City of Ghosts by Ben Creed (most important books of all time txt) ๐
Read free book ยซCity of Ghosts by Ben Creed (most important books of all time txt) ๐ยป - read online or download for free at americanlibrarybooks.com
- Author: Ben Creed
Read book online ยซCity of Ghosts by Ben Creed (most important books of all time txt) ๐ยป. Author - Ben Creed
โIt is bad to be on a list. They must be in danger,โ she added.
โNot anymore,โ said Rossel. โThey are all dead.โ
She recoiled and crossed herself, then caught herself doing it and stopped.
โWhy are you here?โ she said, looking him in the eye โ no longer reminiscing with a favourite old student but confronting a man in uniform who was talking of the dead.
โI am asking people who knew the victims.โ
โBut why me?โ Professor Lebedeva spread her hands. โI told you, I barely knew those two, this Max and this Nadya.โ
โBut you knew the others well.โ
โNot well,โ she protested.
โFelix,โ said Rossel. โHim you knew very well.โ
โMy student, yes, but how well do a student and teacher ever know each other? Passionate when he played, so I knew there was more to Felix than the prancing peacock he let us all see.โ
โPassionate in other ways, too, Professor?โ
She held his gaze for a moment as if to convey she was making a mental note of his impertinence. As if she wasnโt scared.
โHe told you that?โ
Rossel nodded.
โFelix told me about all his conquests. Thatโs why I came to see you.โ
โYes, he would mention it to you. The pleasure for boys like Felix is always less in the act itself and more in the telling of the tale. We were lovers, I admit it. I did not know the war had claimed him. Do you know how he died? Was it terrible? I hope not.โ
Rossel saw no need to tell her the truth. The professor took a last drag at her cigarette and stubbed it out.
โI loved him a little, Revol. Foolish I know. He was twenty. I was twice his age โ more. But the heart cannot be tamed.โ
โDid Felix talk about any of them, back then? If they were all connected by something other than the murders themselves, my investigation shows it has to be by something that happened when they were here at the conservatory, when they were all students. Iโve checked the files and after that they all go very different ways.โ
The professor stared down at the four names for a moment. Then she pointed to one of them.
โThe one called Nadya. Describe her to me.โ
โShort and round. A clarinettist. Chatty.โ
She nodded. โWell, there is one thing then,โ she said.
โGo on.โ
Professor Lebedeva took off her glasses for a moment and gave them an unnecessary polish.
โFelix liked to gamble, you remember that?โ she said.
โHe would bet on anything.โ
โOne wager sticks in my mind. He told me he might be able to get us some food, horsemeat from a conservatory graduate who was in the army. That heโd put a bet on with this soldier about who would win what Felix โ and others by then โ were calling The Great Symphonic Contest. And he said a girl, who I think was the clarinettist you describe, would help him win because she had the inside track on what the outcome would be.โ
โThe Great Symphonic Contest? Vronsky versus Shostakovich?โ
Professor Lebedeva nodded.
โWhy not?โ she said. โIt was the perfect game for someone who was being classically trained. The race between the two leading composers of the day to see which one of them would have their work become the anthem of the war. โNadya has the inside track.โ Thatโs what he said.โ
Rossel closed his notebook. Then slipped it into his pocket.
โI played at that contest, Professor. The great symphonic battle, the great audition. But so did many others.โ
She stood. โRevol, may I be allowed to continue with my teaching duties?โ
โOf course, my apologies.โ
She walked down the side aisle towards the double doors at the rear of the hall. She stopped halfway and turned, starting to say something. But she thought better of it and scuttled off.
*
On a whim, he called in at the library on the ground floor โ a dusty maze guarded, as it always had been, by a couple of fearsome women. But they had no idea how to find a score written during the years of the siege.
โMadame Shishani would know,โ said one, โshe knows every piece of music that ever went in and out of this building. But, sheโs away today, comrade, nursing her mother. Can you come back tomorrow?โ
Rossel shook his head. Then sighed.
โNot tomorrow. Later this week, yes. I have a prior appointment in Moscow.โ
32
Thursday November 1
The round clock in the stone tower of Moscowโs Leningrad Station read 7.15 as Rossel and Nikitin walked down the granite steps that led to the cityโs busy streets. A black limousine was parked up on the south side of Komsomolskaya Square. The morning crowds milling past it tried not to stare or get too close. They didnโt want to be noticed taking notice. But everyone knew a car like that must belong to someone important.
As they walked towards the black American Packard limousine, an MGB officer got out from the passenger side and came over to greet them.
Nikitin held out his hand.
โColonel Sarkisov.โ
The officer shook it.
โComrade Nikitin.โ
Rossel stood to attention and saluted.
โThis is the lieutenant I told you about,โ said Nikitin. โThe musician.โ
Sarkisov gave Rossel a quick appraisal.
โWeโve met,โ he said. โComrade Beria has read your file with interest, Lieutenant. I even heard him laugh at one of your many ill-advised student jokes.โ Sarkisov turned away again. โThe chief used to play something โ
Comments (0)