The Amber Knight (27 page)

‘Contaminated or not, you’re still convinced the knight is in Hitler’s Lair, aren’t you?’ Adam grimaced, wishing he’d been given a stronger dose of morphine.

‘I can’t see where else it could have been hidden for the last sixty years,’ she persisted stubbornly.

‘The Institute directors are advising an army search party. They went in a couple of hours ago,’ Josef concentrated on the road ahead. ‘Don’t worry, all personnel will be wearing protective clothing, the directors will see to that.’

‘I suppose they expect me to sit around and spin sauerkraut until they come up with something,’ Magdalena snapped.

‘I think you’ve done enough for the time being, don’t you?’ Josef said quietly.

‘I’ve studied the Wolfschanze. I could help with the search.’

‘If they need you, they’ll get in touch.’

‘I have to make some telephone calls.’ Adam grimaced again. Talking intensified his pain.

‘You can’t make anything, you’re dead.’ Josef glanced in the rear view-mirror, as he had done every couple of minutes since they had left the hospital.

‘I have to tell my grandfather I’m not dead in case someone in the press gets wind of who was shot in that police station.’

‘Can he be trusted?’

‘That’s my grandfather you’re talking about. By the way, I’d almost forgotten. What did the museum telephone you about?’ Adam asked Magdalena.

‘To report a break-in.’

‘They take anything?’ Aching too much to risk turning around, Adam reached out stiffly and lowered the cosmetic mirror on the passenger side so he could look at her face.

‘Two suits of medieval armour and clothes.’

‘What!’

‘The same thought has already occurred to us,’ Josef said briskly. ‘All the amber-smiths have been notified.’

‘And all the museums,’ Magdalena added. ‘Edmund faxed out the details this afternoon.’

‘Did he mention the anthrax scare?’

‘No, only that suits of medieval clothes, armour and a quantity of raw amber had been stolen and an amber-smith capable of producing a forgery has been found dead. I doubt anyone will make a bid for the knight now, especially as Edmund went to the trouble of getting the notification countersigned by the officers investigating the loss of the amber shipment.’

‘If you want to find out if there’ve been any further developments, you can telephone Edmund. You have your mobile?’ Josef checked.

‘Yes,’ Magdalena confirmed.

‘And you.’ He glanced at Adam. ‘Not so much as an identifiable breath or sneeze while she’s speaking.’

Edmund’s voice crackled over a patchy line. ‘Most of the museums are commissioning their own experts to determine the feasibility of creating a forgery. As far as I can make out, so far they all concur with Feliks Malek.’

‘Any other messages?’ Magdalena asked him.

‘Only from Waleria. Adam’s wife turned up at his apartment late last night and insisted on moving in. Waleria came round to tell me first thing this morning. I’ve tried to get hold of Adam and failed. Is he with you?’

‘Would I be phoning you if he were?’

‘Can you get a message to him? Waleria’s afraid he’s going to blame her when he finds out.’

‘I take it Adam’s wife is still in his flat?’ Magdalena asked in response to Adam’s furious miming in the mirror.

‘Waleria’s tried everything short of calling the police to turf her out, but the woman refuses to go. She insists Adam asked her to move in.’

‘I can’t see Adam doing that.’

‘After what little he’s said to me about her, neither can I, but apart from having her physically evicted there’s nothing Waleria can do. Do you think we should contact Josef? The problem is, it could get sticky if they’re still legally married. You know how the police hate to interfere in domestic disputes.’

‘If I were you I’d wait until Adam gets back,’ Magdalena advised, anxious to get off the line before Adam erupted.

‘That’s what I suggested to Waleria. But what do I tell Adam’s wife when she comes round tomorrow to ask where he is? And she will. She’s been here four times today, and Wiklaria rang to say she’s been badgering the staff in the Historical Museum as well.’

‘Tell her the truth,’ she advised.

‘Which is?’

‘You haven’t a clue where he is. Is there anything else?’

‘Nothing that can’t wait.’

‘I’ll be in touch tomorrow.’

‘Magdalena, everything is all right, isn’t it?’ Edmund’s voice was full of concern.

‘Fine,’ she lied.

‘The Amber Knight…’

‘We’re still no closer to finding it. Bye, Edmund.’ She switched off her phone.

‘You couldn’t have gone to your apartment anyway.’ Josef tried to calm a fuming Adam.

