by Alec Peche
“You know guys the database doesn’t work faster because you stare at it. We could go back out and come back later to results,” Jill said as the computer screen paused and then came up with a match. “I guess I shortened the search time by selecting Europe as the home of this guy rather than worldwide.”
Looking at the screen, all five of them gathered around to see the result. It was a man by the name of Giovanni Floris from the Italian island of Sardinia.
“We should probably share this with DI Campbell,” Jo suggested.
“Interesting that Nick was from the Netherlands, Girard from France, and now this guy from Italy,” Marie mused. “Perhaps there’s like one man from each country left in the group.” Pausing she added, “They didn’t let women into this group right?”
“Right, no women in Operation Gladio or indeed in anything I read about stay-behind armies,” Angela agreed, "But perhaps they belonged in secret."
“What's your next step, now that you’ve identified a potential co-conspirator?” Nathan asked. “Are you going to stay here and research him?”
“Sweetie, you’ve hung around us enough to guess our next move,” Jill said. “Soon you’ll be on the payroll too.”
“No thanks, I don’t want to get entangled in your investigations. I’m just here to cover your six,” Nathan said with a smile.
“Let’s pass the name on to our Detective Inspector and see how far he gets with researching the man. Maybe he’ll be as good as us, and we won’t have to give up our vacation time to run down this group,” Jill suggested.
“The last few cases have shown us to be usually a few steps ahead of the cops, so it’s likely we would do a better job,” Marie said with a bit of a protest.
“I think we need someone to take this Operation Gladio seriously,” Angela replied. “I don’t think we were convinced that Cardiff took us serious enough to call MI6 and have them research the group. So maybe Campbell will be more invested in the case if he does the research.”
“I don’t know that a few hours are going to make a difference, so we’ll give him a few hours head start and see what happens,” Jill suggested looking at her friends for agreement.
She dropped an email to the detective then they all set off back towards Princes Street and the Scottish National Gallery. They visited all three galleries and their gift shops thanks to a shuttle bus that circled between the three locations, then moved on to the gardens. As it was fall, the leaves were changing, and the gardens were a little barer than they’d be at the height of the summer, but they were still beautiful. Sadly they had a view of the castle wall where the unfortunate Mr. LeRoux went flying over and could imagine the fall to his death. They quickly walked away from that view.
Angela and Jill had visited the city before but had not had the opportunity to walk up to Arthur’s Seat. It had been on their to-do list when planning this visit. Jill wanted to see it for its vistas - she loved standing atop mountains gazing at the horizon while Angela knew she'd get some great photographs from the highest point in the city. Taking Uber to the closest walking path, they quickly scrambled to the top of the mountain and spent half an hour enjoying the view; while Jill breathed in deeply several times seemingly cleansing herself of the day’s angst. When they all had their fill of the location, they returned to town and their hotel to get ready to dine with Henrik.
Nathan had agreed to approach him in private concerning the burial site for Nick. In fact, they were sending him ahead of the women so that Nick could ask him that question as well as discuss an evaluation of a winery that Henrik was thinking of purchasing in the Rhine region of Germany. The ladies would follow about twenty minutes later that way Henrik would have the undiluted attention of Nathan while he discussed the business opportunity with an expert like Nathan. They all knew that once the women joined them the topic of conversation would be Nick’s murder.
Henrik had chosen a restaurant that seated ten customers in a small dining room within a four block walk of their hotel. He was heading home to Germany after they ate. As soon as the ladies had given him a date, he called and booked the restaurant. Despite the fact they had just six customers another four were not added. Their conversation of friendship was occasionally broken up by the two brothers that served as cooks, sommeliers, and wait staff. The brothers had to think it was the oddest conversation they ever eavesdropped on as they were talking about a murder with American and German accents. Even Jill who avoided unusual food or spices enjoyed her meal with the proclamation that she didn’t want to know what it was that she was eating.
“Did you hear back from your detective about the presence of Giovanni Floris?” Henrik asked.
“Not yet so my bet is they haven’t been able to identify him on their own systems. In the end, I think you’ll have another customer Henrik."
“I should just pay you guys to fly around the world and solve crimes in my sales division. You could have the fun of solving crimes, and I’ll get sales. What do you think?”
“Much as we love you as a friend Henrik, we don’t want to work for you. We like taking jobs on at our leisure,” Jill replied.
“You mean taking a job every time you come to Europe?” he said shrewdly.
“Hey, there weren’t any murders when we visited you at your house last time!” Marie said.
“That’s probably because you went directly to my home from the airport,” Henrik said.
From there they went on to a discussion of Operation Gladio. As a German, Henrik had another opinion of stay behind armies. While he was too young to remember the moods of his country after WWII, he did remember earlier years when there was shame for having unleashed Hitler on the world. Even today America had formal military bases in Germany, so what would be the point of a secret stay-behind army if you already have the real thing?
“Did you ask your own Federal Bureau of Investigation if they knew if you had a stay-behind army?” Henrik asked familiar with U.S. law enforcement agencies as customers of his company.
