Татьяна Викентьева – "STOLEN IMMORTALITY" (страница 17)

And the conversation went like this: The young man said to Vladimir:

"According to our agreement, Vladimir Dmitrievich, I arranged everything so that my father slipped, fell, and broke several ribs. Now I've brought him to you. And I've brought the money. Take it!" He held out the envelope with the money. "Here's the entire amount we agreed on. You don't have to count it! That's right! I don't deceive my partners. And I hope you won't deceive me!"

In response, Vladimir said:

"Of course, I won't deceive you! Everything will happen as we agreed. Now I'll irradiate your father, and then he'll die of lung "cancer"!"

"I wish he would die soon!" the young man said cynically. "I can't wait any longer! I'm completely in debt! The sooner my father dies, the sooner I'll inherit our entire business and be able to manage the profits myself."

Do you understand?

"I understand," Vladimir replied. "I understand you perfectly! Don't worry! I'll irradiate your father very strongly, and he'll die very quickly!"

"Excellent! I'm glad we understand each other!" the young man said joyfully, extending his hand to Vladimir to shake.

At that moment, Galina opened the door and entered the office. She said nothing. She couldn't speak. She simply looked. She looked into Vladimir's eyes. And he understood everything. He understood that his wife had overheard the conversation and discovered his secret.

Having pulled himself together, Vladimir said in a calm voice:

- Darling! Have you forgotten something? Why did you come back?

"I came back to find out you're a criminal! Oh my God! It turns out I married a criminal! I lived next door to a murderer! My daughter's father is a cold-blooded killer!" Galina walked up to her husband and, looking at him intently, asked. "Where is the man you're going to irradiate so that he dies?"

“I don’t understand what you’re talking about, dear,” Vladimir answered calmly.

"You don't understand? Really? You're a liar on top of that? A liar and a murderer! However, I won't allow you to commit another murder!" With these words, the woman rushed into the adjoining room.

And Vladimir and his client ran after her.

Seeing an elderly man, stripped to the waist and sitting submissively on the couch, Galina screamed:

-Get out of here! Get out quickly! They want to kill you! Your son and my husband have conspired to kill you! They are going to heavily irradiate you so that in a few months you will die of lung "cancer". Get out of here! Get out quickly!

The elderly man was taken aback by what he heard and didn't move. He looked in surprise at Galina and the men who had come running after her. A tense situation arose, difficult for everyone. Vladimir was the first to find something to say. Turning to the elderly man, he said calmly:

- Excuse me, please. Don't take this woman seriously. She's crazy!

- Am I crazy? How can you say that? - Galina screamed indignantly, turning to Vladimir. - I'm normal! And you know it very well, husband! I didn't know about your criminal activities! I didn't know you were a murderer! But now I know! I know and I won't let you continue to kill people! - Turning to the older man, Galina said with authority and firmness. - Get dressed! And get out of here! And be careful! Your son wants you dead and will try to kill you at the first opportunity!

-Father! This is not true! - the young man stammered. - Don't listen to this woman! She's lying! She really is crazy!

The elderly man got dressed and left the office. His son ran after him, trying to justify himself and babbling something about a misunderstanding.

Vladimir and Galina were left alone. They were silent for a long time. And this heavy silence did not bode well. Finally, Galina said to her husband:

-I must report your criminal activities to the police.

"No, Galina! Don't do this! I beg you, don't do this!" Vladimir shouted. "I'm your husband! And I love you! Don't ruin our happiness!"

"You're a criminal! A murderer! And I won't cover for you!" Galina said firmly and headed for the exit.

But the woman didn't manage to escape. Vladimir caught up with her, knocked her down, and began strangling her. Within minutes, Galina was dead.

Waiting until dark, Vladimir loaded his wife's dead body into his car and drove it to his country house. At the time, the nanny and child were home. Vladimir knew they had to be eliminated as well. So he bound the nanny and child and gagged them. Then he doused the house with gasoline and set it on fire.

