Heinz brought her brother home safe and sound, and unharmed. Since that day, Elsa vowed to find a new career, one that would have her home at night to better keep an eye on Anno, and one in which she would be around a better quality of people. She really wasn’t quite sure what that career might be, but she told Heinz and his partner, Birgitta Mahler, that somehow, she wanted to help others, and maybe work in a field where she could fight against people like Knudson. It became imperative she have a way to protect others, especially children. Mahler suggested law enforcement. She said they needed more strong women on the force. Heinz, feeling magnanimous after closing a child abduction case successfully offered to help her. He greased the wheels to get her into the program. She still had lunch with him once a month. He made a point of keeping tabs on her and Anno who was about to graduate Gymnasium and enter Technische Universitat Berlin.
Elsa smiled remembering her journey from that moment to this one, in the rain, watching people go about their day as she patrolled the strasse with her partner, Hugo Beimer. They were Schutzpolizei, or more commonly, Schupo. Beimer had been a patrol officer now for nearly two years. He was large and friendly, and everyone along the Tiergartenstrasse knew him. She, however, was the new kid, the rookie. She would have to prove herself, and that took time, and more hours on foot than she cared to consider while standing in the rain.
The Tiergarten was nearly empty of tourists so Beimer suggested they head east along Tiergartenstrasse. Their patrol took them to the end of the road, and they looped back around coming full circle on Corneliusstrasse. As they passed the Galerie George Nothelfer, they noticed a large truck parked illegally in front while three men carried massive canvases from the back of it inside. Beimer threw a look at Elsa indicating the vehicle, and he approached the gentleman standing on the sidewalk directing the other two in what to move and where to put the items.
“You can’t have that truck parked here like that. It’s obstructing traffic.” Her partner was not one to mince words. He pointed at the cock-eyed way the truck’s back end stuck out onto the thoroughfare.
The man turned and his eyes briefly caught Elsa’s before locking onto Beimer. “We’re almost finished, officer. Our dock out back is flooded. A pipe broke last night and maintenance is back there fixing it. We didn’t really have any choice.” He looked Beimer straight in the eye, which not many men could do since he was a tall man. But the gentleman was equal in height, and carried a pleasing amount of muscle, at least Elsa thought so. His hazel eyes were outlined in dark brown lashes that matched his hair, which was cut short and gelled into a sort-of short Mohawk fashionable among men lately. He had symmetrical features and a strong jaw softened by just a hint of well-maintained five-o-clock shadow, and nicely shaped lips.
“Not my problem. But traffic is stalled so get this pulled further off the road quickly.” Beimer, for all his usual gentleness, could come off as one scary bear of a man sometimes. Maybe that’s why he succeeded so well in the Schupo. His goal was to go on to further schooling and ascend into the upper echelons as a detective. Such took years, and often had a great deal to do with who one knew. Elsa thought of Kommissar Heinz who’d become a pseudo-father figure over the last couple of years. Underneath his rough exterior, he had a heart of gold. He’d attended all of Anno’s school programs and was there the day Elsa entered into police training and took her and her brother out to dinner to celebrate when she completed it all and was inducted into the Schupo. Anno had really taken to him, too. Heinz was Elsa’s “somebody” inside the force. She knew that some things had been easier for her than for others because the Kommissar was her benefactor. She knew it, and still she worked her ass off to prove herself. She was never one to get by on favors. She knew the value of hard work. She’d been a dominatrix, after all. But no one on the force knew this. Heinz told her it would be better for her to not mention it, ever.
“There’s always a choice. It’s called ‘the right one’. Let’s get this vehicle over, now.” Beimer stood and waited as the man rolled his eyes and turned to one of the other two men coming out of the gallery.
“Otto, pull the truck up over there so it’s not on the street.” He pointed a few feet up past the door onto the sidewalk.
“But we’re almost finished, Lukas.” The man, of mixed German and Turkish descent, whined.
“Doesn’t matter. This officer here, and his lovely partner, will toss us all in jail if we don’t.” Lukas gave Beimer a none-too-friendly look, but the one he cast at Elsa was much warmer. Her eyebrow shot up at his cheekiness.
