Panthera Spelaea

Our hotel downtown was within easy walking distance of a half-dozen jewelry stores, and it did not take long to find the perfect rings for them. Svetlana picked a white gold wedding band set with thin bands bracketing each side of the engagement band. Anna didn’t want a wedding band set, only the gold engagement ring. “I plan to marry you as well, even though it won’t be official,” I had argued with her as we talked in the first store.

“It is better for us this way, John. I can be engaged to an imaginary person living far away from me, maybe in the military? Having a wedding ring implies living together and will make people wonder why I live with you instead of him. It’s enough to keep other men away, and it is a sign of your love. That’s all the ring I need.”

“This is why we love getting to choose,” Svetlana asked. “I’d hate to take back something you picked for me, even if it wasn’t what I would choose for myself.”

She was right, Mom had been right, and I was smart enough to admit it. Anna’s engagement ring had roses engraved around the band separated by smaller diamonds, and it looked great. Both my ladies were happy, and that was the point.

I had plenty of money in my account to cover the rings, as we’d been living low It would take a few days to get the selected stones mounted in the settings we’d picked. We’d return to Rybinsk next weekend, and I’d do the whole bended knee thing.

I took a picture of Svetlana’s setting and the loose stones and texted it to my Mom. Yes, it was the middle of the night there, but it didn’t stop her from calling me less than a minute later. “YOU BOUGHT A RING?”

“I like it, so I’m putting a ring on it,” I told her. Then I told her about talking to her parents and getting their permission, and my plans to ask her next weekend.

“I’m just sad I didn’t have more time with her when I was there,” Mom said. “And the rest of the family hasn’t even met her!”

“Hopefully, after tomorrow’s hearing, I’ll be able to bring them home.” That was the best-case scenario. I propose in Rybinsk, and then we head to our property outside Houston to meet my family. Ideally, we’d bring her parents along and get married shortly after. I sure as hell wasn’t coming back to Russia with Viktor still looking to lock me up.

“Let us know, and I’ll get you tickets. Is Anna coming?”

“Of course, Mom. We’d never leave her behind.”

“That’s perfect. I can think of a half-dozen young men I’d like to introduce her to while she’s here.”

God, save me from the meddling Moms! Anna’s ring was a must. “Anna’s got a boyfriend, Mom. It’s getting serious.”

“Oh, wonderful! I can’t wait to get all the details.”

“Gotta go, Mom. I love you.”

“I love you too, baby.”

I hung up as the girls looked over at me. “Sorry,” I said.

We relaxed that night with a big dinner followed by hours of tender lovemaking. We were relaxing and watching the nightly news on the bed afterward. I could understand most of the Russian broadcast now, only asking for help on a few of the words I couldn’t figure out. I jumped a little when my picture came on the screen. It was a story on tomorrow’s hearing, heavy on interviews with weeping family members. I felt for them, especially the police officer and my coworkers on the boat, but I couldn’t change things now. What was I going to do? Confess that I’m also a four-hundred-kilo extinct cave lion? I’d never leave the loony bin.

The story ended with a retired Judge stating that it would deny the families’ justice if I prevailed. “Once he leaves Russia, he is beyond the reach of our courts. We have no extradition treaty with the United States, and he would be foolish to return here.”

“We won’t ever be back, will we,” Anna asked.

“The only way it is safe to come back is if the police kill the lion and arrest its owner,” I replied. Was our room bugged? It was a certainty.

We had to get up early and cycled through the shower and getting dressed. The three of us laid waste to the breakfast buffet before heading to my appointment with Marina. I would travel with her to court, so the girls left to do some shopping first. I had a few other things on my mind. “I need a will,” I told her.

Marina raised her eyebrow. “You are a student living off your parents,” she said. “That shouldn’t be difficult.”

“It’s not that simple.” Anything I told her was under attorney-client privilege, so I explained the nature of my relationship with the girls. “I need to make sure they are protected if anything happens to me. I don’t trust Viktor; I know he’s pissed about me disappearing and making him look bad. If I go to jail again, I’m sure I’ll have a tragic accident or die at the hands of my cellmate. That is why I need this now. Svetlana automatically inherits once she is my wife, but Anna has no legal relationship with us. If I die tonight, they have nothing.”

“What kind of assets are we talking about?”

“I have a trust fund my Grandfather set up for me, plus my father has been placing stock in his company in trust for his children since we were born. I want my will to divide my estate equally between Anna and Svetlana.”

She opened her computer and pulled up a form. “Last Wills are fairly standard documents. I can give you something now, but you should update it as soon as you get married.” It didn’t take long before I was signing the form in front of two witnesses.

We went to the garage and got in her sedan, her assistant driving us to the courthouse. The Russian and foreign press was all over the place, along with the protestors and supporters. A representative from the Embassy was standing inside with the girls after we made it through the crowd. “Let’s go,” Marina said.

Once again, I had a translator on the headphones for me. We all stood as the door opened in the front of the courtroom. “Circuit Court is now in session, Judge Vitali Shemkov presiding.”

“Be seated,” the Judge said as he sat. “Before us is a motion to release the passport of John Jacob Cantwell. Is that correct, Counselor?”

“It is Your Honor,” Marina stood and responded.

He looked at the other table. “Senior Counsellor Rozanova, the State opposes the motion because of the flight risk.”

She rose and responded. “Yes, Your Honor. The complainant is not a Russian citizen and has stated his intent to leave Russia and never return.”

“And how do you know this? That statement is not in the motion.”

“The State acquired the information via other means,” the Prosecutor responded.

Marina had a grin as she pounced. “Your honor, those other means are the surveillance the police set up on my client’s hotel room last night. You released my client weeks ago due to a lack of ANY probable cause for arrest. Since then, my client has been the subject of repeated police harassment.”

Counselor Rozanova tried to fight back. “Your honor, the police had authorizations for every search and every surveillance placed on Mr. Cantwell. He remains the prime suspect in two mass murder incidents, after all.”

Marina snorted. “My client had his rooms bugged repeatedly, plus the police placed bugs and tracking devices on his car. I’m sure when you signed the warrants for those, you didn’t authorize harassment.”

That got the Judge’s attention. “What do you mean?”

“My client and his friends decided to go camping to get away from everything. They drove to the middle of a National Park, hiring a boat to take them to an island with no one around for kilometers. The day after they arrived, two Police Officers arrived by boat and searched their campsite. The senior officer said, and I quote, ‘Viktor says to enjoy your vacation while you still can.’ A tent in the middle of nowhere wasn’t enough to be left alone.”

The Judge looked annoyed. “Is that true, Senior Counsellor?”

“I am not sure of the particulars, but several times Mr. Cantwell has actively evaded tracking. Mr. Cantwell has destroyed surveillance equipment, relocated tracking devices, and taken evasive actions to lose our watchers. More aggressive means were required to ensure he remained under surveillance. It is not the behavior of an innocent man, Your Honor.”

The Judge waved his hand. “Since when is it the responsibility of the subject to comply with your surveillance,” he replied. “The whole discussion is pointless. When I threw you out of here last time, I told you not to come back without evidence to support an arrest. Have you ANY more evidence tying John Cantwell to the murders after all this time?”

Counsellor Rozanova would have said it if she did, so we all knew she had nothing. “No, Your Honor, but the State cannot allow a murder suspect to leave the country!”

“Enough,” the Judge said. “The motion is granted. Return Mr. Cantwell’s passport immediately with the apologies of the Court.” He banged the gavel and rose, and so did we.

We’d won my freedom.