A blonde-haired gentleman behind the reservations desk approached Sam, and asked, “Can I help you?”
The man, like so many Europeans, spoke perfect English, but his German accent was so thick that it was hard to distinguish whether or not what he was speaking English or German. Sam recognized his voice and realized that this was the same man he’d spoken to on the phone about his friend, Kevin Reed.
His name tag simply read, ‘Carl.’
Sam wondered if this man knew anything about the deaths of his friend and his wife. More importantly, would he make the connection between him and his murdered friends? He dismissed the idea as unlikely, given how many tourists from around the world must visit here in a single year.
“Guten morgen,” Sam said, using the only polite German phrase he knew. Then, in English, he added, “I am meeting a friend here, a Miss…” he paused, realizing that he still didn’t know her surname, and then said, “Aliana.”
“Ah, very good,” Carl replied, now looking slightly uncomfortable, before quickly hiding his discomfort, and asked, “May I get you a drink while you wait, sir?”
Sam watched Carl’s response carefully.
Did Carl’s eyes just show a glimpse of understanding when I said Aliana’s name?
It was not a look of understanding that one man might give another when he noted that you had an attractive girlfriend, or even a look of jealousy. No, instead, it was more a look that indicated the realization that Carl had also been waiting to meet this same person.
“Sure. A soda. Any kind, please.”
Carl nodded his head and left.
Aliana then walked into the foyer, and Sam stood up to greet her.
Despite the cold air, she was wearing a white climbing tank top, and purple three-quarter length, Lycra climbing pants. European women, he’d discovered, never seemed to feel the cold. Her blonde hair was neatly arranged in an intricate braid, and she wore a mischievous smile that he would never tire of.
She was just as lovely as he remembered.
“Good morning, Sam. I see that you made it?”
She kissed him on both cheeks, a very European custom.
Her lips were full, soft and beautiful.
“Of course, did you doubt that I would?” Sam asked.
“I wasn’t sure what I thought you would do.”
“Do you want to grab a drink while we’re still here?”
“No, but I know this great coffee place, built into the side of a cliff, it’s down the road.” Aliana said. “They have built a cantilever deck over the side of the mountain, so you can see all the way down — I don’t know, perhaps 3000 feet.”
“Sounds great,” Sam replied.
Carl returned with Sam’s drink, a pink soda, and asked if the lady would also like a drink. Sam paid him, and politely told him that they were a little pressed for time, and so they were leaving.
Aliana led the way outside.
The paths were narrow. While they might be large enough for a motorbike, they were not quite wide enough to accommodate a car. Sam was surprised to see a small Fiat parked out in front of The Summit with several inches of snow over its window. He would have liked to know how long it had been there, and how anyone had managed to get it there.
They walked down the winding path for about fifteen minutes, until they reached something resembling a small road.
A restored 1965 Cobra V12, American muscle car, was carelessly parked next to the vertical cliff, and on the narrow road, which lazily followed the Tyrol River along the valley floor. Anyone trying to get around it would have had to take the trouble of placing their side wheels on the uneven edge of the road and its lethal drop. Although not very high, the short fall from the cliff to the river below would leave the occupants submerged in its deep, fast-flowing, icy waters.
Sam hated alpine roads, and their European drivers.
“This is my ride,” Aliana said.
“You rented this?”
“No, it’s one of my Dad’s. I borrowed it for the weekend.”
Sam looked at her, impressed.
Sam had figured that her family wasn’t short of cash. After all, no one goes to MIT, overseas student or not, unless they have a lot of money, or receive a scholarship because they’re incredibly intelligent. In Aliana’s case, he gathered that she was both.
How ironic, he thought, as he looked at the beautifully restored antique car, that he should find someone with a similarly endless bank account?
He removed the small back-pack he was wearing, opened the car door and sat down on the passenger’s side of the two seat sports convertible.
Aliana inserted the key and turned on the ignition. It started immediately.
Sam could feel the powerful 6.4L engine enticing the driver to let go of the reins.
Aliana released the clutch, and started driving down the road. It hugged the winding road beautifully, as she carelessly made their way south, towards Italy.
“So, where are you taking me for the weekend?” he asked.
“It’s a surprise.” Again, her mischievous smile owned him. “You’ll see soon enough.”
“Okay, do I at least get a hint?”
“No.”
“Okay then, so tell me what brought you to Europe?” Sam asked. “I thought you were heading back stateside to complete your PhD?”
“I was.” She downshifted as they reached a sharp corner and approached the start of a large hill. “But I was worried about my dad. He’s been under a lot of pressure with work lately, and he sounded pretty stressed. Since my mother’s no longer around, and I’m an only child, I kind of feel obligated to come and check up on him.”
Once they’d cleared the sharp turn, Sam felt himself pushed back into his seat as she floored the accelerator on the straight, and the powerful 6.4 L engine kicked into the life it was built for.
Sam felt nervous at such speeds next to the cliffs, but Aliana appeared to be adeptly controlling the powerful machine, apparently ignorant of any danger that the narrow road and cliff sides presented.
“And, was he okay?” Sam forced himself to return to the conversation.
“Yeah, he’s struggling, though. I know he’s got problems, but he won’t speak to me about them. I know that something is worrying him. He’s a strong man, but I sometimes wish he wouldn’t keep all his problems to himself.”
Sam noticed that for some reason, her facial expression did not match her words.
“I know the type,” Sam commiserated, and he did, thinking of his own father.
“Although my dad didn’t say it…” Aliana began and paused, “I think he was glad that I made the effort to come here, even if only for a few days.”
He nodded his head in agreement, certain that any father would be pleased to see his daughter, especially if that daughter was Aliana.
They came to the crest of a hill.
Sam could see miles of curves winding down the mountain pass.
None of them with guardrails.
Aliana sped up as though she could sense his fear, “This is the famous Timmelsjoch Pass,” she laughed at his obvious discomfiture. “Do you know it has been the background of a number of car ads over the years? We’re now entering Italy.”
He ignored the road, trusting in fate, and wondered just how much Aliana was enjoying scaring the daylights out of him, and wondering just how safe they actually were. She’d obviously driven these roads many times before.
Instead, he looked out at the Dolomite Mountains ahead, and said, “It’s really beautiful here.”
She smiled at him, in such a way that he began to wonder just where she was taking him, and then said, “Just you wait.”
An hour later, Sam watched as Aliana slammed on her brakes and parked at the side of another mountain pass with a gentle skid.