Seven Deadly Samovars Read Free Page A

bumped off the new Russian Orthodox priest.”
    “Oh, that’s awful.”
    Godiva cleared her throat. “Of course it’s awful, but Goldie lucked out. See, the victim was sent to replace the old priest who’s retiring. The church ladies wanted an antique samovar as a retirement gift and Goldie ordered some from Russia. The shipment is late and those women have been driving Goldie nuts.”
    “So now the pressure’s off because the new guy’s dead and they have to wait for another replacement? Man, some luck!” Angel leaned back in her chair and frowned.
    “Okay, I know it seems petty, but Goldie really sounded frazzled. Why don’t you give her a call and offer to help track that shipment down? I guess I can do two nice things in one day.”
    Angel smiled. “Sure, boss, if anyone can find it, I can. Maybe it’s sitting on a dock somewhere.”
    After talking to Goldie, she looked over all of the information and placed an international call. First she tried the antique warehouse of Minsky & Pinsky in Vladivostok, but had no luck getting through. “No wonder Goldie couldn’t reach them. The number’s been disconnected.”
    Godiva looked confused. “Disconnected? Why don’t you go online? Maybe they’ve moved. Meanwhile, I’ve got to call Caesar. He said he’d go to the ends of the earth for me. Now’s his chance to prove it.”
    She picked up the phone and dialed Caesar Romano’s number while Angel logged on to Google.
    After about twenty minutes of pounding keys, Angel let out a low whistle. “Well, I can tell you one thing, boss. Those guys aren’t going to be returning anyone’s calls. Take a look at this.”
    Two sheets of paper fluttered out of the printer. She grabbed them and slapped them down on Godiva’s desk with a solid thump.
    Godiva picked up the top sheet and said to Angel, “What’s this? Something from a Russian newspaper?”
    “Yep. The first sheet is. I ran it through a language program and the second sheet is sort of a loose translation. The article is two weeks old.” She jabbed her index finger halfway down the second sheet and read out loud, “Today nothing left of warehouse of Vladivostok importers/exporters Minsky & Pinsky. Last night fire raced through building. This morning, only ashes. Authorities fear Vladimir Minsky of Pinsk and Uri Pinsky of Minsk and all the eight workers perished in flames.”
    Godiva’s eyes widened. “Wow. Look at that photo. It sure is a mess. Goldie’s going to flip when you send her this. The place is a total loss.”
    Angel nodded. “It looks like even scavengers won’t be able to find anything. A little farther down the page it says that arson is suspected. Guess you’ll have to call Goldie and tell her the bad news. Maybe I can find her some samovars on E-bay just to get the church ladies off her back.”
    Godiva shook her head. “I hate delivering bad news. Why don’t you call her for me? But first check with that forwarding company. She said Rudy had no luck with them, but Rudy only speaks Texan. Sometimes I can’t even understand him.”
    Angel thought for a moment and then brightened. “Yeah, these shipments take a long time in transit. I’ll bet the samovars were sent before the fire. Let me see what I can find out before I call Goldie. By the way, what did Caesar say?”
    Godiva held up her hands, palms out. “You were right. No snide comments please. He actually jumped at the chance to go to Juneau and the salmon bake. They have to film two shows ahead anyway because Chili asked for a few days off to go to her grandmother’s party.”
    It was clear that Angel loved the idea of being right for once.
    “He really likes Goldie.” Godiva made a show of clearing her throat. “He said he’s always wanted the adventure of seeing Alaska. He’ll get an adventure, all right.”
    “Of course it will be an adventure.”
    “Ah, Angel, that’s not what I meant. Wait until he sees Goldie’s guest room. A double bed in a little loft.