“They are good at finding information. That’s all you need to know about them.”
“Were they able to find Hummels? He’s dead, though. Wait, slow down.”
Her long legs were taking up huge chunks of real estate with every stride, something the short German had trouble doing.
“Yes, Hummels is dead. But one of his sons is still alive. His name is Friedrich. My friend is going to message me his address.”
“Address? Your friend was able to find his physical address? How? And so quickly?”
Adriana stopped and turned around. Koenig nearly ran into her, barely stopping in time. He put his hands up just in case, as if to brace himself.
“Professor, you have been a great help, but perhaps it’s time you left this to someone with a little more experience. Besides, it’s going to be dangerous.”
He looked up into her eyes, searching to see if she was being honest. Koenig found no lies there, but that didn’t change his mind. “I’m coming with you. I spent most of my adult life looking for that painting. If seeing it is the last thing I do, then all of that time will not have been in vain.”
She let go of her frustration the second she saw the pleading on his face. “Fine.” She waved a dismissive hand. “But do not get in my way. And no more questions. All you need to know about my friends is that they have access to equipment and resources most people don’t. And I do too.”
“Understood. I won’t ask anymore unnecessary questions.”
“Good.”
Adriana turned and started walking again, even faster than before. Koenig struggled to keep up, finally getting side by side with her as they passed through the gate.
“I’m… I’m sorry… but,” he stuttered, almost afraid to ask. She’d managed to train him in a short amount of time. “Where are we going?”
She didn’t respond until they reached the car. Once she was behind the wheel and the doors were closed, she revved the engine and checked the mirrors to make sure the road was clear. He stared at her expectantly, impatiently waiting for her reply.
“Innsbruck, Austria.”
10
Allyson watched from her rental car, disguised with sunglasses and a baseball cap, as Adriana and Koenig visited the grave. Normally, she would have placed a listening device on the back side of the tombstone and loosely covered it with a fallen leaf so her targets wouldn’t find it. Her left hand would have also held an extended range microphone that picked up nearly everything the targets were saying as they walked away from the gravesite.
She wished she could have heard everything being said on Adriana’s phone call, but leaving Berlin in a hurry left her with basically nothing but her ears and eyes. And lip reading wasn’t her specialty, especially from a distance. Silently, Allyson cursed herself for being so careless. She’d been caught off guard in the archives, something she’d relived over and over again in her mind during the five-hour-plus train ride. Being unprepared in the field, however, somehow seemed inexcusable.
The best she’d been able to do was buy a baseball cap and a pair of cheap sunglasses from a shop at the train station. At least she’d had the foresight to do that, as crude a disguise as that was.
Allyson pulled the cap’s bill down low as her targets approached the gate and walked through it. Koenig had a worried and eager look on his face as if he was waiting for an answer to a question. It was doubtful they’d seen her. Allyson kept a good distance from the other two just in case her ragged cover didn’t do the trick. From half a block away, she’d just look like some average college girl sitting in her car, texting someone.
Adriana appeared to be in hurry. As soon as she got into the driver’s seat of the BMW, Allyson started her rental car. The other sedan pulled out of the parking spot and after checking to make sure the street behind her was clear, Allyson drove into the lane, careful to keep her distance.
“Where are you off to in such a hurry?” she said to herself.
She let another car, a gray five-door compact, merge into the lane between her and the lead vehicle. Adriana was savvy and would be watching for a tail. There was no doubt about that.
The little caravan stopped at a red light, and Allyson pretended to be busy on her phone, as seemed to be the growing trend for drivers at traffic lights. When it turned green, the BMW turned right and quickly pulled into a parking space next to the sidewalk in front of a row of shops. Allyson’s eyes narrowed, but she kept driving. There was a parking space a few hundred feet up the street that would do nicely. She cruised past the sedan, hoping its driver didn’t notice or recognize her. Allyson watched in the rearview mirror as Adriana and her passenger got out. The Spaniard pointed at one of the stores, clearly not paying any attention to the car passing her.
Allyson kept an eye on the two as they disappeared into a clothing shop. When they were out of sight, she guided her car into the parking spot up the road and put the transmission into park.
“Getting some new clothes?” she said, keeping her eyes on the mirror. The thought reminded her that she needed a change of clean clothes too, but that would have to wait for now. At least she’d had a shower.
For the next twenty minutes, Allyson kept her gaze glued to the storefront. She wondered what was taking so long and at one point, nearly got out of her car to walk down the sidewalk across the street to see if she could get a view inside. That idea was the product of impatience, she knew, but it was still tempting. It would be too risky. She could be spotted, or just as bad, the other two could come out and drive off, leaving her scrambling to get back to her ride. No, she had to stay put and wait.
Another thought occurred to her. If they had spotted her, going into the store could be a ruse. They may have escaped out a back door and found other means of transportation. It was unlikely but certainly within the realm of possibility
She shook her head. No, they would be coming back out the front.
Twenty-eight minutes into her wait, her targets appeared through the entrance and hurriedly returned to the sedan, both wearing a new set of clothes. The woman wore a denim jacket and black jeans with a white T-shirt. The professor sported a zip-up hoodie and loose fitting jeans that seemed more appropriate for a high school student.
The two reentered the vehicle and took off again. Allyson waited a few moments and then got back onto the road, again careful to keep her distance. She’d fueled up her rental car earlier that morning just in case the destination required several hours of driving, though Allyson hoped that wasn’t the case.
The BMW made its way through the city and back to the Autobahn, something Allyson was glad for. Tailing someone proved to be much easier and less obvious in the constant traffic of a main stretch of freeway. She let a few other cars and a van move in front of her in the right lane, allowing her own vehicle to drift back a little to keep out of direct sight.
“Okay, Adriana Villa,” she said quietly. “Lead me to this painting.”
11
“It was impressive,” Hummels said, “how you took out my guard like that. A risky move. But an impressive one. Fortunately for you, I appreciate someone who is willing to take a risk to get my attention.”
“Your guard didn’t leave me much choice. We had to see you.”
Adriana followed their host through the mansion on an obligatory guided tour. She recalled how Espinoza had wanted to do the same in Mexico. For a few brief moments, her paranoia suggested the two men might be similar. As she listened to Hummels talk, however, she found that the two were nothing alike.