Read Online East of the Sun by Janet Rogers - Free Book Online Page B

while.’ She glanced at him, but continued stirring her coffee, hoping to signal that the next words were his, that he should tell her more about himself.
    She was surprised when he got straight to the point.
    ‘I remember the story. I mean, how could anyone forget? In fact,’ he said, ‘it still resurfaces from time to time. Of course it’s not the first time something like that had happened, but your husband was a foreigner and the most prominent representative of his country, so it was even more disturbing. Everyone in the expat community gets nervous at the mere mention of the whole thing. People thought, some still do, that it served as a warning to foreigners messing with valuable Russian assets.’
    ‘Messing with?’ Amelia asked. ‘From what I know, Robert wasn’t “messing” with Russian assets, but was trying to keep things moving forward and make those assets more valuable for all involved . . .’ She trailed off when she realised how defensive she sounded.
    Nick seemed not to have noticed her tone or was deliberately ignoring it.
    He shrugged and gave her a half-smile. ‘To some that would count as too much interference already. Listen,’ he said, leaning his elbows on the table, ‘I’m aware of some of the things that happened last year, but I’m sure much of what’s been reported is not necessarily fact. Maybe you should tell me your version. At the time there were rumours that Robert was involved in mining industry talks and because Mara enlisted my help, I’m guessing that it’s true. Since I have some knowledge of local mining companies and the way they operate, maybe Mara is right, maybe I can be of help.’
    She simply nodded, unnecessarily continuing to stir her coffee in an effort to buy time to think about how much she should tell him. When she lifted her cup and looked at him over its rim, she decided that she might as well, at least for the moment, see if he did possess any knowledge that could help her. That didn’t mean there was a need to tell him every last detail about herself or the situation. Until she had a clearer idea of his usefulness and, more importantly, his trustworthiness, she would try to keep her revelations to him to a minimum.
    ‘All right. I’ll tell you what I know, and what’s made me come back to Moscow.’ She was happy to hear that her own voice was firm, and instantly felt more in control.
    ‘Sounds like a good starting point.’
    Amelia took a deep breath. ‘A few weeks ago, I read something in The Guardian in London. I’ve been living there since last year. It was a short article, I was lucky to even notice it, but it made me uneasy.’ She held Nick’s gaze before she continued more strongly. ‘I don’t know how much you remember of the news coverage of my husband’s disappearance or how much you know through your industry connections, but you’re aware of his past connection to the Russian mining industry?’
    ‘I know that he’d worked on some diamond-related negotiations in the past and of course there were rumours after what happened last year.’
    ‘Well, just before Robert was kidnapped, he was involved in trying to patch up the deal between Sibraz and Prism. Did you know that?’
    ‘Never for a fact, but I’ve assumed that, yes.’
    She took a sip of coffee and continued. ‘But you do know about the deal, don’t you?’
    ‘Yes, but tell me anyway. Maybe you know something that isn’t public knowledge. It could help me understand the situation better.’
    ‘All right, but stop me if I’m telling you things you already know. When Sibraz found initial evidence of a rich diamond deposit in the Kola Peninsula, they didn’t have the money to explore it, so they formed a joint venture with Prism to explore the deposit and then mine it together.’
    She paused and waited for his nod. ‘It took a long time to form the JV in the first place, mainly because the Russians kept tight control of every detail, but Prism considered it