A World Without Secrets (41 page)

"I'm glad to hear that. I'll let you go for now. Be well, my friend and have a safe trip home."

Well, the museum director was happy. I knew the police captain in Spain would be really upset when he learned, if he hadn't already gotten the news. I wondered how Schaake felt. I found out sooner than I expected when he showed up at my hotel suite an hour later. I invited him to come in and sit down.

"Congratulations, James. The artwork was exactly where you said it would be. But
how
did you know?"

"Do you need to know that for your case, Chief Inspector?"

"No, thanks to you our case is solid. One of the arrested suspects has a scar on his left wrist. We took a swab of his saliva and then told him his DNA matched the DNA of blood found at the scene of the crime, proving that he had participated in the commission of the robbery. He agreed to plead guilty and testify against his companions in exchange for some mitigation of the charges against him. The leader of the group, who hasn't been apprehended yet, is also being charged with two counts of attempted murder. The one who confessed said it was the ringleader's decision to hire the assassins despite intense protests from everyone else."

"So who is the other one that hasn't been apprehended?"

When he told me the name, I knew it was the one who had driven the getaway van. He was the one who carried the Uzi the night of the robbery.
Great
, I thought,
why couldn't the missing accomplice be the Dekker kid who had supplied the plans for the burglar alarm?

I hoped the suspects still on the loose were more concerned with freedom than looking for revenge. After Schaake left and I knew it was safe to use the gizmo in my suite, I'd find out where they were.

"You're not going to tell me, are you?"

"Tell you what?"

"How you solved this case."

"If I said I solved it through brilliant analysis and exceptional powers of deduction, would you believe me?"

"I think not."

"Then I think I will not tell you."

Schaake glared at me, then stood up. I took that as my cue to stand also so I could accompany him to the door.

"Goodbye Special Agent James. Have a safe flight home."

"Thank you, Chief Inspector. I hope you catch the two remaining fugitives soon so you can put all this unpleasant business behind you."

He glared at me again, then opened the door and walked out. I knew we would never be on good terms. I was a foreigner who had come to his country and made him and his department look bad by solving a case they couldn't. That sort of thing didn't win you many friends.

I was again debating what to do about Kathy when Kurt Locher called a couple of hours later.

"Colt, you came through for us. I'm delighted to report that all of the artwork has been authenticated."

"That's great, Kurt. I spoke to Gunter this morning."

"Well, here's one thing he couldn't tell you. The promised recovery fee has been deposited into a Swiss bank account in your name. A special courier will be delivering the papers to you soon."

"Thanks, Kurt. It's been a pleasure knowing you and doing business with you."

"It was a lucky day for us when you agreed to come to Amsterdam. Will you be returning home now?"

"Soon."

"Well, have a safe trip."

"Thanks, Kurt. Good-bye."

The line went dead without a further word. At least with Kurt, hanging up was his usual way of signing off.

When I went to bed around midnight, Kathy still hadn't called. People always said it was up to the man to make the first move after a fight between lovers, but dammit, it hadn't been a fight. She had simply hung up on me because I wouldn't agree to immediately quit the lucrative lifestyle I was hoping would buy her a nice home. Was I wrong to feel wronged? Maybe, but she shouldn't have hung up on me. We should have talked about it. But if she wouldn't talk to me, there was nothing I could do.

I was still feeling pretty low in the morning, so I decided to go see Mia. But before I left, I performed an electronic sweep of the suite. I was surprised when it came up clean. I thought the sensor purchased from Watson might be on the fritz, so I tested it using one of the bugs removed from my belts. The sensor beeped as it should, so I put the bug back into the metal case that rendered it ineffective, reset the sensitivity level, and swept the suite again. Nothing. I was astounded. I had been afraid to use the gizmo all this time, and there had been nothing to worry about. Of course, they could have removed everything while I was in London.

Believing the suite to be safe, I decided to use the gizmo. But just in case there were bugs the sensor wasn't seeing, I decided to do it in the bathroom with the door closed.

