Suspicious (On the Run) (11 page)

Dressed in a trench coat, wool scarf, and leather gloves, Harrington trotted down the steps of the hotel and came toward them. Zoe and Jack both ducked, but Harrington continued by them to the pedestrian area.

Jack opened his door. “Let’s go.”

Zoe hopped out, glad to be moving, but as cold as it was inside the car, it was colder outside. The frigid temperature quickly penetrated the lightweight shirt and cardigan. At least she had on jeans. The pedestrian area wasn’t crowded so it wasn’t hard to keep Harrington in sight, but that also meant they had to stay back at least half a block.

They trailed him along the cobblestoned street, passing beer gardens shut up against the morning sun and clothing stores just opening for the day. Harrington crossed the street and went into a bakery. He ordered at the counter, then sat near the window, sipping his coffee and eating a pastry.

“Coffee. I am so jealous,” Zoe said, watching from across the street as she shifted from one foot to the other. “Even if we’re only going to be here a day, we have to get some more clothes,” Zoe said, scanning the street. “My fingernails are turning a pale blue, and we’re drawing attention.” A passerby wearing a wool coat gave them a long, curious look. “There’s a boutique a few doors down. I’ll see if they have anything we can afford,” Zoe said.

“Good idea. I’ll stay on Harrington. Looks like there is another bakery at that end of the street. Why don’t you get us some more coffee and something to eat?”

“Already part of my plan.” Zoe scurried away.

Zoe pushed into the boutique and relished the toasty warmth. She went directly to a rack of winter coats and nearly passed out when she checked the price tags. As she browsed the rest of the store, she did some quick mental math, totaling up what they’d spent on gas and tolls on the way north and mentally subtracted that amount from the total cash they’d brought with them because they’d need at least that amount to get back to Rome. There was no way she and Jack were restocking their wardrobe, at least not at this store. She bought coffee and two pastries, and caught up with Jack as he came out of the bakery where Harrington had been.

She handed Jack his coffee as he scanned the street. “There he is, not too far ahead of us. Looks like he’s going back to the hotel.”

Now that she had a free hand, Zoe delved into the bag and brought out the pastries, glazed swirls of berries and poppy seeds nestled inside a donut-like bread. They ate as they walked, shadowing Harrington from several yards away.

“He didn’t meet anyone?”

“No. Before he left, he went back to the counter, unfolded a map, and asked some questions. I went in after he left, and said the white-haired man had left a cell phone on the table, and did they know where he went?”

“Smart.”

Jack ate the last two bites of the pastry and sighed. “You can always count on the Germans to throw everything they can into a pastry.” He crumpled the bag. “They said he asked directions to the Zugspitze cable car and its opening time.”

“He’s going to the top of the mountain?” She looked at the highest peak in the distance.

“Afraid so.”

“We’re going to freeze to death”

“No joy on the winter clothes?”

Zoe licked the last of the glaze from her fingers. “Only if we can both fit into one coat, and even then, the price is outrageous.”

“It is a boutique in a mountain resort town.”

“I know. Like I said, we’re going to get frostbite, especially if we’re going to the peak. You know it will be colder up there.”

“True, but Harrington also asked about places to have lunch on the mountain, so we may have a few hours before he heads out. We may be able to find something cheaper.”

“I don’t know. Like you said, resort town. If this were a movie, there would be a street fair or street vendors, and we could just shoplift warmer clothes. Or someone would conveniently leave their coat on the back of their chair, and we could walk by quickly and take it with no one noticing.”

“Yeah, well. We’d need
two
coats, and I don’t think even one person will be leaving their coat lying around unattended in zero-degree weather,” Jack said.

They cautiously turned the corner at the edge of the pedestrian zone and checked the Hotel Bavaria Alpina. Harrington strolled up the steps and disappeared inside. Zoe tossed their trash and glanced around. “Okay, ready for some hit and run shopping?”

“Let’s ask a question or two first. You keep an eye on the hotel.” Jack disappeared into an apotheke. He emerged from the drug store within seconds, a smile on his face. “There’s a second-hand clothing and sports equipment resale shop two blocks over.”

“You’re a genius.”

