Kill me like a brother

By EDGARS AUZIŅŠ

Private investigator Tatyana Ivanova finds herself in a very difficult situation: she needs a few days before the New Year to find missing businessman Oleg Odintsov and his family. Nobody in the police believes that anything has happened to Odintsov. He writes emails, gives orders to his subordinates, but the businessman's mother is worried because no one from her son's family has contacted her for about two weeks and they are not at the farmhouse. Tatiana suspects that the owner of a large company is in danger because his life's work has been targeted by competitors.

• Language: English
• Publisher: EDGARS AUZINS
• Release date: Jun 21, 2024
• ISBN: 9798227830166

EDGARS AUZIŅŠ

Dzimis 1989. gada 22. decembrī. Absolvējis Rīgas Juridisko koledžu. Profesijā nav strādājis, bet apguvis programmēšanas prasmes un pašlaik ar to nodarbojas. Kopš 2022. gada ir personīgā uzņēmuma vadītājs, kas nodarbojas ar transporta pārvadājumiem, kā arī programmēšanu. Dzīvnieku, īpaši suņu, mīļotājs. Born 22 December 1989. Graduated from Riga College of Law. Has not worked in the profession, but has acquired programming skills and is currently working in it. Since 2022 he has been the CEO of his own company, which deals with transport transport as well as programming. Lover of animals, especially dogs.

Book preview

Chapter 1

I love driving home late in the evening. There's something attractive about it. The roads in the city are no longer so clogged. So sometimes I allow myself to press the gas pedal to the floor a little harder to feel some special inexplicable feeling of freedom.

Twenty-two zero-zero in Tarasov, a pleasant male voice announced on the radio. Soothing music started playing over the speakers.

This won’t work, I thought and turned on my favorite, invigorating one.

I, private detective Tatyana Ivanova, am on my way home from work after another solved case. I'm twenty-seven. Several years ago I graduated from the Tarasov Academy of Law, where I went to study solely at the call of my heart. I won’t be modest, studying was easy for me. The teachers were amazed at my phenomenal memory and excellent analytical skills. I think it was partly thanks to them that they hired me to work in the prosecutor’s office as soon as I received my diploma.

But very quickly I realized that I couldn’t bend to the boss, and I left. Or I was asked to leave. But this is no longer important. As it’s fashionable to say these days: they didn’t work together. Without hesitation, I received a private investigator license and have been investigating cases ever since. I try to take on even the most hopeless ones. Therefore, clients, as a rule, always generously thank me for my work.

It was the same this time. The customer, the director of the Tarasov Fashion House, did not skimp on a substantial fee for the fact that I found the person who stole his new collection of women's clothing three days before the show. In addition to the generous reward, he presented me with an unlimited certificate for two for two days of relaxation at a ski center that had recently opened an hour’s drive from Tarasov.

But he guessed right. Learning to ski well has been my long-standing and so far unfulfilled dream. After all, what I really love is sports. Morning jogging and physical activity - this habit has been embedded in my daily ritual since the days of the academy. Since then I have tried not to miss a single day.

But despite my good physical shape and black belt in karate, I was never able to find a common language with alpine skiing. Who knows, maybe there hasn’t been a person yet who could put me on them. Probably, any other girl would have given up this idea, but not me. I like to go ahead. And so now is the time to try again a third time.

I arrived at my cozy one-room apartment, where I live alone. First of all, I took off my jacket, plopped down in my favorite chair, put my feet on the ottoman and closed my eyes. In the silence, I could clearly hear the clock ticking and my empty stomach growling. I tried to remember the last time I ate. My memory came back to this early morning and a small sandwich with lightly salted fish, which I tossed into myself as I walked, washing it down with a cup of coffee.

I had no choice but to get up again and carry my tired body to the kitchen. But here I was disappointed. The refrigerator was practically empty. During the investigation, I am completely immersed in the case, and therefore I almost always have to neglect myself, my beloved. A couple of eggs and a piece of processed cheese is all I have for dinner today.

Ten minutes later I was already eating the fried egg and washing it down with aromatic coffee prepared in my favorite coffee machine. I confess, I am an experienced coffee lover. I prefer only natural ones and can’t stand instant ones. It is coffee that significantly speeds up my mental activity and helps solve cases.

After finishing dinner, I lit a cigarette. In my opinion, the perfect end to a working day.

But then, out of nowhere, an unexpected thought occurred to me. I remembered that my friend Lenka had been trying to persuade me for several months to go for a ride to that same resort. That's why I decided it would be appropriate to take her with me.

