CHAPTER THREE
When the black town car pulled up in front of Claudette Janick’s home, Talli stared at the structure with loving eyes. She had grown up in this house and it still held fond memories for her.
Ivan sat on one side of her while Barshan sat on the other. Neither man was willing to let the other be alone with her and Ivan had insisted on them using his car.
When they all got out of the vehicle, Talli reached inside her purse for the keys.
Walking up to the front door, she noted that Ivan and Barshan were right behind her. When she threw the door open and hit the light switch, she gasped in horror at the sight before her. The foyer floor was covered in glass and tiny mirror pieces. The hall mirror and several photographs lay in ruins on the parquet floor. Stepping through the mess, she entered the living room area and stared at the chaos she found there as well.
The furniture was ripped apart and turned over. The carpet was torn up in several places. The artwork on the walls were torn to shreds or missing. There were huge holes knocked in the walls as well. Someone had been searching for something but was unable to find it. Tears spilled down her cheeks as she gazed around the room in a daze.
“What the fuck happened here?” Barshan asked.
“I don’t know. It didn’t look like this a few weeks ago before my mother died,” Talli whispered. She walked over to the stairs and walked up each step as if walking to the gallows. The upstairs wasn’t in any better shape than the downstairs had been. Each of the rooms was ransacked. The last room at the end of the hall had been her parent’s room. She reached for the door knob and pushed the door open.
The room was in utter shambles. Bedding from the bed was shredded on the floor, lamps overturned, pictures were smashed on the floor, glass and debris covered everything. Here too huge holes had been knocked out of the plaster on the walls. The closet doors were open and half pulled off their moorings. Every piece of her mother’s clothing was torn up and left lying in a huge pile on the floor. Bleach had been dumped over the entire mess of fabric. She cried out at the sight of a broken vase lying on top of her mother’s clothes. There were ashes were scattered all over everything.
Talli stumbled over to the bed and sat down staring at the mess. Defeat bowed her shoulders. “Why?” she whispered brokenly. “Why would he do this?”
Barshan knelt beside her. “I don’t know why anyone would do this.” He looked around the room. “It looks like he was looking for something. Do you know if your parents had anything of real value here?”
Talli glanced around the room again in dismay. “Most of the real valuable stuff was at the store but my father kept a few things in his hidden safe. My mother never knew where the safe was and she would never speak of it to anyone. She knew my father kept it hidden for a reason and it wasn’t her business.”
“Do you think she would have spoken to Russell about this safe?” Ivan asked.
Talli shrugged. “I don’t know. I’d like to think she knew Russell wasn’t on the up and up with her but I just don’t know. I think she was afraid to admit she’d made a mistake with him.” She glanced around with dismay. “Why would he do this? It just doesn’t make sense.”
“Do you know where this hidden safe is?” Ivan asked.
Talli nodded. “Yes I do but it’s not in their bedroom.”
“Do you have anything from the shop at your house?” Barshan asked.
Talli blinked at him in a daze. “Why? Do you think he might go there next?”
Barshan made a point of looking around the room then back at her. “He is looking for something he knows or he thinks he know is here somewhere. We have to either find it or him before he does.”
“What do you think he’s looking for?’
“Honey, I have no idea but we’re going to find out,” Barshan promised her. “I’ve got some people looking into Mr. Jerome.”
“As do I,” Ivan added.
Barshan nodded. “Then between the two of us we should have answers before long.”
“What do we do if we don’t like what we find out?” Talli whispered fearfully.
“Then we deal with it,” Ivan replied. He reached for his phone and told them, “I’m going to get some men here to watch this place in case he comes back.” Nodding at Barshan he suggested, “You might want to call Yuri and get some men here too.”
A short time later, their black car pulled up in front of Talli’s house. No lights were on and everything was quiet. It wasn’t until they approached the front door before Talli noticed it was slightly ajar. She grabbed Barshan’s arm and nodded toward the door.
Ivan and Barshan both drew weapons she didn’t know they had and Barshan pushed her behind him as they made their way to the doorway.
Ivan went in first and snapped on the lights.
Barshan and Talli followed him. Her house, like her mothers had been ransacked. Talli wept softly while the men searched the rooms. Room after room was searched and more devastation was uncovered. It wasn’t until they reached her bedroom that she found the worst of it.
Like her mother’s, her bed had been torn apart, her clothes were left in shreds. The smell of bleach was strong and she gazed at her ruined clothing on the floor. Her mirror had been smashed and the words whore and slut were spray painted on her walls.
She turned and walked back down the hall into her office. This room as well was a mess. Her latest designs were torn up and strewn on the floor. Her desk had been chopped in half and her closet door stood open. Walking over to it, she noted her safe was still closed but there were marks on the outside door that lent belief someone had tried to get into it. Everything else had been destroyed.