“Glad you think so. See what you can find. I’ll stay on the hotel.” He told her where the shop was located. “Be fast. And no lederhosen for me,” he called after her.

“No promises. You’ll have to take whatever is in stock,” she tossed over her shoulder as she jogged up the street and around the corner.

She found the second hand shop easily and was relieved when she checked a few price tags. The racks were stuffed with everything from high-end designer clothes to casual everyday clothes. One section was filled with used ski clothes and another held an assortment of the traditional Bavarian costumes for men and women. Zoe passed the traditional dress with a smile, thinking of Jack’s reaction if she brought him the embroidered leather shorts that Bavarians wore with knee socks. Zoe quickly found an insulated ski jacket in powder blue for herself and picked a men’s jacket in gray for Jack. Then she added two pairs of thick wool socks as well as a pair of snow boots with a red slash through the price tag. Thank goodness Jack had brought a pair of leather driving shoes, so she only needed one pair of shoes.

Now, they just needed hats and gloves, and they’d be set. The only gloves in the shop were insulated waterproof ski gloves, and the price made Zoe’s eyebrows shoot up. Living in Dallas, she didn’t have much need for gloves so she didn’t know their typical price range, but fifty euro and up was beyond her budget. They’d just have to keep their hands in their pockets. She quickly sorted through the knit ski hats and picked the two most understated, which wasn’t saying much. One was a key pattern in green, yellow, and pink and the other was a black and white snowflake pattern with braided tassels dangling from earflaps.

She put everything on the counter in front of a happy sales clerk, a young woman wearing a dirndl, the traditional Bavarian costume for women with the full skirt covered with an apron, a laced bodice, and a white shirt with puffy sleeves.

Zoe had enough money for everything but the hats. She reached to put them back, but the sales girl smiled and said something in rapid German that Zoe couldn’t begin to decipher. The girl put the hats firmly in the bag and handed it to Zoe with the receipt.

“Vielen dank,” Zoe said, meaning each word deeply and hurried out of the shop. Jack had the car running. He must have been watching for her because as soon as she came into sight, he pulled out of the parking lot and stopped the car by her on the sidewalk.

She slid into the car and slammed the door. “Jackpot.”

“Perfect timing. Harrington just left. He’s about a block ahead of us in that white Jetta.”

“Do you think he’s going to the Zugspitze?”

“Maybe. If he stays on this road, he could be.” They were cruising through the town, backtracking on the same road they’d arrived on.

“Well, if he does go to the peak, we’re prepared.” She handed the knit hat with the tassels to Jack. He shot her an incredulous look.

“Hey, it’s warm, and you’ve got the understated one.” Zoe pulled out the bright, multicolored hat and ripped off the price tag before working it down over her ears.

“Well, at least yours matches the car,” Jack said.

Zoe rolled her eyes. “You should be glad. I could have brought you leather shorts and one of those fedora-like Bavarian hats with a feather. I didn’t think you’d want that.”

Jack grinned. “Only if you’re wearing a dirndl.”

“Not likely, at least at these temperatures. Bavarians are hearty—shorts for the men and dresses with low necklines for the women and no boots. Oh, he’s signaling.”

They followed the car, making the turn onto a road that wound through several villages. Jack hung back, barely keeping the white car in sight. Zoe spent the drive working her feet into the wool socks and boots then she removed the tags from both jackets and shrugged into hers just as they followed the white car into a parking lot for the cable car lift. “Guess we are going up.” Jack parked a few rows away from the Jetta. He donned his hat and jacket as they shadowed Harrington, who bought a ticket for the cable car.

They lingered until Harrington moved away then purchased their own tickets and went to wait on the platform for the cable car with several people between themselves and Harrington. “Maybe we should wait for the next cable car,” Zoe said in an undertone.

“No. We can’t risk losing him.” Jack tapped the brochure’s map that they’d been given with their tickets. “It’s thirty minutes until the next cable car departs for the top. Once he’s at the peak, there’s a second cable car up there that he could take to another area. Looks like this car will be packed. Whatever side he goes on, we’ll take the other. We should be okay as long as you keep your hair under that hat.”

Zoe tucked a few strands of hair up into her hat. “I’ll keep mine on if you keep yours on.”