Lenka, or, as I also call her, the Frenchwoman, is my old friend. An unrestrained talker and a master of getting into the most incredible situations. She works as a French teacher in a very ordinary school in the Trubny district of Tarasov. A friend is raising two sons alone, so her finances are most often sad or very sad. You can't really save money on a teacher's salary. Either the children’s sneakers will have holes in them, or the food in the refrigerator will run out, and no one has canceled utility bills. I don’t think she will refuse the opportunity to visit this place without extra expenses and take her mind off everyday problems.

I went to the window and dialed her number. While I was waiting for Lenka to pick up the phone, I watched from my seventh floor as the snow sparkled mesmerizingly in the light of the lanterns. Despite the fact that it is still the end of November, the ground is already completely hidden under snow cover.

– Len, would you like to join me and go skiing? – I asked my friend when she finally answered. – One generous client thanked me with a certificate to the very ski center you told me about.

- Tanya, have you really matured? It took a long time to persuade you!

- Better late than never. While I am free from work, I would like to change the environment. How about next weekend?

- So it’s the day after tomorrow. I need to place the boys somewhere.

– You can take them with you.

- Well, I do not. If we go, it will be just the two of us. Believe me, if my brats go with us, then no one will rest. I'll ask my sister. She has three of her own, so she’s no stranger to it. Besides, they say the instructors there are nice. There will be someone to flirt with.

– Then it’s decided? – I clarified.

I’ll call you back, Lenka answered me and hung up.

But I never received a call from her. Therefore, she decided that she could not accommodate her offspring.

On Saturday my doorbell rang. It was dark everywhere in the apartment, which meant it was either still night or early morning.

With difficulty lifting my head from the pillow, I looked at my watch, sleepily. They showed exactly seven o'clock. By the time I got there, it seemed that someone on the other side of the door had completely lost patience.

- Yes, I’m on my way, who’s there? – Through the door peephole I saw Lenka, dressed in a ski suit.

- Are you sleeping, or what? – she stunned me from the threshold, dragging a large green suitcase into the apartment.

– Actually, yes. What are you doing here?

- Like what? You yourself invited me to go skiing.

I thought since you didn’t call me back, everything was cancelled.

– You’re kidding, I’ve been on my feet since five in the morning. While I took the boys by taxi to my sister outside the city, then straight to you. And you, it turns out, are sleeping. I didn't have time to call. Sorry. Come on, let's go on an adventure! I am a woman free from maternal duties for two days.

-Can you at least get dressed?

Just hurry up, before my sister calls and asks me to take the children back. I can't wait to hit the road!

– Len, I wasn’t even planning on it yet, so I’ll have to wait a little. Take off your clothes for now and sit down. But there is nothing to treat you with except coffee. I never made it to the store yesterday.

- Coffee will be fine. We need to cheer up. I’ll go cook it myself, while you get ready.

I quickly stuffed personal hygiene products and a change of clothes into my backpack. Then I drank coffee on the go, prepared by Lenka, and we left. I have never gone on vacation in such extreme conditions.

The entire hour that we were on the road, Lenka chattered non-stop. It couldn’t even be drowned out by the music, which I deliberately turned up louder in the hope of enjoying the road. During this time, I heard almost everything about their new school physical education teacher. I’ve never seen him, but I did find out what movies he likes to watch, his favorite sportswear company, and the name of his dog, which his parents gave him for his 10th birthday. And everything would have been fine, but I revealed my friend’s selfish intentions. Lenka, as I guessed, was going to set me up with him.

She knows very well that my personal life is not eventful. Fleeting novels, as a rule, end quickly. But I have not yet reached the registry office with anyone. And I'm not going to yet.

And, to be honest, I’m quite happy with everything. Unlike my relatives and friends who think differently. All their many years of futile attempts to marry me off, to my happiness and their misfortune, never led to anything. And recently the neighbors got involved in this adventure. Very curious and with an active life position, my neighbor in the vestibule, Aunt Vera, sent her single son with pies. She felt that we had many common topics with the associate professor of the Faculty of Mathematics and that we would easily find a common language. But our date ended with him devouring all the pies he brought. And, without even saying thank you for the coffee, he hurried to leave my apartment. After that, Aunt Vera didn’t talk to me for a month.

Lenka has a different opinion. She is completely convinced that every girl should get married at least once in her life, and then it depends on her luck. And what the marriage will be like is no longer so important. At least that's how it was for her. Her family life fell apart at the seams a few years ago. She was left alone with two children. But she had a gorgeous wedding for almost a hundred people, which Lenka is terribly proud of. This prospect didn’t really inspire me.

Having finally reached our destination, we stopped at the gate, where there was a large sign with the inscription Gorki.

And it’s a full house today, despite the early morning, Lenka noted, looking around in search of a free parking space for her car. - Look, look, one is freed! Near the entrance.

