Emerald (27 page)

“What happened? Did the killer leave SS marks?”

The nurse noted the coat over her pajamas and her unkempt appearance. She asked Miriam what she knew about slashes. Miriam sobbed, “That son of a bitch killed him, and I’m going to kill that bastard.” The guard asked Miriam what she knew about the slash marks, but Miriam just kept calling “that bastard” even worse names. One of them left and found Dr. Yang.

“May I have your name?” Dr. Yang asked as he rushed into the room.

“Never mind that. Let me out of here so I can go kill that bastard!”

“I must have your name.”

“Miriam Wagner!”

“Miss Wagner, who are you referring to? Who are you going to kill?”

“That fucker Hans!”

“Hans who?”

“Go to hell, doctor, let me go! You can’t keep me here!”

“No! What is his last name?”

Suddenly she asked, “What did you do with David’s body?”

“David who?”

“The man that bastard killed! David Bernstein.”

“David Bernstein was not killed, Miss. He was discharged about six hours ago and the hospital van took him to the airport, where I’m told he left for Tel Aviv.”

“David’s not dead?” she said looking up with swollen, red eyes pleadingly into Dr. Yang’s eyes, “Tel Aviv?”

“No Miss, he’s certainly not dead, but he’ll need plenty of rehabilitation and rest, but someday he’ll be fine.”

Miriam began sobbing uncontrollably. Yang gave her something to calm her nerves and instructed the nurse to take her to the nurses’ lounge. In about thirty minutes, Chief Beinschmidt walked into the lounge and sat down beside her. He told her that everything would be all right and he wanted to know why she had really come to the hospital. Miriam told him that she had seen the news bulletin on TV and she thought Hans had killed David. The Chief told her “No, evidently Hans had killed a man from Hong Kong by the name of Tam Stratton. Did she know this Mr. Stratton? Miriam told him no, she had never heard of the man. Bruno seemed puzzled, but left after saying that he would keep in touch and let her know if he found out anything else about the shooting.

Just as the Chief was leaving, Simon came into the lounge and said that Levi had sent him to drive Miriam back to the safe house. When they arrived, he asked if she wanted him to come in, but she refused, saying she needed to sleep, and would call him later.

Miriam immediately got on the telephone to Levi and asked how David was doing. She asked him to have David call her. She received a reply: David’s plane had not arrived in Tel Aviv yet, but when he had talked to Levi from the Munich airport, he had said, and these were David’s words, not his, please do not tell Miriam anything about me again! We are through!

A
t exactly ten in the morning, shortly after Hans got in his car to head downtown, his cell phone rang. When he answered, no account number came from the voice on the other end as he expected. Exasperated he waited nervously for thirty seconds before a man’s deep voice spoke, in German, saying only two words, “You’re next”. Hans banged the steering wheel and rolled his eyes. The phone went dead.

Hans looked all around him to see if someone nearby was using a pay phone. Adrenalin rushed through his body, he started his car and drove to a secluded area near the park and stopped to calm down and to figure out who the voice belonged. Suddenly his phone rang again. When he picked it up, the same voice said, “Do we understand each other?”

“Who is this?” Hans asked, trying to stay calm.

“You are becoming a liability, Mr. Dagger. When you took out people we did not assign to you, we consider you working for someone else. That will not work in our organization. Do you understand?”

“I’m not sure what you mean,” Hans wavered.

“If you repeat that kind of action, you are next on our list. We consider you a loose cannon after those three recent incidents and doubt our ability to depend on you. If you cannot follow the organization’s orders, then we’ll end our relationship. Now, what do you have to say for yourself, Mr. Dagger?”

“I will follow orders. That won’t be a problem again.”

“We now have your voice on tape attesting to that fact and to remind us in the future whether or not you break your word. No one in this organization lives if they break their word. Consider this conversation the last of its kind that you will have with us, and do as you’re told, if you want to live. Goodbye, Mr. Dagger.”

The phone went dead and Hans realized he was in jeopardy or at least under their control now and he did not like to be under the control of anyone. Did they know who he was or where he lived? If they knew that, then his life was indeed compromised. He started the car again and continued driving cautiously through the park area to settle his thoughts and deal with this unexpected threat.

The call and its turn of events confounded his already stressful situation because he needed to find out about the emerald being back in Geneva.
Would it be at the bank? At Christie’s? Could he still get it? I guess I will have to ask for Emily’s help again
.

Picking up his cell phone he dialed a number he had hoped he wouldn’t have to use again.

“Oh Klaus, how good to hear your voice! How are you doing?”

“I’m feeling better, sweet Emily…and you?”

“The same. I’ve been thinking about the Riviera. I’m looking forward to being with you, Klaus.”

“Yes, me too, Emily. Can you do me another favor?”

“Of course, Klaus.”

“The Whittelsbach Emerald. It was sent back to Geneva. Do you know anything about it?”

