“Not something, but you are looking pretty hard. You gotta remember these are kids and a lot are Nazi sympathizers — it’s the new fad. They are really loud and aggressive with each other, so we stick out. You want to try another club? Or just go back to the hotel?”
“Let’s go back to the hotel.”
“That’s the best idea you’ve had all evening.”
CHAPTER 15
In his pajamas, David walked out of the bathroom and noticed that Miriam was still asleep and slipped into his bed again. Miriam turned over, “Good morning, David. Did you sleep all right?”
“Well, until your cell phone went off on some ungodly hour this morning.”
“Sorry David, I guess Levi thinks we work round the clock like he does.”
“What time was that?”
“Five ten. He didn’t even wait for me to wake up and started in with what Research thinks is going on with the bastard we are looking for.”
David got up and sat on the edge of Miriam’s bed, and wondered what it would be like to be in there with Miriam.
“So what did Levi say?”
“He and Research seem to have put two and two together and come up with just about the same as we have. David, will you please stop patting my bed and listen.”
“Sorry, tell me more.”
“Malcolm thinks that, like Josephine at the Library, Hans probably is after the Wittelsbach Emerald because he’s convinced it belongs to him as part of the Huber legacy. You remember that Josephine found in his grandfather’s diary that he had disinherited Han’s father when he joined the Nazi party. Evidently that emerald was given to two of his valued and trusted long-time employees and just recently will be put back on the auction block.”
“Ok, that makes sense, but why all the killing of Jews?”
“Malcolm’s theory is that he is doing all those killings out of a pathological hatred based on his angry proclamation to get even when his father was killed and he was shot during our 1960 capture of Eichmann.”
“Isn’t that stretching theories a bit?”
“Not really, evidently Malcolm pulled the report of the capture in Buenos Aires out of some dusty file and it clearly indicates that the young Huber threatened to revenge the death of his father on Jews.”
“But why after all these years living in Argentina and becoming a very successful and wealthy business man?”
“They don’t have an answer for that question. The closest they can come up with is that it is a pathological neurosis that has lain dormant for all this time. They have no idea what caused it to rise to the surface of his personality at this particular time in his life. David, we need to get dressed, pack up and head back to Geneva.”
“Whoa, what’s going on? We haven’t finished what we came here to do.”
“I know, but Levi had a call from Servette telling him that the auction is back on and will be held this coming Friday. Levi told me to forget about the murders here, Simon can handle things here at the moment and if needed we can come back after the auction. He feels certain that Hans will be at the auction. Simon has purchased airline tickets already and we can pick them up at the Swiss International ticket counter at the airport. And incidentally Simon went back to the safe-house and would you believe he did find a bug in the living room that you missed when you swept it when we arrived.”
“What, I missed a bug? Where was it?”
“Simon said it was built into the smoke detector over the door to the dining room. He didn’t even find it on his first sweep. Anyway we’re not staying there, so don’t worry about it.”
“Thanks, but it does bother me. When is our flight out of Munich?”
“Would you believe seven-thirty tonight?”
“I guess we won’t have to take you nightclubbing at the Cobra Club again tonight.”
“Guess not, but if you get out of here and let me get dressed, you can buy me breakfast and maybe I’ll take a rain-check on another hot date at the Cobra Club.”
Hans went to several Munich department stores before finding the clothes he needed for the auction. Then he went to a theatre supply store and replenished his supply of theatrical prosthetics, glues and glue removers, hairpieces and makeup both dry and wet. He carefully packed his suitcase, locked his make-up case and stowed them both in his beloved ‘68 Mercedes 250 SE.
Emily’s phone call had caught him off guard, the auction to be held on Friday, in just four days? Did he have time to get ready? Going over his plan in his mind he tried to visualize any possible issues that might prevent him from getting his emerald. He had gone to the hotel and carefully explored the room where the auction was to be held, disguised as a security man from a bidding conglomerate. He had evaluated every possible escape route from the auction gallery in the hotel, should he need to leave in a hurry. His weapons were ready, taken apart, cleaned, oiled, still stored in the flat case under the false floor of the trunk in his car, cleverly hidden should anyone inspect the car.
Gunther, his mentor in Argentina had mailed two new daggers to him, made of porcelain with cork handles so that they would pass through metal detectors at airports or the hotel, should they use a detector there. The larger one would remain in the special sheath just below his collar behind his head, the smaller one kept in the sheath strapped to the inside of his left calf.
The only thing he had left to do was drive back to Geneva for the auction. He knew his financial resources were available in the Morganheiser account at the Bank du Mont Blanc, a little over seven hundred thousand Swiss francs. Friday was four days away, but the wait felt eternal. As soon as he took possession of the emerald, he would fly back to Argentina for a long, sweet vacation.
Everything was going according to plan. He drove cautiously through Munich until he reached the highway, then sped off toward Geneva.
He spent the drive continuing to rehearse his plan. He had to maintain his anonymity but also had to be able to bear the spotlight during the auction. In his new disguise, no one would suspect he was a brash, well endowed, blonde from Austria. If this came off without a hitch, then nothing would ever stand in his way again. He was brutally honest with himself about what he could do in each worst case scenario; if he felt there was any doubt that he could succeed, he developed an alternative action plan to cover any emergency.
Emily was disappointed when she learned from her phone call Klaus would not be attending the auction. He was hospitalized with pneumonia, so he was sending his sister, Monique, in his place. That seemed strange because he didn’t sound very sick over the phone. He requested that she relay this to Dr. Franz as well as the relevant personnel at Christie’s, and to the Bank du Mont Blanc, where Monique would have access to his account. He promised to come see her as soon as he felt better but because of some pressing business that probably would not be for a month or so. He promised then to take her away for a weekend on the Riviera. He thanked her for handling this matter of communicating on his behalf for his sister. He looked forward to seeing her sweet face.
Of course, Emily had taken care of everything. He only had only to ask.
CHAPTER 16
After the six hour drive back to Geneva David pulled into the parking lot behind the Geneva’s Central Police station, got out of the car and stretched. The late afternoon sun cast shadows over the Jura Mountains leaving lacey grey patterns on the asphalt.
Turning as Miriam left the car he said, “Thanks for helping with the driving, Miriam. Say, I didn’t know you used to drive Formula cars on the Nürburgring.”