Brad Thor - The Lions Of Lucerne

“No, Scot, of course she didn’t try to hurt me. I’m okay.”

“I was so careful. I thought I made sure no one was following me. I must have led them here. Jackie, I’m sorry. I never intended to get you this involved.”

“Scot, relax. This is Claudia Mueller. She’s a friend of ours.”

“What do you mean, she’s a friend?” asked Scot warily.

“Rolf and I know her from Bern.”

“What’s she doing here?”

“I’ve been worried about you,” Jackie said as she tried again, this time without meeting resistance, to apply a cold compress to Scot’s forehead. “I knew you didn’t want me to call a doctor, but I didn’t know what to do. You have been asleep for so long.”

“Jackie, you’re not answering my question.”

“Remember when I said I thought I knew someone who could help you?”

“Yes, and I told you I didn’t need any help.”

“But she can help you. She helped me and Rolf, and it was the same kind of help you need now.”

“What are you talking about? She’s a killer.”

“Scot, listen to me. During the last election there were some threats against Rolf. Claudia works with the Federal Attorney’s Office. She was part of the investigation into the threats and helped arrange security for us. We spent a lot of time together. You can trust her.”

Scot stared at Claudia. “Jackie, I want you to trust me. There is absolutely no way this woman is on our side.”

“Scot, you’re delirious. You haven’t moved since last night when I came in to pick up your tray.”

“Jack, I’m okay,” Harvath said as he pushed himself up into a sitting position with two pillows propped behind his back. “I was gone all night. I got back early this morning and was exhausted. I guess I was so out of it I didn’t hear you come into the room.”

“And wherever you were,” began Claudia, “I assume that’s where you got this,” referring to Herman’s gun.

“Hold it just a second,” said Scot as Jackie offered him a glass of juice. “I’m going to be the one asking questions here, okay? Being held at gunpoint by the same person twice in less than twenty-four hours allows me that privilege. So, first, who the hell are you?”

“You have already been told that. I’m Claudia Mueller of the Federal Attorney’s Office.”

“And you just happened to be up at the Ice Palace yesterday at the same time I was, and just happened to stick a gun in my back, and just happened to have two men with you who tried to kill me?”

“I had nothing to do with the men who were shooting at us in the Ice Palace.”

“‘Us’? What do you mean?”

“You do understand English, don’t you?”

“Enough to get by,” he replied smugly.

“I mean,” said Claudia, who ignored Scot’s sarcasm, “they were shooting at us. You and me. I have no idea who they were.”

“And you probably have no idea about who was then shooting at me in Wengen only an hour later?”

“I know one thing: it wasn’t the men from the Ice Palace.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“Because those two were still at the Jungfraujoch an hour later.”

“How do you know?” Scot asked as he continued to look her over. She was gorgeous, but he couldn’t shake his first impression of her. Funny how a gun jammed in your back could do that.

“I know because I was there too. I was trying to find you while avoiding them. It wasn’t easy. I don’t know how you managed to slip away. You must be quite clever.”

“I have my days, but yesterday sure wasn’t one of them. Someone else managed to find me, and they turned Wengen into a shooting gallery. I was lucky to get away with only this.” Harvath pointed to his left arm and noticed that a small amount of blood had seeped through the bandage. He started to unravel it, but Jackie quickly sat down next to him and took over.

“Do you have any idea who it was that tried to shoot at you in Wengen?”

“They weren’t trying to shoot at me; they actually were shooting at me; and besides, I said I would ask the questions here. What were you doing at the Ice Palace in the first place, and why did you pull a gun on me?”

“You know what, guys? I have got a ton of stuff to get done,” said Jackie. “I think I am going to leave you two alone.” Catching the look in Scot’s eye, she added, “Don’t worry. You’ll be perfectly safe with Claudia. She’s extremely tough. She climbs mountains in her spare time for fun. Did you know that?” Beckoning to Claudia, she said, “Why don’t you finish changing this dressing for me. There’s only been a little bleeding, but the stitches are all still intact. It looks like he’ll mend. Another toughie. You two’ll get along fine.”

Getting up, Jackie patted the place on the bed where she’d been sitting next to Scot. Claudia stood up and set the guns from her lap onto the chair and made her way to the bed. She took a roll of clean gauze from Jackie and began wrapping Scot’s arm. Jackie closed the door behind her.

“As I said, I work for the Federal Attorney’s Office in Bern, which is called the Bundesanwaltschaft. I was following a suspect in an ongoing investigation who had been using a post office box in Interlaken-”

“Wait a second, are you or are you not ‘Aunt Jane’?”

“I am not.”

“Then what the hell were you doing at the Ice Palace?”

“I think I can make the situation somewhat clearer if you’ll allow me.”

“Be my guest.”

“Once a week, my suspect travels to the post office to check for mail. He is a creature of habit, typical Swiss, very methodical and always comes on the same day at normally the same time, so I have a certain window in which I know I can check the box to see if he has received anything that might help me in tying him to my case.”

“Tying him to your case? Is he a suspect or not?”

“I haven’t been able to gather enough evidence yet, but I know he is somehow involved. I have what you Americans refer to, I believe, as a hunch.”

“Yes, hunch is the correct word. But that’s legal in Switzerland? Reading someone’s mail? Please, not so tight on the bandage.”

“I know what I am doing, Agent Harvath.”

“How do you know who I am?”

“Which question should I answer first?” she said, giving Scot a little slack in his dressing before taping the gauze in place.

“Lady’s choice.”

“Pardon me?”

“It means you choose, lady.”

“I see. Like my suspect, I am also somewhat methodical and of course am Swiss, so I’ll take your questions in order. As far as the legality of investigating the suspect’s mail, it depends upon the severity of the charge and the investigator. And as for knowing who you are, Jackie told me everything.”

“Everything?”

“She cares about you a great deal and is very worried about you. Don’t be upset with her. She did the right thing in calling me. I was just as shocked to see you lying in that bed as you were to see me. I thought you had brought those two men to the Ice Palace to kill me.”

“You? Why would I do that?”

“Why does anyone commit murder? I’m sure the motivations are no different in Switzerland than they are in America. All I know is that after I picked up what I think I can correctly assume was your letter from the post box, I noticed I was being followed. I engaged in an evasive tactic-”

“Crossing to the bakery.”

“Yes, and then I secluded myself in a doorway and waited. As it turns out, I was more patient than you were.”

“In the Ice Palace, you called me by the name I had used in the post office and by my real name. How did you figure those out? Wait…the Sampras one is the easiest. You went back to the post office and asked if anyone had seen someone matching my description?”