red moscow

Chapter 2695

Led by the secretary, Sokov and Victoria came to the data room on the underground floor.

After pushing open the door, the secretary walked directly to a desk and said to the middle-aged man wearing glasses sitting beside the desk, "Weijia, the two of them want to check the employee information of my newspaper in the 1950s and 1960s. This matter has been approved by the editor-in-chief himself."

After hearing what the secretary said, the middle-aged man called Weijia knew that the two strangers in front of him were here to check the information of old employees. He didn't want to pay attention to them at first, but when he heard that it was the editor-in-chief who gave the order, he could only smile bitterly and nodded, saying helplessly: "Okay, I will help them find the information."

After the secretary left, Weijia looked at Sokov and Victoria and asked Victoria indifferently, "Officer, our newspaper has been established for nearly a hundred years, and has had more than 100,000 or 200,000 employees. Can you tell me as accurately as possible who you are looking for?"

Victoria did not answer the other party's question, but said to Sokov: "Misha, you should speak."

"The person I'm looking for is called Kopalova," Sokov said to Vika quickly. "She worked in a newspaper in the 1940s as a photojournalist. She once went to Stalingrad during the Great Patriotic War. After the war, she served as a resident reporter in Vienna, Austria as a member of a special correspondent team..."

After listening to Sokov's story, Weijia was silent for a moment, and then said thoughtfully: "Sir, I have some impression of the person you are talking about. In the early 50s, she returned to Moscow due to health reasons and continued to work as a photojournalist. She retired in the late 70s and has lived in Moscow ever since."

Upon learning that Kopalova had been living in Moscow since returning from Vienna, Sokov was overjoyed. He then tried to speak in a calm tone and said, "Do you know her address?"

Victoria obviously guessed what was on Sokov's mind. After she reached out to pull him, she said to Vijay, "Vijya, I want to know if this Kopalova is still alive?"

"It's hard to say." Weijia said with some embarrassment: "I remember she was born in the 1920s. Even if she is still alive, she is probably almost a hundred years old."

"Can you tell us her address?" Victoria continued, "I want to visit her and find out something from her."

"Please wait a moment. I will go to the database to search for information."

When Sokov saw the computer on the table, he knew very well that the information of some old employees had not been entered into the computer. If he wanted to check it, he could only rely on the old files left over from that year.

Weijia went to the information room and came back about seven or eight minutes later with a khaki kraft paper file bag in his hand.

After placing the file bag on the table, Weijia picked up a knife, cut the rope that tied it, and pulled out the documents from it.

After looking through it for a while, he looked up and said to Victoria, "Officer, according to the information we have here, Kopalova's address is 115 Korolev Street. But so many years have passed, I don't know if she still lives there."

"As long as I know where she lived before," Victoria said, "even if she moved, I can find out her new address."

After the two came out of the newspaper office, although it was already past seven in the evening, it was still bright outside.

"Misha," Victoria looked up at the sky and asked Sokov tentatively, "Do you want to go now or another day?"

"If you have nothing else to do, could you go with me now?" Sokov said sincerely, "Now that I finally know the whereabouts of this old lady, I'm afraid I won't feel at ease if I can't see her as soon as possible."

"Then let's go now." Victoria made a driving gesture: "Do you know how to get to Korolev Street?"

"I have a navigation system here that can guide me there."

After driving on the street for more than half an hour, Sokov finally arrived at Korolev Street. No. 115 here is an old three-story building. Judging from the appearance and structure, there are no less than households living inside.

"Misha, where should we start looking?"

Sokov pointed to the nearest unit door and said, "Let's start with this unit."

Although each unit has a closed door at the entrance, you need a password or a special access card to enter. But Victoria has a universal access card on her. She walks to the door, swipes it lightly, and the door opens.

The two of them walked in and found a small duty room on the first floor near the door, where a fat aunt was sitting.

When she saw Victoria coming in, she ran out of the duty room and asked respectfully, "Officer, are you here to investigate a case?"

Victoria shook her head: "No, there is no case."

"What is that for?"

"Find someone."

Hearing Victoria say she was looking for someone, the fat lady immediately became interested: "Officer, if you want to find someone, just tell me. I basically know all the residents in this building."

"We are looking for an old lady named Kopalova." Victoria looked at the fat lady and asked, "She may be over 90 years old this year. According to the information, she lives here. Do you know her?"

Unexpectedly, the fat lady shook her head and said, "I have never heard of anyone named Kopalova. Are you mistaken?"

"It shouldn't be a mistake." Victoria thought that the information she knew was all from more than 70 years ago, so it was entirely possible that she had found the wrong place. Therefore, she said in an uncertain tone: "According to the information we have, she lives in this building. If you don't know her, maybe she has moved away long ago."

"Officer, don't worry, I'll call and ask." The fat lady took out her cell phone, dialed a number, and said to the phone: "Let me ask you something. Did an old lady named Kopalova live in this building before? If she is still alive, she should be over 90 years old now?"

The person who answered the phone was silent for a long time, then slowly said, "Yes, there was an old lady named Kopalova who lived here before, but she moved away in 199."

"Do you know where she is now?" The fat lady glanced at Victoria in front of her and continued, "The police are looking for her."

The other party gave an address, and the fat lady wrote it down with a pen, saying repeatedly: "Okay, I remember it. Thank you, thank you!"

After the call, the fat lady handed Kopalova the address written on a piece of paper: "Officer, this is Kopalova's later address. You can go there and try your luck to see if you can find her in person."

Victoria took the note and after seeing the address on it, her eyes widened in surprise.

