“That would be good. Now, you want to move on?”
“Yes. Let’s go ahead and check out and move down towards Saint-Michel. I don’t want to go straight there. Let’s take our time,” she said.
“I’ll load the car and pay the bill on our way out,” Alan said.
“I pay this time,” Kate insisted.
“I like our arrangement as it is. Collecting from you is something I look forward to.”
“Maybe I would like to collect from you as well,” she said.
“I think I could live with that,” he said giving her a quick kiss.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
They drove along the back roads once again, in no particular hurry.
“I know of a nice little beach town,” Kate said.
“Really? How much time have you spent in France? You seem to know a lot about it.”
“This is my fourth or fifth…yes, the fifth trip. I’ve been to see my brother three times and once on my own. This will make the fifth trip.”
“Where else have you gone?”
“The first time I went north through Alsace, Champagne, and that region before going to visit my brother. The next time I flew to Barcelona, Spain and drove all along the French Riviera. That I did alone. The next time was traveling with my brother. He took me to Normandy and many of the places we have been on this trip.”
“Well, I guess that would pretty much cover it all.”
“Oh heavens no. I haven’t explored nearly enough of the interior. The next time I come that is where I intend to go,” Kate told him.
“Interesting. I see.”
“Why?”
“Just wondering.”
“Wondering?”
“Yeah. I mean, you know all these really neat places.”
“Geez Alan, I said it was my fifth trip. Of course I log away places I really like. It’s no different than you do in the States is it?”
“No. I guess not,” he replied.
“Interesting.”
“What?” Alan asked.
“The ‘interesting’ statement.”
“Look. This whole thing has me unsettled. I’m sorry. I just can’t figure this all out and it’s really getting to me. Clouse, Brandt , tracking devices, my grandfather’s diary and you,” Alan told her.
“Me? What about me?”
“Kate, I’ve told you before. You are amazingly beautiful. You are smart, brave and resourceful.”
“So? Besides that is just your opinion.”
“I can’t figure out why you are with someone like me. All I have done is put you in harm’s way.”
“Oh knock that crap off. I’m with you because I am attracted to you. If you think it is anything else then just drop me off and I’ll go off on my own. I offered that before. But I will tell you this, either do it or cut the crap.”
“Okay, okay. It’s just every time I look over at you I think about how damn lucky I am and it scares me.”
“Wait, I hope you mean I don’t scare you,” she said.
“Don’t try to twist my words; you know darn well what I mean.”
**
Agon Coutainville was one of the emerging French towns. Much of it was still in its original condition with narrow streets and stone houses with slate roofs. Further out new houses and apartments were being built. While they carried some of the original elements, they clearly represented a change in France's landscape.
Alan had noticed it in several towns. When he asked the locals how they felt about the new construction that didn't seem to fit in, they shrugged their shoulders and said there was little they could do about it. Did they like it, no. It was mostly about taxes and bringing in more revenue.
“What do you think about it?” Alan had asked Kate.
“I hate it. I think it stinks. The houses and apartments are ugly and do nothing for the aesthetic beauty I associate with France. Whoever decided to allow this kind of construction ought to be taken out and shot.”
“Wow, no tell me how you really feel,” Alan had replied.
“It makes me furious,” Kate said.
“Then we will find a small place that has just the right look.”
“I would certainly welcome that,” was Kate’s response.
Alan found a perfect place for them. It was named the La Trémaillerie just on the edge of Agon Coutainville.
“Oh Alan, this is just perfect. This place is magnificent,” she said leaning over to kiss him on the cheek.
“Not bad, huh?’ Alan said.
“More than’ not bad’. It really is magnificent, isn’t it? Look at how it’s built. All natural stones. Slate roof, It’s exactly what you think a place in France should look like. If I could afford a place like this I would buy it in a heartbeat. It’s absolutely perfect,”
“Glad you like it. Shall we?”
“Yes but I want to stay two days. Please?”
“Not a problem. Like you said, we don’t need to hurry. Besides maybe they will get bored and just forget about us,” Alan replied.
“I wouldn’t get your hopes up too much about that happening,” Kate said.
“I suppose you’re right.”
Alan registered them and they were shown to their room.
“Good heavens. What did you get for us?”
“They had an apartment so I thought what the heck.”
“This has two bedrooms and a kitchen.”
“I figured we could try a different room each night,” he said smiling.
“I’m surprised you didn’t get the place for three nights so we could include the kitchen,” Kate replied.
“Who says I didn’t?”
“What is this costing?” Kate asked.
“Let me put it like this. A huge amount of rent is going to be due to make up for the cost,” Alan said.
“Is that all you think about?”
“Mostly. Food every once in a while.”
She just shook her head and muttered, ‘men’.”
**
Alan and Kate sat on the beach watching the sun go down. They were on their second bottle of Pinot Noir and nibbling on a baguette.
