“Crap. Could be anybody’s voice.”
“I’ve also got his written testimony. He was quite anxious to shop you and save his own skin.”
“I thought you told me Vogel might not be around anymore.”
“Last will and testament, you might call it. There are plenty of witnesses to back up the authenticity. We’ll be running it as an update to my story in the Daily European tomorrow.”
“Unless …”
“Yeah. You’ve got the idea. Unless you retire first. Write the letter tonight. You’ve put in your years. Save the pension. It’s too late to save the asses of the folks in Bonn who’ve been playing sweet with Germany United. They’re going down with the publication of Reni’s memoirs. And that manuscript is in the publisher’s hands as we speak. But you? At least you get your country house and plot of ground to plant petunias and zucchini.”
“And you’re doing this because … ?”
“Because I’m a realist. Same reason I left them standing at the Germany United camp today. You’re my insurance to continued good health. I’m sure you’ve got connections in the force, here and in Austria. I don’t want you using them against me. I’m not a crusader. Publishing Reni’s memoirs was what I was tasked with. That’s happening. Those boys in Bonn got a problem with it, they can take it up with the writer, but she’s already dead. Me, I’ve got to live afterward.”
“Very heroic, Kramer.”
“I leave the heroics to you folks, Boehm. Retire. Take it easy.”
“You say I’m a killer. You going to let a killer go?”
“Müller was going to live out the rest of his days in a prison cell anyway. You did him a favor.”
“You’ve got this all figured out, don’t you?” Boehm says. “Nice and wrapped up. It’s what a rational man would do, right?”
“Right.”
They stare at each other in the murky light for a moment.
“Think about it,” Kramer says. “You have until tomorrow. But nothing cute, okay?” He smiles at Boehm as he opens the door. “Those friends of mine in the car? They’ve got a penchant for violence. Ask Vogel.”
He looks at Boehm for a silent moment, sees the doubt in the Kommissar’s eyes, and then leaves, closing the door behind him without waiting for a response. Suddenly, he feels drained, as if he has not slept in weeks. He makes it downstairs and past the guard at the desk, who is still on the sports section but looks up to give Kramer a nod as he passes. He reaches the car in a daze.
“We were beginning to wonder,” Randall says as Kramer climbs in.
Maria is still sleeping curled up against Randall, and now he shifts her weight to Kramer’s lap.
“So?” Randall finally says.
Kramer shrugs. He looks down at Maria’s head, at the throbbing blue vein at her temple. “I think it’s over,” he says.
From the office above comes a muffled popping sound. One short explosive noise like the backfire of a car. Randall looks at him.
“A rational man,” Kramer says.
Then to Rudi in the front seat, “Maybe it’s time we go home.”
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Thanks go first to MysteriousPress.com founder Otto Penzler and associate publisher Rob Hart for turning this project into a book.
Folks at Open Road Integrated Media have also earned my gratitude. Lauren Chomiuk, associate managing editor, and Joan Giurdanella, copyeditor, have once again teamed up to help make this a much better novel by catching inconsistencies, tracking down and eradicating historical faux pas on my part, and generally making the narrative read more smoothly. Randle Robinson Bitnar’s meticulous proofread is also much appreciated.
A big thanks to this fine group of professionals.
And finally, thanks as usual go to my family, my sine qua non. Love you guys.
All rights reserved, including without limitation the right to reproduce this book or any portion thereof in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2015 by J. Sydney Jones
Cover design by Mauricio Díaz
978-1-4976-9043-1
Published in 2015 by MysteriousPress.com/Open Road Integrated Media, Inc.
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