Soon he was in front of what he would consider to be an upscale women’s boutique. When he entered, he was immediately greeted. “Good morning. Welcome to Couture du Jour.”
Ah, a little French boutique, Huck thought. Rose would like this place.
“Excuse me,” Huck said as he withdrew the scarf from his pocket. “I believe this scarf was purchased in your shop. And I believe it may have been purchased by Fräulein Walker.”
The clerk took the scarf, examined it, and then smelled it. “Yes, I believe that to be the case.”
“I found it where she previously worked. It obviously is expensive, so I would like to return it to her. Do you know how I might contact her?”
“Sir, we cannot give out that information, but I will be glad to return it to her.”
“Thank you. I can certainly understand why that is your policy. You can never be too careful these days. But I did want to personally return it. I will only be in the city a couple more days. I’m staying at the Bahnhofviertel Hotel. I will be glad to meet her in the hotel lobby to return it. Would you call her and so advise her of my interest in personally returning her scarf?”
Huck wrote his telephone number on a piece of paper and gave it to the clerk. “I would be most appreciative if you will contact her and ask her to call me as to when we can arrange a time that we can meet in the hotel lobby.” Huck hoped that meeting in a public place would provide a comfortable environment for her to reclaim the scarf.
“I will be glad to call her for you.”
“Thank you. By the way, my wife is Hispanic and has black hair. I would like to purchase a couple of scarves that will accent her beautiful features.”
A big smile crossed the clerk’s face. “Sir, please follow me and I will show you what we have and what I think she would be very pleased with.”
Huck thought, Knowing that I’m married might minimize any reluctance she has about placing a call to Walker.
Chapter 15
In the early hours of the morning, Mary Harris sat straight up in her bed. It wasn’t the sound of the water slapping on the side of the riverboat that had woken her; it was her error in judgment. Never before had she left witnesses behind who might remember her to the local authorities. Her primary concern was Lanna Walker.
Should Walker be contacted by the police, she probably could give a very good description of Lester Storey and what little took place in the office. In the past, Harris had never hired anyone outside her immediate group to unknowingly lay the groundwork for a hit. But she had become so enamored with the sophistication of her plan to frame the American for the crime that she overlooked the possibility that the police might, in some way, connect Walker to Empire Enterprises. How could she have been so stupid and careless? Harris wondered if she should return to Frankfurt and eliminate Walker. But then again, what could Walker say? All the paper trails led to Walker. She leased the suite and Harris paid her in cash; she purchased the airline ticket for Rouse with cash; she made all the arrangements as to the firing ranges and times for Rouse to practice; and she was the one who terminated the lease to the suite by paying cash to the manager. If anything, she might be implicated in the assassination. For now, Harris decided to risk Walker being smart enough not to get involved but vowed that she wouldn’t make that mistake again.
Around midafternoon of the day Huck had visited the boutique, he received a call from a number he did not recognize. “Hello, this is Huck Price.”
“Ah…Herr Price, this is Lanna Walker. I understand that you may have found my scarf.”
“I think I did. Did you want to stop by my hotel to pick it up?”
“The Bahnhofviertel is the hotel near the Bahnhof main station, correct?”
“That is correct. Will you be coming soon?”
“Within the hour, if that is all right with you?”
“Absolutely. I will be sitting on the sofa in the center of the lobby under a lamp with a beige lampshade.”
“Thank you. I will see you within the hour. Auf Wiedersehen.”
Huck grabbed a paper and pen and headed for the hotel lobby. He wanted to ensure that he could get the seat where he told her he would be waiting.
Within forty minutes, an attractive blonde with a scarf tied around her neck entered the hotel. She looked directly toward the center of the lobby.
Huck raised his hand so that she could see him. She smiled and started toward him. He stood as she neared and spoke when she was close enough to hear him. “Fräulein Walker? I am Huck Price.”
She extended her hand to shake his. “Thank you so much for having the boutique contact me.”
Huck held out the blue scarf. “That’s it!” she exclaimed. “It’s one of my favorites. May I pay you for your trouble of returning it to me?”
“No, but if you have a moment, I’d like to ask you a few questions about a former employer.” Huck motioned for her to have a seat across from him.
She sat down slowly with a puzzled look on her face. “I am a temporary employee, so I’ve had several employers. I don’t know that I would be of that much help.”
Huck began. “I’m a private detective investigating on behalf of Carl Rouse when the two of you worked for a Herr Lester Storey. Carl’s mother hired me to help prove his innocence in the murder of the Hesse state representative. If you please, would you tell me your work relationship with Empire Enterprises?”
Walker paused for several seconds before speaking. “I don’t think Mr. Rouse did what they say he did, but I don’t want to get involved with the police. At present I am working as a temporary employee, and I don’t want to jeopardize my chances for full-time employment.”
“Fräulein, I assure you that if there is any way possible, I will never reveal from whom I received the information you share with me.”
