. And this is not my speculation, all of his paintings have been valued by the bank and insured. And also the building of the art gallery on Ovchinnikovskaya Embankment. Thats not even less than half a billion if you sell it. After all, its not far from the Kremlin.
But when I asserted my rights yesterday, at the wake, lawyer Orlovsky declared me a liar.
And who is he, Orlovsky?
Miliutinskys personal lawyer, he handled all of his cases. If anyone should know about the will, it was him. One of two things: either Orlovsky is lying, or he doesnt know anything, because Miliutin didnt let him know about it. Im sure Orlovsky is lying because hes in cahoots with the widow. I think theyre having an affair. In a word, adultery.
But this is a criminal offense. If this is true, he risks going to jail.
For adultery?
No, for cheating on the will.
Well, prove it! Thats why I hire you.
***
When Anna entered the room, a burly woman in silk pajamas was sitting in the small living room with a defiantly dressed girl who looked just like her, listening
to her read her poetry.
The first thing that came to Annas mind was to say, A nuthouse on the road, but then she was introduced to the lady of the house, Mrs. Milyutina.
This is Anna Vladimirovna, a very experienced detective with terrific references, Orlovsky said to the woman. Her friends recommended her to me, in whom I have absolute confidence. We have a delicate case, you know. Anna used
to work as an investigator in the prosecutors office, now she works for herself. She will help us expose the scoundrel Pronyakin and deal with his casus belli.
Valera, I trust you, Milutina said languidly, stretching her words as she looked at Anna, Just imagine, Marfa has decided to become a poet. She was just reading her poems to me.
And how many poems has she written?
Only two, but its just the beginning, exclaimed Miliutina enthusiastically.
Well, when we have a hundred or two poems, then well publish the book. In the meantime, lets return to our sinful land. Well have to make an agreement with Anna and get her up to speed.
Ah, why all the antimonies, if all can be expressed in one word we want to get screwed.
And who wants to fuck you? Anna enters the conversation, What is he blackmailing you with and what is he trying to achieve?
What does he want? Money, of course, Miliutina stood up, all flushed with indignation, Oh, dont remind me of that scoundrel Pronyakin. My blood pressure immediately spikes and my heart beats like a bird in a cage. All my husbands life he was surrounded by shady characters who wanted to profit at his expense. And now that he is dead, one of his so-called friends has accused me and my daughters of killing him!
And you didnt kill him, of course?
Valera, what does it all mean? Milutina was sincerely indignant, Does she doubt my innocence?
Masha, shes on our side. Its just the way it is, Orlovsky reassured her, answer everything you know.
Yes, of course not! cried Miliutina nervously, and looked at Anna angrily, like a mistress at a guilty servant, We didnt even know where he had been for the last three days. The police called me and said they had found him dead in our country house. Before he ran away from home, he made a scene and told me and my daughters that he would disinherit us, because his daughters were discussing who would inherit what when he died. It made him mad. I knew right away he was having a schizophrenic episode. This had happened to him sometimes, he had been diagnosed with flaccid schizophrenia at one time. I wanted to put him in an inpatient facility for a couple of weeks to get him back to normal. If he hadnt run away, hed be alive now.
And what was the cause of your husbands death?
He died of a stroke. The medical examiner confirmed it, and we were issued a death certificate. Otherwise, how could we bury him?
And who is Pronyakin and where did he come from?
Valera, whos Pronyakin? Maria was surprised, It was you who introduced them to Sergei. So tell me, why did you do it?
Oh, Masha, I didnt know how this was going to end. In a word, Anna, you need to figure out for yourself who he is and what hes up to. By the way, he hired a detective, a certain Beetle. He already called me, asking me to meet him.
Whats the detectives name? asked a rather surprised Anna, unable to hide the excitement in her voice.
Andrei Zhuk. Thats how he introduced himself. Its a very rare name for our country, answered Orlovsky, looking at his watch, Any more questions for me? Because I have some problems that must be solved urgently. I would like to clarify, are you ready to take our case? We will pay you well.
Just so you know, your Pronyakin hired my ex-husband. Once I was stupid to make a mistake by marrying him. And even took his last name.
So youre also a Beetle? draws Milutina, with undisguised interest looking at
Anna, as if she saw a natural anomaly in front of her, How interesting.
Its so interesting, its hilarious. I dont know how I can deal with Pronyakin, but I want to hurt Zhuk as much as he hurt me.
Chapter 3
The rich are called rich because they live richly, Varsonofyev moved the ashtray on the table closer to him and crushed the butt of his cigarette in it, I dont know what you want to find, Andrei, but you wont get anything here. We dont kill the rich in Istra, the rich die here.
His voice is heavy, hoarse, and kind of slow. For the past hour Andrei Zhuk has been trying to find out if the captain found anything suspicious during his examination of the place where Milyutin died, and instead of answering his questions, Varsonofyev successfully shares his life experience with him:
I gave you the coroners report, I showed you the inspection report. What more do you need?
There was a call that Miliutin had been killed, wasnt there?