“Don’t be a smartass.” Elsa finally spoke, and although her words were meant to put the man in his place, instead, a smile broke out across his lips. It changed his handsome face to gorgeous in a split second.
“She speaks,” he said with mock surprise.
Otto climbed into the driver’s seat and proceeded to pull the truck further off the road as directed. Beimer walked over and circled the vehicle, eyeing it to make sure it was off the road enough to his satisfaction, and that oncoming traffic wouldn’t have to go into the river across the street to get around. The man, Lukas, had pissed him off with his cocky attitude. Elsa, on the other hand, was intrigued. She was almost always attracted to cocky men. It was a sign of confidence.
“I speak when necessary, and your attitude made it necessary. Why make a simple situation so complicated? You only needed to move the truck, not run off at the mouth.”
He continued to grin unashamedly. “Maybe I just don’t like cops. Or authority of any kind, for that matter. But I could make an exception if they all looked like you.” His direct gaze combined with the humor dancing in his eyes made Elsa chuckle.
“The incorrigible type, eh? What are you doing here, anyway? Delivering new art?” She inquired.
“No. They are delivering. I work here. I’m Lukas Trommler.” He extended his hand to her. Elsa ignored it deliberately.
“What do you do here at the gallery?” He dropped his hand to his side and chuckled.
“I set up the exhibits for clients. Like the one we’re having tomorrow night. It’s a touring show of a new artist, the Paul Christiansen collection. He’s come onto the radar in the last couple of years with his work, nightmarish imagery from his—"
“Did you say Paul Christiansen?” Elsa’s attention was caught immediately.
“Yes, you know of his work,” Lukas asked.
“No. But I know Paul.” She answered with blunt honesty.
“No shit! He’ll be here tomorrow night for the opening. Do you know him well?” Lukas stepped closer to Elsa.
“You could say that.” Her memories traveled back to those days when he visited her dungeon, shared lunch with her, Sarah, and Anno, and then to the nightmare of Paul’s uncle kidnapping her brother.
“Oh, God, you didn’t date him, did you? I hear he’s a pretty-boy.” Lukas asked the inappropriate question without an ounce of embarrassment.
“What? No! Nothing like that. We met a few years ago. He’s a friend of a friend.”
“Oh, good. Well, if you’d like, I can get you onto the guest list.” He looked at her again with renewed interest.
“I don’t know. It’s tomorrow night. Isn’t it too late for that?” Elsa wasn’t at all sure she even wanted to see Paul again. Not because she disliked him, but because she didn’t want to relive those bad memories.
“Not at all. You could be my plus-one.” Lukas waited.
“As your date? Are you serious?” Elsa was taken aback. Here they were one step away from writing him a traffic citation, and this man was asking her on a date.
“I am very serious. So, what name should I put down...” He looked at her name tag. “Officer Kreiss? That would be a very weird way to introduce you around.” A hint of a smile teased the corners of his lips.
“If that’s your way of inquiring about my first name, it’s not very original.” She thought it over, leaving Lukas to sweat it a bit. “Okay. I’ll come. But I’m not tel
ling you my name. If you’re so smart, Mr. Cocky, you’ll find a way to figure that out. What time?” She threw him a saucy look. Beimer watched the entire exchange and rolled his eyes.
Lukas grinned, accepting the challenge. “Half eight. I’ll meet you here. It’s our spot now, after all.”
Elsa laughed. “Whatever. Half eight it is. Now, stay out of trouble until then, will you?”
She walked away and Beimer fell in step beside her. “That wasn’t very professional, Kreiss.”
“Neither was your Gestapo intimidation tactics, Beimer. But we’re still here, eh?”
He sighed. He knew she was right, but he didn’t like that the gallery man had just asked his partner on a date. He liked Elsa. Not in a romantic way, but more like a younger sister. Beimer had grown up with three older sisters so he was used to being around women. It was probably why he was as easy to get along with as he was, and why he never seemed to get the girl. They all thought of him as harmless. Hugo didn’t think of himself as ‘harmless’ when it came to women, but women thought of him as a big teddy bear.
