The Amber Room Page 0,103

cover the bill. No time for any formal checkout.

She took a moment and caught her breath. Maybe Knoll didn't know where she was staying. Stod was a big town with lots of inns. No, she decided. He knew and was probably headed here right now. She thought back to the abbey's terrace. Knoll was after whoever else had been in the church. And that other presence was likewise of concern to her. But she wasn't the one who tossed a knife into Grumer's chest. Whatever he or she saw was more Knoll's problem than hers.

In her travel bag she found a fresh clip for the Sauer and popped it into place. She

then pocketed the gun. Downstairs, she stepped quickly through the lobby and out the front door. She looked right, then left. Knoll was a hundred yards away, moving straight in her direction. When he spotted her, he started to run. She bolted ahead, down a deserted side street, and rounded a corner. She kept running and quickly turned two more corners. Maybe she could lose Knoll in the maze of venerable buildings that all looked alike.

She stopped. Her breathing came hard.

Footsteps echoed from behind.

Coming closer.

In her direction.

Knoll's breath condensed in the dry air. His timing had been nearly perfect. A few moments more and he would have caught the bitch.

He turned a corner and halted.

Only silence.

Interesting.

He gripped the CZ and stepped cautiously forward. He'd studied the layout of the old part of town yesterday from a map obtained at the tourist bureau. The buildings covered blocks interrupted by narrow cobbled streets and even tighter alleys. Steep roofs, dormer windows, and arcades adorned with mythological creatures loomed everywhere. It would be easy to get lost in the warren of sameness. But he knew exactly where Danzer's slategray Porsche was parked. He'd found it yesterday on a reconnaissance mission, knowing that she would certainly have a quick means of transportation nearby.

So he started in that direction, the same direction the running footsteps had initially been headed.

He stopped fast.

Still, only silence.

No more soles slapping cobblestone in the distance.

He inched forward and turned a corner. The street ahead was a straight line, the only glow breaking the darkness loomed at the far end. Halfway, an intersection appeared. The lane to the right stretched about thirty meters, dead-ending into what looked like the back of a shop. A small black Dumpster rested just to the right, a parked BMW to its left. It was more an alley than a street. He stepped to the end and checked the car. Locked. He lifted the Dumpster lid. Empty except for newspapers and a few trash bags that smelled of rotting fish. He tried the doorknobs for the building. Locked. He stepped back to the main street, gun in hand, and turned right.

Suzanne waited a full five minutes before slithering out from under the BMW. She'd wiggled beneath, thankful for her petite size. Just in case, though, the 9mm was ready. But Knoll had not looked underneath, seemingly satisfied the car doors were locked, the alley apparently empty.

She retrieved her travel bag from the Dumpster where she'd stashed it under some newspapers. A lingering odor of fish accompanied the leather bag. She pocketed the Sauer and decided to use another route to her car, perhaps even leaving the damn thing and renting another in the morning. She could always come back later and retrieve the Porsche after this was settled. An Acquisitor's job was to do what his or her employer desired. Even though Loring had told her to handle things at her discretion, the situation with Knoll and the risk of drawing attention was escalating. Also, killing her opponent was proving far more difficult than she'd first imagined. She stopped in the alley before the intersection and listened a few seconds more. No footsteps could be heard.

She scooted out and instead of turning right as Knoll had done, she went left. From a darkened doorway, a fist slammed her forehead. Her neck whipped back, then recoiled. The pain momentarily froze her, and a hand encircled her throat. Her body was lifted, then pounded into a damp stone wall. A sickening smile filled Christian Knoll's Nordic face.

"How stupid do you take me for?" Knoll said, inches from her.

"Come on, Christian. Can't we settle this? I meant what I said back at the abbey. Let's go back to your room. Remember France? That was fun."

"What's so important that you have to kill me?" His grip tightened.

"If I say,