“Let me run something by you,” Alan said.
“Does it have to do with sex?”
“No. Why? Should it?” Alan said sitting up.
“Never mind. Let’s hear it,” Kate replied.
“Why don’t we do something totally unexpected?”
“Okay, such as?”
“Rent a sail boat.”
“That would certainly be unexpected. It would also probably make Brandt and his band of Nazis go crazy.”
“So, do you think it is a good idea?”
“Absolutely not.
“Really?”
“I think it’s a very bad idea. It may really freak them out. Let’s do it.”
“But...”
“What? Are you turning chicken all of a sudden?” Kate taunted.
“I’ll show you chicken when we get back to the room.”
“I’ll bet you show me more than that.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Alan was able to rent a thirty foot sail boat after exchanging a lot of broken English, hand gestures, and even a drawing but they finally struck a deal.
“You can do this sailing thing right?” Kate asked.
“I thought you could,” Alan replied, looking surprised.
“Me? You suggested it.”
“You said yes. I just assumed you…”
“Oh no. You’re not getting me this time. Get in the boat and do something nautical,” Kate said.
“Ohhh, I like the way you say that word.”
“Okay, let me rephrase that. Do something sailorie.”
“Salorie isn’t a word.”
“It is now sailor boy. Make it go,”
Alan eased them out of the small harbor and within a few minutes they were heading down wind. Kate was sprawled out letting the sun warm her as Alan piloted the boat. They had a pretty stiff
breeze so he angled the boat away somewhat and lowered the jib sail. After an hour or so Alan yelled up at Kate.
She had drifted off and woke up disoriented. It took her a second to realize where she was.
“What?”
He motioned for her to come on back to where he was and she slowly made her way to the tiller where Alan was.
“See it?”
“What?” she said looking out in the same direction he was pointing in.”
“Jersey Island.”
“Jersey? That’s not part of France. That belongs to England.”
“Well, technically, I guess. The Duke of Normandy I think rules over it. I read about it once but it’s very hazy as to who does what to whom and how it’s all determined. You want to go there and look around?”
“Will we need passports?”
“Heck if I know. Probably not,” Alan replied.
“Probably?” Kate said looking at him like he had lost his mind.
“Okay, I have no clue. Let’s just sail over there and have a look around from the boat. We won’t go ashore.”
“That I would go for.”
Alan took them in closer and then tacked up the coast.
“Wow, look at that,” Kate said.
“Pretty cool. Wonder what it was?”
“A darned huge castle. Probably used to protect the Island. You can probably see all around the place from there.”
“Very cool. Look, there are a heck of a lot of sailboats here. Let just go in and see what happens,” Alan suggested.
“What the heck. As long as they put us in the same cell, I’m game.”
Alan dropped the main sail and used the motor to get them into the harbor. They docked in an empty slip and waited for someone to say something but no one seemed to care who or what they were doing. Alan jumped out and tied off the boat and Kate joined him on the dock.
“Well, so far so good,” Alan said.
“Let’s just see what happens.”
They walked to the head of the pier and headed up a steep bank. They found they were in St. Helier. It was a beautiful city overlooking the harbor. They spent the entire day walking, sightseeing and window shopping.
“We should head back,” Alan said, looking at his watch.
“I really hate to go but I suppose you are right. Will it take long?”
“Depends on the wind.”
“What about your skill?”
“Well, the way it works is, if we get back safe and sound, it was my skill, if we don’t it was obviously the wind.”
Kate just shook her head.
Finding out that his skills were no match for the wind, they had to use the motor the last two miles to get back to the pier.
**
“They were not in the hotel all day?” Brandt asked.
“No. They went to the pier and rented a boat. There was no way we could follow them.”
“So we don’t know where they went. That is not so good.”
“No, it is not.”
“What are they up to? Just about the time I think they may be telling the truth and don’t know any more than they say, something like this comes along,” Brandt replied.
“Maybe they just wanted to have some fun. Get away from all the pressure,” Durr suggested.
“Possibly, but I don’t like it. They could have gone anyplace and we would never know. Think about it a minute. What if they knew where the gold was? They sailed there and moved it. They could have even picked up the diamonds for all we know. That alone was worth more than twenty million Euro’s on today’s market,” Brandt said.
“Then why would they come back. If you took them, what would you do? I know what I would do, I would disappear and no one would ever find me again,” Durr said.
“And just leave the gold?”
“Why not? Thirty million Euro’s now and if you needed to, you could always come back later when everything dies down. That’s what I would do. Gold is nice but much harder to move and to unload. Diamonds are what I would want,” Durr told Brandt.
“I see your point but since they are back now, close the surveillance down a little tighter. Has anyone located Kluge yet?” Brandt asked.
“Like Clouse, he is off on his own. He is someplace close by. Probably watching us as we keep an eye on Lang. At some point we are going to have to deal with him. You know he wants it all for himself. He was always a greedy bastard. We should have taken him out when we had the chance,” Durr said.