“So do you really know this artist, Christiansen?” He asked, showing interest.
“I do, but he wasn’t an artist then. Or, at least, he was undiscovered. No, back then he was just a ...businessman.”
“Well, then it will be nice for you to see him again and catch up.” Hugo looked around in that way policemen do, ever watchful and on the lookout for crime.
“I suppose so.” Elsa remained noncommittal. She wasn’t sure, but she knew Sarah still kept in contact with him. It was one of the reasons her relationship with Anthony de Luca deteriorated over the last year. He just couldn’t get past his jealousy despite the fact that Paul was no threat. Her friend had moved back to Texas after living with Anthony for over a year at his place in New York City. She talked often of coming to visit Elsa and Anno soon but hadn’t yet made any travel plans. It would be nice to see her friend again.
But for now, Elsa found herself with a date to a gallery exhibit opening tomorrow night with a man she’d just met. A very cocky man with a devilish smile. That part, at least, was interesting, even a little promising. It had been a long time since she’d dated anyone. Not since her brief attempt at a relationship with her ex-coworker, Nicolette. Nic wanted more than Elsa was willing to give in terms of commitment. She was okay with a dalliance with a woman, but she really didn’t want to spend the rest of her life in a lesbian relationship. She realized she was definitely more on the heterosexual side of things.
Their breakup had been rough with Nic having a hard time letting go. It was messy. The hardest part was keeping it from Heinz. Somehow, she didn’t want him to know she’d dated the woman. That ‘father figure’ feeling was very strong. It truly felt like hiding something from ‘dad’. And no daughter ever wanted to disappoint her father.
Now she had to figure out what to wear for her date. As she mentally contemplated the contents of her closet, a young boy ran out of the corner Bakerei with a bag of bread. The owner ran out after him shouting “Stop! Thief!”
Beimer took off after the kid without hesitation, and Elsa had to move in double-time to catch up. A bread theft. The kid was probably one of the many homeless runaways and was just hungry. She hated having to arrest anyone down on their luck, but the law was the law, and no one was above it. She’d put in a call to Heinz. He had a contact that worked with homeless kids. Sometimes these bad moments were really blessings in disguise. The kid would get help, be homed somewhere and put through school until he was old enough to go out into the world. But at least he’d be prepared for it and able to take care of himself by then. Beimer caught up to the boy who looked no more than twelve or thirteen and grabbed him by the scruff of his shirt. Although he was a rather large brute, Hugo Beimer was firm but gentle with the boy. He still had to handcuff him, but he was nice about it. The store owner ran up and stopped. He was cursing and shouting.
“Calm down, sir. Here.” Elsa pulled a few euro out of her own pocket and paid the man for the bread.
“No harm, no foul. We’ll take it from here.” He grumbled about no-good kids who were just a menace to society as he stomped back to his business.
“Now what am I to arrest him for if you paid for the stolen goods?” Beimer asked as he held the boy by the back of his shirt.
“You’re not. I’m calling in a favor. We’ll have someone down here shortly to take care of this young man.” Elsa looked at the boy and immediately thought of her brother.
“You don’t have a home, do you?” She asked. The boy hung his head and refused to speak. Elsa put her arm around his shoulders. “That’s okay, son. I’m here to help you, not hurt you. You’re just hungry, I take it. When’s the last time you ate?” He was so skinny, her heart broke.
“Don’t know, ma’am. A couple days, I guess.” He whispered his answer, clearly ashamed and afraid.
Beimer looked at Elsa and shook his head, his expression full of concern. She gave the boy a gentle push in Hugo’s direction, addressing her partner. “Hugo, take our friend over there to the bench. Have some of that bread. It smells good. I’ll make the call and get some help here for our young man.”
He walked the boy over to the bench where he had a few words with him first telling him he’d take off the cuffs, but he mustn’t run off. The boy promised, and Beimer removed the cuffs. They sat down, and Hugo handed over the bag of bread to the boy who tore into it, stuffing chunks into his hollow, dirty cheeks until they puffed out like a squirrel storing nuts.
