“This is the one,” he stated. He pushed the metal button that freed the catch inside the drawer and pulled it out.
The file was full of old folders and faded papers. Fortunately, the people who maintained the archives were extremely organized. Each folder had dates and subjects listed. He ran his fingers along the files until he got midway through and found what he was looking for.
“Here it is. The sales records for the auction house Graupe worked for.”
“I thought you weren’t sure where it was,” Allyson sounded skeptical.
Koenig shrugged. “I guess they didn’t move it around after all.”
He pulled out the file and carried it over to a table with Allyson in tow right behind him. His fingers pressed the folder out onto the table, and Koenig began flipping through the pages until he found a date he recognized. He tapped the old paper with his index finger.
“See, here’s the date the Rubens was sold, how much was paid, and the seller’s name. But no buyer. This is where I got stuck.”
Allyson looked over his shoulder, careful to keep the gun aimed at his kidneys.
From her vantage point, Adriana couldn’t see what they were looking at. She needed to make a play for the professor. Once this other woman had what she wanted from him, she’d dispose of him. At least that was her assumption.
She backed away from her spot and turned left. Standing upright and keeping her gun close to her side, Adriana crept softly between the tall shelves, two rows over from where Koenig and Allyson were.
“Looks like you weren’t lying after all, Professor,” Allyson said.
Adriana stopped six feet from the end of the aisle. She peeked through a narrow space between a stack of boxes and saw the brunette eyeing the paperwork with a pistol pressed into Koenig’s back.
Allyson took nearly a minute to analyze the record before speaking again. “Why? Why is there no record of the buyer?”
“I already told you,” Koenig pleaded. “Often times, the buyer wanted to remain anonymous. That was probably the case with the Nazi officer who bought this painting.”
Allyson raised the weapon and pressed it to the back of his skull. “Who could have afforded this amount of money for a painting? Hmm? How many?”
“I… I don’t know. Too… too many for me to investigate.” Koenig stammered, clearly terrified for his life. “I’d already spent so much of my life searching for the Rubens. There were probably hundreds of officers with those means. They pillaged everything and gained tremendous wealth as a result.”
“Hundreds? And you just gave up so easily?”
“Look here,” he blabbered, pointing at the bottom of the paper. “See?”
She looked and saw a sentence written in German, like everything else on the paper. “What does that say?”
“It says that his greatest declaration will be in death. It’s a note from the auctioneer. Probably a famous quote.”
“Why would he put that on there?” She pushed the gun and forced his head forward several inches. “What does that mean?”
“I have no idea.” He was near sobbing. “When I first saw it, I believed that Graupe meant he would take the secret of the buyer to the grave with him, that no one would ever know who purchased it.”
Allyson stepped back away from the blubbering man, keeping the weapon trained on his head. “You know what, Professor? I think I actually believe you. Unfortunately, that doesn’t help me.” She lowered the weapon beyond Adriana’s sight. Her hands moved quickly, and then she took aim again, the gun’s barrel elongated with a sound suppressor.
Adriana watched, fully aware of what was about to happen. Allyson was going to execute Koenig. She had to act fast.
Her eyes shot up to the massive shelf, and an idea popped into her head. The shelf looked top heavy. It was a crazy idea, but it might work and was far more preferable to firing her weapon in the confined space. Not to mention that doing so would bring the police to the scene.
She tucked the weapon back into her jeans and put a foot up on the edge of the first shelf, reaching up with one hand and then the other, using the shelving as a ladder.
Allyson was still talking. “Where is Graupe buried, Professor?”
“What?”
“Where is Graupe buried? Don’t make me ask again.”
“Baden-Baden, his home town. That’s where he died. He was laid to rest in the cemetery there. Please, I’m telling you everything I know.” The man who’d sounded so confident in his university lecture not so long ago was coming across as a real coward.
“And you never thought to check out his grave site? Do you think it’s possible that maybe, just maybe, he left a clue where he was buried?”
“I… I guess I never considered that. Please. I’m a researcher, not a detective.”
Allyson clicked her tongue. “That’s too bad. It could have saved your life.”
Adriana’s hand gripped the top shelf and held on tight to the thick metal. Every second she moved, she felt like her feet or hands were making too much noise, but the discussion a few feet away continued without any notice. Giving another quick check behind her, Adriana let her arms out until they were straight and then pulled her body forward, slamming it into the top edge of the shelf.
She’d overestimated the amount of force it would take to send the stack of boxes and files toppling over. The massive piece of furniture teetered and then toppled over, crashing into the next row like a giant domino. Her momentum combined with the sudden movement of the shelving sent Adriana over the top. She managed to keep her weight even as she cleared the crashing tower and landed on the next with a split second to jump clear over to the top of the filing cabinets.
Allyson’s initial response was confusion followed immediately by panic. She instinctively put both hands up to protect herself from the falling boxes and shelves, but her reaction was too slow,and she disappeared under piles of cardboard, paper and metal; buried.
Adriana walked the length of the filing cabinets and hopped down onto the floor next to a shocked Koenig. “Grab the paper, Professor. We have to go.”
He stared at her with wide, disbelieving eyes. If she wasn’t mistaken, she thought a few tears were streaming down his face. Couldn’t have been sweat, the room was kept at a chilly temperature. Koenig remained frozen in place, unable to think or move. Adriana stepped close and grabbed him by the shirt. “Professor Koenig, I’m here to help you, but if you don’t move I’m going to have to leave you here with her. Grab the paper, and let’s go.”
Koenig swallowed and nodded slightly. His eyes never blinked. Mesmerized, he turned around and grabbed the paper. “Should we take the whole file?”
“Not unless you think it will help us find the Rubens.”
“It might.”
“Then grab it to be safe.”
She moved away from him and headed for the door. Koenig gave a last glance down at the destruction and then snatched the file, tucked the paper inside, and folded it. He clutched the folder and hurried after his mysterious savior. She tiptoed over to the far wall and then continued toward the front of the room where the doorway was located. Sensing Koenig was going to say something, Adriana turned around and put her finger to her lips, telling him to keep quiet.
The two moved together down the aisle until they arrived at the end. She motioned for him to stop and wait, knowing what would happen next.
“Hallo?” the familiar voice of the husky desk woman echoed into the room, followed shortly after by footsteps. A few seconds later, she appeared in the doorway. Her chubby face flushed red almost instantly. “What happened here?” she shouted. Saying it in German only made it sound angrier. “Who is in here? Hallo?”