She went over to her desk and righted her overturned chair. Sitting down, she just stared at the mess. She felt numb, absolutely numb.
A few minutes later Ivan and Barshan joined her.
Barshan knelt in front of her again and reached for her hand.
“It’s all gone,” she whispered. “He’s destroyed everything I ever had.”
Ivan checked the closet and asked, “Did he get into your safe?”
Talli shook her head. “I don’t think so. It looks like he tried but he couldn’t get inside.”
“Maybe you should get whatever is inside and come home with me for the night,” Barshan suggested. “You can’t stay here and at least in my home I can protect you.” Looking around he added, “We can get your sketches and other stuff tomorrow.”
Talli nodded and got to her feet. Going to the closet, she grabbed a small duffle bag and went to the safe.
Ivan joined Barshan while she unloaded the safe.
“Why would he do this?” he asked Barshan.
“I don’t know but I think we should find out before he ends up coming back for her. He wouldn’t think not to kill her to get what he wants.” Barshan growled.
“You think he would take it that far?” Ivan raised his eyebrow.
“I think he’s after something he considers his and he isn’t going to stop until he gets it or gets caught. He would consider her collateral damage.” He motioned around at the chaos in the room.
Ivan nodded. “I think you could be right. I want in on this. I don’t care about the contract I thought I had with him but I want in on finding this bastard and finding out why he would do this.”
Barshan stared at the other man for a moment then reminded him, “It has to go through our bosses. Our differences aside, we have to do this right or risk blood in our streets. Do you agree?”
Ivan nodded. “I agree.”
At this point, both reached for their phones and called the big boys in on their deal.
“Whatever else she comes with me,” Barshan told him.
Ivan turned his head and glared at him for a moment then nodded. “Agreed. But you will not cut me out of the loop.”
“Agreed.” Barshan nodded.
About twenty minutes later, Talli returned carrying a duffle bag.
When they made their way outside, they were met by Yuri Anatoly and Demi Strauss. Both men were leaning up against their own cars and both men stood up when they got to them.
“What’s going on here?” Demi demanded looking from one to the other then over to Talli.
“Gentlemen,” Barshan addressed them. “We have a common problem and if it is alright with you, we’d like to work together to solve it.”
Yuri stared at his man for a moment then glanced over at the Ukrainian boss.
Demi glared at Ivan then turned to Yuri.
Unspoken words passed between the two men and they both nodded.
“So be it.” Demi stressed.
“May I suggest we meet in a few hours at the hotel?” Yuri offered. “We can combine our information then and come up with a battle plan over breakfast.”
“We can do that,” Demi agreed.
Yuri glanced at Talli. “I have some of my men watching your mother’s house in case he comes back.”
“As do we,” Demi assured her.
Talli nodded and glanced over at Ivan and Demi. “Thank you for your help in this. I know this is difficult for you but I do appreciate your help.”
Demi reached out and grabbed her hand. “I knew your father very well in life and although we disagreed on many subjects, we came from the same homeland. He was a good man that didn’t deserve what he got at the end of his life. The least I can do for my friend is protect his child.”
“Thank you.” Talli acknowledged his words with a tilt to her head. “I keep praying his killer will get caught one day and we find out why my father had to die. Someday, I hope to get closure. There was so much life that he never got the chance to live.”
Barshan grabbed her by the elbow and steered her toward Yuri’s car. Yuri got in the passenger side of the front seat while Barshan and Talli got into the back seat. His driver, Kosta got in behind the wheel and drove off.
Talli glanced back and saw Demi and Ivan get into their own cars and each of them drove off in opposite direction. A few minutes later, the car pulled up in front of the hotel. Barshan escorted her through the lobby and to the elevator. When Yuri joined them, they went up to the top floor.
When the door opened, Yuri led the way down the hall to one of the penthouse suites. When he opened the doors, Talli walked into the room. Barshan followed her in.
Yuri closed the doors behind them and moved over to the bar in the living area. Pouring three glasses, he passed the drinks out and sat down on the sofa. “I know you’re tired and have been upset and injured but we need to talk for a few minutes before you try to sleep.”
Talli nodded and sat down in a chair. Putting the duffle on the floor, she looked at the two men.
“I’m waiting for more information on Russell Jerome but you were correct in your summary when you said his name was false,” Yuri told her while he sipped his drink. “The information we had on him just doesn’t match his profile. Not only that but we can’t find a proper paper trail on this guy.”
“I wish I’d known this info a few months ago,” Talli told them. “Maybe if I had I could have stopped my mother from making the mistake she did when she allowed that vermin into her life.”