Seeing this, Sokov asked with concern: "Vika, what's wrong?" "Look at this address." Victoria handed the note to Sokov: "It's near our house, just a few houses away."

When he learned that Kopalova's current address was just a few houses away from his own residence, his heartbeat quickened. He said nervously, "Vika, let's go over there and try our luck to see if we can find her in person."

In this way, Sokov drove to the address on the note as fast as possible.

This time, after the two entered the unit, they saw that there was no duty room on the first floor. Sokov couldn't help but ask anxiously: "Vika, there is no duty room in this building. Who should we go to for information?"

"Don't worry." Victoria comforted Sokov: "I can knock on two houses and ask them about the situation. Don't worry, when they see the uniform I'm wearing, they will fully cooperate with me."

Sokov did not object to Victoria's statement, but urged her to act quickly: "Vika, let's act quickly."

I knocked on the door of the house on the first floor, and the person who opened the door was an elderly man with a hunched back.

After looking at the two people in front of him, he looked at Victoria and asked, "Officer, what can I do for you?"

"Hello, old man." Victoria asked politely, "I would like to ask, is there an old lady named Kopalova in this building?"

"Kopalova?!" The old man raised his eyebrows when he heard the name and asked tentatively, "What do you want to do with her?"

"We want to make a documentary about the Great Patriotic War." Victoria did not tell the old man the truth, but made up a seemingly reasonable reason: "As a photographer for Izvestia, Kopalova has participated in many important battles. We hope to get more information from her."

"Oh, so that's how it is." After listening to Victoria's explanation, the old man let down his guard and even took the initiative to say, "I know the Kopalova you are talking about. His son Semyon and I are good friends."

Sokov looked at the old man carefully and thought that he should be in his sixties or seventies. It made sense that he was a friend of Kopalova's son.

"Oh, you are good friends with her son, Semyon?" Victoria asked in surprise. "Can you tell us where her son is now?"

"Of course." The old man sighed and said, "He is lying in a cemetery about ten kilometers away from here. If you want to pay tribute to him, you can go and see him."

"How did he die?" Sokov thought of Kopalova's son Semyon, who might be his own child, and asked anxiously, "Was it illness or something else?"

"Two years ago, he took his son's car to attend a friend's wedding in the suburbs. On the way back, he collided with a large truck and lost his life on the spot." The old man said solemnly, "His son and he died in the car accident together."

The muscles on Sokov's face twitched violently. If Semyon was his son, then Semyon's son would be his grandson. But they both died in a car accident. He felt heartbroken.

"That's a pity." Victoria shook her head and continued to ask: "Who else is in Kopalova's family?"

"There are also Xie Miao's grandson and granddaughter." The old man said, "But the grandson doesn't live here. Only his granddaughter stays here to take care of her great-grandmother."

Sokov couldn't help but glance at Victoria, thinking what a coincidence, the Lida that Victoria took care of was her great-grandmother, and the person who was taking care of Kopalova now was also her great-granddaughter.

"Can you tell us her house number?" Victoria asked.

"On the second floor, after you go up, the first house on the right side of the stairs is Kopalova's house."

The two men went to the second floor and, following the old man's instructions, came to the first house on the right side of the stairs. Sokov walked up to the door and rang the doorbell anxiously.

After the doorbell rang a few times, Sokov heard footsteps coming towards the door. The next moment, a young woman's voice came from inside: "Who are you? What are you doing here?"

Now it was Victoria's turn to take action. She took two steps forward, raised her ID, and said to the smoke, "I'm Officer Victoria. I have something I want to ask Kopalova."

The person inside the room may have seen Victoria's police officer ID and opened the door very readily.

Sokov saw clearly that it was a young girl with golden hair. His heartbeat quickened uncontrollably and he asked himself, "Could this be my great-granddaughter?"

After seeing Victoria come in, Sokov wanted to follow in, but the young girl reached out to stop Sokov and turned to Victoria: "Officer, is this person with you?"

"Yes," Victoria nodded, and then continued, "He has something important to ask Kopalova."

After entering the room, Sokov saw clearly that there was a white-haired old lady sitting on the sofa with a small blanket covering her legs, watching TV.

Seeing several people entering the living room, he said indifferently: "Regina, who are they? Are they your friends?"

"No, great-grandmother." The girl called Regina quickly walked a few steps to Kopalova and said to her, "They are here to see you."

"Looking for me?" The old lady looked up at Victoria and Sokov, and said with a puzzled look: "I don't know you. What do you want from me?"

"Hello, Kopalova!" Victoria nodded to the old lady and continued, "My name is Victoria, and my great-grandmother is Lida. I had dealings with you during the Great Patriotic War. Do you still remember me?"

Hearing Victoria say this, the old lady fell into deep thought, as if she was searching for memories of Lida from the depths of her memory. After an unknown amount of time, she slowly said, "I know many people named Lida. I wonder which Lida your great-grandmother is and what she did before?"

"She is the commander of the anti-aircraft artillery." Victoria said this, looking at Sokov again and continued, "She said that the first time she met you was in the city during the Battle of Stalingrad. She was a subordinate of Sokov, the commander of the 41st Guards Division."

When Victoria mentioned Sokov's name, the old lady's cloudy eyes suddenly became clear: "It turned out to be that Lida. I remember her. I met her once when I returned to Moscow from Europe in the 1950s. How is she now?"

"She is almost a hundred years old now. She has Alzheimer's disease and is sometimes lucid and sometimes confused." Victoria sighed and said, "I'm afraid she doesn't have much time left."

"Is the reason you came here to see me today related to her?" asked the old lady.

(End of this chapter)