‘I always liked your husband, Mrs Preston. I can see I was not wrong in my judgement of him.’
Relieved, Amelia nodded. ‘I eh, we’re here, because I would really like to find out what happened to Robert.’
Had Sudakov been won over? He said nothing, but reached for the two bottles again, a welcome sign that the meeting wasn’t over yet.
Once the toast had been drunk, he said, ‘Why don’t you tell me what you know?’
‘We think we know the background to what happened,’ Nick said. ‘We don’t have all the facts, but we have a fairly solid theory.’
Briefly he outlined their assumptions and what they had discovered. Sudakov listened carefully as Nick told him of their suspicion that Prism’s recent sale of their stake in the joint venture had been driven by the fact that the diamond deposit was less valuable than initially thought, and that Prism had known of this, courtesy of the geologist, much earlier than industry rumours would have it. He told Sudakov that they thought Robert’s disappearance was connected to that discovery, that perhaps Robert had found out at the time Prism had and had wanted to make the finding public, something that would have been bad for both Sibraz and Prism. Since the geologist’s story confirmed that the true value of the deposit had emerged around the time of Robert’s disappearance, Prism would have had good reason to extricate itself from the venture, but to have done so immediately would have meant great financial losses. Similarly Sibraz would have gained control of the deposit, the thing they wanted all along, but they also would have obtained the significantly higher risk of a diminished deposit and it would have been near impossible to find new investment or a new partner once the truth was made public.
Nick wrapped up their theory. ‘We believe that Robert had found out about the deposit and that he had wanted the truth to come out. In the event that it did become public knowledge, Sibraz would have lost more in the long run, but we are also aware of the fact that Bruce Jennings doesn’t have the best reputation and that he too could have had a hand in the events that had led to Robert’s disappearance.’
Sudakov was silent for a while as he considered the story.
He seemed to weigh things in his mind, but finally he spoke. ‘Impressive.’
It wasn’t clear what his words meant and Amelia and Nick stared at him anxiously as he poured himself another shot of vodka which he drank on his own. He looked at his empty glass for several long moments and then raised his head. ‘You have come close to the truth.’
Amelia sat back, stunned. To hear some sort of affirmation of all their suspicions was invaluable. The geologist’s story had been one thing, but to hear from someone so intimately involved that they were right, seemed too incredible. She hesitated, but only for a second. ‘Will you tell us the full story? Who was involved, what happened, who was responsible for all this?’
The smile was back on Sudakov’s face. ‘My dear Mrs Preston, the fact that I thought your husband was an admirable man, does not automatically imply that I am going to be putting myself in a difficult position.’
‘Will it make any difference now?’ Her words came out fast and angry. Horrified, she stopped, scarcely believing the audacity of her question, but the rage was back, simmering somewhere in her chest, and now it was too late to try and control it. She’d asked the question before she could think of the repercussions of his anger.
Sudakov was equally surprised at her question and for a moment he did seem to consider getting angry, throwing them out, or worse. But then, to their amazement, he started laughing, shaking his head. Without a word he stood up and walked to the door.
‘Sorry,’ Amelia said, the moment he left the room. ‘I don’t know what possessed me.’
Before Nick could reply, however, the door opened again and Sudakov returned, still shaking his head, a fresh bottle of vodka in his hand.
‘You are a brave woman, Mrs Preston,’ he said as he sat down heavily and picked up the two bottles again, slowly filling their glasses. ‘I like brave women. You are quite right, what’s done is done. That is a good reason to tell you some of the facts I have at my disposal, but that is not why I have decided to tell you.’
Again Sudakov lifted his glass, waited for them to raise theirs to his, and threw back the drink.
‘I will tell you,’ he said, leaning back, ‘because I was most disturbed by the way this deal went wrong. In Russia, as you know, there are often complications involved in making money.’ He shrugged. ‘It is impossible to avoid. We deal with these things in the way we know best. The Western way is not our way. It cannot be. It never will be.’ He looked at them, as if expecting them to challenge him about the dirty business he and his countrymen engaged in. Both Amelia and Nick remained silent, their eyes fixed on Sudakov.
