Page 91 of Goodbye Girl
“A hero?”
“Yes. The name of the man taken into custody with you is Starikova. He was known as the Butcher of Bucha in the early stages of Russia’s war with Ukraine. Bucha is a small town outside Kiev where the Russians set up an interrogation center for prisoners of war. Starikova ispart of a bloodthirsty private militia called Wagner Group. It’s run by Vladimir Kava.”
“So, killing me was his side job?”
“The point is that Starikova is wanted for war crimes. Thanks to you, he is now in custody and will stand trial.”
“Is he also going to stand trial for the murder of Sergei’s driver and Amongus Sicario?”
“Those are active investigations. We can’t comment.”
It was the response Theo had expected. “There’s nothing to thank me for. He came here to kill me for kidnapping Sergei Kava—which I had nothing to do with. All I did was fight back.”
“Whether thanks are due or not, that is the good news. Self-defense is not a crime in this country. You are free to go.”
“Go where?”
“That is the question,” she said. “Which leads me to the bad news. You may have shaken the Butcher of Bucha, but you would be foolish to assume that his capture is the end of your troubles.”
“I assume the opposite. There will be someone to take his place, and Kava will only be more pissed at me for taking out one of his key men.”
“Yes,” she said. “Which brings me to the even worse news.”
“Ah,” said the sergeant. “That must be an American twist on our British invention.”
The attaché glanced at the Brit, confused.
“Never mind him,” said Theo. “What’s the even worse news?”
“Our intelligence sources tell us that Lyudmila Mironov has entered the UK.”
“Who?”
The attaché opened a folder and slid a glossy photograph across the table for Theo to see. It was a color headshot.
“A woman?” asked Theo.
“Yes.”
Theo took a better look. She had a boyish haircut with bangs down to her large, dark eyes. She seemed smug in the picture, her smile all lips.
“What’s her story?” asked Theo.
“Both she and Starikova are highly paid mercenaries in Kava’s privatemilitia. Both were recruited from the ranks of the real Russian army. Starikova’s specialty is torture. Mironov is a sniper.”
“Is that unusual?” asked Theo. “A female sniper in the Russian army?”
“Not really. Russia has a long history of female snipers. They took out twelve thousand German soldiers in the Second World War. Pavilchenko was the most famous. Over three hundred confirmed kills.”
“How many kills does this Mironov have?”
“At least forty that we know of. More that we don’t.”
Theo took another look at the headshot. “What am I supposed to do now?”
The legal attaché was silent. The sergeant had no more jokes.
“That’s what I thought you’d say,” said Theo.