“But we didn’t and hindsight is always easier. Tell Nadel and Finkel if they have the opportunity to take Kluge out, then by all means do it.”
“I’ll pass it along. Speaking of which, has Finkel found out about the last pages yet?”
“They are being analyzed. We should have an answer in few days,” Brandt told him.
“That would be good to know,” Durr replied.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Kluge was indeed doing just as Brandt had said. He was going about it in his own way. Finkel was the brawn of the group but he was also the dumbest one. He was by far the easiest to keep track of and to follow.
“By tailing him, he knew where Brandt and the others were and also Lang. He had been working with Clouse to some extent but then Clouse decided it was going too slow for his liking and went off on his own.
Reading about what had happened to Clouse in the paper gave him a new respect for Lang. He had never known Clouse to have failed. He wasn’t a fighter but he usually shot first and then asked questions. Clouse was proficient in inflicting the maximum amount of pain without killing the person he needed information from.
Clouse liked to shoot his victims through the top of the foot so the bullet exited out the heel. Not only was it debilitating but the pain was excruciating. From there he would work his way through various joints until he got what he wanted. He would have to be careful with Lang.
Kluge was watching from across the street when Finkel came out the side door of a small shop that said it offered rare books. Kluge knew that it was a front. Gégorie DuChett was a forger. Kluge had used him many times in the past. He waited until Finkel drove off before he went across the street and entered the shop.
A small bell rang someplace in the back. The shop was dark, dusty and stacked with books. Everywhere you looked there were books and more books. A few seconds later Gégorie came out from behind a curtain and stopped dead in his tracks.
“Gégorie, you do not seem very happy to see your old friend,” Kluge said.
“No, no. It’s not that. I just didn’t expect to see you. You usually let me know when you are coming.”
“Ah. See then. It had nothing to do with Finkel who just leaving?”
“Finkel? Oh, no. He was just paying for some work I had done for him. It was unusual for him to turn up unexpectedly as well. Is something going on?”
“Just the usual. Nothing really special. Speaking of Finkel, what exactly did he want from you?”
“I told you. He was settling his account. I owed me for some previous work that I had done for him.”
“Gégorie, how long have we known each other? Five years, ten? Time goes so fast now days that I forget. However one thing I do not forget is how bad a liar you are. You never could lie worth a damn and here you are trying to bluff your way out of this like I am stupid,” Kluge replied.
“No. No. You have it all wrong. Like I said. I was just shocked at seeing first Finkel and now you all within a few minutes of each other.”
“Gégorie. Please, don’t make me do this the hard way. I would really hate to end our association on such a sour note,” Kluge said taking a semi-automatic out of his pocket and threading a silencer onto the barrel.
“Please, Kluge. If I say anything they will kill me. You know how it works. Never divulge is what I have always lived by. That is why you have always been able to trust me. You knew I would never talk to anyone about your business,” Gégorie pleaded.
“It is a difficult position to be
in but here is the thing Gégorie. I am here right in front of you. You can see that I will kill you. Brandt and his bunch of thugs may come back and kill you for what you divulge. Maybe they will never know that you even saw me. There is no reason for them to find out is there? I mean I certainly have no reason to tell them.”
“Yes, but Kluge, then you would start to suspect the work I have done for you in the past and I swear I have never divulged that, ever. My reputation is all I have,” Gégorie said.
“You are in a terrible fix, I must admit but Gégorie, I need to know so please, just tell me what I want to know and get on with your life,”
Gégorie sighed deeply and said, “Alright. I see I have no choice. Come on back and I’ll show you.”
Kluge followed the man back into the small back room of the shop. It was a far cry from the front of the shop. Everything was neat and clean. Nothing was out of place. At least twenty passports of various nationalities were stacked on his desk.
“Brandt sent Fenkel to deliver these pages. He wanted to know if the last pages were written in the same hand as the other ones. My part is simple. Determine if the last pages match the former pages and if not let him know.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know. All he said was that it was important to know. There is some suspicion that the last pages may be a forgery.”
“And are they?”
“Come on Kluge. You said you saw Finkel leave. I haven’t even taken a look at them. See that stack of passports. I must have matching visas for them ready by noon tomorrow. If I start right this minute I may get them done on time.”
“When do they want to know?”
“A few days. As soon as I finish the visas.”
Kluge tapped the silencer in his other hand for several seconds. Gégorie was sweating profusely by this time.
“Alright Gégorie. I am going to give you a number to call. Just as soon as you know one way or the other I want you to call me. Before you call Finkel or anyone else, understood?” Kluge said.
“Sure. Do you want me to make a copy of them for you to take now,” Gégorie said feeling a whole lot better now.
“I don’t know what good they would do me but everyone else seems to have a copy so certainly. Why not?” he replied.
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