Chapter 4 - THE SAFE BENEATH THE FLOOR
Z
The old dock office smelled of rust and tidewater. Investigators accompanied Nikolai, Anya, and Sofia Levin as a locksmith opened the room. Boris remained in the hospital, guiding them through a video call.
"Third floorboard from the workbench," he signed with a shaking finger toward the screen. "There's a bolt beneath it."
Nikolai knelt and lifted the warped board. A small steel hatch lay embedded in the concrete. The brass key turned reluctantly. Inside were a leather ledger, several sealed letters, a photograph, and a cassette tape wrapped in oilcloth.
The ledger was not merely a record of contraband. It listed payments made to officials, forged ownership transfers, and shipments that had been falsely attributed to Viktor's company. More disturbing, it contained a column headed CHILDREN'S TRUST. Viktor had set aside money for the families of dockworkers killed on the job. The fund had been quietly drained after his death.
Anya examined a letter addressed to Nikolai on his thirty-fifth birthday. "He wanted you to inherit the evidence when you were old enough to understand it."
Nikolai broke the seal. His father's handwriting slanted across the page. Viktor described discovering that Markov planned to use the harbor to move trafficked workers under falsified employment contracts. Viktor intended to end their partnership and notify authorities. He feared Markov would retaliate.
"If you are reading this," the letter said, "then I was not able to stop him myself. Do not mistake revenge for justice. Protect the people who have no one to protect them."
Nikolai read that line three times.
The tape was delivered to a specialist for preservation. Before they left, Anya noticed a second compartment under the hatch. It contained a child's mitten, charred at one edge, and a photograph of Viktor with a woman Nikolai did not recognize.
On the back was a name: Irina Markova.
Sofia frowned. "Markov had a daughter?"
May you like
Nikolai shook his head. "Not that I knew."
Then his phone rang. The caller was an unidentified woman. "Don't play the tape," she said. "My mother is on it, and Markov will kill her if he knows you found it."