“Yes, it was brought back to Christie’s yesterday. We put the emerald back in the bank. We were told that Mr. Stratton died…or was killed. Isn’t it awful, Klaus? The bank will instigate an investigation to find out if he has any heirs so they can pass the Emerald on to them. If no heirs are found, it will go back to auction, but probably not until the bank finishes their search. That is the official procedure. Do you want me to keep you informed of their progress and get you an invitation when that auction will occur?”

“Yes. Thank you, Emily. I would appreciate that very much. Goodbye.”

“Will I see you soon, Klaus?”

“Soon, my little cherub, as soon as I am finished with some important business in Munich.”

Hans hung up, frowned, and swore loudly.

Miriam finally got out of bed and took a bath. She began to feel better soaking in the hot, cleansing water covering her body as she lay in the tub. Afterwards she did her hair. It took her mind off David. Simon called and told her she needed to get her things out of the safe house because the sayanim were returning. He had booked her a hotel room that The Office would pay for. He’d be over in a few minutes to help her move, but she didn’t have to be out of the house until later in the day. David’s things were still here too, but she knew he would not be back to get them now. She packed his bag after her own - - - finishing just as Simon knocked at the door.

“Don’t worry about all your things as well as David’s. I will see that yours are moved to your hotel room and I’ll pack up David’s and send them off to Levi. I brought your car back from the hospital and it is in the hotel parking garage.” She thanked Simon and told him she would call him the next morning and they could make plans.

After she had hung up her clothes in the hotel room closet, picked at a room-service dinner, she wandered into the bathroom and looked at her refection in the mirror. She began to cry.
My hair still looks like hell and so do I
, she thought. Throwing the brush across the room, she took off her clothes, put on fresh blue silk pajamas, climbed into bed, and unplugged the telephone. The hotel bed was much more comfortable than the one in the safe house. It was a bed she had never slept in with David - - - it almost gave her a sense of starting over. But, in her heart she knew the new bed emphasized her loneliness and solitude. It was just a more comfortable place to grieve. She planned to stay there as long as it took.

She refused to answer Simon’s insistent knocking or to respond to the notes he slid under the hotel room door. Several days later, still wearing the same blue pajamas she arose and sat on the side of the bed and looked around the large, plainly furnished, hotel room. Everything was still as it was on the day she had walked into the room except for the messy bed and the room service dishes stacked on the coffee table and spilling over on the floor. She got up and tried a bowel of soup room service had left outside her door sometime that day. It was cold, and after a couple of spoonfuls turned on the television still sipping the tepid soup. Watching for a while, she got disgusted with the stupidity of the program and shut it off. She got up, drank a glass of water, then it was back to bed.

She continued this routine for another day. Finally she got the energy to pick up the phone and call Levi. When he answered, he immediately shouted, “Where the hell have you been? Are you finally OK? What do you want? Are you ready to go back to work?” Holding the receiver away from her ear, she listened to his tirade. When he slowed down and was somewhat calmer, she asked him for a transfer but not back to Tel Aviv. She was adamant. She needed a change.

“You want what? Why don’t you just come back to Israel and spend some time at your brother’s kibbutz? It’s near Hebron, isn’t it? Simon is quite concerned about you. He tells me that you have barely come out of that hotel room in almost a week. I am concerned also, Miriam. This isn’t like you!”

“I can’t do that right now, Levi. It’s too close to David, and I don’t want to be that near him anymore. I hope you understand. I am much better now. I have had time to think things out and really would like another assignment. I think that would be the best way to help keep me out of this funk. I’ll see if I can help Simon some here, and perhaps we can sort out some of this Munich situation until you can come up with something else. Now where else can you use me, please?”

Levi reluctantly said that only station that had an opening soon would be Rome. Miriam knew it was the regional headquarters for southern Europe and led by a
katsa
she had met once during her training, a most competent and experienced officer.

“Do you want it?

“Want it? How soon can I leave?

“It won’t be open for about three weeks, and that perhaps will give you and Simon time to sort out the Munich situation. However, listen carefully! It is a two-year position as Communications Director in the Rome Bureau. The position is critical, and the length of commitment a must, so you’d better be sure if you accept the assignment. He added that he wanted her to remain in Munich and help Simon until it was time to leave for Rome. She accepted his condition, thanked him, and hung up the phone. relieved at the possibility of work again, she fell asleep. The reality of her new decision was so hazy; she could not concentrate on it just now.

A month later Hans called Emily again. She told him the bank had checked out Mr. Stratton’s background and evidently, he was not connected to any organization in Hong Kong that he said he represented for the auction. They swore that they never heard of him. The bank was continuing a complete background check on him and they learned that he was a widower and a former art history professor. He had no living relatives. The emerald would be auctioned off again in about six months because their auction schedule was already settled until then.