The Amber Room Page 0,122
other seven members possessed. The trick would be finding it and determining how to get inside. He had a pretty good idea where the space might be, a conclusion he'd made at one of the club meetings based on the architecture, but he still was going to have to search. And fast. Before morning.
Monika's decision to allow the invasion was not surprising. She'd do anything to assert control. Fellner had been good to him, but Monika was going to be better. The old man would not live forever. And though he'd miss him, the possibilities Monika presented were nearly intoxicating. She was tough, but vulnerable. He could master her, of that he was sure. And by doing that he could master the fortune she'd inherit. A dangerous game, granted, but one worth the risks. It helped that Monika was incapable of love. But so was he. They were a perfect match, lust and power all the mastic they would need to bind them permanently.
He slipped off the backpack and found his binoculars. From the safety of a thick stand of poplar trees, he studied the castle's entire length. Blue sky backclothed its silhouette. His gaze angled off to the east. Two cars appeared on the paved road, both winding up the steep incline.
Police cars.
Interesting.
Suzanne dropped a freshly baked cinnamon bun on the china plate and added a dab
of raspberry jam. She took a seat at the table, Loring already perched at the far end. The room was one of the castle's smaller dining spaces, reserved for the family. Oak cases filled with Renaissance goblets lined one of the alabaster walls. Another wall was encrusted with Bohemian semiprecious stones that outlined gilded icons of Czech patrons. She and Loring were eating alone, as they did every morning when she was there.
"The Prague newspaper is headlined with the explosion," Loring said. He folded the newspaper and set it on the table. "The reporter proposes no theories. Merely states the plane exploded shortly after takeoff, all aboard killed. They do name Fellner, Monika, and the pilots."
She sipped her coffee. "I am sorry aboutPanFellner. He was a respectable man. But good riddance to Monika. She would have been a blight to us all, eventually. Her reckless ways would have developed into a problem."
"I believe you are right,drahè°©."
She savored a bite of warm bun. "Perhaps the killing may now end?"
"I certainly hope so."
"It is a part of my job I do not relish."
"I would not expect you to."
"Did my father enjoy it?"
Loring stared at her. "Where did that come from?"
"I was thinking about him last night. He was so gentle with me. I never knew he possessed such capabilities."
"Dear, your father did what was necessary. As you do. You are so much like him. He would be proud."
But she wasn't particularly proud of herself at the moment. Murdering Chapaev and all the others. Would their images linger in her mind forever? She feared they might. And what about her own motherhood? She'd once thought that a part of her future. But after yesterday that ambition might need adjustment. The possibilities now were both endless and exciting. The fact that people died to make it all possible was regrettable, but she could not dwell on it. Not anymore. It was time to move forward and her conscience be damned.
A steward appeared and crossed the terrazzo floor, stopping at the table. Loring glanced up.
"Sir, the police are here and wish to speak with you."
She glanced at her employer and smiled. "I owe you a hundred crowns." He'd wagered her last evening, on the drive back from Prague, that the police would appear at the castle before ten. It was 9:40.
"Show them in," Loring said.
A few moments later, four uniformed men strolled briskly into the dining hall. "PanLoring," the lead man said in Czech, "we are so happy to learn you are well. The tragedy with your jet was awful."
Loring rose from the table and stepped toward the police. "We are all in shock. Herr Fellner and his daughter were guests here last evening for dinner. The two pilots have been in my employ many years. Their families live on the estate. I am about to visit their widows. It is tragic."
"Forgive this intrusion. But we need to ask some questions. Particularly, why this might have happened."
Loring shrugged. "I cannot say. Only that my offices reported several threats made against me during the past few weeks. One of my manu-facturing concerns is considering an expansion into the Middle