Nemesis: Innocence Sold

by Ross, Stefanie

  “He doesn’t. He was just worried. That’s all.” When he noted that Sandra’s expression remained skeptical, he knew what this was really about. “I understand it seems paternalistic to you, but Alex is known for her imprudent actions. And when Alex, Britta, Laura, and Lisa get together, a red alert’s really justified.”

  “Britta is Sven’s wife. Laura I know; she’s with Mark. But who’s Lisa?”

  “Jake’s wife, Mark’s sister. They all talk to each other regularly and usually put together a damned good picture from the individual pieces of the puzzle. And Dirk talks to his wife pretty openly about his job.” He laid a conciliatory hand on her thigh. “You should have noticed that I see you as an equal partner in connection with our police work.”

  “That’s why I have to be good and stay home tonight, too.” Her smile told Daniel she was needling him.

  “That’s true. You can darn a few stockings or iron some shirts.” Her outraged expression spoke volumes. “Tomorrow we’ll talk with Sven about how we’re going to put this bastard out of commission. One alternative is a not entirely legal search of his house, and as a last option we could leave things to Alex and Anna and sit back and watch while the media take him apart. Agreed?”

  “Yes. Absolutely. Thanks, partner.”

  CHAPTER 33

  “Why don’t you park on the street if you’re leaving again right away?” Sandra asked as he maneuvered the Mercedes into the carport next to the duplex half.

  “My neighbors aren’t coming back from their weekend trip until tonight, but in the carport the car’s perfectly screened from curious looks from the street. What do you think the reaction would be if someone happened to see Tom or me stowing a rifle in the trunk?”

  “Good point.” Sandra pointed to the door of the house. Tom waved to them with a backpack in his hand. “Looks like you’re already expected.”

  After looking at his watch, Daniel sighed and got out of the car. “The driving time from here to Paulsen’s property is less than thirty minutes. I thought it’d be fine if we left an hour from now. I guess I can forget about my cup of coffee. I have no idea why he’s in such a hurry, but we’ll find out.”

  With a nasty grin, Sandra linked arms with Daniel. “Well, Lieutenant, duty calls, and your coffee machine and PlayStation are waiting for me.”

  Daniel was about to respond when Tom raised his hand in warning and looked toward the street with his brow furrowed. Daniel felt for his gun and froze in the middle of the movement when hell broke loose around them. A bright flash of light, followed by a deafening noise, paralyzed him, though he was still coherent. Flash-bang grenades, designed to disorient an enemy and damn him to motionlessness. His eyelids closed except for a slit, he fought to banish the black veils before his eyes. He heard the muted sound of two shots. Horrified, he saw Tom collapse, hit in the chest; he could see that much. He had to . . . Sandra. She . . . Mark. He had been right. A blow to the neck sent him to his knees and ended his confused thoughts. The pain helped him overcome the shock of the grenades. With his head lowered, he tried to get an overview of what was going on. Tom seriously injured or in the worst case . . . He forbade himself to think the worst. He had to get himself and Sandra out of this situation. Slowly, he turned his head and looked into Sandra’s pale face.

  The man who had struck him down was tugging at his shoulder. Giving up wasn’t an option. Daniel appeared to submit to the movement but spun around and jerked a leg up. While he landed hard on his shoulder, he recognized the blond man behind him. Paulsen. He missed him by inches. Before Daniel could follow up, he was attacked from the side. He managed to avoid a kick in the ribs and sprang up.

  “Take it easy—or do you want to see your little girlfriend’s brain splattered all over the street?” Paulsen asked in a calm, almost bored voice.

  Daniel’s gaze swept to Tom’s motionless form, then to Sandra, who was being held by a gaunt black-haired man who was pressing the muzzle of a pistol against her temple. There were at least four other men between the house and the garden. Slowly, Daniel lowered his hands, which had been raised to fight. If Sandra hadn’t been there, he would have made an attempt despite his enemies’ having superior numbers; as it was, his only option was to wait for a better opportunity that wouldn’t end in certain death. Again he looked at his friend, who lay motionless; Daniel felt suppressed rage and sorrow and forbade himself to indulge in the tiny shimmer of hope that Tom had been wearing a bulletproof vest.