Again Walker took some time to consider what Huck had said. Huck did not want her to feel pressured to talk but rather to realize how much better she would feel if she told someone about her work relationship with Carl.
“My employment agency put me in touch with Herr Storey. He hired me over the telephone. He told me the office space he needed for his company, Empire Enterprises, and wired me the money to pay the first month’s rent and to lease the office furnishings. When all was in place, to include painting the company’s name on the door, I called him at the number he provided me. He told me he would be interviewing some individuals for a job. He express mailed to me some blank applications and told me when applicants arrived to have them complete the forms and leave them in a sealed envelope in his office.”
“Were there any applicants?”
“Yes, there were a total of five.”
“Do you remember any of their names?”
“Only Herr Rouse provided me his name. The others only said that Herr Storey told them to apply.”
“Did you get to see any of the completed applications?”
“Only Herr Rouse’s. When Herr Storey mailed me the applications, he attached a note telling me that because of the classified nature of the applicants, the candidates were to complete the applications, seal them in one of the envelopes I was to provide, and leave them on his desk.”
“Hmm,” mused Huck. “Was there anything unusual about the applicants?”
“The two most distinctive were the Asian and the Middle Easterner. The other two could have been from anywhere in Western Europe. They spoke English, whereas the Asian and Middle Easterner spoke German.”
“When did you first see Herr Storey?”
“He arrived a day after the fourth applicant. He told me that there might be one other applicant, who turned out to be Herr Rouse.”
“What happened after Herr Rouse arrived?”
“Herr Rouse was the only one to call in for an appointment. The others just walked in. When Herr Rouse arrived, I gave him an application to c
omplete. Oh, before any arrived, Herr Storey had me line five chairs next to a side wall and place a number, one through five, on each of the chairs.”
“Why did he do that?”
“He didn’t say. I assumed he was going to interview each in numerical order. Instead, he called all into his office at the same time for the interview.”
“That is strange.”
“After the first thirty minutes, the Asian left. The others remained for about another hour.”
“What were your duties?”
“I didn’t really have any. It was the easiest money I ever made. After the interview, Herr Storey directed all to call him Herr S. My job was to periodically answer a cell phone given to me by Herr S. When the call was for him, I had to take the phone in to him. When he finished talking, he would call me to come get it. My first job was to go to the library and check out several law books for Herr S. I was then directed to identify two firing ranges and to stagger the appointment hours, at different days, for Herr Rouse.”
“You did not schedule the other three for times at the ranges?”
“No, only Herr Rouse was scheduled.”
“What was Herr Rouse’s daily work routine?”
“He would arrive at the office around nine o’clock and spend the morning reading the books that I had gotten from the library. Around one o’clock in the afternoon, I would give him the name of the range and the time he was to be there.”
“Did Herr Rouse have a weapon to take to the range?”
“I can’t say for certain. I know that when he left Herr S.’s office, he was carrying either a long package or a short one. I never saw any weapon.”
Huck handed Walker the paper and pen he had been using to take notes. “Would you write down the names of the ranges?” She did.
Huck then asked, “What was Herr S.’s work schedule?”
“It was inconsistent. Some mornings he would come in and some afternoons he would come in. Some days he did not come in at all.”
“Did any of the other applicants ever come back to the office?”
“Oh yes. They all did. Herr S. was always there when one of them came in. There were some days when all were there but Herr Rouse; he was always at the firing range.”
“When you say all, who do you mean?”
“The Asian, the Middle Easterner, and the two whom I suspected to be Europeans.”
“I thought the Asian left before the interviews were over?”
“He did leave early, but I just assumed there was a reason Herr S. permitted him to do so.”
“Fräulein Walker, you cannot imagine how much help you have been to me. I have one final question and then a request. When was the last time you saw Herr Rouse?”
“It was on Friday morning, the day the state representative was assassinated. On Thursday, I was given a German passport and told to secure a one-way ticket for Herr Rouse to Washington, DC. I thought it strange that the passport was German and contained a German name and not Herr Rouse’s name. But it contained his picture. On Friday morning when Herr Rouse reported for work, he spent about twenty minutes with Mr. S. and then departed with the passport and ticket in his hand. He thanked me for the assistance I provided him and left. He looked very disappointed.”
“Thank you for clearing up what until now has been a foggy picture. Now, for my request, would you assist our attorney in providing the details from which a composite sketch of Mr. S. could be created?”
“Herr Price, I told you that I do not want to become involved in legal matters.”
“Fräulein Walker, the sketch can be done at any location you choose. You will never have to go into the attorney’s office.”
“OK, I will do it, but only on those conditions. When you get your artist ready, call me at this number and I will tell you where I will meet him.” She slid a card over to Huck with the telephone number on it.
Getting up from her seat, Walker said, “Thank you again for returning my scarf. I will wait for your call.”
As she turned to walk away, Huck said, “Thank you, Fräulein Walker.”
