Page 17 of The Case of the Missing Dancer
"For now. But Catherine . . .” He turned to me, his expression serious. "This is obviously a trap. We can't simply walk into it."
"We can't abandon her either."
"I'm not suggesting we abandon her. But we need a plan that doesn't involve you walking into certain death."
I stared at the note, my mind racing. Volkov had orchestrated this perfectly. He had Anya, he knew about our evidence, and now he was forcing us to come to him on his terms.
But perhaps there was a way to turn his trap against him.
"Robert," I said slowly, "what if we gave him exactly what he's asking for?"
CHAPTER 9
THE FIREBIRD’S FLIGHT
"Catherine, please tell me you're not seriously considering walking into that church alone," Robert said as we huddled in his office at Scotland Yard, maps of the Ennismore Gardens area spread across his desk.
"Of course not," I replied. "But what if I appeared to be alone while actually being anything but?"
Robert studied my face carefully. "What exactly are you proposing?"
"Volkov expects me to come alone and frightened, carrying the evidence he wants. Instead, I come prepared, with backup he can't see, and with something that looks like what he wants but isn't."
Sergeant Mills looked up from the church blueprints he'd been examining. "A decoy envelope?"
"Exactly. We create convincing duplicates of the documents, put them in an identical envelope, and I carry that to the exchange."
"Meanwhile," Robert said, catching on to my plan, "we have the church surrounded and officers positioned inside before you arrive."
"The Russian Orthodox Church has multiple entrances," Mills added, pointing to the architectural drawings. "Main entrance on Ennismore Gardens, side entrance through the parish hall, and a rear entrance that connects to the cemetery."
I studied the layout carefully. "If Volkov is as professional as we think, he'll have these entrances watched or blocked. But there's something else to consider. He's been using this church for months. He knows every hiding spot, every escape route."
"Which gives him the advantage," Robert said grimly.
"Unless we turn that familiarity against him." I traced my finger along the church plans. "Robert, how long have you had this place under surveillance?"
"Three weeks, on and off."
"Then you know the patterns. When do they typically meet? How many men does Volkov usually bring? Which entrances do they use?"
Mills consulted his notes. "Tuesday and Friday evenings, usually. Volkov typically arrives with two or three associates. They use the side entrance through the parish hall—it's more discreet than the main doors."
"And tonight is Thursday. So they're not expecting their usual meeting crowd."
"Which means the church should be largely empty except for Volkov, his men, and hopefully Anya," Robert concluded.
I felt a flutter of fear mixed with determination. "Then we have an advantage too. They won't be expecting a full police operation."
"Catherine," Robert said seriously, "even with backup, this is incredibly dangerous. Volkov has killed six people that we know of. He won't hesitate to add you to that list."
"He won't kill me immediately," I said, trying to sound more confident than I felt. "He needs the evidence first. And he'll want to make sure there are no other copies before he eliminates witnesses."
"That's what worries me. He'll want to interrogate you first."
The thought made my skin crawl, but I pushed the fear aside. "Which gives you time to get into position and close the trap."
We spent the next two hours planning every detail. Mills would position constables around the church perimeter, focusing on the known entrances but watching for others. Robert would enter through the cemetery with a small team, using the cover of darkness and the large monuments to approach unseen. I would arrive at midnight as instructed, carrying the decoy envelope and wearing a concealed whistle to signal when I'd located Anya.