Elsa called Heinz.
“You and your sensitive woman’s heart” he said. “I’ll have Mahler come pick him up and take him over to KinderHaus. Where are you now?” Elsa gave him the address.
“How’s it going?” Heinz inquired about her patrol.
“It’s going well, Kommissar. Nothing too out of the ordinary until now. But I did get asked on a date today.” She waited to hear his surly reply knowing he’d have something to say.
“A date? And who is this individual? I want a name, address...I’ll need to run a background check!”
Heinz’s protective side came out in force. Although she was already twenty-five, nearly twenty-six years old, he still treated her like she was eighteen. Well, he was forty-seven, an old man by her standards. His overreaction was one reason she’d grown attached to him despite her initial impression of him back when his abrasiveness stung during the circumstances of Anno’s abduction. He’d grown on her, and it was just nice knowing someone really cared about what happened to her.
“Yes, a date. You should try it sometime, perhaps finally ask Birgitta out—" She had to slap her hand over her mouth to keep from giggling.
“Birgitta? My partner? Are you crazy, Elsa? What would ever give you such an idea?” Elsa had thought for a while now that the two would make a marvelous pair. It was obvious that Mahler was in love with Heinz, but he was too grouchy and too focused on his job to see it. She hadn’t dated anyone in the entire time Elsa had known her, and Heinz may not realize it yet, but he’d come to depend upon her in ways that went just a little beyond the job. If he had to attend a function, or she did, they were each other’s ‘plus one’. It was really just a matter of time before he woke up. How he would react when he did was anyone’s guess.
“He works at the Galerie Georg Nothelfer; sets up exhibits. But that’s not the interesting part.”
“No? Then what might that be? He’s a career criminal? A smuggler? He has a nose piercing?” Heinz waited just knowing it wouldn’t be good.
“You’re crazy! No, the exhibit he invited me to tomorrow is for—wait for it—Paul Christiansen!” She watched Beimer talking to the boy while he ate a whole loaf of rye.
“Christiansen? Our Paul? Well, good for him! So, he’s finally gone down a different career path, eh?” He thought about the last time he’d seen Paul. It was shortly after he’d finished giving a statement to the Dutch police about his uncle’s criminal past. His newly deceased unc
le. Paul was a mess. He really needed therapy and was happy to learn he’d begun seeing a counselor to work through all his issues of abuse as a young boy. That was the last he knew.
“Ja. It seems he’s a hit in the art world. He was painting all of his nightmares as a form of therapy,” Elsa replied.
“So you’ll see him tomorrow night on your date? Well, tell him hello and if he has a chance, to stop by my office and visit.” Heinz told her Mahler was three minutes out and would be pulling up shortly.
“Okay. I’ll let him know. And thanks for helping this young boy. He looks so pathetic. It’s breaking my heart.” She saw just the smallest hint of a smile from the boy. Apparently, Hugo said something funny. Good old Beimer. He was such a teddy bear.
A car horn startled Elsa and she turned to see Mahler pull up to the curb. She stepped out and they walked over to the boy. As usual, Birgitta was dressed in police detective utilitarian clothing that did nothing to bring out how attractive she really was. Mahler’s long, dark brown hair tended to curl so she twisted it up into a knot at her neck, and her black pantsuit with blue top seemed masculine on her petite frame. Despite her short stature, Mahler was very fit for a woman in her late thirties. She had a son named Jan who was the same age as Anno. His father lived in Italy now with his Italian paramour whom he’d left Birgitta for some ten years ago. Since then, the woman had devoted herself to her son and her career with little room for anything else. It was no wonder she found herself attracted to an older, rather crusty detective. He was pretty much the only man Mahler had any contact with in her life. But she didn’t want to belittle the reason for her attraction to Heinz. She really liked the idea of the two of them together as a couple, and if she could help that along in any way, she would. Maybe Birgitta would let her work a little makeover magic. It was really amazing what a little makeup, and the right clothes could do for a person. Elsa made the introductions, and then Birgitta took the young boy by the hand and led him to her car.
The Checkpoint, Berlin Detective Series Box Set Page 24