Nele Neuhaus - Swimming with Sharks

Nick switched off the light and quietly went back to the bed. In the dim light coming in through the small window, he saw that Alex had woken up.

“Nick?” she whispered sleepily.

“Yes,” Nick said as he sat down at the edge of the bed and looked at her.

“I let you sleep,” she said quietly. “You were so exhausted.”

“Thank you,” he replied. Alex smiled. She really was enchanting.

“What time is it?” she asked.

“Quarter to three.”

“In that case, we can sleep a few more hours.” She lifted the blanket, and Nick slipped beneath it.

“Do you think they arrested him?” she whispered.

“I don’t know,” Nick answered. “Probably.”

The church bell chimed the quarter hour.

“Nick?”

“Yes?”

“I’m glad you’re here.”

He pulled her close. Thanks to this woman, his heart, which had turned into an icy block, had melted again. “I’m happy too,” he whispered, and carefully stroked her battered face.

“Will we ever be able to lead a normal life again?”

“I hope so,” he replied quietly. “I really hope so.”

Her eyes were close to his, and they looked at each other for a while, not saying a word.

“What are you going to do now?” Nick finally asked, though he feared her answer.

“I think I need to leave the city,” Alex responded. He nodded slowly.

“I understand that,” he said, his voice husky. “Where will you go?”

“I’ll probably go home for a while to my parents in Germany. I need some time to think,” she said. “And Oliver invited me to go to Maine with him.”

“And? What will you do?” Nick didn’t feel pain or disappointment. He knew she would leave. She needed time to heal her wounds.

“Maybe I’ll go. Oliver is a really good friend,” Alex replied. “What will you do?”

“I’m still the mayor for another year,” Nick said. “Someday, all this will be water under the bridge. Life goes on, and I’ll keep doing my job.”

“You’ll never leave New York, will you?” Alex asked quietly.

“I’ve thought about it,” Nick admitted. “I’ve never wanted to live anywhere else, but after everything that’s happened, I sometimes think that it would be better to move away from here.”

“The city would lose the best mayor it ever had.” Alex reached out her hand and tenderly touched his cheek, “and you wouldn’t be able to cope for very long without the hustle and bustle, the noise, the skyscrapers, and all that.”

Nick laughed quietly. “You think so?”

“Yes,” Alex said and smiled. “This city is like a disease. Once you’re infected by it, you can’t get rid of it.”

“And what about you?” he asked. “Do you have the disease?”

Alex turned her face so that she could better look at him. Her smile had vanished.

“I think I have a different disease. It has a lot to do with this city.”

Nick felt his heart start pounding. “Aha. And what disease is that?”

Alex rested her face on her hand.

“I’ll tell you,” she said quietly, “if you don’t tell anyone.”

“I won’t breathe a word. What is it?”

“I fell in love with the mayor of New York City,” Alex whispered.

“Really?”

Alex nodded silently.

“Imagine,” Nick said, his voice hoarse, “and he fell in love with you.”

An enchanting smile brightened her face, and he was suddenly filled with such a rush of happiness that it almost hurt. He leaned over and kissed her gently.

“Could you imagine returning to New York one day?” he asked. Her smile widened, and her eyes looked deeply into his.

“If I can’t have you without this city,” she replied, “I may have to accept it for better or worse.”

On hearing these words, a wave of delight overcame Nick, and his heart jumped so wildly and happily that he thought it would burst. He put his arms around her and pulled her closer to him. Alex loved him the same way that he loved her. Even if she left tomorrow, he knew that it wasn’t the end, but a new beginning.

Alex and Oliver sat in the monastery’s lounge and watched the morning news. There was an extensive report on the shocking nighttime arrest of Sergio Vitali. Footage showed him leaving the St. Regis, handcuffed and escorted by authorities to a waiting car. Alex saw his expression, his murderous rage. She shuddered because she knew this look all too well. She felt no triumph or joy, but just a deep sense of relief. It was over. US Attorney Connors had Vitali arrested in front of all his guests at his big charity ball, and the reporter recounted all of the criminal charges. He mentioned Alex and even showed a small picture of her. The murder charges and all of the other allegations against her had been cleared for good.

The next report showed Sergio on his way from the arraignment to jail. He wasn’t wearing a tailor-made tuxedo, and he didn’t look furious anymore, just grim. He had to know that his bribery scheme had been busted. Maybe he even knew about van Mieren’s confession and the arrest of his henchmen di Varese and Bacchiocchi. Fourteen of his men plus Vincent Levy—who had attempted to escape to Europe—had been arrested last night.

But the best news was that Mark and Justin were alive. The police had found them exhausted, but unharmed, in Vitali’s warehouse in Brooklyn. Nick Kostidis, the mayor of New York, appeared on the screen standing on the steps of city hall. Alex smiled when she saw the face of this man whose arms she had woken up in that morning. He looked almost the same as he had in earlier days. His eyes shone, he was full of energy and vigor, and he was confident and strong.

“Alex?”

Alex flinched and looked at Oliver.

“I think this nightmare is finally over.” He smiled and reached out his hand toward her. She returned his smile and grabbed it.

“Have you thought about coming to Maine with me?”

Alex’s smile widened.

“First I’m flying home to my parents.”

“And then?”

“Then I’ll have time to catch lobster with you.”

“There’s more to Maine than just lobster,” Oliver said with a grin. “I’d like to show you everything.”

“I’d like that, too.” Alex smiled, and then her gaze fell on the television. Nick was still on the screen. Someday the shadows would disappear and this nightmare would be just a distant memory.

“Maybe I’ll come back to New York one day,” she said.

She stood up and switched off the television.

Nele Neuhaus, a longtime resident of the Taunus Mountains, is one of Germany’s most widely read crime authors, thanks to her thrillers featuring the investigative duo of Oliver von Bodenstein and Pia Kirschoff, which were recently launched in English with Snow White Must Die. Her novels have been translated into twelve languages. To learn more about her, visit www.neleneuhaus.de.

The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

Text copyright © 2005 by Nele Neuhaus