  “I thought you’d be reasonable,” Paulsen said. “Place your hands behind your back, and don’t make any sudden moves.”

  Without resisting, Daniel allowed his wrists to be bound with zip ties. Paulsen’s behavior simultaneously alarmed and irritated him. Actually, the man should have wanted to leave here as quickly as possible; instead he acted as though he had all the time in the world.

  “Put the girl in the car. I’ll take this one alone.”

  At least two of Paulsen’s companions didn’t seem particularly happy with his behavior. One was about to object but decided not to after having been nudged in the ribs.

  The gaunt man holding Sandra looked at Paulsen. “I’ll make sure the guy over there isn’t going to cause any trouble.”

  “After two bullets in the chest?” Paulsen shrugged. “It’s fine with me if you put another one in his head.”

  Before the gaunt man could take a step in Tom’s direction, Sandra seemed to wake. The men had refrained from binding her, but this proved to have been a mistake. She kicked the gaunt man in the shin and managed to break his hold on her and immediately followed up with a kick to the groin. The man groaned as he fell to the ground. Daniel’s hope that at least Sandra would escape faded when two of the men threatened her with their pistols, and she immediately stopped resisting. One of them grinned at her.

  “What do you know, the kitty has claws.”

  Daniel had to watch helplessly while she was led to a black all-terrain vehicle; at least they had forgotten Tom. With determination, he once again concentrated on the man opposite him, whose intentions were still a mystery.

  “Finally, we can get to know each other without being disturbed.” Paulsen walked around Daniel, not letting him out of his sight. “Close combat. Weapons. Medical knowledge. An interesting combination. Who are you working for? And don’t say the LKA. I’m not going to believe that for a second.”

  Daniel remained silent and considered whether he could risk putting Paulsen out of action. The other men had now gathered at the carport. They would flee if their leader were dead but would first kill him and Sandra, whom they would consider undesirable witnesses.

  Paulsen slapped Daniel. The blow was humiliating rather than painful, and once again Daniel had to control his rage. “You’ll talk. I promise you that. But first I’ll make sure you’re not carrying any unpleasant surprises.”

  Daniel’s pistol landed next to his cell phone under a bush, but Paulsen was still standing close behind him, and his hands passed over Daniel’s body but stopped for considerably longer than necessary on his back and thighs. Daniel felt disgusted.

  “We’ll have our fun,” Paulsen said with his mouth only an inch from Daniel’s ear.

  Daniel jerked his head to the side. His headache, which had been dull up to this point, increased to an intense, stabbing pain, but it was worth it to him. Daniel turned around and looked contemptuously at Paulsen; the sight of the bleeding laceration on Paulsen’s eyebrow gave him grim satisfaction.

  “That was extremely stupid of you,” Paulsen said, wiping blood from his face.

  Although Paulsen seemed to be waiting for a response, Daniel remained silent. Again Paulsen approached him, until the tips of their noses were almost touching. “Any further action on your part will be paid for by your girlfriend. Got that?” Paulsen didn’t wait for an answer. “Once you’ve told me everything about your investigation, I’ll show you a very special room containing even more special equipment. And every time you even think about resi
sting, the little policewoman will pay.”

  For the first time, Daniel felt a flash of naked fear, and it was difficult for him to keep his face neutral. While Paulsen had Sandra as a means of exerting pressure, there was nothing Daniel could do to oppose him, and Paulsen’s repulsive intentions were clear. Daniel had long since learned to live with the constant danger of death or serious injury. What Paulsen, with obvious pleasure, was threatening him with was something of an entirely different caliber, something all of them avoided thinking about.

  “Still no comment?” Paulsen asked. “You’re not as cool as you act. Go!” Paulsen pushed him in the direction of the carport. Nevertheless, Daniel tried to take a last look at Tom. Was he mistaken, or had his hand moved?

  As expected, Paulsen insisted on personally towing Daniel to the backseat of the all-terrain vehicle. The man’s fingers stroked lightly over his throat and finally came to rest on his shoulder. Paulsen pointed at Sandra. “Keep in mind what I said. But it looks like you’re capable of learning.”

