Zane hoped his partner would find the right man one day, a man who would take the time to understand all the aspects of her complicated but attractive personality. Whenever Carmen dated, Zane noticed that one of two things happened — either she would lose interest, finding the man shallow and boring, or she would succeed in finding a man who stimulated her mind, but he would back off because of the mysterious nature of her job and her lengthy absences. The players would try to stick around because of their physical attraction to her, but the serious ones rightly wanted to know more about the woman they were falling for. One frustrated man had actually accused her of being involved in the drug trade.
With that shaky dating history, the Italian opened her heart to Zane over drinks at their favorite restaurant in DC one night. She told him that for now she’d decided to stay focused on the job she loved so much, for the time being. It gave her a wonderful sense of fulfillment and accomplishment. In terms of when she might get married, she told Zane that a higher power would have to let her know when the time was right.
The sound of nearby car horn brought the operative out of his thoughts. They had left the square and were walking along Wollzeile. It didn’t take them long to hail a taxi, and Carmen used her limited German to give the driver their destination.
Precisely eleven minutes later they exited the cab, paid their fare, and walked three blocks to Baumannstrasse, a short, dead-end street that intersected a larger block. Each side of the street was lined with tall apartment buildings. They stopped at the third building on the left. A black-and-gold plate read “25.”
Assured they were at the right place, Zane took in the building itself. Two ornate lanterns with flickering bulbs were hung on either side of the door. To the right of the door was a large glass window that revealed a small lobby with an elevator on the left and a hall that lead to the back on the right. Not surprisingly, the building was exactly as he had pictured in his dream.
According to a plan they had conceived at the restaurant, Zane would enter alone and make a first pass through the flat, to look for any information Higgs might have left behind. Carmen would cover outside, entering only if Zane needed assistance or was unable to find any clues.
“I guess Higgs didn’t like to… how do you say in English? Rough it?”
“No, apparently not. If you’re on the run, I’d say this is not a bad place to shack up.”
Zane started to say something else but was silenced by the barking of a nearby dog. Seconds later, a woman appeared out of the darkness, with a poodle stretching its leash and growling at the two strangers who had dared to interrupt his walk.
The woman rebuked the dog in German and then said something to both of them. Carmen replied in German.
When she had passed, Zane asked, “What did she say?”
“My German isn’t the best, but I think she said not to worry… something about the dog being in a pissy mood at having to wear a little sweater.”
Zane looked up and down the sidewalk to make sure there weren’t any other surprises. “I’m going in before anyone else comes along. Let me know if you see anything down here.”
“Sure.” Carmen turned and walked away, trying to look as though she were out on a casual stroll. Zane got halfway up the steps and then cursed.
“What’s wrong?” Carmen asked, as he headed back down.
“Apparently, Higgs wasn’t as smart as we thought.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, he gave his daughter the key to his apartment, but he forgot something else: the code to get into the building.”
“Are you sure he didn’t give it to her?”
“She said nothing about a code, and I can tell you unequivocally there was nothing in the letter about one.”
Carmen bit her lower lip. “Hmmm. Not good. So there weren’t numbers of any kind in the letter? None at all? Perhaps he hid something in there thinking Amanda would figure it out.”
“No. Nothing. I committed that letter to memory, and there are no numbers or numbered codes of any kind.”
Zane stepped over and peered in through the large glass window. He stood there for a moment, his mind spinning through several ideas.
“What are you thinking?” Carmen asked.
“I’m remembering the satellite view of this neighborhood. This street partially bisects the block, with the buildings on each side forming two large squares. In the middle of each square is an inner courtyard. If we can find a way to get into that courtyard, it’s possible we can find a rear entrance.”
“Wouldn’t we run into the same problem? I can’t imagine they’d have one secure entrance and another open entrance.”
“You’d be surprised. But even if the rear entrance does require a code, I’d much rather force my way in back there than out here on the street.”
Carmen was already using her phone to pull up the satellite view of their location. A couple of minutes later, she said, “I’ve found our block. And I see the two inner courtyards you referred to. Unfortunately I don’t see a way to get to it except through one of the buildings. All of the structures appear to be pressed against each other. No alleys, no streets, nothing.”
“The key word is ‘appear.’ I still think it’s worth it to walk around the block.”
Carmen put her phone back in her pocket. “Agreed. At this point there aren’t many other options.”
Fortunately, it only took them fifteen minutes to find what they were looking for. On the opposite side of the block, they found an archway and tunnel that led to the courtyard. The covered tunnel would have looked like a building in the satellite view.
“Well, well. It looks like we found our ticket to paradise.”
“Indeed it does,” replied Zane, looking at a sign for an outdoor music series to be held in the courtyard that weekend.
After determining no one was watching, the two passed quickly through the tunnel and entered a small park. Stone pathways meandered through a maze of trees and neatly trimmed hedges. Apartment buildings towered on all four sides. The entire space was mostly dark, with the only light coming from the windows of apartments and a few small ground lamps scattered along the stone path.
Knowing the general direction of Higgs’s apartment building, the two operatives stole quietly down the path until they finally found themselves standing in front of a fountain in the park center. Water gurgled out of the top and cascaded down three levels. Dim lights were hidden in the base, giving the water a shimmering glow.
“Nice,” Carmen said softly.
Zane looked at all the buildings one more time in order to get his bearings, and then nodded past the fountain. “Let’s keep moving in the same direction.”
“Can you tell which building is ours?”
“If I’m right, ours should be just down on the left. I'll recognize the stonework once we get down there.”
After walking about thirty yards, Zane held up his hand. They were standing at the point where a narrower path turned off toward a gray stone building. “I think this is it.”
As they approached the building, Zane noted that it was much darker at the entrance than other buildings they had passed. There was a light fixture above the door, but the bulb had apparently gone out. The only illumination was the soft light coming out of the square glass panel set in the door itself.
Zane turned on his flashlight and directed the beam toward the door. “Perfect. I think we’re in.”
Carmen stepped closer and saw what he was referring to. Just above the doorknob was a circular lock, and as far as she could tell, there were no panels for coded entry.
Zane pulled the key out of his pocket and inserted it into the lock. Both held their breath and then exhaled when the key turned and the door cracked open.