“Please, have a seat,” said Cedric. “Can I get you something to drink?”
“I would like a rum and Coke, if you have it,” answered Mustafa.
This must be important, thought Cedric. Mustafa is obviously Muslin, but he is requesting an alcoholic beverage. I guess Allah doesn’t cross country borders.
Cedric extracted from his room bar two airline-size bottles of rum and a can of regular Coke, mixing them into a drink. He selected a regular cola for himself and returned to a seat directly in front of Mustafa.
After taking a sip of his drink, Mustafa said, “I spoke with my sponsor last evening—”
Cedric interrupted. “If we’re going to be partners, we need to speak in specifics. I assume that you are referring to Kaplan?”
Mustafa nodded in the affirmative and continued. “I spoke to Mr. Kaplan last evening. He likes your proposal primarily because there is no way he could not be the lowest bid. He would submit his bid with a stipulation that in the event that his bid is not the lowest presented, he is prepared to lower his bid to five percent below the lowest bid.”
“Excellent,” replied Cedric. “It appears that we may be business partners. That will certainly make the US steel industry happy as well as you and me.”
Mustafa’s face registered a wide smile as he appeared to be calculating, monetarily, what that would mean to him.
Cedric then followed up with the question that he had wanted to ask from the beginning. “Now that we have a business relationship, I have a question of personal curiosity.”
By now, Mustafa had taken several drinks from his glass. Unbeknown to him was that Cedric had doubled the alcohol content. “Ask anything, my friend. You have earned it.”
“I am curious as how the Kaplan Company went from the leading bid contender to the last but then was able to rebound to first place. That in itself is an amazing accomplishment.”
Mustafa appeared to be proud to report the events as he knew them. “It was truly an accomplishment, and I am honored to say that I played a part in it.”
“Please tell me. I would really love to know how you did it.” Cedric made a point to emphasize the word you to highlight the important role Mustafa must have played.
Mustafa continued. “At the onset, I knew that the proposal was going to be a challenge because the bid contained a ten-year maintenance clause that added to the cost.”
“A maintenance clause?” asked Cedric.
“Yes. The maintenance clause provided that the Kaplan Company would maintain the rail system for an additional ten years at no added cost to the country or any of the states the rail system passed through. The cost for maintenance was added to the base contract. Then the unfortunate happened.”
“What was that?” asked Cedric.
“The state of Hesse elected a new representative. I should add that at that time, we already had eight state representatives, to include the previous Hesse representative, prepared to vote in favor of the Kaplan Company. The new Hesse state representative made the bid process his personal crusade. He first started by arguing that all those voting in favor of Kaplan had taken a payoff from Kaplan.”
“Was that true?” asked Cedric.
“You know how the system works,” said Mustafa. “Of course some favors were given. But sometimes, as you might say and understand, the skids require some grease. The real stickler came when the Hesse representative pointed out how much money the federal government could save if the states assumed the maintenance cost for the section of the rail system that ran through their states. This was seen by the state representatives, for whom none of the rail was running through their states, as a positive for their getting reelected. Some of those who had already received monetary favors became fence riders.”
Probing more, Cedric asked, “What happened?”
“I reported the situation to Mr. Kaplan. He then made the mistake of sending a Turkish diplomat to talk with the Hesse representative, who tried to explain to the Hesse rep how the system works to everyone’s benefit if they were a part of it. The Hesse representative went public with the incident, claiming that an attempt was made to bribe him and suggesting that the other reps who supported the Kaplan Company had accepted payoffs. Naturally that caused several representatives to distance themselves from the Kaplan bid.”
“And that is what reversed the position of the Kaplan Company in the bid process?”
“Yes, and I so advised Mr. Kaplan.”
“What was Mr. Kaplan’s reaction?” asked Cedric.
“He became very upset and said that because I could not do my job, he would take care of it.”
“Did he?” asked Cedric.
“I don’t know. All I know is that by Allah’s fate, the Hesse representative was killed by an American. I have assumed that it must have been a personal matter. But for me, the results have only been positive. First, those who were on the fence started leaning more in our favor. Second, you arrive with a very lucrative deal for all concerned. I can assure you that Mr. Kaplan will be acquiring his steel from the US.”
“Good. I will return to the United States tomorrow, where our lawyers will put our agreement in writing. When that is done, it will be sent to Mr. Kaplan. Please advise him of the plan and that he should expect either myself or another US steel representative to hand deliver the agreement to him.”
“Thank you. I will advise him today.”
“I have one final question, my friend. Do you think there is any possibility that Mr. Kaplan could have been involved in the death of the state representative?”
A puzzling thought appeared to register in Mustafa’s mind. “I don’t know. Mr. Kaplan is a very powerful and respected businessman in Turkey. He has a lot of money tied up in this deal; for him not to secure it would have a significant detrimental effect on his current operations and his personal reputation.”
“Thank you, Mustafa. If you will give me one of your business cards, I will try to keep you informed of the progress of our efforts. I would offer you one of my cards, but the background investigation should have told you how you can reach me if you need to do so.”
