“I just chatted about things that weren’t stressful. She seemed to enjoy that.”
“Good. Thanks for the update. Hopefully we can drop the ruse soon.” Gage changed his tone. “Now, I need you to do me a big favor.”
“Okay.”
“First, does Michael Boden know that you know about his estate in Schmitten?”
“Yes. I’ve been there. It’s not a complete secret from his close friends. He just doesn’t publicize it.”
“Good. I need you to call him and tell him you want to come see him.”
“Why?”
“I need to confirm he’s going to be at his estate in the morning.”
“What’s my reason?”
“Just feign anguish. Tell him you’re distraught about Katja. Tell him you need help legally, with settling the estate. Tell him you’re worried about your inheritance. Tell him you want to see him first thing tomorrow. Act helpless. He’s such a narcissistic asshole that he’ll get a rise out of that.”
“I’ll do it, but tell me exactly why?”
“Again, I need to know for sure that he’ll be at his estate near Schmitten tomorrow morning.”
“Do I have to actually go?” she asked, alarmed.
“No,” Gage replied soothingly. “All you have to do is call. I’ll handle the rest.”
“What are you going to do?”
“You know what I’m going to do.”
“Are you going to hurt him?”
“Yes.”
She was quiet for a moment, then...
“Good.”
“And Ina?”
“Yes?”
“Your inheritance is secure.”
“How?”
Gage explained what he could, but didn’t come close to outing Thomas as the killer.
“So, you know who did it?” she asked.
“I do.”
“And you won’t tell?”
“No. The person who killed him had, in my opinion, a strong reason for doing so. I realize…”
“Say no more. I trust you.”
“Will you make that call?” Gage gave her the number. They ended the call.
He busied himself with arranging each of his items in his pack. Inside of ten minutes, Ina called back.
“How’d it go?”
“He was really puzzled, maybe even suspicious, but he agreed to meet me.”
“Good girl,” Gage replied. “Where?”
“At his estate. He said he’s spending a few days there and he went out of his way to make sure I didn’t mention it to anyone. We’re set for tomorrow morning at eight-thirty. He’s so creepy. He said he’ll make me breakfast.”
“Sheesh, I bet he will. Good work, Ina.”
“So, I don’t have to go?”
“Your work is done. I’ll call back soon.”
Colonel Hunter called an hour later, as Gage prepared to attempt a few hours of sleep.
“You find out?” Gage asked.
“Before I tell you, who do you think owns those cars?”
“Pharmaceutical companies.”
“Close,” Hunter replied. “They’re actually medical distribution companies. Huge, Fortune 500-style companies.”
“That’s where he’s getting his drugs,” Gage said. “The bastard was in bed with Vogel, Il Magnifico and Schulz. Now that he’s got them all out of the way—he gets all the cash.”
“Why would he rub out his distribution?” Hunter asked.
“No idea. I guess he’s got his own network set up.”
“Is your plan solid?”
“I think so.”
“Have you reconnoitered the place?”
“I’ll start at zero-three.”
“What’s the temperature?”
“The low should be right around freezing.”
“That’ll be fun.” A pause. “Gage?”
“I will, sir. I will,” Gage replied, anticipating the grave warning.
“This isn’t some drug lord. You’re going after the state governor of a highly advanced country.”
“I’m going after a piece of shit murderer and drug dealer.”
“I’ll wait to hear from you,” Hunter replied, hanging up.
Neither man was much on sentimentality.
For the second night straight, Gage didn’t sleep.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
At precisely 0300 hours, Gage Hartline parked Boris’ car approximately one kilometer away from the front gate of Michael Boden’s country estate. Gage had chosen the shadowy rear parking lot of a Lutheran church on the edge of the small town of Schmitten. Sitting in the darkness of the Opel, he patiently covered his face in black waterproof face paint. He pulled the black watch cap down over his hair, eyeing himself in the visor mirror to make certain he had full coverage. Satisfied, he departed the car, locking it manually to keep the lights from blinking and the horn from blowing. He hid the keys and cinched his pack tightly to his back before setting out through the woods just north of Schmitten.
Gage was nothing more than a shadow.
It was cloudy with no visible moon. Gage navigated by eye, having exhaustively studied the area’s satellite imagery last night. He recalled that this stand of woods was crescent shaped, leading down to a runoff creek. He moved primarily to the northeast, essentially following the direction of Weilstrasse, though he was well out of sight of any passing cars. Keeping his pace count, he knew he’d have to negotiate the creek in short order. When he reached it, only eleven paces off from his estimate, he crossed it with ease. Next up, he’d encounter the wall from Boden’s estate in roughly 200 meters. Employing a modified pace count for stealth movement, Gage was pleased when he touched the wall after 214 paces, telling him the satellite imagery and his interpretation was almost spot on.
Rather than follow the wall, which could possibly alert someone, Gage backed away and moved laterally, searching for a suitable tree, which he eventually found. After a quiet climb, he settled on the vantage point of a sturdy limb. There, while holding the tree with one hand, Gage slid the thermal scope from his pack and scanned the rear of Boden’s sprawling estate.
Inside of a minute, he’d spotted two people. The thermal scope was adept at picking up heat, and movement was especially telling. The first person was located at the far rear of the property in some sort of guardhouse. Gage had spotted the human being easily enough, but the image was fuzzy. However,
