Leonid Kudrov,’ McKee said.
Leonid put his glass down and shook Myers’ hand. His grip was tense and the expression on his face was the same she’d seen in every face that had ever hired her – desperation.
Nineteen
Myers declined the offer of a drink and listened attentively to Kudrov’s account of events, taking notes every other sentence.
‘Have you called the police?’ she asked while Leonid refilled his glass.
‘Yes, they took my details but they barely listened to what I was saying. Gave me some bullshit about elapsed time, independent adult, or something like that, and kept putting me on hold. That’s when I called Andy and he called you.’
Myers nodded. ‘Because your daughter is thirty years old and you couldn’t substantiate your reason for believing she’s gone missing, it’s normal practice to wait at least twenty-four hours before she can be officially considered a missing person.’ Her voice was naturally confident, the kind that inspired trust.
‘Twenty-four hours? She could be dead in twenty-four hours. That’s bullshit.’
‘Sometimes it’s even more, depending on the evidence given.’
‘I tried telling him that,’ McKee added, wiping his forehead again.
‘She’s an adult, Mr. Kudrov,’ Myers explained. ‘An adult who has simply failed to turn up for a lunch appointment.’
Kudrov glared at Myers and then at McKee. ‘Has she heard a fucking word I said?’
‘Yes,’ Myers replied, crossing her legs and flipping through her notes. ‘She was thirty minutes late for your lunch. You called her several times. She never answered and never returned any of your messages. You panicked and went to her apartment. Once there you found a towel on the kitchen floor, but nothing else seemed out of place except for a bottle of white wine that should’ve been in the fridge. Her car keys were on a tray upstairs. You found her priceless violin in her practice room, but you said that it should’ve been in the safe. From what you could tell there was no sign of any sort of struggle or a break-in, and the place didn’t seem to have been burgled. The building’s concierge said that no one had visited her that night.’ She calmly closed her notebook.
‘Isn’t that enough?’
‘Let me explain how the police would think, how they are trained to think. There are way more Missing Persons cases than there are detectives working them. The number one rule is to prioritize, only allocate resources when there’s no doubt the person in question has really gone missing. If she were a minor, an amber alert would’ve been issued all across the country. But as an independent adult who’s only been unreachable for less than twenty-four hours, protocol dictates the police go through a checklist first.’
‘A checklist? You’re shitting me.’
A quick headshake. ‘I shit you not.’
‘Such as?’
Myers leaned forward. ‘Is this an adult who: one – may be in need of assistance? Two – may be the victim of a crime or foul play? Three – may be in need of medical attention? Four – has no pattern of running away or disappearing? Five – may be the victim of parental abduction? And six – is mentally or physically impaired?’ Myers placed her sunglasses on the coffee table next to her. ‘From that list, only having no pattern of running away or disappearing checked out. The police’s initial thoughts would be – because Miss Kudrov is a sane, independent, financially sufficient and unattached adult woman, she could’ve simply decided she needed a break from everything. There’s no one she really needs to give account of her actions to. She doesn’t have a nine-to-five job, and she isn’t married. You said she just got back from a long tour with the Los Angeles Philharmonic.’
Kudrov nodded.
‘It must be very stressful. She could’ve jumped on a plane and gone to the Bahamas. She could’ve met someone in a bar last night and decided to spend a few undisturbed days
Leonid put his glass down and shook Myers’ hand. His grip was tense and the expression on his face was the same she’d seen in every face that had ever hired her – desperation.
Nineteen
Myers declined the offer of a drink and listened attentively to Kudrov’s account of events, taking notes every other sentence.
‘Have you called the police?’ she asked while Leonid refilled his glass.
‘Yes, they took my details but they barely listened to what I was saying. Gave me some bullshit about elapsed time, independent adult, or something like that, and kept putting me on hold. That’s when I called Andy and he called you.’
Myers nodded. ‘Because your daughter is thirty years old and you couldn’t substantiate your reason for believing she’s gone missing, it’s normal practice to wait at least twenty-four hours before she can be officially considered a missing person.’ Her voice was naturally confident, the kind that inspired trust.
‘Twenty-four hours? She could be dead in twenty-four hours. That’s bullshit.’
‘Sometimes it’s even more, depending on the evidence given.’
‘I tried telling him that,’ McKee added, wiping his forehead again.
‘She’s an adult, Mr. Kudrov,’ Myers explained. ‘An adult who has simply failed to turn up for a lunch appointment.’
Kudrov glared at Myers and then at McKee. ‘Has she heard a fucking word I said?’
‘Yes,’ Myers replied, crossing her legs and flipping through her notes. ‘She was thirty minutes late for your lunch. You called her several times. She never answered and never returned any of your messages. You panicked and went to her apartment. Once there you found a towel on the kitchen floor, but nothing else seemed out of place except for a bottle of white wine that should’ve been in the fridge. Her car keys were on a tray upstairs. You found her priceless violin in her practice room, but you said that it should’ve been in the safe. From what you could tell there was no sign of any sort of struggle or a break-in, and the place didn’t seem to have been burgled. The building’s concierge said that no one had visited her that night.’ She calmly closed her notebook.
‘Isn’t that enough?’
‘Let me explain how the police would think, how they are trained to think. There are way more Missing Persons cases than there are detectives working them. The number one rule is to prioritize, only allocate resources when there’s no doubt the person in question has really gone missing. If she were a minor, an amber alert would’ve been issued all across the country. But as an independent adult who’s only been unreachable for less than twenty-four hours, protocol dictates the police go through a checklist first.’
‘A checklist? You’re shitting me.’
A quick headshake. ‘I shit you not.’
‘Such as?’
Myers leaned forward. ‘Is this an adult who: one – may be in need of assistance? Two – may be the victim of a crime or foul play? Three – may be in need of medical attention? Four – has no pattern of running away or disappearing? Five – may be the victim of parental abduction? And six – is mentally or physically impaired?’ Myers placed her sunglasses on the coffee table next to her. ‘From that list, only having no pattern of running away or disappearing checked out. The police’s initial thoughts would be – because Miss Kudrov is a sane, independent, financially sufficient and unattached adult woman, she could’ve simply decided she needed a break from everything. There’s no one she really needs to give account of her actions to. She doesn’t have a nine-to-five job, and she isn’t married. You said she just got back from a long tour with the Los Angeles Philharmonic.’
Kudrov nodded.
‘It must be very stressful. She could’ve jumped on a plane and gone to the Bahamas. She could’ve met someone in a bar last night and decided to spend a few undisturbed days
Similar Books