‘Want to make a bet? It would be worth returning from the dead to strangle that bitch.’

‘If Helga’s boyfriend has the slightest inkling that you survived that bullet, someone will be watching Mariacka Street.’

‘In which case I hope Courtney runs out of clothes and starts wearing mine.’

‘In the meantime you have to live somewhere. I can take you to a safe house,’ Josef offered.

‘A police safe house?’ Adam questioned caustically. ‘No thanks.’

‘You have to go somewhere,’ Josef pointed out.

‘The museum apartment has a back entrance behind a high wall. You can park right next to the door. At this time of night there won’t be anyone in the neighbouring offices to see me sneaking in, and once I’m in the apartment I can draw the blinds, sleep and watch satellite TV all day long.’

‘If they’re watching the museum they’ll see the lights going on and off,’ Josef turned off the slip road into Gdansk.

‘How many do you think there are of these mythical “they”?’ Adam asked. ‘The way you talk about them, anyone would think they’re an organisation of CIA or KGB proportions.’

‘Whoever “they” are, they have access to police information,’ Magdalena commented. ‘First the raid on my apartment, now the shooting in the police station.’

‘You could have been followed both times,’ Josef pointed out.

‘Come off it. Our escort would have apprehended anyone they’d seen following the car from the hotel this morning. I agree with Magdalena, it’s more likely they knew of our movements in advance.’

‘I suppose it’s possible.’ Josef looked at the clock and switched on the radio. The news item he wanted received second billing after a massacre in the Middle East.

“An American national was shot dead in Ketzryn police station this afternoon. The police are withholding his identity until relatives have been informed. The gunman has been described as tall, thin, with Slavic features, green eyes and straight black hair brushed back from the face. He is armed and dangerous and, if seen, should not be approached by a member of the public. Ketzryn police have set up an information number…’

‘I’m not happy with the museum apartment.’ Josef switched off the radio. ‘I won’t be able to stay with you, Adam. It wouldn’t make sense, not now you’re supposed to be dead, but I suppose I could assign a guard to the museum after the burglary. I’ll try to find one I can trust.’

‘Radek has another brother?’ Adam enquired.

‘I’ll stay with Adam,’ Magdalena volunteered. ‘You can drop me off at the front door after Adam has entered through the back. If anyone is watching the place they’ll see me and assume I’m alone.’

‘The last thing I need right now is a woman to look after,’ Adam protested. ‘There’s only one entrance to the apartment on the third floor. Give me another gun and I promise you no one will get past the front door.’

‘The gun is easy enough. There’s a spare in the car,’ Josef opened the glove compartment and Adam saw a standard police issue handgun lying on a box of tissues. ‘But you don’t leave this car until I’ve called the boys to search the area around the museum.’

‘You’ll only succeed in alerting the Mafia snitches in your force,’ Adam warned.

‘Aren’t you both forgetting that there are security guards in the museum?’ Magdalena reminded them.

‘And where were they when it was broken into?’ Adam asked.

‘Probably on a different floor,’ she conceded.

‘Quite,’ Josef remarked grimly. ‘Much as I hate to admit it, you’re right about the snitches, Adam. I’ll park the car around the back of the museum. You can stay inside while I go in, introduce myself to the guards and look over the building. When I’m sure it’s clear I’ll come back for you, then I’ll take Magda…’

‘On second thoughts it would be better for me to carry my bags around to the front door of the museum when you come back for Adam, Josef,’ she interrupted. ‘The guards know me and I can keep them talking at the door while you smuggle Adam up the back stairs.’

‘Oh no, you don’t,’ Adam contradicted. ‘There’s no way I’d let anyone, especially a woman, stay with me after what happened today.’

‘Someone has to study the plans of the Wolfschanze.’

‘There’s an army of professionals combing the place. They don’t need your help,’ Adam said firmly.

‘But you do. Josef’s right about the lights. If someone is watching the building they’ll see me, and we’ll make sure they think I’m alone. Besides, you’re dead, so you’ll need someone to answer the phone and the door.’

‘They won’t need answering.’

‘Where else could I possibly go?’ she pleaded. ‘My apartment is in police hands, that only leaves hotels. At least in the Museum I’ll be close to my work.’

‘It would be easier to guard you both. With Brunon a Mafia target and on the loose, Magdalena still warrants police protection,’ Josef suggested practically.