“I did, and they said no such thing existed, end of story,” Jill said. “I didn’t ask the CIA, and I’m not sure they would give me an honest answer even if I did ask.”
“Now it appears that you have photographed three men that belong to Operation Gladio, two dead and one still alive. Correct?” Henrik asked.
“Correct,” Angela said.
“You have Nick on the street in Le Havre; I could run a check on the other two, Girard and Giovanni and see if they are sighted on the same street and maybe then look at who else is on the street around the same time. The result of that search might expand your list of people that belong to the Operation. Really what you want to do is capture one of them and see what is going on - does the group exist and was one of them a murderer of Nick?”
“Exactly!” exclaimed Marie.
“Maybe I could have the Cardiff police check Nick’s extremities for fingerprints from Girard,” Jill said. “We’d then have confirmation of his killer; not that it makes any difference at this point as Nick and he are both dead, but it would close the case for Cardiff.”
She pulled out her phone and texted that question to DIs Jones and Davies.
“So you have this group of people that are the remnants of a bigger operation from the 1950s and 1960s, and because they haven’t done anything in decades, no one cares about their existence. Right?” Henrik asked.
The four women nodded their heads in agreement.
“You ladies care because you want to find Nick’s killer and someone is making attempts on your lives. With this Operation Gladio, you don’t know if there is one remaining member or twenty that will continue to pursue you.”
“Jeez Henrik, I was upset with the one killer. Why did you have to mention twenty?” Jill lamented.
He smiled and continued, “You also had this couple following you that are apparently easy to shake as you haven’t seen them since the train station in Glasgow. Your Edinburgh Police are not going to care about yo
ur plight if Girard is proven as the killer of Nick, correct?”
“Except we have this guy still running around named Giovanni Floris that might be trying to kill us, or perhaps he gave up and went home to Sardinia,” Angela suggested.
“If you’ve kept a covert operation secret for two decades, is that the kind of person to give up and go home before their perceived mission is finished?”
“You know Henrik, I’m going to need a few more whiskeys if you keep up with these stark tones,” Nathan said. “It’s real depressing listening to you and knowing that you’re probably right.”
Sending a pained look at Nathan, he relented and said, “Perhaps I am wrong about these men and their motives.”
“No, I think you’re probably right,” Jo agreed. “We’d better watch our backs. Being pushed to my death is not my chosen method of dying, and that appears to be their modus operandi.”
Jo’s comment really said something. If she was feeling the threat of this group, then it had to be obvious and evident and not a function of Jill’s overactive imagination.
“Henrik, you bring up a point on the couple. Were they following us or were they following Giovanni and Girard? Perhaps the reason we haven’t seen them is that they’re not following us,” Marie speculated. “I didn’t notice that couple around us in the time immediately after Girard went over the castle’s wall, but it was so shocking that I’m not sure I could tell if we had bright sun or cloudy skies at that time.”
“I left my camera memory card back in the hotel room, but let’s look at it when we get back to see if the couple is there in the background anywhere,” Angela said. “I never saw them in person so I wouldn’t have noticed them in the background. Isn’t it strange that the Operation Gladio guys knew where to find us in Edinburgh?”
“Unless Nick mentioned his itinerary…” Marie suggested.
“Maybe,” Angela said thoughtfully as the group lapsed into a temporary silence.
Nathan broke the silence with, “Hey Henrik has agreed to host Nick into perpetuity. We were discussing funeral arrangements, and we thought we would hold a service in about two weeks, Henrik has generously offered to fly us in for the event. So we would have the memorial on a Saturday and fly back to the US on Sunday. He’s also sending a few buses to Nick’s company so they can join us in celebrating his life.”
They were relieved that the guys had worked out what to do with Nick’s remains.
“Thank you, Henrik,” Angela said on a somber note. “Do you need any help planning the ceremony? Do you have a pastor that will officiate? I know that Nick wasn’t a devout Christian, but he was one none the less, and his soul should leave this world to Corinthians or Ecclesiastes.”
“Angela, I’m afraid that it’s not my area of expertise, would you mind arranging for a pastor?” Henrik suggested. “I would look for a service in English as that is likely the common language among his employees, and us.”
Angela nodded her acceptance of the assignment, then added, “In America, we have a meal after a funeral and feed the mourners. Perhaps we could do more like an Irish wake with lots of beer and stories about Nick. I’m sure his employees have stories we haven’t heard, and it would be nice to share.”
Henrik announced he’d take of the details and invited everyone to send him an email with their requests. Setting a time for the service, they ended their discussion about Nick and the plans to get the friends back to Germany to celebrate Nick’s passing.
