“Alright.”
“First off, David and I were part of a task force that was looking into these murders …”
A short time later, the doctor came in to check Teren. Gerd convinced Alex to move their discussion into the room next door, after the physician said he would talk with them when he was finished.
Alex was tempted to stretch out on the bed, but chose a chair instead. Gerd brought in a chair from Teren’s room, and listened to the rest of Alex’s story of how she and Teren had gotten from Philadelphia, to Zurich, and then on to Munich.
When she finished, she leaned back waiting for a reaction. It wasn’t long in coming.
“Verdammte Scheisse.”
“What was that?”
“Fucking damn mess.”
“Gotcha.”
Gerd stood up and began pacing. Alex sat, thinking about Teren, and home, and wondering how David was doing.
The doctor came in a moment later.
“Agent Reis?”
“Yes? How is she?”
“Agent Mylos is going to be fine. She’s gonna have one hell of a headache, but all neurological functions seem normal, and there doesn’t appear to be any swelling in the brain. When I woke her, she was alert and responsive. I want to keep her here for a little while longer, watch her reactions for another day or so. But I don’t see any problems.”
“That’s great news, Doc. Thanks.”
“No problem.” He chuckled. “She was alert enough to tell me I should check your arm — something about stitches that might need to come out?”
Rolling her sleeve up, Alex blushed. In all the turmoil, she’d forgotten her own small injury.
“What stitches?” asked Gerd.
“These,” she replied, pointing to the white bandage wrapped around her upper forearm.
“What happened?”
“Bullet grazed me in the Philadelphia fight. Not a big deal.” The doctor pulled over Gerd’s chair and sat down to examine her arm.
He looked at her, raising an eyebrow. “Who put these in?”
“Teren. We couldn’t stay at the hospital, so she grabbed a couple suture kits and stitched me up in a hotel bathroom.”
“What did she use for anesthetic?”
“She didn’t .” Alex shrugged. “I had a glass of wine, but that’s all.”
Gerd raised an eyebrow at that.
“Well, she did a very good job. I think we should leave them in one more day, but it looks like the wound is healing well. Has there been any swelling, or tenderness?”
“It was swollen the day after, but it went away. If I forget, and knock it against something, it hurts.”
“Normal, on both counts,” he nodded. “I’m hoping to be able to release Agent Mylos tomorrow. Before I do, remind me, and I’ll remove the stitches.”
“Great.” She eased the bandage back over it. “I appreciate your help, Doc.”
He smiled. “That’s nice to hear — unusual, though. Normally, I just patch them up, with no thanks. Then they go out and mess up my work.”
“Hey,” Gerd said, “that’s not true.”
The doctor glanced at him. “Which part?”
“We do say thanks.”
Alex chuckled, and the doctor grinned. He gave them a little wave, and left.
“You do that very well,” Gerd said.
“What?”
“Put people at ease, and make them smile.” He proved it with a grin. “No wonder you and Teren make such a good team. You’re the ultimate — how do the Americans put it? — good cop, bad cop.”
She just shook her head.
“So, Alex, don’t you think you should get a nap, and maybe a shower? Teren’s going to be asleep most of the day.”
“I don’t know that I want to leave her, yet.”
Gerd sat back down, and took her hand. “She’s fine, Alex. You heard what the doctor said.”
“Yeah, but — “
“No, no arguing. Teren’s fine, and if she thinks I’m not taking care of you, she’ll rip my balls off.” That got Alex to laugh. “So, we’re agreed? Good.” He waved an arm at her. “Come on, I’ll walk you back over to the house.”
“Let me stop in and see Teren once more.”
He tilted his head, considering. “Alright. But just for a moment.”
She nodded.
Teren was still partially awake, and when she saw Alex, she smiled.
“Hey.”
“Hey, you. How’re you feelin’?”
“Like I got shot in the head.”
“Wonder why.” Alex brushed the bangs off Teren’s forehead. “Listen, you gonna be okay if I go take a nap? Gerd here is worried.”
“Gerd’s here?”
The blonde German stepped closer to the bed, where Teren could see him. “Hello.”
“I’m sorry, Gerd.”
“For what?”
“I thought —”
Gerd held up his hand. “No. After what happened with Perry, and what I told you in that office, I’m not surprised you didn’t trust me.” He shrugged and put his hands in his pockets. “I’m just glad I was able to help.” He smiled at her, and stepped back.
Alex leaned in. “He thinks if he doesn’t take care of me, you’ll rip off his testicles.”
“I will,” Teren deadpanned.
Alex laughed, and dropped a kiss on one pale cheek.“I’ll see you later this afternoon, okay?”
“Yeah. Get some rest.”
“You, too.”
Alex waited until Teren closed her eyes, and her breathing became deep, and steady. Then she kissed her cheek once more, and whispered into a soft ear.
“Love you, Teren. Sleep well.”
Gerd was waiting for her at the door, and she smiled at him, glancing back once before leaving.
Chapter Thirty-three
Gerd knocked gently on the door to Alex’s suite of rooms in the safe house. He wasn’t expecting her to answer very quickly, but to his surprise, the door opened after only a moment or two.
“Hi, Gerd, come on in.”
“Alex. I’m surprised to see you up and about already. I spoke to Teren and she said you were a heavy sleeper and hard to wake up.” He sat down on the couch in the small living room. “How long have you been awake?”
“Uh, not long,” she lied. The truth was she’d only slept for a few hours. Those dreams that never made an appearance when Teren was there, had plagued Alex as she tried to sleep. She finally gave up, and decided to concentrate on something else instead.
There were papers spread out on the coffee table, some with little notes attached to them. Gerd couldn’t read them all, but he did notice that several were in German.
“What are these?”
“Papers. Jurgen grabbed them from Eisenbein’s briefcase, and hid them. He gave them to Teren and me before we left.”
“Anything interesting?”
Alex nodded. “Some. There are some letters from someone in Washington to Eisenbein. Most of them are in German, but they’re signed by the mysterious C.J.”
“Ah ha.” Scooting closer, he eyed the different piles. “What else do we have?”
“Bank deposit slips, I think.” She handed Gerd a short stack of small pieces of paper.
“Yes. Deposits, and a few cash withdrawals. But they’re all on German banks.”
“I realized that. Then I found this,” she said as she handed him another sheet of paper. “I can’t read it, but it’s from the bank in Zurich, and mentions some groups of interest to this case. Care to tell me what it says?”
Gerd glanced at it. “It’s a report concerning withdrawals made by Stephen Radcliffe. It looks like an official reply to a query of some kind.”
“Really. Does it say what type of withdrawals? Were they for cash, or by check?”
“Check. Made out to different organizations, all American charities. It appears that the same amount was going to every organizaton every two months.”
“And the organizations were?”
“It says here, Christians Unite, Religious Families Association, and the Christian Men’s Front.” He put the letter down and stared at her. “Those are the groups whose leaders are somehow connected to your murders.”
“Right. So, I now have one small piece of evidence connecting them to the money. Radcliffe knew the money was illegally obtained, and he spread it out among these groups, funneling it into right wing organizations. Funny, in all the records I’ve seen on these groups, there was nothing noting such large donations from one individual.”