‘And?’
‘And I want to know why. Otherwise, I won’t be much help to your search. Not because I’ll refuse to help you, I simply won’t be able to help.’
Payne glanced around the room. First he looked at Jones, who nodded his approval. Then he looked at Ulster, who enthusiastically did the same. Finally he looked at Heidi, who was staring at him with her light blue eyes. He didn’t know her very well, but he was starting to understand how she had convinced Ulster to talk about Ludwig’s treasure. She was smart, perceptive and very observant. He was glad she was on their side.
Payne asked, ‘Are you familiar with Petr’s grandfather?’
She nodded. ‘I unknowingly quoted him earlier today.’
‘Recently, we discovered some of Conrad’s belongings. In one of his notebooks, he had written some clues that are supposed to lead us to Ludwig’s treasure.’
‘What kind of clues?’ she asked.
‘The first one is a riddle that uses the word swan. That’s why we keep asking you about Neuschwanstein. We thought maybe he hid the treasure there.’
‘I very much doubt it,’ she said.
‘Why’s that?’ Jones asked.
‘Because Ludwig was murdered before the building was finished.’
Ulster questioned her from across the room. ‘Are you sure, my dear? Wasn’t Ludwig staying there on the night of his arrest?’
She nodded. ‘Ludwig lived in the palace for 172 days, but the castle was far from done. Only fourteen rooms were finished before his death. The rest of the building was filled with workers, struggling to complete the project. I doubt he would have hidden a treasure with so many witnesses around.’
Payne agreed with her. ‘You’re probably right.’
Jones cursed. ‘I guess that means we should cross it off our list.’
She stared at them. ‘Before you do, don’t you think you should tell me the riddle? I know you guys don’t fully trust me, but didn’t you say several clues needed to be solved in order to locate the treasure? What’s the harm in telling me the first one? It’s not like I’m going anywhere. I’m stuck on a mountain in the middle of Switzerland.’
Jones glanced at Payne. ‘She has a point.’
Ulster nodded in agreement. ‘I concur.’
Payne pointed at Ulster. ‘Conrad was your grandfather. You should tell her, not me.’
Ulster grinned with satisfaction. He was touched by the gesture. ‘On the surface, the riddle seems fairly straightforward, but we haven’t figured it out yet. We’d love a fresh set of ears.’
‘What’s the riddle?’ she asked.
‘Where would a swan go on his journey home?’
52
Heidi closed her eyes and leaned back on the couch. Wearing a colourful ski sweater she had found in Ulster’s guest closet and her own pair of jeans, she whispered the riddle to herself, trying to decipher its meaning. After several seconds of this, her eyes popped open – only to realize that Payne, Jones and Ulster were staring at her, patiently waiting for her response.
‘Sorry,’ she said. ‘I’ve got nothing.’
Jones mumbled to Payne. ‘Expert, my ass.’
Heidi didn’t hear his comment but quickly amended her statement. ‘Actually, let me take that back. I’ve got nothing definitive. Plenty of possibilities, but nothing definitive.’
‘How many possibilities?’ Ulster asked.
‘At least ten, maybe fifteen.’
‘Fifteen? We came up with less than five.’
She stared at Ulster, who was sitting behind his desk. ‘As you know, Ludwig was fascinated with swans. They were an important part of his life from his childhood to his death. That’s a whole lot of ground to cover. I only wish I had more information so I could narrow it down.’
Payne, Jones and Ulster exchanged a series of glances, much as they had done when they were deciding if Heidi was worthy of the riddle. This immediately got her thinking about their visit to the King’s House and the questions they had asked up there.
‘Just a second,’ she blurted. ‘Up on Mount Schachen, you were asking me about local lakes. Is that because of the riddle, or does that have to do with another clue?’
Jones answered. ‘That had to do with the riddle. We thought maybe there was a special lake there where he watched swans.’
She pointed at them, one at a time, when she spoke. ‘Then what was all that glancing back and forth you just did? I’ve seen those looks before. You’re hiding something.’
Payne looked at her. ‘Will you stop doing that?’
‘Doing what?’
‘Reading our minds. It’s really annoying.’
She smiled. ‘Sorry. In case you haven’t figured it out, I’m stubborn, ill tempered and paranoid. I hit the genetic trifecta.’
Jones leaned forward. ‘Don’t apologize. Your genes look great to me.’
She laughed and blushed slightly.
Jones whispered to Payne. ‘See what I did there? I complimented her genes, but she’s also wearing jeans. That’s what they call repartee.’
‘If that’s the French word for retarded, I agree with you.’
Heidi overheard the comment and snickered quietly. She tried to cover up her laughter by adjusting the band round her hair. A few seconds later, her blonde ponytail was back in place and the grin was off her face.
‘Anyway, where were we?’ Payne asked.
‘I was reading your mind,’ she said.
Payne smiled and nodded. ‘In addition to the riddle, Petr’s grandfather also provided a hint about the treasure’s location. In his journal, he described the hint as a starting point. It might give you the context you’re looking for in order to solve the riddle.’
She looked at Ulster. ‘What’s the hint?’
‘According to my grandfather, Ludwig hid a secret document inside his gartenhaus that would help us find the treasure.’
‘His gartenhaus?’ She pondered the significance of the word. ‘Okay, now it makes sense.’
‘The riddle makes sense?’ Payne asked.
She shook her head. ‘No, the reason you asked me about Ludwig and the Alpengarten auf dem Schachen makes sense. I wondered why you got upset when I told you the botanical garden was opened in the 1900s. Seriously, think of all the time you would have saved if you had just come clean with me from the very beginning.’
Payne countered. ‘Probably less time than you’ve wasted with all your gloating. We get it: you’re perceptive. Now use your ability for good, not evil. Tell us what the riddle means.’
She smiled at Payne, enjoying their banter. They had been going at it since they had met on Schachen, verbally jousting about everything. After a while, she knew something was bound to happen. Either they would get into a huge fight, or they would rip each other’s clothes off. She wasn’t sure which, although she hoped for the latter. It sounded a lot more fun.
‘Let me ask you a question,’ she said.
‘What now?’ Payne grumbled.
She pointed at Ulster. ‘Actually, I was talking to him.’
‘Oh,’ Payne said.
Ulster responded. ‘What is it, my dear?’
‘Your grandfather, he wrote these clues in his journal?’
‘That’s correct.’
‘How was his handwriting?’
‘His handwriting?’ Ulster asked, confused.
‘Was it easy to read, or were some of his words open to interpretation?’
‘For the most part, his penmanship was exquisite. Why do you ask?’
‘I was wondering how certain you were about the word gartenhaus. Could you have misread that particular term?’
The leather-bound journal was sitting on the desk in front of him. Ulster flipped to the appropriate page and studied the word. ‘It says gartenhaus. Clear as day.’