“May I ask how your mother died?” Yuri asked solemnly.
Talli was silent for a moment then whispered, “I wish I knew for sure but whatever else I think Russell killed her.” She lowered her gaze to the floor and wouldn’t look at either man.
Yuri glanced over at Barshan and back to Talli. “What makes you think that?”
“I knew my mother and the last few weeks she was alive she was hiding something. Something big,” Talli informed them. “She wouldn’t tell me but I knew. She was my mother and I knew her better than she thought I did. She was afraid of him and it was killing me to see her living in that kind of fear and pain.” Talli took a sip of her drink. “Then when she got sick, he wouldn’t even let me see her. She died while I was out of town and he had her cremated before I could get back here to stop it.”
“Why would he do that?” Barshan asked.
“I think it was to hide whatever he’d done to her.” Talli shrugged. “I was going to ask for an autopsy and he knew it. He couldn’t let that happen.” Tears spilled over her cheeks as she remembered something she’d seen earlier tonight. That pain was something she didn’t want to share.
Yuri finished his drink and got to his feet. “We’ll have some of our answers tomorrow. I suggest you two get some rest if you can.” He paused then assured her, “You are very safe here. No one will bother you and my men are watching over you.”
“Thank you.” Talli smiled. Then her eyes fell on the bag at her feet. Although she didn’t want it out of her sight, she felt she could trust these men. “Can you put this somewhere safe for me?” She toed the duffle toward his feet.
“That, I can do.” Yuri reached down and grabbed the bag. It had a hefty weight to it.
Before he could move away, she asked softly, “You won’t let anyone disturb my mother’s house will you? There is something I want to collect from it before anyone else does.”
“It will be as you left it until you can go back,” Yuri assured her. “My men have no reason to go inside and neither do Demi’s men.”
Talli nodded but didn’t say anything.
After the door closed behind Yuri, Barshan looked over at her. He could see the heaviness in her eyes. “Come on let’s get you to bed.” He reached down and assisted her to her feet. Leading her to one of the bedrooms, he opened the door and waited for her to go inside. “I’ll be here if you need anything.” He pointed to another bedroom across the hall. “Just call out.”
Talli didn’t say anything, she simply walked over to the bed and laid down. Closing her eyes, she waited until she heard him walk away. She waited a bit longer and when she couldn’t hear any sounds from the rest of the apartment she got up and went back out to the kitchen. She quietly made a cup of tea. Taking it into the living room, she sat in the window seat and stared out over the city. She didn’t see the lights of the city however, instead her mind was racing.
Her thoughts went to the end of her work day when Ivan came in her shop. She couldn’t say she’d been surprised at his claim but it still hurt her deeply. She hadn’t liked Russell Jerome from the first time she met him. Her mother had introduced him one evening at dinner about six months ago.
Her mother seemed a bit nervous that night. She admitted later that she enjoyed his company and wanted the chance to see where the relationship could go. She just wanted Talli to approve. She told her daughter she couldn’t stand the loneliness anymore. She still missed and loved her husband and Talli’s father but she needed companionship again. It had been so long since her husband died.
Talli loved her mother greatly and wanted to see her happy again, so she kept her feelings to herself. She did however, keep an eye on the man. For some reason, she couldn’t trust him. Three months later her, mother announced they wanted to get married.
Talli had wanted her mother to tell him about the store and the conditions of her father’s will but her mother told her that didn’t matter to Russell. He loved her for herself, not what he would get from her estate if she happened to die before him.
Shortly after they were married, her mother fell ill. She wanted her mother to seek medical advice but Russell insisted her mother would recover. She’d tried to stop by and see her mother but Russell wouldn’t allow her to come in the house. He claimed her mother was too ill to see her. Days later, she was dead. Talli had been in Baton Rouge when she got the call about her mother’s death. She set out to return to the city at once but before she could reach the hospital and talk to the doctor, Russell had ordered her mother’s cremation.
She still felt stunned by the fast turn of events. She never got to say goodbye to her only parent and the real battle had been yet to come.
Two days after her mother died, Russell walked into the shop and began giving orders. She’d remember that day for the rest of her life. The rage on Russell’s face after the terms of her father’s will had been revealed still to this day gave her shivers. If looks alone could have killed her, she’d already be dead. Apparently, her mother had never taken the time to explain things to her new husband. After the police escorted him out of her office, Talli felt a moment of unease at his threats.
The last three weeks since her mother’s death had been upsetting for her and she had yet to set things right in her own mind. Russell kept pestering her, thinking she’d been hiding something, he felt he was due. There were too many unanswered questions left unasked. She never knew what actually killed her mother. Her illness came from nowhere and that just wasn’t like her mother, who’d never been sick a day in her life until then. The fact Russell insisted she stay away from her mother at the end of her life still bothered her. That was something on its own that bothered Talli even now. She wanted to know what he’d been hiding all this time.
