He had toyed with the idea of telling Vujnovich that he could not locate the address of the license plate owner. The thug would never have believed that. If Ustinov gave false information, it was certain that even if Vujnovich and Bogatinoff didn’t make him pay, some other heavy-handed hoodlum eventually would.

There was only one thing to do if he didn’t want to be directly responsible for the Goldman woman’s untimely demise. Though his every instinct screamed for him to let it alone, to allow the whole thing to play out, he still punched a few buttons on his BlackBerry, found Charles Gruver’s apartment telephone number, looked over his shoulder to ensure that Marina had not yet returned from the ladies’ room, and dialed.

It rang four times. No one answered. He was about to drop the phone back into its base. He had done his part. He had tried.

A distorted, metallic voice came on the line. “You have reached the Gruver apartment. Not here. If you are not a telemarketer, please leave a message at the beep. If you are, kindly drop dead.”

He waited for the tone.

“Charles! Catherine! If you can hear me, pick up. This is Dmitri. Dmitri Ustinov at OptiMarx. It is important! Please pick up or call me at the OptiMarx number immediately. I need—”

There was a click and a faint voice. It was Catherine Goldman. It sounded as if she might have been asleep.

“Dmitri? It’s Catherine. How did you know where—”

“Yes, it is me.” He paused for a moment and swallowed hard. The full ramifications of what he was about to do had just settled on him like a heavy weight. He went on anyway. “Catherine, listen to me. It is very important. Some men are coming to kill you. You and Charles. They know where you are. You must run.”

Goldman’s voice was much firmer now. She was fully awake. There was steel in her tone.

“Why should I trust you, Dmitri? The last time I asked you for help, they kidnapped me. Who knows what they would have done if I hadn’t escaped?”

“You have got to trust me,” Ustinov pleaded. “If I know where you are, then you must see that these men do also. Those men, they were only supposed to keep you out of the way for a few days. I swear that was what they told me. Now you are much more of a threat to them. They will not hesitate to kill you. Please get out of there and go someplace safe. Do not tell me where you go. Just go someplace else. I beg you.”

The line went dead. Ustinov stared at the receiver. There was no way of knowing if she believed him, if she would obey him.