Vladimir hoped the fire would cover up all traces of the crime and allow him to escape punishment again. That would have been the case, if not for the elderly man he was planning to irradiate under a contract with his son. It was this man who reported to the police what had happened in the private X-ray office the day before the fire. He told the police how Galina had saved his life by revealing the secret of the criminal conspiracy between her husband and his son, and how she had forced him to get dressed and leave the office without performing an X-ray.

Vladimir was quickly apprehended. He offered no resistance. In the temporary detention center, they began beating him severely, demanding that he confess to everything. And he confessed. He confessed to the murder of his wife, Galina Terekhova. He confessed to setting the house on fire, in which his child, nanny, and his wife's body burned to death.

But the beatings didn't stop. The police officers demanded that Vladimir confess to his criminal medical practices. Unable to bear the brutal abuse and the horrific physical pain they inflicted on him, Vladimir confessed to everything. He told of the hundreds of victims he had irradiated for money. He told of the murder of his first wife, Allochka Gurskaya, and the murder of their child. He told of the murder of his second wife, Irina Valeryevna Durova, and the murder of the two children he had adopted. He told of the murder of his third wife, Marina Vetrova, and the murder of their child. He even told of the murder of his father!

And so... a doctor and radiologist appeared before the court, having killed his disabled father, four wives, five children and hundreds of innocent people who were objectionable to his secret clients.

Vladimir was sentenced to life imprisonment. He was transferred to Magadan and served his sentence there.

By the time Alexander found him, Vladimir had served five years and had given up hope of ever getting out. However, fate had a surprise in store for him. Alexander arranged Vladimir's escape and paid a large sum of money for it. He needed Vladimir. He desperately needed him. After all, Alexander had been searching the country for people with medical training yet devoid of any morality or integrity. Vladimir was precisely that type of person. Alexander thought highly of him, both as a rare scoundrel and as a superb medical specialist. So he appointed him his deputy and placed him in charge of the laboratory.

They were almost the same age, Alexander and Vladimir. They needed each other. They desperately needed each other. They were bound by their work and shared interests. But now, looking at Vladimir and recalling his story, Alexander asked himself: could he trust this man completely? Unfortunately, he couldn't answer that question.

The car pulled up to the Elite Recreation restaurant. Tikhon turned to the chef and said:

- That's it, Alexander Ivanovich. We've arrived. This is the "Elite Vacation" restaurant.

“Okay,” said Alexander, coming out of his reverie and returning to reality. “You’re free, Tikhon! Go home!”

“Maybe I should wait for you?” asked the driver.

- No. Don't. I repeat, you're free to go, Tikhon! Until tomorrow morning. And tomorrow morning I'll call you and tell you where to pick me up. Got it?

- Understood, Alexander Ivanovich. Goodbye! Have a good rest!

Alexander and Vladimir got out of the car and walked into the restaurant. A doorman greeted them at the door, bowed, and said politely:

-Good evening, gentlemen! Entrance to our restaurant costs one hundred dollars.

"Wow!" Alexander whistled. "Now I understand what 'elite vacation' means!" He took a hundred dollars out of his wallet and handed it to the doorman. "Here! Take it, my friend!"

"You have to pay two hundred dollars. There are two of you! A hundred dollars each," the doorman said politely again.

"I see. I hope the vacation will truly be luxurious and won't disappoint us!" As he spoke, Alexander pulled another hundred dollars out of his wallet and handed them to the doorman.

Taking the money, the doorman smiled sweetly and, opening the restaurant doors, said:

-Please, come in! Enjoy your stay, gentlemen!

Alexander and Vladimir entered the restaurant. Soft music played, creating a lyrical mood. The room was dimly lit and cozy. People were seated at the tables. There weren't many of them. So Alexander immediately recognized Sheikh Rashid and his translator among them. The two of them settled on a table near the stage.

The waiter ran up to Alexander and Vladimir and said politely:

-Good evening, gentlemen! What would you like?