‘How many times do I have to tell you, no police guards? Nothing personal, but I’d rather look after myself than trust your colleagues, Josef.’

‘I can’t be with you twenty-four hours a day.’

‘It would look strange if you were.’

Josef slowed the car to negotiate the lane at the back of the Historical Museum.

‘Get me to the top floor,’ Adam said flatly. ‘Give me the gun and enough ammunition, and I’ll see off anyone who dares put a foot on the stairs.’

Josef introduced himself to the two night watchmen in the museum and told them that he needed to make sure that the museum was safe because Ms Janca was on her way to move into the apartment on the top floor. After they had scrutinised his ID and telephoned the police station to make sure he was who he said he was, they allowed him to examine every floor, cupboard, stairwell and basement area in the Historical Museum. They told him that the apartment on the top floor was out of bounds because there were only two key holders, Ms Janca and Mr Salen. While Josef pretended to examine the back staircase, Magdalena walked around to the front entrance and rang the bell. She then kept the guards talking about the robbery while Josef smuggled Adam up to the top floor apartment.

‘The only door into this suite of rooms is the one we came through,’ Adam informed Josef, who began looking at the place with a view to defending it as soon as he had opened the door.

‘Fire escape?’

‘Opens out of the double bedroom window. First door on your right,’ Adam whispered into the darkness.

Josef walked into the room. A narrow steel platform outside the window held a collapsible metal staircase.

‘We keep it folded up to minimise the risk of opportunist intruders,’ Adam murmured from the shadows.

‘Very wise,’ Josef whispered back. ‘How many rooms are there?’

‘Two bedrooms, one double, one single, two bathrooms, sitting room, conference room and small kitchen.’

‘Nice décor from what little of it I can see in the dark.’

‘Should be, I saw the bills left by my predecessor who ordered the conversion.’

‘He lived here?’

‘Rarely. You didn’t know him?’

‘Met him once or twice. Unlike you he wasn’t any trouble.’

‘Unlike me, he was hardly ever here.’ Adam went into the single bedroom and closed the door.

Josef stepped outside the apartment, relocked the door and waited for Magdalena. A few minutes later she walked up the stairs with one of the guards who’d insisted on carrying her bags for her.

‘You’ve met Captain Dalecka?’ Magdalena asked the security guard.

The guard nodded respectfully. ‘Everything in order, sir?’

‘I hope it’s as secure as it looks.’

‘Don’t worry, sir, Ms Janca will be safe with us.’

‘I sincerely hope so.’ Josef frowned at Magdalena who couldn’t resist a triumphant smile at her success.

‘We heard about the attack on your apartment, Ms Janca. I’m sorry,’ the guard commiserated.

‘This seems to be safe enough, but I’ll order the regular patrols to keep an eye on the building and check with you every couple of hours.’ Josef said to the guard as Magdalena unlocked the door. ‘Allow me to check the place before you go in, Ms Janca?’

‘Of course.’ Magdalena waited with the guard until Josef reappeared.

‘I’ve dropped all the blinds and pulled the curtains. Everything looks in order but I’d be happier if you allowed me to send in a female officer to sit with you.’

She shook her head. ‘I’m exhausted. All I want is a night’s sleep.’

‘Hit the fire alarm if anything happens, that should galvanise the emergency services.’ Josef checked the back of the door, registering the four deadbolts and chain. ‘Don’t forget to lock yourself in.’ He ushered the guard down the stairs. ‘I want you to show me where the thieves broke into the building.’

Magdalena went into the apartment, closed the door and fastened all the locks. She waited until the echo of footsteps on the stairs died, then whispered Adam’s name. He emerged from the bedroom white-faced with pain.

‘You look as though you could do with a stiff drink and a month’s sleep,’ she dropped her handbag on to the floor.

‘What do you think you’re doing here?’

‘Taking care of you. And before you say another word, it’s too late to argue now, it’s done. Is there any food?’

‘I told Wiklaria to keep this place stocked with tea, coffee and a supply of frozen convenience food in case someone turns up late at night,’ Adam sank down on the edge of a chair.

‘Could you eat something?’

‘Depends on what the something is.’

Magdalena went into the kitchen and examined the refrigerator. She found a couple of bottles of white wine and a half full bottle of vodka. The cupboards held two bottles of red wine, tea, coffee, sugar, cartons of long life milk, pasta, rice and a selection of tinned sauces.