- "guess who's staying at this hotel? The elusive Maximilian Pierpont. I missed him on the QE Two."
"And I missed him on the Orient Express."
"He's probably here to rape another company. Now that we've found him again, Tracy, we really should do something about him. I mean, as long as he's in the neighborhood..."
Tracy's laughter. "I couldn't agree more, darling."
"I understand our friend is in the habit of carrying priceless artifacts with him. I have an idea that - "
Another voice, female. "Dag, mijnheer, dag, mevrouw. Would you care for your room to be made up now?"
Van Duren turned to Detective Constable Witkamp. "I want a surveillance team on Maximilian Pierpont. The moment Whitney or Stevens makes any kind of contact with him, I want to know it."
Inspector van Duren was reporting to Chief Commissioner Toon Willems.
"They could be after any number of targets, Chief Commissioner. They're showing a great deal of interest in a wealthy American here named Maximilian Pierpont, they attended the philatelist convention, they visited the Lucullan diamond at the Nederlands Diamond-Cutting Factory, and spent two hours at The Night Watch - "
"Een diefstal van de Nachtwacht? Nee! Impossible!"
The chief commissioner sat back in his chair and wondered whether he was recklessly wasting valuable time and manpower. There was too much speculation and not enough facts. "So at the moment you have no idea what their target is."
"No, Chief Commissioner. I'm not certain they themselves have decided. But the moment they do, they will inform us."
Willems frowned. "Inform you?"
"The bugs," Van Duren explained. "They have no idea they are being bugged."
The breakthrough for the police came at 9:00 A.M. the following morning. Tracy and Jeff were finishing breakfast in Tracy's suite. At the listening post upstairs were Daniel Cooper, Inspector Joop van Duren, and Detective Constable Witkamp. They heard the sound of coffee being poured.
"Here's an interesting item, Tracy. Our friend was right. Listen to this: 'Amro Bank is shipping five million dollars in gold bullion to the Dutch West Indies.' "
In the suite on the floor above, Detective Constable Witkamp said, "There's no way - "
"Shh!"
They listened.
"I wonder how much five million dollars in gold would weigh?" Tracy's voice.
"I can tell you exactly, my darling. One thousand six hundred seventy-two pounds, about sixty-seven gold bars. The wonderful thing about gold is that it's so beautifully anonymous. You melt it down and it could belong to anybody. Of course, it wouldn't be easy to get those bars out of Holland."
"Even if we could, how would we get hold of them in the first place? Just walk into the bank and pick them up?"
"Something like that."
"You're joking."
"I never joke about that kind of money. Why don't we just stroll by the Amro Bank, Tracy, and have a little look?"
"What do you have in mind?"
"I'll tell you all about it on the way."
There was the sound of a door closing, and the voices ended.
Inspector van Duren was fiercely twisting his mustache. "Nee! There is no way they could get their hands on that gold. I, myself, approved those security arrangements."
Daniel Cooper announced flatly, "If there's a flaw in the bank's security system, Tracy Whitney will find it."
It was all Inspector van Duren could do to control his hair-trigger temper. The odd-looking American had been an abomination ever since his arrival. It was his God-given sense of superiority that was so difficult to tolerate. But Inspector van Duren was a policeman first and last; and he had been ordered to cooperate with the weird little man.
The inspector turned to Witkamp. "I want you to increase the surveillance unit. Immediately. I want every contact photographed and questioned. Clear?"
"Yes, Inspector."
"And very discreetly, mind you. They must not know they are being watched."
"Yes, Inspector."
Van Duren looked at Cooper. "There. Does that make you feel better?"
Cooper did not bother to reply.
During the next five days Tracy and Jeff kept Inspector van Duren's men busy, and Daniel Cooper carefully examined all the daily reports. At night, when the other detectives left the listening post, Cooper lingered. He listened for the sounds of lovemaking that he knew was going on below. He could hear nothing, but in his mind Tracy was moaning, "Oh, yes, darling, yes, yes. Oh, God, I can't stand it... it's so wonderful.... Now, oh, now.."
Then the long, shuddering sigh and the soft, velvety silence. And it was all for him.
Soon you'll belong to me, Cooper thought. No one else will have you.