Brad Thor - The Lions Of Lucerne

“You are quite charming, Agent Harvath. The woman at the poste restante window remembered you perfectly. She also had your alias written down on a piece of paper to check for your envelope, which still hasn’t come, by the way.”

“I’ll have to tell her not to hold her breath.”

“I already did. She was quite disappointed she wouldn’t be seeing you again. Now, as far as getting your real name, that was a little more difficult. I had seen you on the street, but was able to get a better look at your face from the post office surveillance tape. The female clerk told me you were American, so I went back to my office and started doing some searches on the computer, starting with our watch list.

“Two names had recently been added-a German and an American. The description of the American sounded like it could fit you. I E-mailed a request to the authoring agency and not long after received a picture of you. The hair is quite different, of course, but that only made it more obvious.”

“Authoring agency? What do you mean by you E-mailed them a request?”

“They are the people who put your name on our watch list. Sometimes it’s an Interpol request; sometimes it’s a local or federal Swiss agency; sometimes it’s another country…There is often a wide array of agencies who add to a watch list for a wide variety of reasons.”

“I know about watch lists, thank you very much. What I want to know is who put me on yours? It was an American agency of course.”

“Yes. It was your State Department. The man who called me mentioned-”

“Called you? Who called you?”

“After I requested the picture, I received a phone call. A man identified himself as being from a particular division of the State Department and said that he was responding to my E-mail request for your photo. He asked me a lot of questions and was frankly not very polite.”

“What did you tell him?”

“Basically, I told him nothing. I said we had a lot of ongoing investigations involving tourist crimes, and I wondered if you might somehow be involved. I wanted your picture so I could compare it against some recent witness descriptions we had received in several resort areas.”

“And you didn’t tell them you had seen me, or thought you had seen me?”

“No. I told them exactly what I just told you. Of course he reminded me several times about informing them immediately if I even thought I had seen you, and not to try and intercept you.”

“But you had seen me. Why didn’t you say something?”

“I didn’t say anything because if the U.S. State Department wanted you that bad and you were somehow associated with the case I was investigating, then I wanted you as well. I have been waiting for a break in this case. I’m certainly not going to sit back and turn it over to the Americans. No offense.”

“None taken, but I think you did turn it over.”

“What do you mean?”

“Was the German added to your watch list at the same time?”

“It was listed in the same update, which meant they had both been added in the same time period, yes.”

“Do you remember the name of the German?”

“I think it was something like Brunner, but I don’t remember exactly. At the time it wasn’t important. I’m normally pretty good with names, but I was so focused on you and what your involvement was and is-”

“Could it have been Brauner?”

“It could have been. Yes, it was. Hans. Hans Brauner. I knew I would remember it.”

Harvath put his head in his hands and massaged his temples. “Can you be absolutely certain you were not followed here today?”

“Followed, why?”

“Just answer me, please,” said Scot.

“After I finally evaded the two men from the Jungfraujoch, I was extremely cautious, even paranoid. I am positive no one followed me here. Why?”

“I think I finally know how the shooters in Wengen picked up my trail.”

“Picked up your trail? Who are they?”

“They’re an American hit team that tried twice to kill me in Washington several days ago.”

“How did they track you here? Have you been using your real name to travel?”

“What am I, new? Please, Ms. Mueller, I don’t know how the Swiss do things, but trust me, we Americans are a lot more thorough than that.”

“So are we Swiss, Agent Harvath, but the only way someone who doesn’t want to be found gets found is if they make some sort of mistake.”

“Or if someone tips off the people looking for you, which is what I’m afraid you did quite unknowingly.”

“Me?”

“Yes, when you sent that E-mail asking for my picture, it started a whole chain of events. When I left the U.S., I was traveling as Hans Brauner, so the people who were after me had enough pull to get both my real name and my false one put on your watch list in case I turned up. Just asking for the picture was enough to make someone suspect that you knew more than you were telling. My guess is that as soon as they had figured out I was Brauner and had come to Switzerland, they sent a hit team over here. They got both the names on the watch list, and then it was just a waiting game.

“When you sent your E-mail, it got people thinking, and they decided to tail you. Either they didn’t see me follow you from the post office, or they hadn’t begun to tail you until you went to the Jungfraujoch the next day.”

“But what about your letter? After I resealed it, I put it back in the post office box. Maybe I am not being followed at all. Maybe your letter drew the shooters. That was your intent, wasn’t it? Someone was supposed to read that letter and be sufficiently interested to show up, right? Why were you setting up a meeting at the Ice Palace in the first place, and what do you know about ‘Aunt Jane’?”

“At this point, not enough. I do know, though, that our paths have crossed for a reason, and I intend to figure out why. We need to talk more-you and me-but not here.”

“Then where?”

“Someplace else. Anywhere else. Having you here has made me realize how much danger I’ve already put Jackie in. She’s too much of a good friend. We need to find someplace safe where we can sort this all out.”

“I think I have just the place.”

“Just the place” turned out to be the nearby elegant yet vacant summer residence of Claudia’s boss, Urs Schnell, which they unceremoniously gained entrance to when Claudia kicked in one of the small windows in back.

“Okay,” said Scot, taking a pen and pad from the ornate desk in the far corner of the living room and walking back to Claudia at the fireplace, “let’s get started. Why don’t we begin with your investigation. What’s it all about, who were you following, et cetera…”

“That would be fine, except that is classified information and I am bound by my oath to-”

“What? Are you saying you don’t trust me?”

“I hardly know you-”

“Hold it. A little over twenty-four hours ago you had a gun jammed into my spine; yet here I am alone and defenseless with you.”

Claudia gave him a look that said, You, defenseless?

“Okay, I’m not defenseless, but I am here and you did have a gun on me yesterday. I mean, why else would I come to a deserted love nest with you and lock myself inside for the evening?”

Again Claudia shot him a look.

“Okay, you’re not that bad looking, but I am not going to let that get in the way of some other mildly important things-like saving my life and the president’s.”

“You’re right. I’m sorry,” said Claudia, becoming more businesslike. “We need to work together. Our two cases seem to merge based upon who sends and receives letters via the post box in Interlaken.”