‘Things can go wrong in business. It is unavoidable here in the new Russia. But in this case things went wrong too fast and this is not good for the reputation of our country. Not good for doing future business.’ Sudakov seemed to get lost in his own thoughts for a moment, and when he spoke again, it was to tell them about the days before Robert disappeared.
‘When Sibraz indicated it wanted to get out of the joint venture with Prism, it did so because of money. Future money, I should say. They thought it would be best to get rid of Prism once the legwork was done. The idea was to blame Prism for certain irregularities like unmet criteria, drilling shortfalls, faulty machinery and so on – enough grounds to dissolve the joint venture – and then they would have this magnificently rich deposit all to themselves.
‘Then something happened that changed everything. The chief geologist – it sounds like you’ve met him – discovered something. The deposit was indeed less valuable than everybody had believed. He, in his wisdom,’ Sudakov smiled wryly, ‘decided that he would gain more from sharing the news with Prism. For a handsome sum of money of course.’
Amelia glanced at Nick. He’d been right about the geologist’s motivations. He nodded briefly and turned back to Sudakov, who said, ‘Bruce Jennings, seeing a good opportunity, and knowing the geologist would have told Sibraz already or would do so soon, offered to pay the man even more to go to Sibraz and confirm the original data, so that Sibraz would continue to try to get out of the joint venture.’
‘But why? Why didn’t they just walk away?’ Amelia asked.
‘Because Bruce Jennings has higher ambitions than the average Western businessman. He saw that he could turn the situation around with a little manipulation. If he could hold out for long enough, he hoped to be able to negotiate a penalty to be paid by Sibraz for breaking the contract. If they continued to believe the deposit was very rich, I believe they would have gone for it. So while Jennings was scheming, we – the business development people, the lawyers, the analysts, Robert and that other man from the embassy, me – would have continued to negotiate, because we would not have known yet about the value of the deposit.’
‘Would have?’ Amelia interjected.
Sudakov smiled with evident amusement. ‘At this time, something else happened. The geologist decided to play both sides, or perhaps he was simply too afraid to stick to his plan, so he not only told Robert, but he also shared the new data with Sibraz. You see, he realised that he would have to try and get protection from both sides. It turned out he didn’t have the stomach to play in this business, so it caught up with him very quickly.’
Sudakov sighed. ‘Robert was in a difficult position. When you are the head of your country’s mission, you have ethical obligations that others do not. He urged the two companies to release the news and renegotiate the terms of the joint venture.’ Sudakov shook his head almost mournfully. ‘He really believed it could work out. But this is business. And this is Russia. And it would have been disastrous for both Prism and Sibraz.’
Sudakov looked into Amelia’s eyes. ‘It was a matter of timing. And I’m afraid Robert was just too passionate about the whole thing. He realised too late exactly how little the law means when big companies are at play, especially if they think they can shift the blame to street level lawlessness. Both sides wanted to neutralise him and he did not recognise that the honest way, his way, is often the worst way. Any other reasonable man would have been deterred. He and I had built up a good understanding and he shared his concerns with me. I tried to change his mind, but it was too late. He assumed, wrongly, invincibility. The two companies knew what he wanted to do with the knowledge. They thought he was a loose cannon who could broadcast the news at any moment. So, despite all the fighting and blaming, they reached an agreement, a settlement of sorts. They would keep the venture alive, release a lot of good reports and press releases on progress and wealth of the project and then Sibraz would let Prism sell it to a new partner of their choice once the market had been convinced by all these false reports. Of course Robert didn’t agree with this plan. He argued and argued, but they wouldn’t listen.’
Sudakov sat with his head bowed for a long time, as if he was reliving the events of the previous year. Then he spoke again. ‘A day or two later I was in a business meeting with Sibraz executives when someone came in with the news that he was gone.’
Amelia stared at the large face. To her surprise, there was something akin to sadness in it.
