The Secret Crown

Heidi tapped the photograph. ‘Ludwig built Neuschwanstein on the site of two medieval castles that had fallen into disrepair. They used explosives to blow up the old remains before they hauled everything away. The very next year they laid the foundation stone of the new castle. The date was the fifth of September 1869.’

Jones glanced at the book from the far end of the couch and noticed the date at the bottom of the page. Wondering if she had seen it or was quoting information from memory, he decided to test her expertise. ‘Who designed the castle?’

She looked at him. ‘An artist named Christian Jank. Believe it or not, he wasn’t a trained architect. He was actually a stage designer for Richard Wagner’s opera Lohengrin. Ludwig was so moved by Jank’s artwork that he commissioned him to create several concepts of a dream castle. Ludwig selected a design he liked, and the two of them worked on it together.’

‘Without an architect? That doesn’t sound safe,’ Jones said.

‘Ludwig eventually hired Eduard Riedel, a German architect who had restored Berg Castle for Maximilian the Second, to make sure the plans were safe. However, Riedel was just the first of many. Over the next few years, a number of architects worked on the plans including Georg von Dollmann and Julius Hofmann.’

‘Why so many architects?’

‘Two reasons,’ she said. ‘One, because Ludwig was a control freak. He changed his mind all the time and every new draft required his personal approval. This was unbelievably frustrating for the architects, especially when Ludwig disappeared for days on one of his journeys. Sometimes construction stopped while they were waiting for his authorization.’

‘What was the other reason?’ Payne asked.

‘The construction took nearly twenty years. That’s a long time to work with a crazy person.’

Jones nodded in agreement. ‘I worked with Jon for less than a decade, and it felt like for ever. Twenty years would have killed me.’

Payne smiled but said nothing.

‘Sadly,’ she added, ‘that’s one of the reasons it took so long to build the castle. Thirty people died during its construction – mostly because Ludwig was so demanding about self-imposed deadlines. Occasionally, when he made urgent changes to the designs, he had as many as three hundred workers at the site working in shifts around the clock. They used to set up oil lamps on the scaffolding so they wouldn’t have to stop at night.’

‘They must have hated him,’ Jones said.

She shook her head. ‘Despite the challenging conditions, the locals loved Ludwig because he was the biggest employer in the region by a wide margin. Without Neuschwanstein, many of the craftsmen would have been out of work. That carried a lot of weight with them.’

Payne glanced at her. ‘If I remember correctly, you said Neuschwanstein means new swan stone in English.’

She stared at him, trying to read the emotions in his eyes. But it was difficult. He was a much better poker player than Ulster. ‘That’s correct.’

‘What else can you tell us about the name?’

‘That depends. What are you keeping from me?’

‘What do you mean?’

She sighed, frustrated. ‘I mean, it’s a simple translation of three German words – neu, schwan and stein. You didn’t need me to tell you that. Petr could have told you the same thing. He speaks German, too.’

‘What’s your point?’ Payne demanded.

‘My point is you asked me about the translation on Schachen. When I explained it to you, your eyes lit up when I mentioned the word swan. Then you huddled with DJ to discuss it when I took Petr inside the house.’

‘And?’

‘And I want to know why. Otherwise, I won’t be much help to your search. Not because I’ll refuse to help you, I simply won’t be able to help.’

Payne glanced around the room. First he looked at Jones, who nodded his approval. Then he looked at Ulster, who enthusiastically did the same. Finally he looked at Heidi, who was staring at him with her light blue eyes. He didn’t know her very well, but he was starting to understand how she had convinced Ulster to talk about Ludwig’s treasure. She was smart, perceptive and very observant. He was glad she was on their side.

Payne asked, ‘Are you familiar with Petr’s grandfather?’

She nodded. ‘I unknowingly quoted him earlier today.’

‘Recently, we discovered some of Conrad’s belongings. In one of his notebooks, he had written some clues that are supposed to lead us to Ludwig’s treasure.’

‘What kind of clues?’ she asked.

‘The first one is a riddle that uses the word swan. That’s why we keep asking you about Neuschwanstein. We thought maybe he hid the treasure there.’

‘I very much doubt it,’ she said.

‘Why’s that?’ Jones asked.

‘Because Ludwig was murdered before the building was finished.’

Ulster questioned her from across the room. ‘Are you sure, my dear? Wasn’t Ludwig staying there on the night of his arrest?’

She nodded. ‘Ludwig lived in the palace for 172 days, but the castle was far from done. Only fourteen rooms were finished before his death. The rest of the building was filled with workers, struggling to complete the project. I doubt he would have hidden a treasure with so many witnesses around.’

Payne agreed with her. ‘You’re probably right.’

Jones cursed. ‘I guess that means we should cross it off our list.’

She stared at them. ‘Before you do, don’t you think you should tell me the riddle? I know you guys don’t fully trust me, but didn’t you say several clues needed to be solved in order to locate the treasure? What’s the harm in telling me the first one? It’s not like I’m going anywhere. I’m stuck on a mountain in the middle of Switzerland.’

Jones glanced at Payne. ‘She has a point.’

Ulster nodded in agreement. ‘I concur.’

Payne pointed at Ulster. ‘Conrad was your grandfather. You should tell her, not me.’

Ulster grinned with satisfaction. He was touched by the gesture. ‘On the surface, the riddle seems fairly straightforward, but we haven’t figured it out yet. We’d love a fresh set of ears.’

‘What’s the riddle?’ she asked.

‘Where would a swan go on his journey home?’

52

Heidi closed her eyes and leaned back on the couch. Wearing a colourful ski sweater she had found in Ulster’s guest closet and her own pair of jeans, she whispered the riddle to herself, trying to decipher its meaning. After several seconds of this, her eyes popped open – only to realize that Payne, Jones and Ulster were staring at her, patiently waiting for her response.

‘Sorry,’ she said. ‘I’ve got nothing.’

Jones mumbled to Payne. ‘Expert, my ass.’

Heidi didn’t hear his comment but quickly amended her statement. ‘Actually, let me take that back. I’ve got nothing definitive. Plenty of possibilities, but nothing definitive.’

‘How many possibilities?’ Ulster asked.

‘At least ten, maybe fifteen.’

‘Fifteen? We came up with less than five.’

She stared at Ulster, who was sitting behind his desk. ‘As you know, Ludwig was fascinated with swans. They were an important part of his life from his childhood to his death. That’s a whole lot of ground to cover. I only wish I had more information so I could narrow it down.’

Payne, Jones and Ulster exchanged a series of glances, much as they had done when they were deciding if Heidi was worthy of the riddle. This immediately got her thinking about their visit to the King’s House and the questions they had asked up there.