A lady in a black sedan, filled with children and adults, tried for several minutes to reverse out of a parking space without hitting surrounding cars. As soon as she was able to do this, I reacted instantly and managed to park faster than the impudent driver in a fully tinted SUV. He was clearly unhappy with this and, opening his window, began yelling at me almost obscenely.

This is my place, you better leave here, sheep, he switched to conversational Russian. I thought that such types were a thing of the distant past.

– Where does it say what’s yours? He really angered me. - There is public parking here.

– I always put it here.

Today we’ll have to make an exception. – Lenka and I got out of the car and started getting our luggage.

– Do you want problems?

-What will you do to me? Will you run over me right here?

I can't stand such rude people. Moreover, she did not intend to give up her place to him.

The impudent stranger sharply stepped on the gas. He had to park his car at the other end of the parking lot. Then he slammed the door and walked decisively in our direction. Approaching us, the man wanted to say something, but changed his mind. I was already preparing to respond to his threats, but then they called out to him, and he walked towards the entrance to the ski resort.

Strange guy, Lenka whispered to me, following him with an appraising glance.

– Considers himself the master of the situation. Such people are not worth even a minute of our time. Get your things out already, let's go check in.

Judging by the size of the suitcase that her friend brought with her, she planned to come here for at least a week. This is what Lenka is all about. She loves to appear spectacularly wherever she is invited. Putting the suitcase on wheels, Lenka pulled out the handle and, raising her head proudly, rolled it along the path cleared of snow.

We got a double room on the third floor with a beautiful view of the mountains. The landscape outside the window reminded me of a painting that hung in my room as a child. I loved it very much because before going to bed I loved to look at every detail on it.

I had one desire - to lie down and take a nap for at least an hour, given that I was woken up early today. And the previous few days had been stormy due to yet another investigation.

But Lenka could not be stopped. The first thing she did was unpack her suitcase.

– Isn’t there enough stuff for two days? – I was curious.

That’s it, answered the friend, taking her black evening dress out of her suitcase.

- Len, why do you need a fancy dress?

- What do you mean why? We'll go to a local restaurant tonight.

- And will you wear it?

- Of course, what’s wrong with him?

– Actually, it’s November, and the dress, to put it mildly, is too revealing.

You don’t understand, it’s meant to be that way. Have you noticed what kind of contingent there is? I haven’t seen such a large accumulation of testosterone in one place for a long time. What if we get lucky and finally meet the right ones?

- Len, you are incorrigible. There are probably only married people here. Or have you forgotten how your romance with a family man recently ended?

- This is not forgotten. After all, it was thanks to you that he went to jail.

That’s not exactly what I meant. I just wanted to say that such a relationship has no prospects.

- Well, don’t you really want to meet someone?

– Somehow I didn’t think about it.

– And you probably only took your favorite jeans with you?

You know me better than anyone. Now, maybe we can have breakfast and start looking for an instructor? I’m not going to go to the mountain hungry," I suggested.

We went downstairs to the reception. A nice girl told us where to find instructors. But first we decided to visit a local restaurant with the promising name Paradise Place, which, according to the administrator, serves various dishes for every taste.

I was already dreaming about scrambled eggs in Armenian style, but then at the door of the hotel I ran into the same boor with whom we clashed in the parking lot.

A tall, bald man with two-day stubble, a strong build, and bulging biceps, walked into the building. A long-legged blonde in tight black leather pants, high heels, with a small dog under her arm trotted behind him. The man kept looking at his phone. At one point he looked up from his cell phone, and our gazes collided. When he saw me, he froze in place for a second, but then quickly came to his senses.

– Are you following me, or what? – he furiously attacked me.

And I was puzzled: some strangely inadequate type. I ran over it in the parking lot, but here it’s the same story. Maybe he's crazy?..

You think too much of yourself, man, I answered him in a calm tone. You didn’t do anything to be followed.

The blonde, not understanding anything, stood nearby and batted her eyelashes.

- Seryozha, what happened? – she asked her companion.

- It's okay, Christy. Go to your room," he ushered her out.

Len, let’s go, I grabbed my friend’s hand and directed her towards the exit.

– Maybe we should complain to the police about him, Tan? It’s not we who are pursuing him, but he who is pursuing us," she could not calm down.

– Len, first of all, no one is following anyone. The guy is just not in the mood - maybe he didn’t get enough sleep? Secondly, what will the police do? Will he be arrested? Let’s not spoil the weekend, I tried to calm Lenka down. – Look, here is the same cafe that the administrator told us about.

From experience, if you feed Lena, she will temporarily forget about this stupid incident.

Fortunately, I was not mistaken. The satisfied and happy friend completely forgot about the incident in the parking lot and was ready for sporting feats.

We came to the place that the girl from the reception pointed out to us. But they didn’t meet anyone at the building with the sign Ski and snowboard rental.