Jack glanced over his shoulder, which sent the tassels swishing. One got stuck in his collar, and he batted it away. “I’m buying a pocket knife up there and cutting these things off.”

“I think you look cute.”

Jack’s eyes narrowed. “Next time, I shop and you watch.”

The large cable car slid into place, and they crowded in, moving to the opposite side from Harrington. There had to be at least thirty-five or forty people in the car. Within seconds, the spacious car was packed with people riding up for the view as well as people wearing helmets and carrying skis, poles, and snowboards. “At least it’s so packed we don’t have to worry about Harrington drifting from the front to the back.”

“No, there’s no way anyone could even move a step.”

The doors closed, the car shifted, paused, and then swept away from the platform, and Zoe forgot all about keeping an eye on Harrington. The view was incredible. As they moved up the mountain, a lake rimmed in snow-dusted pine trees came into sight in the distance, its vivid blue water sparkling in the sunlight. Directly below them, evergreen trees, their branches heavy with snow, marched up the side of the mountain. The car swayed and rocked as they passed one of the support towers. Gradually, the trees thinned and the mountains on the horizon dominated the view. Jagged peaks covered in snow spread out as far as they could see.

Jack slipped his arm around Zoe’s waist, and she leaned into him. “Not quite what I expected to see on my Italian vacation, but I love it.”

He dropped a kiss on her lips, and then they looked back at the view. The cables were now running almost completely vertical, pulling them up a sheer rock face layered in snow. No trees, no bushes, no hint of vegetation, broke the white of the snow or the pale gray of the rock. They rocked over another support, this one caked in snow and ice. Zoe swallowed and her ears popped as they went up and up, the other snow-capped mountains dropping away below them. It was a clear day, but Zoe remembered from her guidebook editing that the weather at the top of the mountain was fickle and could change quickly. A layer of clouds hovered in the distance on one side of the mountain, and Zoe wondered if the clouds were moving toward them or away from them.

The car slid into the arrival platform. “That was too short,” Zoe said.

“Nothing like climbing six thousand feet in ten minutes, is there?”

“I want to do it again.”

“Good thing it’s a round trip deal then.” They hung back, letting other people depart first and stepped off after Harrington. They followed him to the observation deck at the top of the building, which was a spacious open-air platform that stretched across the border between Germany and Austria with a beer garden, a souvenir stall, and a stand selling snacks and beer. Rows of picnic tables were filled with people eating, smoking, and sipping huge mugs of beer. A strong wind cut through the thick layers of their clothes. Zoe burrowed her hands deeper into her pockets and surveyed the view. She nodded to the other side of the platform. “See the sign for Tyrol? That’s Austria. Before the EU, you could walk across and get your passport stamped.”

Harrington strolled, admiring the amazing view, and Zoe was a little disappointed he didn’t cross over to Austria, but instead stayed on the German side. They trailed along behind him. The bank of clouds she’d seen on the way up was closing in, but for the moment, the view was clear. The peaks of mountains spread out below them in the distance while up close the area around the viewing platform—the peak of the mountain—was stark and barren. Where patches of snow had been cleared, the ground was pale and rocky. They paused by one of the telescopes as Zoe said, “On one hand, it’s so bleak and inhospitable looking that it makes me think of a moonscape.”

“Or some post-apocalyptic movie set.”

“But it’s beautiful, too. The sky looks so blue against the rock and the wisps of clouds…can you believe they’re trailing along below us? Oh, look, climbers.” Zoe pointed to a tiny trail of specks moving up the side of the mountain. “They’re so far way they look like ants.”

“Just reminds you what an immense setting this is. Time to move on.” He nodded to the snack stand where Harrington stood in line. He bought a sausage and took a seat at one of the picnic tables lined up on the platform.

“Looks like we’re eating outside,” Zoe said. “I was never so glad to own a coat.”

They ordered sausages and pretzels and moved to a table directly behind Harrington. Zoe sat down back to back with Harrington. Keeping her voice low as she pulled off a piece of the pretzel, which was soft and warm, she asked, “Anything?”

Jack chewed a bite of the spicy sausage and shook his head, which sent the tassels waving. He swallowed. “Nothing. Just eating.”