As I sat on the throne, I placed the gizmo against the wall and changed the coordinates from my present location to the NH Barbizon Palace by following the streets. I could have used my computer to learn the GPS coordinates, but I figured this way was just as fast because I was less than a kilometer away.

When I reached the hotel, I moved the event-window to the right level and passed through the outside wall. In seconds I was in the hallway outside Mia's suite where a bored security man was standing. I'd once told Billy I'd never used the gizmo to look at women's naked bodies, but this was different. I had already seen Mia naked in person.

As I passed through the walls and into her bedroom, I saw her naked form on the bed. She appeared to be sleeping. She looked so beautiful and peaceful lying there that I knew I had to hurry over to her hotel. If I got there before she went out, we might be able to play around a little this morning.

Then my jaw dropped. A man had come out the bathroom. He was also naked. He climbed onto the bed and kissed Mia lightly on her left arm. My Mia. She awoke, smiled, then wrapped her arms around him and kissed him as she had always kissed me. I was shattered. I double-checked the date on the gizmo just to make sure I was looking at the present and not a previous sexual encounter. It was confirmed. I was seeing a live view of her bedroom as it was at that moment in time.

There was an old saying about eavesdropping that sooner or later you'd hear something that made you wish you hadn't eavesdropped. The gizmo gave me images instead of sounds, but I had just seen something that made me regret eavesdropping on Mia. Knowledge of her affair with another man just several days after professing her undying love to me made me believe I couldn't trust anything she had said.

I forgot all about searching for the two robbery suspects and put the gizmo away, then showered, shaved, dressed, and went out. But I didn't go to Mia's hotel. Instead I just walked. And walked and walked and walked. I felt lost. Not because I didn't know where I was, but because in two days' time I had lost the only two women I'd ever really loved. One shut me out of her life, and the other couldn't wait to jump into bed with another man while I was busy at work.

I decided I was ready to leave Amsterdam. Not only Amsterdam, I was ready to leave Europe. I used my cell phone to make plane reservations for a KLM flight to New York City. I still had to pack and wrap up a few things, so I booked a flight for the next day. Then I found a florist and purchased flowers to be delivered to Mia the next afternoon. I wrote a short message on the card explaining that I had to go home right away. I told her I would treasure our time together forever and wished her a wonderful stay in Amsterdam.

It was still early in the afternoon, so I wandered around for a while, stopping into a few small shops here and there, examining new and used trinkets of every sort. Shopping in secondhand stores was a habit I'd picked up when I was broke. And even though I had the money now to buy whatever I wanted, I still enjoyed doing it. I never knew what small treasures I'd find. The junkman in Sacramento would certainly know what I meant. My last stop was to a combination secondhand store and fix-it shop. While I'd been playing Santa Claus to the drunks of Amsterdam, I'd spotted an old beer stein in the window, so I'd gone inside to browse around the shop and inquire about the mug. I learned it had a chip missing on the top edge, but the proprietor said he could fix it so no one would ever know it had been damaged. I knew Billy would love it, so I'd paid the owner for the stein and a few other small items and told him I'd pick them up before I left Amsterdam to return to the States.

My chores complete, I headed back to the Pulitzer. My flight was an early one, so I prepared as much as I could. I wasn't hungry, so I just sat on the couch thinking about everything that had happened since I'd found the gizmo. I was trying to determine if I was better off or worse. If I hadn't found the device, I would probably either be flipping burgers for minimum wage by now or perhaps driving a cab. I probably never would have gotten together with Kathy. I would never have had the experiences of my time at Quantico and working for the FBI. I would not have bank accounts containing millions of dollars, probably would never have visited Europe, and definitely would never have met Mia. Despite the terrible way it ended, knowing Mia had been a wonderful experience and one I would cherish for as long as I lived. Also, I probably wouldn't have been shot, but living in a big city I could never be sure about that.