Henrik had a two-hour flight back to Stuttgart, and it was getting late. He hated to cut the night short as he always enjoyed talking to the Americans. They had a different view of the world that he enjoyed and understanding how they went about their investigations gave him ideas for potential innovations in his software. Their next gathering would be sad, but he knew them well enough to know there would be a party atmosphere to send Nick off to the next world. After that, he was meeting them in New Orleans where they were all invited panelists to a national gathering of private investigators. Jill’s team were doing a panel presentation and spending a few days enjoying the city. Henrik's was launching a subscription service for his technology for small users like private investigators And had an exhibit booth and a panel presentation, but he’d make time to relax with them. Jill had solved the murder of his wife Laura and often when he dined with the Americans, and he felt her presence nearby as though she had a seat at their table. Weird.
Chapter 19
They walked back to their hotel enjoying the opportunity to walk off the fabulous dinner they’d just had. The streets were quiet as the area was more residential than bars and restaurants.
“Is Henrik going to buy the vineyard he discussed with you?” Jill asked.
“I think so. Of course, it all depends on a final price for land and business, but it had many strong qualities about it. Their wines were excellent, but their marketing and branding was horrible. I had suggestions on how he could improve both with my help.”
“Are you going to seek a part ownership with him?” Jill asked. Nathan was looking for investments in the wine industry as it was something he understood from a business perspective.
“No. I don’t feel comfortable investing outside of the United States. The rules are so different for property and business decision making that I don’t feel like a partner. If Henrik gets the vineyard, I’ll fix the branding and marketing. We might have a few more trips to his estate while I work on it.”
“If he sends his private plane and we can make that stop in Wisconsin, we could all have a couple of four day weekends in Germany,” Jill suggested.
“That’s the plan, I told him rather than hiring me, I’ll do it for free if it involved trips on his jet. He agreed, and we’ll sign a no-cost contract if it comes to that. So keep your fingers crossed.”
“Is the vineyard near his estate?” Marie asked.
“Yes, it’s in Württemberg, which is a wine growing region that includes Stuttgart. It’s mostly farms and hills and so lends itself to vineyards. It’s also in the more southern area, so it has a longer growing season.”
“Sounds exciting. I’d offer Henrik free financial services, but I’m sure he has a string of accountants to advise him,” Jo suggested.
“I think he’d appreciate your offer and the next time you see him face to face you can make it,” Nathan said. “He values your friendship and wisdom.”
“If you’re doing the marketing and branding perhaps I can do the photographs that you’ll need,” Angela offered.
“That sounds like a plan to me, but you’ll have to travel to Germany when I go despite whatever schedule you have in Wisconsin. I’ll be on a tight timeline, but I can give you the dates now, and you can let me know if you’re available.”
Angela was thinking of her upcoming schedule, and she had no weddings planned, and she could move anything else around a few days to accommodate Nathan’s needs.
“I can work under those restrictions, send me any sketches or thoughts you have for the materials that way I can think about capturing those images,” Angela replied.
“I feel like I’m constantly the paranoid person of this group, but there’s a couple that have been following us from the restaurant about a block behind us,” Jill said in a soft voice. “How about we turn as one and head back to the restaurant to pick up something we left behind - how about a favorite scarf? Angela, can you get a picture of the couple?”
Nathan hesitated wondering about Jill’s instinct to head into confrontation rather than away from it, but then he shrugged and thought better to confront than get stabbed in the back.
Marie said, “If it’s the couple from the train, they looked harmless.”
Angela nodded her agreement on the photo and Jo nodded her agreement.
Jill said out loud in case the couple was within hearing distance, “Oh rats! I forgot my scarf at the restaurant. Let’s head back there since it’s my favorite.”
The group turned around and headed bac
k to the restaurant startling the couple walking toward them. Angela was zooming in her focus to get the couple’s faces, snapping pictures. Jill saw them hesitate and quickly confer as to next steps; aiming their faces down, as they continued walking toward the group.
Still in a loud voice, as they approached the couple, Jill looked up and smiling ruefully said, “I can’t believe I left that scarf behind. Oh well, I needed to walk off dinner.”
Marie, taking a leaf out of Jill’s playbook looked at the couple and said, “Do I know you from somewhere? Perhaps we met in Sofia when I was there for my nephew’s track race?”
The female shook her head and said, “No we haven’t met.”
Jill tried to detect where the woman’s English accent was from but failed.
Angela added, “I like your outfit. I’m taking your picture so I can remember what to buy to get your look,” snapping photos of the couple as she spoke.
The couple just walked around the group and hurried on their way as Jill and her group continued on their path for another two blocks. Not observing the couple since they walked away they turned around and headed back to their hotel.
Jill said laughing, “Angela, anyone that knows you was laughing their head off when you said you liked her outfit and were taking a picture to remember what to buy. As if!”
“I know my ribs are hurting from not laughing and my nose is still tingling from holding back the snorts,” Jo said talking and laughing at the same time.
“Why do you think I ended up coughing in front of them,” Marie said. “It was either that or laugh. You know we’d make bad covert people since we can barely control our laughter when one of use acts out of character.”
“Go ahead and make fun of me, but it was all I could think of at the time.”
“You ladies are being hard on Angela,” Nathan said while putting his hand on her shoulder in a measure of support. “Who will have the last laugh if she has a perfect photo of those two. Let’s look at your pictures Angela.”