So far into her own thoughts, she missed the fact that Barshan joined her at the window seat. When he slipped in behind her and wrapped her into his arms, she didn’t pull away from him. Instead, she leaned into his embrace and began weeping softly. The man was a mystery to her. She knew he was with the Russian mob, but he had been so kind to her and tender. She did need him right now. She felt so alone in the world.
Barshan held her in his embrace and just let her cry. He didn’t know her troubles but her weeping was breaking his heart. Her sobs came from something deep inside her that was hurting so bad she couldn’t keep it inside any longer.
“Are you all right?” he finally whispered after she stopped crying.
Talli nodded then shook her head. “I don’t know. In the last few weeks so much has happened that my mind can’t take anymore and yet more keeps happening.”
“Then let us help you. No one person can do this alone.”
Talli swallowed hard. “But at what cost to me?” she whispered.
Barshan stiffened. His arms fell away from her and he got to his feet.
She glanced at his face and could almost see the rage building inside him.
“Nothing. It will cost you nothing. Not from us. We are doing this to solve a mystery and because you need our help.”
Talli hung her head. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to imply anything else.”
“Then why did you say it?” he demanded.
Raising her face, she shrugged. “My father was a well-known man, not only for his jewelry designs but also for his political views. He always told me to never choose sides but keep your options open. He was friendly with everyone but only to a certain point. He wouldn’t allow anyone to own part of his business because he felt if he did, he would never be free again. When your man Yuri came to my mother shortly after my father was murdered she explained to him the terms of my father’s will. Then both you and Ivan show up with fake documents both claiming to own half the store. Both of you have ties to different organizations who don’t exactly help people out of the goodness of their hearts so I have to question why am I so lucky?” She paused to lick her dry lips. “I’m sorry.”
Barshan sat down facing her. Gently tipping her chin to face him, he spoke, “I know what this looks like and I can understand your reluctance to trust either of us. But I will tell you that you have nothing to fear from me. Do I want my money back? Yes, I do. Do I wish to teach Russell Jerome a painful lesson? Nothing would give me more pleasure but as you pointed out before, you are not responsible for another man’s debt. Maybe I overstepped my bounds when I came back to the shop after hours but you intrigued me tonight. When I found you unconscious in your office I only wanted to protect you. I wasn’t looking for a way into your business then and I’m not now either. My ties to Russia are set in place and will be for the rest of my life but the businessman in me is totally legitimate. I run a security business here in town and I’m partner in several more with my brothers. Ivan has ties to the Ukrainian mob, this is true, but I doubt he would break into your place of business and steal from you.”
“I jumped to conclusions before I knew the facts and I am sorry.”
Barshan shrugged. “As you pointed out earlier, you didn’t know either of us and we do have ties to organizations known to control others, but Ivan, like myself is an honorable man. Each of us have our own slot in the city and we no longer just kill people for the fun of it. In fact we’ve never done that. That’s not to say we appreciate people taking advantage of us but we don’t kill without a good reason.”
“You both might figure your reason was good enough when Russell stole from you.”
Barshan shrugged again. “That’s on Russell Jerome, not on you. As you reminded us earlier, you aren’t responsible for his debts. We’ll take care of him when we find him, don’t worry about that. But to collect what he owes us we have to find him first and right now, you seem to be our only link to the man.”
Talli shuddered. “I wish to god, my mother had never met him.”
“How did she meet him?” He asked. “Do you know?”
Talli nodded. “My Mom told me she met him at the park. She was feeding the pigeons and he sat down at the same bench she was sitting on and began a conversation. She said they seemed to have so much in common.”
“What was your first impression of the man?”
She shuddered again. “I thought he was a little slimy. I could see he wasn’t really interested in my mother romantically but he married her anyway. He put on a very good show but it was all a lie. I think he was really after the jewelry store. I told her she should tell him about my father’s will but she claimed he wasn’t interested in that stuff. There were just too many questions after she died that went unanswered. Now, I’ll never know what really happened.”
“Maybe we can help you get the answers you need.”
Talli shrugged. “Perhaps.” She hesitated then asked him, “Did you happen to see there were ashes scattered on her clothing in the bedroom?” she sobbed briefly. “He couldn’t even give me that much of her.”
“What are you saying?” Barshan frowned.
“After he destroyed everything she was, he threw her ashes all over the mess he made.” She raised her hand to her eyes and wiped away her tears. “He left me with nothing but my memories of her.” Getting to her feet she whispered, “I think I need to be alone right now.” Turning, she went back to the bedroom and closed her door.