  Daniel turned his head away when Paulsen wanted to touch his cheek. The man’s mouth twisted into a malignant grin. “Or perhaps not. This will be interesting.”

  Once again, Daniel remained silent, noting with satisfaction that Paulsen’s impatience again got the upper hand. Apparently unconcerned, he sought to find a somewhat comfortable sitting position despite his bound hands and confined himself to looking at Sandra inconspicuously out of the corner of his eye. She seemed enraged rather than fearful, and it didn’t seem as though she would lose her nerve.

  One could tell how much Paulsen enjoyed telling them that the doors’ activated child-protection mechanisms would prevent any attempt to escape from the moving vehicle. Neither Daniel nor Sandra reacted to the gloating remarks. When Paulsen drove off, he applied more force than necessary in shifting gears; apparently, he was dissatisfied with their silence. Rather than concentrating on the traffic, Paulsen looked into the rearview mirror almost constantly. The gaze of the passenger in the front shifted back and forth between his boss and the two passengers in the back with increasing concern.

  His eyelids half-closed, Daniel ignored Paulsen’s piercing looks. Their abductor was only playing into their hands with his lack of control. A traffic accident would open up completely new opportunities to flee. In such a situation, no professional would risk being noticed by a police car, much less causing an accident.

  Outwardly he continued to strive to maintain a calm demeanor, but his thoughts were racing as he analyzed Paulsen’s behavior. Paulsen seemed to be counting on seeing him lying on the ground, a beaten man, after some perverse games had taken place. It was possible for Daniel to appear to be beaten, but only in order to make it immediately clear that Paulsen had chosen the wrong man for his deviant pleasures. Although the thought almost killed Daniel, he had no other option but to flee and leave Sandra behind. As long as they were both in the hands of the criminals, they had no chance. Again and again he reminded himself of this, until, taking deep breaths, he had accepted it as the only way out. By this time the vehicle was driving along the A21, and Daniel bet Paulsen was headed to his estate. That was a point for him, then. He and Tom had thoroughly studied the beachfront property with the aid of satellite photos the previous evening, so he knew exactly what was awaiting him.

  When Paulsen slowed down just before reaching the autobahn exit at Tremsbüttel, Daniel inwardly heaved a sigh of relief. With that, the likelihood that they were on their way to the beachfront property had increased. He and Tom had puzzled over the purpose of an outbuilding the size of a normal one-family house that stood on the property in addition to the mansion-like building that was probably the family’s actual dwelling. Tom’s notion that this building could constitute Paulsen’s private space had sounded plausible already the previous evening, and Daniel hoped his friend had been right. That would be where his team would look for him first.

  Speculating about whether or when Mark would learn of their disappearance was a waste of time; instead, Daniel recalled the satellite photo. While the main building lay some distance from the sea, the smaller house was only separated from the water’s edge by a strip of grass and a sandy area. While he was unable to think of a specific plan under the current circumstances, he sensed that the sea would play a central role in his escape. Improvising, creating confusion, and then striking were standard tactics of the SEALs, and Paulsen was playing directly into his hands. His lack of control and obvious efforts to keep his unnatural passions a secret from his men were invaluable advantages.

  Sandra moved restlessly, earning herself distrustful looks from the passenger in the front. In contrast to Daniel, they had bound her hands in front of her body; Daniel and she might yet be able to exploit this further negligence. When Paulsen steered the Mercedes onto the exit ramp at much too great a speed, Sandra lost her balance and fell against Daniel. Rather than immediately sitting up straight again, she exploited the opportunity and nestled against him. He would have given anything to have taken her in his arms or whispered some calming words to her, but he had no opportunity to do so. Before he understood the purpose of her unexpected act, her hand felt across his jeans and she pushed a small object into his back pocket. When she straightened back up, there was the hint of a sad smile in her eyes.

  Daniel remembered the miniature pocketknife she always carried. “Toothpick” had been one of the more flattering designations for the little tool. The selflessness with which she transferred to him her only chance of freeing herself from her bonds touched him profoundly. With an effort, he managed a carefree grin. “Cooperate, and stall for time. Trust me,” he whispered in English.

  The passenger in front turned around angrily. “That’s enough. Get back to the other side, or I’ll help you. And not another word.”

