the Amber Room

'That charity case, as you say, graduated with honors from the University of Paris. She speaks a dozen languages, that I know of. She is well versed in the arts and can fire a sidearm with expert accuracy. She is also attractive, and an excellent lay. I'd say Suzanne has some admirable credentials.'

'Like one-upping you?'

He grinned. 'To the devil her due, yes. But payback is truly hell.'

'Don't make this personal, Christian. Violence draws too much attention. The world is not your personal playground.'

'I am well aware of my duties and my limits.'

Monika shot him a wiry grin, one he'd never liked. She seemed determined to make this as difficult as possible. It was so much easier when Fellner ran the show. Now business mixed with pleasure. Maybe that wasn't such a good idea.

'Father should be through with his meeting. He said for us to come to the study.'

He pushed up from the mattress. 'Then let us not keep him waiting.'

He followed Monika into her father's study. The old man sat behind an eighteenth-century walnut desk Fellner had purchased in Berlin two decades ago. He sucked on an ivory pipe with an amber mouthpiece, another rare collectible that once belonged to Alexander II of Russia, liberated from another thief in Romania.

Fellner looked tired, and Knoll hoped their remaining time together would not be short. That'd be a shame. He'd miss their banter on classical literature and art, along with their political debates. He'd learned a lot from his years at Burg Herz--a working education obtained while scouring the world for lost treasure. He appreciated the opportunity that had been extended, grateful for the life, determined to do what the old man wanted till the end.

'Christian. Welcome back. Sit. Tell me everything that happened.' Fellner's tone was upbeat, his face alight with a warm smile.

He and Monika sat. He reported what he'd learned about Danzer and her meeting the night before with a man named Grumer.

'I know him,' Fellner said. 'Herr Doktor Alfred Grumer. An academic whore. Moves from university to university. But is connected in the German government and sells that influence. Not surprising a man like McKoy would attach himself to him.'

'Obviously Grumer is Danzer's source at the site,' Monika said.

'I agree,' Fellner said. 'And Grumer wouldn't be around unless there was a profit to be made. This may be more interesting than first thought. Ernst is intent on this. He called again this morning inquiring. Apparently he's concerned for your good health, Christian. I told him we had not heard from you in days.'

'All of this certainly fits the pattern,' Knoll said.

'What pattern?' Monika asked.

Fellner grinned at his daughter. 'Perhaps it is time, liebling, you know it all. What do you say, Christian?'

Monika looked perturbed. He loved her obvious confusion. The bitch needed to realize she didn't know everything.

Fellner slid open one of the drawers and extracted a thick file. 'Christian and I have followed this for years.' Across the desk he spread an assortment of newspaper clippings and magazine articles.

'The first death we know of was in 1957. A German reporter from one of my Hamburg newspapers. He came here, looking for an interview. I indulged him, he was remarkably well informed, and a week later he was hit by a bus in Berlin. Witnesses swore he was pushed.

'The next death came two years later. Another reporter. Italian. A car forced him off an alpine road. Two more deaths in 1960, a drug overdose and a robbery gone wrong. From 1960 to 1970 there were a dozen more all over Europe. Reporters. Insurance adjusters. Police investigators. Their demises ranged from supposed suicides to three outright murders.

'My dear, all these people were looking for the Amber Room. Christian's predecessors, my first two Acquisitors, kept a close watch on the press. Anything that might seem related was thoroughly investigated. In the 1970s and '80s the incidents waned. Only six we know of during those twenty years. The last was a Polish reporter killed in a mine explosion three years ago.' He looked at Monika. 'I'm not sure of the exact location, but it was near where Christian's mishap occurred.'

'I'd wager in the same mine,' Knoll said.

'Very strange, wouldn't you say? Christian finds a name in St. Petersburg, Karol Borya, the next thing we know the man's dead along with his former colleague. Liebling, Christian and I have long thought Loring knows far more of the Amber Room than he wants to admit.'

'His father loved amber,' Monika said. 'So does he.'

'Josef was a secretive man. Moreso than Ernst. It was hard to ever know what he was thinking. Many times we talked on the subject of the Amber Room. I even offered a joint venture once--an all-out search for the panels--but he refused. Called it a waste of time and money. But something about his denials bothered me. So I started keeping this file, checking everything I could. I learned there were too many deaths, too many coincidences for it all to be random. Now Suzanne is trying to kill Christian. And paying a million euros for mere information on a treasure dig.' Fellner shook his head. 'I would say the trail we thought ice cold has warmed considerably.'

Monika gestured to the clippings fanned on the desk. 'You think all those people were murdered?'

'Is there any other logical conclusion?' Fellner said.

Monika stepped close to the desk and thumbed through the articles. 'We were on target with Borya, weren't we?'

'I would say so,' Knoll said. 'How, I'm not sure. But it was enough for Suzanne to kill Chapaev and try to eliminate me.'

'That dig site could be important,' Fellner said. 'I think the time for sparring is over. You have my permission, Christian, to handle the situation at will.'

Monika stared at her father. 'I thought I was to be in charge.'

Fellner smiled. 'You must indulge an old man one last quest. Christian and I have worked this for years. I feel we may be on to something. I ask your permission, liebling, to intrude on your domain.'

Monika managed a weak smile, clearly not pleased. But, Knoll thought, what could she say? Never had she openly defied her father, though privately she'd many times vented her anger over his perpetual patience. Fellner was raised in the old school, where men ruled and women gave birth. He commanded a financial empire that dominated the European communications market. Politicians and industrialists courted his favor. But his wife and son were dead, and Monika was the only remaining Fellner. So he'd been forced to mold a woman into his image of a man. Luckily, she was tough. And smart.

'Of course, Father. Do as you wish.'

Fellner reached over and cupped his daughter's hand. 'I know you don't understand. But I love you for your deference.'

Knoll couldn't resist. 'Something new.'

Monika shot him a hard glance.

Fellner chuckled. 'Quite right, Christian. You know her well. You two will make quite a team.'

Monika retreated to a chair.

Fellner said, 'Christian, return to Stod and find out what is going on. Handle Suzanne however you desire. Before I die I want to know about the Amber Room, one way or the other. If you have any doubts, remember that mine shaft and your ten million euros.'

He stood. 'I assure you, I will not forget either.'

FORTY-TWO

Stod