“Nice bedside manner,” Gage remarked.
“Oh…sorry. Gagey, I weally, weally hope you get better weal soon,” Ina said, fake-sweet, in English. She switched back to German, and her normal tone. “Now, do you have any updates on the estate?”
“Nothing of substance, no. Things are delayed, which is good for you. When I get something, I’ll tell you.”
“Where were you when you got sideswiped?” Katja asked.
Gage described the entire ordeal, only leaving out the part about the pistol.
“Who would have done that?” Ina asked.
“That’s what I intend to find out,” Gage replied. “Whoever it was knew where I was parked, and knew when I’d be back.”
Ina shrugged. “Surely the police can find out from the car’s license plate.”
“The plate was stolen,” Gage replied. “They also said they couldn’t see the person on security video. They did tell me they’re going to go back through the footage at the entrance because, whoever was driving would had to have stopped, rolled down their window, and taken a ticket on the way in.”
Katja said, “They haven’t done that yet?”
“Not when they came last night, no.”
The trio was quiet for a moment.
Finally Ina broke the silence, managing to sound faintly concerned when she asked, “Why would someone want to hurt you?”
Gage sat silent for a moment. He didn’t think it wise to reveal all he’d learned, but he decided to give the daughters a taste. “From what I’ve learned, your father was mixed up in some illegal business activity.”
“Like what?” Katja asked.
“Brokering pharmaceuticals.”
Ina opened her hands. “What the hell does that mean?”
Gage’s reply was even and without emotion. “It means, illegally obtaining immense quantities of pharmaceutical drugs and selling them to a global web-based drug dealer.”
With doubt in her voice, Katja asked, “Why would he do that?”
Gage looked up at the sisters. “Why does anyone do anything? We’re not talking about a small amount of money, here. We’re talking many, many millions of euros in profit annually.”
“Are you sure?” Ina asked.
“Yes, I am.”
The sisters talked for a moment, discussing this as a possibility.
Gage interjected. “Do either of you know your father’s contacts in that business?”
Katja said she didn’t. She looked at Ina. “Do you?”
“He knew everyone, or knew someone who did.” Ina gestured to Gage. “Even if this is true, what does it have to do with someone trying to run you down?”
“It’s true,” Gage replied. “Maybe I’m getting close to something. Your father wasn’t brokering pharmaceuticals alone, not from that bed he wasn’t. In my mind, the man who was buying the drugs from him is a suspect, and that’s who I went to see—that’s why I parked at the airport. The man I visited claims he didn’t owe your father money, but I have no way of knowing that. And there could’ve been some other conflict between them, too—something I’m not aware of.”
“So, that’s who could have killed our father and tried to kill you?” Ina demanded.
“I don’t know for sure.”
Katja asked, “What does your instinct tell you?”
“I don’t think it was the man I met with,” Gage replied, surprising himself. For whatever reason, he’d grown less convinced that it was Il Magnifico.
“Who, then?” Ina questioned.
Gage made eye contact with each sister. “I have no way of knowing this, but I suspect that whoever tried to kill me is the person who was helping your father on this end.”
“Explain that,” Katja said.
“He wasn’t running drugs from his bed. Someone had to be doing the groundwork. Just think of the pharmaceutical companies here in Germany, along with Belgium, Austria, Switzerland, the Netherlands—the list goes on. Someone had to be making those deals on behalf of your father.”
“Could someone just go and buy pharmaceuticals illegally?” Katja asked.
Gage shook his head. “No. But, if you’re very smart, and very crooked, and you find the correct people who have access, then it would be possible to purchase large quantities in such a way that seems legal, and the manufacturer would have no way of knowing.”
Katja spoke again. “How would you do that?”
“You’d have to be impeccably connected in organizations authorized to buy huge quantities of the drugs. Not just connected, but you would need all sorts of the right type of people helping you. This is a highly, highly regulated industry. Such a person would need to be able to move mount—” Gage looked up sharply as something came to him.
“What?” Ina demanded.
“Crazy idea,” Gage whispered. Then he spoke up. “What about Michael Boden, the Ministerpräsident of Hessen?”
Both of them jolted at the mention of his name, and then Ina turned to Katja.
“What about him?” Katja asked.
“I can’t see a sitting Ministerpräsident getting involved in something like this, but he’s positioned to pull something like this off,” Gage surmised.
“I’ll let Katja answer,” Ina replied, her tone peculiar.
Gage let his eyes move back and forth between the sisters. “What am I missing here?”
“I dated him,” Katja replied evenly. “And I have no use for him.”
“That explains the things you said about him when he visited,” Gage answered. “When did you date him?”
“Few years ago.”
“Isn’t he married?”
“I’d really rather not get into that,” she replied. “But are you suggesting he was in on this with our father?”
“I’m not suggesting it, but perhaps it should be looked into.”
“It’s not him,” Katja replied. “No way in hell.”
Gage glanced at Ina. She seemed to agree with her sister.
“You’re sure?” Gage asked them both.
“No way,” Katja repeated, dismissing the notion as if ridiculous. “He’s all politician. He wouldn’t know where to begin in managing something like what you’re speaking of.” Her voice lowered an octave. “Believe me, he can barely manage his own life.”
“Are you sure about this?”
“Quite,” Katja said.
Gage deflated. “Anyone