  Enraged, Sandra glared at him. “Fuck you, too. How can anybody be stupid enough to get involved in insanity like this. And then children . . . Simply repulsive. I’m already looking forward to you getting what you deserve in prison.”

  Rather than lighting into Sandra, the man gave his boss a look and then looked forward again.

  Daniel considered the man’s coarse features. His crooked nose suggested that physical conflict wasn’t foreign to him; nevertheless, there appeared to be certain boundaries he didn’t cross. If he had exploited his opportunity to feel Sandra up thoroughly, he would hardly have missed her little toy. In contrast to Paulsen, he had refrained from binding her hands behind her back and had thus spared her unnecessary pain. Perhaps Daniel would be able to exploit this restraint later.

  A few miles from the autobahn, they drove through an area where most of the residences were mansions with private access to the sea. Daniel looked at cameras that were monitoring road traffic. Warning signs drew motorists’ attention to the fact that they were being observed by the cameras and that if asked to do so they would have to provide security personnel with information regarding the reasons for their presence on the residential street. Daniel doubted such a procedure would be in accordance with the restrictive German laws, but if necessary Jake would be able to get access to the cameras. The question was whether it would be possible to recognize him and Sandra behind the tinted windows. At least he was now certain of their goal. As expected, Paulsen opened a wrought-iron gate with a remote control and drove past the main building on a gravel road. He brought the vehicle to an abrupt stop in front of the outbuilding and seemed to be waiting for Daniel to strike the driver’s seat. But this expectation was unjustified. With his feet braced against the floor, Daniel succeeded in preventing himself from being thrown forward.

  “Bastard,” Sandra said between clenched teeth.

  Daniel didn’t respond to the comment but calculated the distance to the sea. Barely twenty yards, and the wooden boardwalk with the rowboat betrayed that the water was deeper than expected near the edge. Again, two points that helped him. It was time to reshuffle the cards.

  Paulsen yanked open the rear door of
the vehicle and seemed to be waiting for Daniel to be hindered in getting out by his bound hands. A further misjudgment—he effortlessly pushed himself off the rear seat and landed in style, right in front of Paulsen’s feet. Instead of drawing back, Paulsen used the opportunity to lay a hand on his shoulder.

  “Hands off!” Daniel said in his best officer’s tone, and Paulsen instinctively obeyed. Daniel slowly stepped back two paces and gave Paulsen a look containing well-dosed elements of revulsion and challenge. It had the desired effect. Rather than threatening him with his weapon, the guy followed him.

  “Apparently, Daniel, you haven’t entirely understood me,” Paulsen said.

  “Since when are we on familiar terms?” Daniel said. Until now, the other two men had only watched the proceedings, and he would have preferred it to stay that way. “Find someone else to play your perverted games. Four-year-old boys are your preferred victims, after all, aren’t they?” he added with scorn, retreating another pace. “In me, you’ve picked the wrong man.”

  At least two of the men stuck their heads together and whispered.

  Red spots appeared on Paulsen’s cheeks; enraged, he flew at Daniel with his fists raised. Daniel easily evaded this assault, counterattacking by kicking at Paulsen’s knee. He had significantly underestimated the close-combat skills of Paulsen, who sprang aside with an elegant movement and prepared for a kick Daniel was too late in seeing coming. Although Daniel was able to turn away and prevent the attack from having the full effect, Paulsen brutally hit him in the ribs. The force of the blow caused Daniel to stagger back, and it was only with great effort that he managed to stay on his feet. Every breath hurt terribly, and Daniel hoped the ribs were only cracked; he couldn’t afford a break. Paulsen gave him no rest. There was an unhealthy arousal in his eyes; apparently, he had tasted blood. Daniel was able to avoid a punch aimed at his face, but a hit to the stomach sent him to the ground. Despite his blurry vision, he noted that he was still too far from the water. He was pulled up with surprising force; gasping for air, he didn’t defend himself against Paulsen’s grip on the collar of his T-shirt. When he was finally standing steadily on his feet again, he leaned lightly against Paulsen. Visibly surprised, Paulsen lowered the fist that he had raised to strike. “Do you finally understand?”