I think it was one of his neighbors who called. Came into the lot when he
saw the gate was open. Then into the house, because it wasnt locked. Found a dead man and called, in a panic, thinking hed been murdered. And then ran away because he was a coward. People in this village are nervous because they have money and theyre afraid of everything. We didnt find any traces of violence on
the corpse and nothing was missing from the house. The deceaseds wife confirmed it. And the autopsy showed that he died of a brain haemorrhage. Hes lucky he didnt die in agony. Otherwise we would have had to take him to the hospital, he would have been lying there like a vegetable, demanding care, and then he would have presented himself anyway. But this way, hes off the hook and right in the dungeon. I mean, to the cemetery.
Did he have any papers with him, a will or a note?
We found him at a table with nothing on it but an empty glass. Apparently he drank some water and gave up. It happens, Varsonofyev lit a cigarette, blew a
puff of smoke in Andreis direction, closed his eyes tiredly, is it okay that I smoke?
Oh, Silych, Silych, you didnt help me as a cop, you didnt give me a single clue. What am I going to tell my client now, who is convinced that Miliutin was killed?
And you tell him the truth, then you wont have to lie.
***
Well, its all over, and thank God! was the first thought that came to Andrei Zhuk when he told Pronyakin the whole truth that it was impossible to prove the murder of Miliutin, just as it was impossible to challenge the conclusion that his death was a natural cause.
They met in the same place where they had met the first time, at the Second Breath tavern. He handed him a copy of the medical examiners report and waited with undisguised interest for his clients reaction. When he had finished reading it, Pronyakin nervously crumpled the paper into a small lump and tossed it on the table toward Andrei with the words:
Well, no so no. Then find the will. Im sure whoever stole it is responsible for Milutins death. Can you do that, cowboy?
Do you have any ideas, Kirill, who could do it? quipped Zhuk, surprised that Pronyakin didnt fire him right after he failed to collect the evidence.
I know for a fact that it was the widow and her daughters, said Proniakin, tapping his knuckle eloquently on the table and pointing to the crumpled-up death certificate; and she must have had help from one of Milyutins many enemies. And he had a lot of enemies. Start making a list of them.
And who will tell me their names? asks Andrei, The list must be long, long, long?
We need to find the artist Okhaltsev. And talk to him. Properly, heart to heart. Ill give you his number. Call him, but be sure to call him, he throws 500 rubles on the table, Ill take a piss, and you buy us something to drink and eat.
If they send you to get a drink, then it s time to tell the customer to go to hell. Otherwise it will be even worse. But 10% of 7 billion is not lying on the road. For that kind of money you could clean the floors here.
In the end, self-interest trumps pride, and Andrei buys two shots of vodka and two herring sandwiches.
***
You didnt cheat me, thank God, you didnt. You ordered exactly what you were supposed to order. Lets drink to it, Pronyakin greedily downed a shot of vodka and then savored his drink with a sandwich with herring and chopped green onions, How I miss it, he closed his eyes and sniffed greedily, I love such places of power, where people dont pretend. You and I are completely different, but our goal is the same to escape from here, never to return. I dont know about you, but people make me sick. I want my own ivory tower and nobody around. I want complete solitude.
Tell me, Cyril, what will you do with the paintings after we find the will and they become your property?
I might as well burn them. In public. That would be an act of conscious vandalism. All five thousand paintings, including the famous Shtyrev. I may be cursed into eternity, but it would be more glorious than Herostratus.
May I join your company, the painfully familiar womans voice made Andrews whole being shudder. In front of him stood his ex-wife, wrapped in a strict pantsuit, like a knight in armor. How irresistible she was; time had only done her beauty good.
Madam, what brings you here? admiringly exhaled Pronyakin, Would you like to join us? Vodka?
willingly, boys, Anna confidently squeezed herself between the two men and felt how each of them, touching her, frantically released endorphins, which greedily absorbed her aura, But, first, I would like to talk to you.
With us two or with us one? specifies Pronyakin.
With you, Kirill Aleksandrovich. I have nothing to say to Mr. Zhuk.
And how do you know me? surprised Pronyakin.
Who doesnt know you after the scandal you caused at the wake of the collector Milyutin? The whole of Moscow is talking about you. I am detective Anna Zhuk, I was hired by the family of the deceased to represent their interests in the case to protect the honor and property of the family. I would like to ask you, how did you find out about the will, do you have a copy or the original and do you have evidence of the murder of Milyutin by his family?
Oh, oh, oh, why did the damned charming girl have such a prosecutorial tone? I felt at once like a defendant in court, tried to joke Proniakin, but seeing Annas determined mood, decided to get out of harms way.
Ill go away for a few minutes, and Andrei will take my place, said Pronyakin in a curt voice, and beckoned the detective after him, whispering in his ear conspiratorially, Keep her here till I get away. She neednt know that we have nothing but suspicions.
So are you going to tell me everything you know? reminded Anna, displeased that Pronyakin was whispering to her ex-husband and was clearly up to something.