Chapter 16
After talking to Lanna Walker, Huck placed a call to Gunter Berger, Carl’s attorney. Once the receptionist had put his call through, Huck heard, “This is Gunter Berger. Herr Price, I hope you have some good information because this has not been a good day for Herr Rouse.”
“Why don’t you go first,” said Huck.
“The police found the murder weapon. It was a Heckler and Koch .45 caliber pistol with a silencer. It was wrapped in a brown paper bag at the American Airlines entrance of Frankfurt International Airport. It had Rouse’s fingerprints all over it.”
“You really know how to make my day and just when I thought my news to you would cast more doubt on the case against Carl. Rather than discussing what I learned today over the phone, why don’t you give me a time that I can meet with you tomorrow morning?”
“How does nine o’clock sound?”
“Good for me. I’ll see you then.”
All the time Huck had been on the phone with Berger, someone was trying to beep in. The caller must have been anxious because as soon as he hung up with Berger, his phone rang.
“This is Huck Price.”
“Herr Price, this is Lanna Walker. I don’t know how important this might be, but it is something that will not show up in a composite sketch of Herr Storey.”
“I’m all ears, Fräulein Walker.”
“Herr Storey had a very distinct high-pitched, scratchy voice. It made me think of my mother, who was a heavy smoker. Just after her fortieth birthday, her voice became scratchy sounding. With time, she would become embarrassed when telephone callers would mistake her for my father.”
“That is very important information because it adds another dimension to Mr. S.’s description. Thank you for telling me. After tomorrow, I should be able to contact you about the artist. Please be thinking of a place where you would like to meet him.”
“I will. Auf Wiedersehen.”
“Goodbye to you, Fräulein.”
Huck was just stepping out of the shower when he heard his phone ring again. He thought, At this hour, the caller must be selling something.
“This is Huck Price.”
“Huck, it’s good to hear your voice. Guess you thought I had forgotten about you.” It was Cedric.
“No, but I sure could use some good news.”
“First, I’ll be leaving from Dulles International in the morning and will expect to see you around midafternoon the next day. I will give you all the details of what I have learned at that time. Although the people I have talked to here would not call what Rouse is experiencing to be a pattern, they have acknowledged that there are some similarities between the Rouse case and some other high-profile hits, primarily in Europe. Interpol is very much involved in trying to connect the dots. Have you had any luck?”
“I will also share my details with you when I see you next. I have been able to establish that Empire Enterprises did exist for a very short period of time…three weeks to be exact. We also may be able to get a composite sketch of the mysterious Mr. S. Unfortunately, Berger confirmed to me this evening that the murder weapon was found and that Rouse’s fingerprints were all over it. What is that saying, ‘One step forward and two backward’? Well, I’m beginning to feel like ours is more like a half a dozen backward.”
“Try to get some sleep now, Huck. Tomorrow is another day. Maybe when we get our heads together, we can come up with our next move.”
“Good talking to you, Cedric. I’m looking forward to seeing you soon.”
The phones went silent and Huck went to bed.
The next day at 8:55 a.m., Huck walked through the door to the law office of Berger and Berger. There was no waiting today, as the receptionist said, “Guten Morgen, Herr Price. Ple
ase go right in. Herr Berger is expecting you.”
Berger rose quickly from behind his desk and motioned for Huck to have a seat at the conference table. “Guten Morgen, Herr Price.”
“Good morning,” replied Huck, “but I don’t think we’re in for a good day.”
“Why don’t you begin,” said Berger. “I’m anxious to hear what you have learned.”
For the next hour, Huck shared with Berger his conversation with the office building manager and his initial reluctance to be forthright. Huck then described his meeting with Fräulein Walker and her conditions for cooperating with the investigation. Huck emphasized the importance of minimizing her personal involvement. Huck hoped that she could provide a written sworn testimony and not have to appear in court. The attorney advised that because the case against Rouse was even greater now that the murder weapon had been found, she might have to be called as a witness.
Huck said, “Do you know anyone who could do a composite sketch of Mr. S.?”
“Yes. Can Fräulein Walker provide a description?”
“She has stated that she would try but under the condition that she selects the place where it is done. She does not want to be seen going into and out of an attorney’s office. Which raises a question that I have. Is your office under surveillance by the police?”
“That is possible, but why do you ask?”
“Because there are two black sedans parked facing opposite directions in front of your building. From the way they were eyeing people coming into and out of the building, my gut tells me they are police.”
“It is not unusual in high-profile cases for the police to stake out the defendant’s attorney’s office in order for the prosecutor to know who might be potential witnesses for the defendant.”
“I’m now inclined to believe that might be why Fräulein Walker refused to come to your office to do the sketch.”
“I will place a call to the police and let them know that we are aware of their presence and that it is an intimidation to our prospective witnesses. I caution you, Herr Price—you might also be under police surveillance. The prosecutor does not want any surprises when he goes to trial.”
A Price for Balancing the Scales Page 7
