” Herr Meinhard, Carl Nestor schickt mich.” “Herr Meinhard, Carl Nestor said I should talk to you.”
” Ah. Wie geht es ihm?” “Ah. How is Carl?”
“Als ich ihn vor ein paar Tagen zum letzten Mal gesehen habe, ging es ihm gut.” “Good. I saw him just a few days ago.”
“Ist er immer noch so durr wie eine Bohnenstange?” “Is he still as thin as a beanpole?”
Teren chuckled. ” Wir wissen beide, da? Carl noch nie schlank war. Er ist so mollig wie immer.” Teren chuckled. “You and I both know that Carl was never thin. He’s still as round as ever.”
Herr Meinhard laughed. “Gut. Wie kann ich Ihnen helfen, Frau Olind?” Herr Meinhard laughed. “Good. Now, how can I help you, Ms. Olind?”
” Ich mu? unbedingt noch heute abend mit Ihnen reden. Es ist wichtig. Kommen Sie doch mit uns zum Essen.” “I need to meet with you this evening. It’s important. Join us for dinner.”
” Wohin?” “Where?”
“Suchen Sie ein Restaurant aus. Eins mit viel Publikumsverkehr und gutem Essen.” “You choose. Just make it fairly public, and with good food.”
“Zunfthaus zur Krone?” “Zunfthaus zur Krone?”
” Das hort sich gut an.” “Fine.”
“Um welche Zeit?” “Time?”
“Sieben Uhr. Reservieren Sie fur drei Personen unter Ihrem Namen.” “Seven o’clock. Make the reservation for three people, and put it under your name.”
” Drei? Ich nehme an, sie bringen noch jemanden mit?” “Three? I take it you’re bringing a partner with you?”
Teren hesitated a moment, biting her lip. “Ja.” Teren hesitated a moment, biting her lip. “Yes, I am.”
“Gut. Konnen Sie andeuten, um was es sich handelt?” “Fine. May I ask just a hint of what this is about?”
“Heute abend, Herr Meinhard.” “Tonight, Herr Meinhard.”
“Naturlich. Ich sehe Sie dann um sieben.” “Of course. I will see you at seven.”
“Bis dann.” “Good.”
She hung up and turned to Alex who was still patiently waiting.
“After the gallery , we have a dinner date at seven.”
“Semi-formal for both?”
“Yeah. You should wear those heels we bought you.”
“Why aren’t the flats good enough? I wear them to the office.”
“Yes, and they scream ‘police’ whenever you put them on.”
“So, you’d rather have me in stilts?”
Teren grinned. “I would think you’d like wearing heels, Alex. After all, with your hei—”
“Don’t —” Alex interrupted, “say it. Just don’t even go there.” She turned to go change, but stopped and looked back. “Teren?”
“Yes?”
“You remember we once discussed kickboxing?”
“Uh-huh.”
“If you don’t stop playing with that pen, we’re going to have a match right now.”
Teren looked at her hand, where she had continued clicking the pen’s button. She stopped, and tossed the pen on the coffee table.
“Thank you.” Alex winked at her and left the room.
Teren grinned to herself. “I know what it means if she winks, but are threats good or bad?” She chuckled, and headed for her own bedroom.
*******************************************************
The gallery was actually three businesses in one. The ground floor of the building was an antique shop, which appeared to specialize in knick-knacks and small statues. The second level was where one could order a copy of a famous work, whether on canvas or in stone. The third floor held the actual art gallery where collectors or artists could put their works on display.
Teren led Alex across to the staircase.
“We’re heading for the reprints area on the second floor. I don’t know if the guy speaks English or not — it’s an international business though, so he might.”
“Sure you want me along for this? If he doesn’t speak English I’m not going to be able to contribute much to the conversation.”
Teren put a hand on the railing, and peered back at her companion. “Would you rather not join me for this one?”
Alex’s attention was split between Teren, and the antiques she could see. “I wonder if we could kind of kill two birds at once, you know? You head upstairs, and I’ll check out the first floor.”
“Alex?”
“Yes?” She turned to see Teren grinning.
“Don’t say kill, okay?”
Alex grinned back. “Right. Sorry.”
“What’s so interesting on the first floor?”
“Antiques. You know, kind of like what we found in Colorado, maybe?”
Teren raised her head, and nodded slowly. “Gotcha. Then why don’t you look around, and I’ll meet our friend upstairs.”
“I’ll be here when you’re done.”
Alex watched her friend climb the rest of the stairs. She couldn’t resist staring just a little at Teren’s backside. When she realized what she was doing, Alex blushed and turned away.
She wandered for several minutes among the cases, examining different items. Most were small statuettes, figurines of all kinds. A few had small cards beside them, obviously talking about their history, or listing a price. Alex, however, could read very little of it. Dates and prices were obvious but the rest was gibberish.
There was one case in particular that caught her eye. While most of the figurines in the shop were ceramic, these were mostly silver, and even a few gold. The dates were older than most of the other items as well, dating from the turn of the nineteenth century or earlier. One of them was a silver crucifix, on a circular base.
Alex was certain she’d seen a picture of it on the internet.
She reached out and picked up the statue, examining the figure. The detail was exquisite.
A movement at her elbow startled Alex. She looked up to find an old man with a short beard beside her. He smiled at her, and adjusted his spectacles.
“Wunderschon, nicht wahr?” he said.
“I’m sorry, I don’t speak German,” Alex answered. She placed the statue back on the shelf.
“I am sorry, I did not realize you were American.” The old man extended his hand. “My name is Rolf. I work here in the store.”
“Hi.” Alex took his hand, and was surprised to find hers lifted to his lips. He gently kissed the back of her hand. “I’m Andrea.” She felt proud that she remembered her false name.
“I am very pleased to meet you, Andrea.” Rolf placed the accent on the second syllable of the name. “I asked if you did not find the statue beautiful?”
“Oh, it’s very lovely. I’m glad you speak English, Rolf. I was wondering about it’s history.”
“Our research on the piece is not yet finished, but we belive it was made in Austria in the late eighteen hundreds. If my hunch is right, this piece is from a Vienese sculptor who worked around the eighteen-eighties, and eventually died as a result of the Franco-Prussian war.”
“Really. You know, I thought I’d seen a picture of this piece, but I guess that’s not possible, is it?”
Rolf shrugged. “Of course it is always possible, but I am not sure where you would have seen the picture. The item was locked away in a closet for many, many years.”
“Why? It’s so beautiful, why not display it?”
“I do not know. It came to us by way of a young German lad.”
“Did he say where he’d gotten it from?”
“From his father. It was locked away, along with several other treasures. The boy inherited them all when his father died.” Rolf shook his head. “I could not believe it, he did not even know what he had. He simply wanted money.”
Alex turned fully to look at Rolf. “Did he move here?”
“No, I believe he returned to Munich.”
“I don’t understand; why would he come all the way to Switzerland to sell a piece of art? Seems to me he probably could have gotten just as much money in Germany, without the cost of the travel, don’t you think?”
Rolf glanced around, then leaned forward slightly. “This was not the only piece he sold us. There were others, and some of them are illegal to sell in Germany.”
Alex frowned, and folded her arms. Her voice dropped, as Rolf’s had. “Why would they be illegal?”