– Can I help you with something, ladies? – a young guy in an acid-yellow ski suit magically approached us from nowhere.

We are looking for an instructor, Lenka answered him. – But only a very experienced one who can teach us how to skate well.

– I think I can offer you my services. My name is Gregory. For you – just Grisha. You can rest assured of my professionalism. I am a twice national champion and a world championship medalist. Here, read," he pointed his finger at the photo on the Honor Board.

It was written there that the young man’s name was Grigory Yashin. He is twenty three years old. Despite such a young age, his track record of sporting achievements turned out to be very solid. He became the youngest national champion.

Lenka and I looked at each other and decided that Grisha was right for us.

– Can you handle two at once? – I asked Grisha.

- I assure you, this is not a problem. I don't think you're as hopeless as you think you are. We can start training right now. I just have two hours of free time.

The training went by in a flash. Lenka and I did not regret for a minute that our choice fell on Grisha. Unless the friend was trying too hard to impress him. To such an extent that after class I plucked up courage and invited Grisha to sit with us in a cafe.

– Would you like to join Tanya and me? We plan to sit in a restaurant and have lunch, she suggested. – Tell us about yourself, how you managed to become the youngest champion.

I noticed that Grisha grabbed his heart. She became wary, looking for the characteristic signs of a heart attack: blue lips, cold sweat. Fortunately, I didn’t notice anything like that, but still asked:

- Are you okay?

- Yes, everything is fine. I have an hour to sit with you.

We chose the farthest table in the cafe. Lenka was so hungry that she ordered herself as many as three hot dishes. Out of habit, I was overcome more by fatigue than by the feeling of hunger. So I only had enough for a vegetable salad and a cup of latte. Grisha ordered himself black tea with lemon.

- So will you tell me where you learned to skate so well? – a friend began to interrogate our coach.

– My story, I think, is banal. At the age of five my grandmother introduced me to sports. Not far from our house, a skiing section opened then. From the very first lessons I fell in love with this sport. Soon this place became the only place for me where I was flying at full speed. I didn’t even want to go to school, just to study. I enjoyed training so much and was always told that I had talent. At the age of seven I won my first competition. The coach then said that I showed great promise. At the age of seventeen I won the championship among adults, and the next year I beat everyone again. Then they started preparing me for the Olympic Games. But an absurd accident three years ago deprived me of everything overnight.

- What's happened?

– A damn bump got in my way during training. It would seem that the route is familiar, not the most difficult. The speed was decent, more than a hundred kilometers per hour. As a result, both legs were broken and the spine was injured. The doctors said that I was very lucky. After such injuries, not everyone gets back on their feet. Of course, I had to forget about my sports career. Now I’m teaching others.

It’s sad, Lenka said with sympathy in her voice. – But you are an excellent coach, I want to say. We will be happy to recommend you to our friends.

Suddenly, someone tapped me on the shoulder from behind. I turned around and saw Nikolai Gavrilov, director of the Tarasov real estate agency and my former client. Once I saved his life by identifying in time the person who attempted to kill him. It turned out to be Kolya’s assistant, whom I caught when he was planting a bomb in his car. The client was ready to carry me in his arms and thanked me generously.

About a year has passed since our last meeting. During this time he has not changed at all. Still as impressive and stately.

- Hello, Tanya! What are the fates here?

– I came to rest. Meet, this is my friend Lena and our coach Grigory, I introduced Kolya to my table neighbors.

Very nice, he shook their hands. – I also came here for the weekend with company. After the incident when you saved my life, I became very selective in my friends.

Kolya showed us his table, at which three more were sitting. Lenka and I almost dropped our jaws when we saw who was sitting with Kolya. One of them was the same Sergei from the parking lot, with whom our relationship did not work out from the very first minutes of our stay here.

Yes, I know him, Grisha intervened in the conversation and waved his hand. - This is Sergei. Great guy. We have known him for a very long time.

He waved back, but then looked at me and changed his face. In order not to raise unnecessary questions, I nodded to this Sergei and turned my gaze to Kolya.

What a small world, I muttered thoughtfully.

– Do you know him? – Kolya asked me.

- Not exactly familiar. But we ran into each other quite by accident this morning, I answered, without revealing the circumstances of our meeting.

- Well, I'll go. I won’t interfere with your rest, said Kolya. – Tanya, if you need anything, you can always contact me. I hope you still have my number.

Thank you, Kolya, I answered him. – I remember your number by heart. - And this is the truth. I have an excellent memory.

Kolya shook my hand again and went to his table.

- So you saved his life? – after a minute of silence Grisha asked curiously. – Who do you work for? Don't tell me you're a superhero. I still won't believe it.

- Oh, you'll be surprised! Tatyana Ivanova is the best private detective in Tarasov, and why