Page 74 of Shining Through

“But that could have been anyone! And it couldn’t have been Daniil!”

“Right, we know. Daniil’s cool, and he’d never do that,” Brett said. “But a guy at the party who works in the Village saw Daniil leave. He had on a black leather jacket, so he identified him to the cops.”

“Police came to Russia House this morning and took him away,” Sergei said. “People say he was gone all night, and no one knows where.”

Tabitha closed her eyes because she knew.

“But it’s okay Tabs. Sergei and I got a good look at the guy who beat up Roberto. We can say for sure that it wasn’t Daniil.” He looked at his boyfriend. Sergei took his hand.

“We have decided to tell what we saw,” Sergei said.

“We know it will raise questions about what we were doing there, but it’s not right to stand by and let Daniil take the blame for something he didn’t do. He deserves justice, and so does our friend,” Brett said. “My dad agreed.”

Tabitha blinked. “He knows?”

Brett nodded. “I called him early this morning and told him. I mean, I didn’t tell him everything, though I expect he and my mom have put two and two together. But he wants me to do the right thing.”

“Daniil is my teammate and friend,” Sergei added. “If I did nothing, I could not live with myself.”

Tabitha was humbled by what these two were willing to do. Concerns about avoiding controversy and protecting herself faded away when she thought about Brett and Sergei’s courage.

It was time for her to be fearless too.

“It means the world to me, what you’re willing to do. But I need to come forward first. Daniil was with me last night. Right here, in bed, and trust me, at midnight, he wasn’t wearing his leather jacket.”

While she dressed, Sergei called some friends at Russia House, and learned that Daniil was being questioned at the security offices in the Village. When they arrived, Anton and Ilya were there, and so was Yuri Bogdanov.

“I should not have allowed him to represent our country here, national champion, or not,” said Bogdanov. “He brings trouble wherever he goes.”

“You can’t make any assumption,” said Anton. “There’s no proof it was him.”

Bogdanov fumed. “There’s no proof it wasn’t.”

“He said he was with a friend,” Ilya offered.

“Then why hasn’t he said the name of this friend?”

The older coach looked thoughtful. “Perhaps he doesn’t want to involve a young lady in something that might embarrass her?”

She, Brett and Sergei looked at one another. Then Tabitha nodded.

“That’s exactly right.” Tabitha turned to the woman seated at the reception desk. “I have information about the attack last night near the university. Is there someone I can speak with?”

The woman told her to take a seat. A few minutes later, two officers came out into the waiting room. Daniil was with them. Her heart soared, but instead of joy, his face registered hostility. He stared at her and then turned angrily to Bogdanov. “Why did you drag her into this?”

“He didn’t. I came on my own.” Tabitha came forward and took his hand. The tense set of his shoulders relaxed at her touch. “Brett and Sergei told me you were being questioned about an attack that happened last night around midnight. We both know you couldn’t have been involved.”

She turned to the officers and dug out her phone. “Daniil told you that he was with a friend last night, and it’s true, he was. He was with me in my room at the Grand Hotel, from about 10:00 last night until 6:30 this morning, when he went to meet his coach for practice.”

The older officer nodded. “And you are?”

“Tabitha Turner. I’m a figure skater representing the United States.”

“Did you speak to anyone, or did anyone come to your room, Mademoiselle?”

“No. But I have this.” She handed the officer her phone, which displayed the photo she’d taken of them in bed. The cop’s mouth twitched at the sight of her naked breasts. “If you’ll look at the time stamp at the bottom, it will show you where Daniil was last night, and what he was doing just past midnight.”

The older cop passed it to the younger one who took a look, then offered the phone to Bogdanov. The federation president, Anton and Ilya, politely declined.

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