‘Yes?’
‘Your wife and Thomas Lourds are leaving the park.’
As he took in this news, Von Volker was surprised at the tiniest twinge of jealousy that flared through him. He quickly quashed it. ‘Let them go. But make sure they are followed. Keep me apprised of where they’re going and what they’re doing.’
The man nodded and turned away to speak over the headset he wore.
Von Volker drained a bottle of water, then stepped back up on the stage. He had a rebellion to raise, and somewhere in there the Ayatollah’s demands had to be met as well.
The Eurasian lynx sat like stone in the shadows of the acacia tree and watched a young hare come closer. The lynx was young. Every now and again, its hindquarters twitched uncontrollably. The hare, like the lynx, lived in the lower portions of the Ayatollah’s garden.
The beast was forty pounds of speed and muscle. Dark spots looked faded against the amber coat. The distinctive ears stood up in sharp points.
Hands behind his back, Davari watched the lynx with wide-eyed interest.
‘Do you think the lynx will take the hare?’
Startled, Davari turned to face the Ayatollah. The older man had come up behind him without a sound, reminding Davari again that he had once been a warrior and had shed blood in God’s holy name.
‘Good evening, Supreme Leader.’
The Ayatollah nodded but never took his dark eyes from the lynx. ‘You have not answered my question, Colonel.’
‘My apologies.’ Davari returned his attention to the lynx.
The animal’s hindquarters trembled again as the hare came a little closer.
‘I don’t think so. The lynx is young.’
‘He has speed and strength on his side.’
‘True, but he lacks patience. He’s letting his belly guide his instincts.’
‘Yes.’ The Ayatollah stepped up beside the colonel. ‘You see the lynx’s impatience, yes?’
‘In the line of his body, the way he sits, of course.’
‘Do you think the lynx sees these things?’
‘How can he?’
The Ayatollah nodded. ‘So we can agree that the lynx does not see these things in himself.’
‘I don’t see how he could, Supreme Leader.’
‘I received your news that the professor—’
‘Thomas Lourds.’
‘Yes. Thomas Lourds is in Vienna. But you do not know why.’
‘I believe it is because Von Volker has transported Lev Strauss’s collection of artifacts to his manor home.’
‘I am certain you are correct, but how did Thomas Lourds learn those artifacts were there?’
‘I believe Frau Von Volker told him. As our investigation indicated, they were once lovers.’
The lynx gained momentary control over himself and was still again. The hare crept closer to the succulent blades of grass, almost within striking range now.
‘It has been years since Lourds has seen Frau Von Volker.’
Davari nodded.
‘So, why does he leave the search the Jew set him on to go to Vienna?’
‘To see the collection of artifacts.’
‘Does he know what he’s looking for?’
Davari thought about that for the first time. ‘I would assume so, Supreme Leader.’
The Ayatollah frowned. ‘Assumptions will not find Mohammad’s Koran and the Scroll for us, Colonel.’
‘My apologies, Supreme Leader. I have failed you.’
‘Not yet. I am merely adjusting your thinking.’
‘I welcome your wisdom.’
‘If Mohammad’s Koran and the Scroll were among the Jew’s things, we would have found them by now. Since we know Thomas Lourds is hunting those things as well, he wouldn’t have gone to Von Volker’s to find them. Therefore, he is seeking a clue.’
Davari nodded. That much he had already figured.
‘The Jew will have been clever. Even if we found the clue, the Jew would have couched it in terms that would make it hard for an outsider to understand.’
The lynx’s hindquarters twitched again as it readied itself.
‘Thomas Lourds may solve whatever clues the Jew left for him. So we must be patient and give him room to work. Do you understand?’
‘Yes, Supreme Leader.’
Coiled muscles exploded into action and thrust the lynx into motion. The big cat had misjudged his abilities, though. The hare had time to avoid him, then break away and seek shelter in the woodlands. Frustrated, the lynx yowled and stalked off.
‘That lynx will go hungry, Colonel. Do not be that lynx as you proceed with your hunt. Give Thomas Lourds room to pick up the Jew’s trail. God is on our side.’
‘Thank you for your wise words, Supreme Leader.’
30
As she watched Lourds’s pained face, Alice knew he was reliving precious memories he’d shared with Lev Strauss. When she’d been with them, sharing their friendship while loving Lourds, she’d heard many of those stories. Only a few held special memories for her. She’d been along for the acquisition of only a handful of pieces and, sadly, she couldn’t really remember much about them or how excited Lev had been.
At that time, she’d been so deeply in love with Thomas Lourds that little else mattered.
Studying him now as he worked his way through the collection, Alice felt those same feelings surfacing again. She wasn’t sure exactly what the attraction was that existed between them, but she was more certain now that it was heavily weighted on her side.
She wanted him more than he wanted her.
It was a sad, hard thing to admit, but there it was. Thankfully, she was adult enough and experienced enough to recognize that.
Lourds was aloof, but it wasn’t by choice. His work satisfied him on levels that no flesh-and-blood companion could ever hope to equal. That was frustrating and scary and addictive at the same time. What woman in her right mind could let such a challenge pass by without making an attempt to gain his attention?
Alice smiled to herself, but the humor was melancholy at best and painful at worst. She had been young and naïve when she’d fallen for him, but she was certain that even worldly women found themselves in a swoon over Lourds just as she had.
Lourds wasn’t even aware of the effect he had on women. As far as she knew, he’d never taken the time to try to figure out why they were attracted to him. She knew from personal experience that he had an immense appetite for the pleasures of the flesh, and she’d come to suspect that making love only allowed him to take necessary mental-health breaks from his true passion.
He took what women willingly offered, but he didn’t chase after them the way he did his mysteries. That had been a hard lesson to learn.
She had spent a few years thinking about everything that had happened to her in that relationship, trying to figure out what she’d done wrong. As she’d come to realize, she hadn’t done anything wrong. If anything, she knew she should take solace and pride in the fact that their relationship had lasted through most of the two years they had spent together at the university.
According to Lev, no one else had ever occupied so much of Lourds’s life.
‘You’re quiet.’ Lourds glanced up at her.