The final question was on her mind, the one that would lead her to knowledge of Robert’s fate, but it took a while before she could ask it. ‘So who did it?’
Sudakov looked up and looked into her eyes. ‘It wasn’t the Russians.’
She found Nick’s eyes across the table.
‘How do you know?’ Nick asked carefully. ‘How can you be so sure?’
‘Their reaction,’ Sudakov answered at length. ‘One can never say for sure, but their reaction was . . . there was relief, yes, but there was also regret.’ He glanced at Amelia. ‘I am ashamed about it, but I would say there was disappointment that they hadn’t been quick enough, that someone had beaten them to it.’
Amelia stared at him in stunned silence.
Sudakov shook his head. ‘I am sorry, Mrs Preston. I know you may not agree with the way I work or the methods that are employed in Russian business in general, but while I often can, I will not defend what happened in this case. I found it terrible and offensive. There were many other ways they could have dealt with this. Those days when men killed one another so easily in Russian business should have been over for good. I am sorry, but unfortunately, this situation showed that they are not.’
It was a while before anyone spoke again, and Nick was the one who finally asked the question. ‘So you think Prism was responsible?’
Sudakov grimaced and sighed. ‘Both sides felt threatened by Robert’s stance. I know it wasn’t Sibraz. As for Prism, I cannot say for sure, but who else?’
He stood up and continued speaking as he walked to the door. ‘I trust you will abide by the discretion I use to do my business and that you will not talk about this conversation with anyone? You should know by now that I will not be able to confirm it should I be asked. If you’ll excuse me, the guard will come to escort you out.’
He rested his hand on the door handle to look at them one last time.
Before he could leave, Nick asked quickly. ‘Mr Sudakov, does “white water” mean anything to you?’
Sudakov didn’t hesitate before he answered. ‘No, it does not. It means nothing.’ Without another word, he disappeared through the door.
Moscow – After midnight
He couldn’t believe the phone was ringing at this hour.
The caller spoke immediately. ‘I’m not waiting any longer.’
He felt suddenly exhausted.
‘Did you hear me? I’m not going to wait forever.’
‘I heard you.’ He sighed. ‘You realise I can’t help you or protect you if you take matters into your own hands. I’ve told you before that everything is still under control.’
‘You’re wrong! We cannot afford to let things get out of hand by doing nothing. I don’t want to fucking wait any longer.’ The caller was getting belligerent. A different approach was required.
‘Don’t do anything. It’ll be a grave mistake. Please, at least wait until you’ve spoken to me in person before you do anything. Let’s talk first, I’m certain there’s a solution.’ He hated having to placate, it wasn’t his thing, but right now he had no choice. For a long moment he could hear heavy breathing continue at the other end.
‘Soon.’
‘All right. Soon.’
The line went dead.
A
t Nick’s request, the gypsy cab dropped them off a few blocks away from the apartment. Amelia was too tired to focus on anything. She knew she was supposed to remain alert, even at this hour, but after criss-crossing the city again in a series of cars and buses, she could no longer focus on potential danger. It was enough of a challenge to put one foot in front of another.
In silence she walked beside Nick, the last hundred metres to the apartment’s entrance feeling like a never-ending mile. He continued to glance around, but for her, hope that they hadn’t been followed, would have to suffice. Absolute certainty could only be achieved through more evasive manoeuvres and right now she didn’t possess the energy those would require.
Nick punched in the door code and led the way up to the apartment. Mutely she followed him up the stairs. Welcome heat enfolded her cold body as she walked through the door, but despite her exhaustion, sleep seemed out of the question. Too much had happened. She headed for the kitchen where the clock on the microwave told her that it was well after three o’clock. When she turned around, Nick stood in the doorway.
‘I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep,’ she said, pulling out a chair at the kitchen table.
He nodded his agreement and joined her at the table. For a minute they could merely sit in silence.
‘Do you want something?’ Nick pointed to the kettle.
She shook her head and looked at his tired face. ‘Do you believe him?’ she asked eventually, not sure she truly wanted to hear his verdict on Sudakov’s story.