Although Mustafa nodded in the affirmative, he could not recall if that was the case. After shaking hands, Mustafa departed. Cedric got on the phone and secured a late afternoon flight to Frankfurt. When that was done, he called Leo, told him, “Mission complete,” and thanked him for his help.
Chapter 28
Huck awoke with his head vibrating against something metal and his ears ringing. When his eyes snapped open, he saw a German policeman standing over him, striking the side of the metal dumpster with what Huck would describe as a nightstick. The police officer pointed at Huck with the nightstick, indicating where he wanted Huck to move.
Huck bounced to his feet, gathered his backpack, and hurried in the direction in which the police officer had pointed. Huck saw that the officer made no attempt to follow him. He was just letting Huck know that vagrants could not sleep on the street.
After walking a block, Huck spotted a public park. A sign read Toilette, with an arrow pointing down a walkway into the park. Looking at his watch, Huck saw that it was 5:00 a.m. He thought, That will be a good place to splash some water on my face and change back into my American tourist disguise.
Obviously, the policeman did not patrol the parks because there was another vagrant sleeping at the entrance to the toilette. Inside he found another curled up against the back wall. Huck entered one of the stalls and made his disguise change, stuffing the baggy coat and wig into his backpack. Upon exiting the stall, he washed his face with cold water, which was refreshing, and left the toilette. Neither of the vagrants had moved from their positions.
The previous evening, when Huck had followed Redhead to the entrance of his hotel, he remembered passing a coffee shop two or three doors from the hotel entrance. He headed in that dire
ction with his map in hand. A sign on the door stated that the shop would open at 6:00 a.m. There were some people moving around inside, setting out display items and rechecking the table setups. From the clock on the wall inside the coffee shop, Huck saw that he would have a fifteen-minute wait. Huck thought, No problem. As the first customer, I will be able to get a seat next to the window where I can watch for either Redhead or Scar Face to pass by going to the U-Bahn station.
Apparently Scar Face and Redhead had a tag-team system for following Walker because Scar Face passed the window in the direction of the U-Bahn station at 6:45 a.m. By this time, Huck had already downed two cups of coffee and eaten two hard rolls with cold butter. After placing sufficient euros on the table to cover his meal and provide a tip, Huck departed the coffee shop. He was approximately twenty yards behind Scar Face, but Huck was in no hurry because he knew where the man was going—to Fräulein Walker’s apartment.
By seven thirty, both Scar Face and Huck were in their surveillance positions. Scar Face was across the street in front of Walker’s apartment, in the same position that Redhead had been previously. Huck returned to his position of the previous evening, along the apartment complex’s service road. When Walker left her apartment, Huck would be in front of her as they walked to the bus stop.
On cue, Scar Face left his position on the far side of the street and kept pace with Walker as she started along the sidewalk toward the bus stop. Huck left his position on the service road, which put him at least twenty steps in front of Walker. Upon reaching the bus stop, Huck positioned himself at the intersection, as if he was waiting to cross the street, but where Scar Face would pass within a foot of him.
The routine was the same as the previous day. Scar Face took up his position on the bench across the street from Walker’s office. Huck lingered around the bus stop, as if waiting for another bus, but in fact he was waiting until he knew that Walker was safely inside. He then called her.
“Hello? This is Fräulein Walker.”
“Fräulein Walker, this is Huck. I hope you slept well last evening. You’re doing great. Just remember: do not leave your workplace until I call.”
“Herr Price, there has been a change in my schedule for today. Last evening I was called and offered a doctor’s appointment earlier than previously scheduled. With our medical system, one has to take the appointment when they can get it. My appointment is at three p.m. I need to leave here by two o’clock and I will have to take the U-Bahn.”
“I will have you covered. Just try to slow your pace some. In crowds of people, it’s a little more difficult for me to stay close to you. And please try not to make sudden turns or last-minute decisions to get on the train. I don’t want the door to close before I can get on.”
“I understand. Again, I thank you for keeping me safe.”
After waiting another twenty minutes, Huck departed and returned to the hotel.
Upon entering his hotel room, Huck noted that the small red light on his room phone was blinking, indicating that he had a message. When Huck dialed in, he found that he had two messages.
The first said, “Call Berger and Berger as soon as you get in. It’s important.” The second message said, “This is Cedric. I’m back and having a late breakfast. Call me when you get in.” Huck elected to call Berger and Berger first.
Soon after the receptionist at Berger and Berger understood that the call was from Herr Price, she put him through to Gunter Berger.
Berger excitedly answered his phone. “Herr Price, we now have a photograph of Herr S.!”
“That’s great news. Where were you able to get it from?”
“My two sources came through for me. Airport security had a picture of Mr. S. entering the airport from the plane, another one passing through customs, and still another in baggage claim. My customs source had a picture of him in customs and a picture of his passport.”
“When can you get me copies?” asked Huck.
“You may have them now in your hotel mailbox. I sent them to you by courier earlier this morning.”
“Thanks. I’ll check to see if they’re here. I’ve just received a call from Cedric, and after I debrief him, he may go to your office for you to record the information he has. I’ll talk to you later. Auf Wiedersehen.”
