After showering, he made a pot of strong coffee with what had to be the fanciest, most complicated coffee machine he’d ever used. While the coffee brewed, Gage lunched on a dollop of crunchy peanut butter and a banana. Once he’d eaten and had a cup of coffee, he filled a travel mug and continued to study the cavernous manor house, searching for weak points and making mental notes.
Gage had just upgraded his living quarters from a shipping container to a staggering European mansion straight from a movie. Life was indeed full of surprises.
CHAPTER FOUR
The library was located on the main level, at the manor house’s east end. While the primary entrance was on the main level, the cavernous room was tall, occupying two floors, also accessible from several locations on the first floor hallway. Gage had admired the stately library earlier, on one of the many stops during his self-guided tour. Thus far, it was his favorite place in the mansion. Measuring approximately 90 feet by 45, the library was formal yet comfortable, topped by an ornate baroque ceiling. Towering in the center of the library was a massive bronze statue of the Brothers Grimm, the Hessian authors of the famed fairy tales. Gage couldn’t begin to guess how many books were in the library—tens of thousands, certainly.
Off to the side of the statue was a comfortable seating area for a dozen people, the sofas and chairs upholstered in old leather of deep reds and dark browns. Oriental rugs dampened the sound in the room. In one corner of the library was a mammoth, pedestal-mounted globe that appeared to be several hundred years old. On the far end of the room was a gas fireplace with two reading chairs. Despite its handsome appearance, the room still held an air of familial detachment that Gage had noticed throughout the entire Vogel house.
He wheeled Claudia in at 2:50 P.M. She stood, looking quite steady, and walked to the center of the sitting area, seating herself in a fanback chair that sat a bit higher than the others.
“Where would you like me to sit?” Gage asked.
“Right by my side.”
Gage tugged a leather chair next to her, on her right. “Should I make some coffee or bring in some bottles of water?”
“Only if you’re thirsty. Otherwise, no, but thank you. This meeting will be short, and I’d rather not make anyone comfortable. I don’t want to encourage them to linger. I doubt they’ll want to, anyway.” Claudia stacked her hands on her legs and pulled in a long breath through her nose.
Gage began to get the feeling that something unexpected was going to occur at this meeting.
He and Claudia chatted idly until 2:58 P.M. when someone could be heard entering the manor house through the unlocked front door. Gage couldn’t help but be nervous—a different nervousness than he typically encountered while on a mission. He was well out of his element here, and he knew it.
“Bet you a euro that’s Ina,” Claudia whispered, touching his arm.
Before Gage could respond, he watched as a woman with shoulder-length sandy blonde hair appeared, striding into the library with an athlete’s physical elegance. She was of average height and rather lean. The woman wore bright running shoes, black yoga pants and a fitted gray sweatshirt with hood. She removed her sweatshirt, her remaining t-shirt revealing a left arm of colorful and attractive tattoos. Gage guessed she was in her mid or late thirties. Her thin face was quite attractive, as was the rest of her body. She wore no makeup and didn’t smile when she perfunctorily greeted her mother. Then her blue eyes swiveled to Gage as she said, “Wer sind Sie?” Her query was direct and cold, and meant, “Who are you?”
“My name’s Gage,” he answered in German, earning a slightly curled lip at the mention of his strange name. “You’re Ina?”
“Yeah,” she answered, her eyes flicking back to her mother. She stared, smoldering.
“How’ve you been?” Claudia asked her daughter.
“Same as I was when you left,” Ina answered, digging her mobile phone from her sweatshirt and going to work.
Such warmth.
The door could be heard again. Claudia looked at Gage. “Katja,” she mouthed.
Gage’s eyes widened. Both children are daughters? How the hell did I miss that?
He watched as the other daughter glided into the room, also athletic, but with a different, more graceful walking style. Other than the shape of her face, Gage wouldn’t guess she was Ina’s sister.
“Mutter,” the second daughter said coldly.
“Katja, how are you?”
Katja shrugged and sat several chairs away from Ina. She eyed Gage.
“Hello, I’m Gage.”
She shrugged again, as if she didn’t care who Gage was. Shorter than her sister Ina, Katja was probably a year or two older. She had green eyes and raven black hair, streaked by gray, yet the gray didn’t make her seem old at all. She could have passed for a beautiful witch from a fairy tale movie. Based on her expression, she desired to transform Gage into a toad. He felt a powerful sort of energy from the small lady as she fumed while staring at him, finally making him look away.
Ina set her phone aside. “Why are we meeting like this?”
Claudia repositioned herself. “I haven’t addressed the two of you, collectively, in quite a while. I feel it’s time to set things straight.” There was a significant pause.
Until…
“I have cancer,” Claudia stated. “It’s terminal, and I’ve chosen not to treat it. I don’t have long to live, perhaps a few months.”
Gage watched both of the daughters—their lack of emotion was somewhat surprising. Katja, the raven-haired daughter with green eyes simply cocked an eyebrow.
Ina,