When I added up all the pluses and deducted the minuses, there was no question about it. My life was infinitely better than it had been before the gizmo. I would still love to know where it had come from, but that didn't really matter in the grand scheme of things. The emails had even stopped appearing in my computer, so I guess whoever was watching me knew I would never, ever, give it up or destroy it. I knew Billy would never say anything about it, but I didn't know about Morris. I really regretted showing him the gizmo, and I knew it was too dangerous to investigate its source further than I already had.

I went to bed confident that, given the choice, I would never return to my former life. I also knew I would fight to the death to retain possession of the gizmo.

The Amsterdam airport was crowded and the lines were long. When I reached the security checkpoint, I held out my FBI ID and my Netherlands firearms license. After a quick check of my credentials, I was passed through. The guards ignored the beep caused by my two weapons.

The flight out on KLM departed at twelve-fifty, so I had plenty of time to kill before the eight hour, forty minute flight departed for Newark Airport. I picked up a couple of English language newspapers and settled in to wait at the gate area. The minutes seemed to drag by but finally the plane boarded.

When everyone was seated, all luggage had been properly stowed, and seat backs and tray tables were in their upright and locked positions, the plane departed. I looked at my watch and realized that Mia should be getting the flowers I had sent in a couple of hours. I wondered what her reaction would be. I wondered if I dared watch on the gizmo later. If she was sad, would I regret my decision to leave without saying goodbye in person? Or if she merely grinned and tossed the note in the wastebasket, would I be further heartbroken? I decided I was spending too much time dwelling on my two failed love affairs and needed to think about something else. But I just couldn't get Kathy and Mia out of my head.

The plane arrived in Jersey a few minutes early. After deplaning, I picked up my luggage and headed for the customs area. But before I got there I spotted Special Agents Osborne and Snow.

"Sherlock finally returns," Osborne said as I neared them.

"Hi, guys. Sobert got you working the purse-snatching detail again?"

Snow frowned. I'd learned early on that he did that a lot. I guess it was his way of not saying things he might later regret, so he said very little.

"Somebody's got to keep the world safe from little old ladies," Osborne said.

I had been all wrong about Osborne initially. When we first met, I'd thought he didn't have a sense of humor. I suppose it was just his professional demeanor overriding his true personality. Once I'd become part of the team, he'd let me see the real person.

"Watch out for the ones with attitude. They can be mean."

"I let Snow handle
them
. One good glare and they're running for the exits."

Snow frowned even more.

"ADIC Sobert sent us to pick you up," Osborne said.

"Hey, that was real nice of him to have you come to give me a ride home."

"He wants to see you at headquarters."

"Headquarters? Why? Does he have a cold case that's giving him frostbite?"

"He didn't say. He just said to go get you."

I hadn't talked to Sobert since I'd been recruited. Brigman was my only real contact, other than the three people whose names I still didn't know. Osborne led the way to the customs counter where a customs official passed us through without checking my bags.

I quickly learned that Osborne's driving hadn't improved any since I'd been recruited. He still drove like a NYC cab driver who'd just had a fight with his wife.

When we reached Sobert's office, we were told to go right in. Sobert was alone.

"Sit down, James."

Osborne and Snow weren't invited to sit, so they stood behind me.

"You recently visited a testing laboratory in Paramus. Why?"

"Paramus? You must be talking about the place where Morris Calloway works. I stopped in to see him a couple of months ago."

"For what reason?"

"What's this about?"

"Why did you visit Calloway?"

"I was doing research for a book. I'd worked with him previously, and I thought he might be able to help me out. It was personal business."

"You signed the visitor's log as being on FBI business."

"No, sir. In the column marked 'Company,' I wrote FBI because the Bureau is my only employer."

Sobert breathed deeply and then let it out slowly. "Your friend is dead."

"What? Morris dead? How? When?"

"His body was found by fishermen in the Hackensack River. It had been weighted down to sink, but the rope apparently broke after a couple of weeks. The police don't have official data yet from the medical examiner, but it appears he was beaten to death. They only know he failed to report to work a few days after you left for Europe. The New Jersey State Police contacted us as part of their homicide investigation to learn why you had visited him. They thought it might have a bearing on their case."