Huck dialed Cedric’s number.
Cedric answered on the first ring. “When can I unload on you?”
“Give me five minutes and meet me in our room. I need to run down to the front desk. There may be a package waiting for us.”
When Huck returned to his room, he had an eight-by-ten padded envelope in one hand and he used the other to swipe his key card on the door lock.
Cedric met the door as it opened. “Man, it’s good to see you. I can hardly wait to tell you what I learned.”
“Before you start, let’s take a look at what I have.”
Huck ripped off the top of the envelope, pulled out the pictures, looked each one, and then passed them to Cedric. “Now we have pictures of the mysterious Mr. S. Note in one picture that you can see Rouse’s face just in front of Mr. S.’s right shoulder. There’s another of Mr. S. retrieving his luggage. Note how he seems to be looking around for any cameras that might be recording him.”
Both men gave a sigh of relief. Now they had conclusive proof of the existence of Mr. S.—hard evidence that would substantiate Rouse’s story. Furthermore, credibility would be further established when Fräulein Walker confirmed the man in the picture to be the Mr. S. she worked for.
After studying the photographs for several minutes, Huck said, “Tell me your story and I’ll tell you mine.”
After an hour, and being careful to include all the details, Cedric concluded, “I’m rather confident that Mustafa Arslan believes that Kaplan had something to do with the death of the Hesse representative. Of course, our proving it will be more difficult.”
“Maybe not as difficult as we had thought a couple of days ago. Let me share with you the effort made to eliminate Fräulein Walker. But before I do, I will tell you of my visit with Mr. Kaplan.” Huck then took the next hour to relate his meeting with Kaplan at the Kaplan Company in Turkey and his efforts to keep Fräulein Walker under surveillance for the last forty-eight hours. He provided Cedric with a detailed description of both Scar Face and Redhead.
Huck said, “Now is when we will have to join forces. I don’t know if we’re dealing with more than two stalkers, and although I know the hotel where they are staying, I don’t know the room number.”
Cedric asked, “What’s the plan?”
“Before I tell you, there are a couple of things I think we need to do. First, I’d like you to send a picture of Mr. S. to your contact in the CIA who has connections with Interpol. It would be nice to know if Mr. S. has ever shown up on Interpol’s radar. Second, I’m going to get back to Berger and ask if he will have his contact in customs find out if there is any record of Mr. S. having ever departed Germany. Now as to the first major step in our plan, I want to us take one of the stalkers into custody and interrogate him.”
“How and where will you take him for interrogation?”
“I have that covered.”
Huck pulled from his pocket the bogus subpoena that Berger had gotten for him and showed it to Cedric. “I hope to use this to get past any legal authorities who attempt to interfere with my phony arrest of one of the stalkers. Also, I have arranged for a safe house. I have obtained the old Empire Enterprises office space for our use. There we will interrogate the one we catch. I just hope that there are not more than two. Here is where you come in, Cedric. I need for you to rent a black sedan and to be in the vicinity of where I make the simulated arrest. I will call you to advise you of the pickup point. It might be a good idea, when you rent the car, to secure a magnetized blue light that can be affixed to the roof. We need to look as official as possible until we get either Scar Face or Red
head into the safe house.”
Cedric said, “Sounds to me as if you’ve put some thought into the plan.”
“I have, and this afternoon I want you to be with me when I start surveillance on Walker. It will give me the opportunity to point out to you either Scar Face or Redhead. For now I’m going back to my room to get a few winks of sleep. I’ll be ready to move by one o’clock. Fräulein Walker has a doctor’s appointment today at three p.m. that will require her to leave work earlier than normal.”
“I’ll be waiting for you,” said Cedric.
Huck knocked on Cedric’s door at one o’clock. The Cedric who opened the door looked a little different from the Cedric Huck had seen only a few hours earlier. He was dressed similar to the German police detectives they had seen when they visited Rouse in jail. He was wearing dark trousers and a three-quarter-length leather coat with a matching Bavarian felt hat. From his coat pocket, Cedric retrieved a pair of dark sunglasses.
Huck gave Cedric the once-over. “You wasted no time in getting into your role.”
“When impersonating German law enforcement, it is important to be accurate,” replied Cedric. “Wait until you see the added feature, which was delivered to the hotel a short time ago.”
“I can hardly wait,” said Huck, who was dressed in a business suit, complete with a necktie and black horn-rimmed glasses. He also carried a black leather briefcase. This afternoon, he was just another businessman traveling from point A to point B.
When the two exited the hotel, Cedric led the way to a black BMW parked in front of a sign that read Reserved.
Huck was surprised. “Are you trying to draw attention to us by parking in a reserved spot?”
“What you don’t understand, Herr Price, is that much like law enforcement in the US, the German police are also notorious for parking anywhere they want to without question.” In the front windshield, lying on the dash, was a sign that read Polizei.
Huck pointed to the sign. “I certainly don’t want to know where you got that.”
A Price for Balancing the Scales Page 14