everyone else; he wanted to know what was going on, because he too had no idea what was about to be unveiled.
Hauser cleared his throat. ‘By now, all of you must think I am a crazy old man. I assure you I am not. My body might be failing, but my mind is still sharp. As for my tears, they came from an unexpected source. I have always known that someone would come for the case. I have been prepared for that for half of my life. What I didn’t know was who. At my age, nothing in the world surprises me. I have lived too long and seen too much to ever be astonished. Nevertheless, I was caught off guard by your ring.’
Ulster pointed at his finger. ‘My ring?’
Hauser nodded. ‘I have not seen it for decades. But, even with failing eyes, I recognized it at once. An artist always remembers his art.’
Ulster quickly connected the dots. ‘You made my ring?’
‘I did indeed. I carved the crest myself.’
‘I don’t understand. This was my grandfather’s ring.’
‘Yes,’ Hauser confirmed, ‘it belonged to your grandfather, but I was the one who made it. My father gave it to him after the war as a token of our thanks.’
‘Thanks? Thanks for what?’
‘For everything,’ Hauser explained. ‘For hiding our jewels during the war. For keeping his word when others had lied. For protecting the case from Nazi hands. Your grandfather was an amazing man. Without him, the item would have been lost for ever.’
Payne heard the words and breathed a sigh of relief. Only two days had passed since he had called Ulster and told him about the bunker in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. At the time, the discovery of Ulster’s coat of arms on a crate of missing artwork had been potentially devastating. It had threatened to stain Ulster’s name and tear apart everything the Archives represented. But after hearing Hauser’s heartfelt speech, he knew the Ulster legacy was safe.
Alexander Hauser patted Ulster on his shoulder. ‘Your grandfather was a hero.’
Ulster beamed with pride. ‘I guess he was.’
The old man waved his finger. ‘There is no guessing about it. Conrad Ulster was a hero. He saved countless treasures across Europe, then returned them to the rightful owners. If not for him, this store and many others never would have reopened. That is why my family gave him the ring. And that is why I’m glad you’ve come for the case.’
71
Payne stared at the wooden crate on the floor next to Hauser’s stool. Nothing about it seemed special. It was made of wood and looked eerily similar to the crates found inside the hidden bunker. As far as he could tell, the main difference was its size. It was about two feet in width, length and height. Certainly not large enough to hold an enormous treasure.
‘Sir,’ Payne said, ‘you keep mentioning the item. Can you tell us about its history?’
Hauser paused in thought, trying to decide where he should start a narrative that had been going strong for more than a hundred years. After a while, he posed a question to the group. ‘Tell me, are you familiar with Nostradamus?’
Payne and Jones exchanged knowing glances. Both of them were quite familiar with the sixteenth-century French prophet, renowned for his ability to see the future. Less than a year ago, they had discovered one of his lost manuscripts, and it had nearly got them killed.
Ulster answered for the group. ‘Yes, sir.’
‘And what about his connection to Ludwig?’
Heidi shook her head. ‘That’s news to me.’
‘Me, too,’ Ulster added.
Hauser smiled. ‘Then that is where we shall begin - way back in 1864 when Ludwig was still a prince and his father was slowly dying.’
The group leaned forward, not wanting to miss a single word.
‘King Maximilian the Second summoned his son to his bedside and warned him of a prophecy that he believed foretold the death of Ludwig. Though it did not appear in his book Les Propheties, the quatrain has long been attributed to Nostradamus, a man who has influenced many a king across Europe and many a man across time.’
Ulster interrupted him. ‘What was the prophecy?’
The old man answered in fluent French.
Quand le Vendredi Saint tombera sur le jour de Saint George,
Paques sur le jour de Saint Marc,
Et la Fete Dieu sur le jour de Saint Jean,
Tout le monde pleurera.
From personal experience, Ulster knew that Payne and Jones weren’t language experts, so he translated the verse into English.
When Good Friday falls on Saint George’s Day,
Easter on Saint Mark’s Day,
And