The Secret Crown

by Chris Kuzneski

  Jones considered the possibilities. ‘Well, if you think about it, I guess it isn’t too surprising. I mean, how often does a king order something from your store? They’re bound to remember what he bought.’

  Ulster nodded. ‘That’s a very good point.’

  Heidi turned from the rear wall. ‘What kind of store?’

  Jones laughed. ‘We mentioned shopping, and you came running. That’s a shocker.’

  She smiled. ‘I am a woman.’

  ‘Trust me, I’ve noticed.’

  Ulster stared at the letterhead. ‘Actually, I don’t know if it’s a store or a law firm. The enterprise was called Hauser & Sons. With a name like that, it could have been anything.’

  Payne entered the conversation. ‘What about the address?’

  ‘What about it?’ Ulster asked.

  ‘Different parts of a city are sometimes known for different things – like Wall Street or Madison Avenue. Maybe the address will give us a clue.’

  Ulster struggled to read the tiny print at the bottom of the page. ‘Hauser and Sons was on a street called … Briennerstraße. Wait! Why do I know that name?’

  Heidi giggled with excitement. ‘I used to work near there! Briennerstraße is one of the best shopping districts in Munich. It’s where wealthy people go to shop.’

  He shook his head. ‘Sorry, my dear, that’s incorrect. I know it for some other reason.’

  She laughed at Ulster. ‘I wasn’t answering your question. I was telling you why I know the road. The reason you’re probably familiar with Briennerstraße is because it’s the oldest road in Munich. Plus, it’s very close to Nymphenburg Palace, which is where I used to work.’

  Ulster nodded. ‘Yes, of course, Nymphenburg Palace! The summer residence of Bavarian kings. How could that have slipped my mind?’

  ‘And,’ she added, ‘the birthplace of Ludwig the Second.’

  Jones stared at her. ‘Ludwig was born near the street on the receipt?’

  She nodded. ‘A few blocks away.’

  ‘And when was he murdered? Something like two weeks before his order was ready?’

  Ulster reread the date on the receipt. ‘I’ll be darned. I failed to make that connection. I must need a snack to recharge my brain.’

  Jones patted him on the back. ‘Don’t worry about it. In fact, don’t worry about anything. Call me crazy, but I think Ludwig is trying to tell us something.’

  Ulster glanced at him, confused. ‘Really? And what is that?’

  Jones grinned. ‘He wants us to go to Oktoberfest.’

  66

  Everyone assumed Jones was kidding about Oktoberfest. He assured them he wasn’t. ‘Go ahead and laugh, but I’m completely serious. I think the receipt is a major clue.’

  Ulster graciously disagreed. ‘As much as I hate to squabble, I think our time would be far better served in this environment than the party atmosphere of Munich.’ To illustrate his point, he shone his flashlight on the walls. ‘Please take a moment to glance about this chamber. The room we’re standing in is filled with more information about Ludwig than a hundred modern textbooks. And all the history you see here is completely unfiltered. It’s as if we stumbled across the tree of knowledge and were given permission to pick the fruit.’

  Heidi nodded in agreement. ‘I love Munich as much as the next gal, but I’m with Petr on this one. We’ve barely had time to read any of the letters. Who knows what we could learn?’

  Jones looked to Payne for support. ‘Jon?’

  Payne took a deep breath. He knew his friend wouldn’t be happy. ‘Listen, I respect your hunches, you know I do. But right now we’re not even sure if Hauser and Sons still exists. I mean, it’s a long way to travel for a store that might have closed its doors in 1890.’

  ‘Yeah, but—’

  Payne cut him off. ‘Even if I voted for you, we still would have lost the tiebreaker.’

  ‘Tiebreaker? What tiebreaker?’

  ‘Petr owns the chopper.’

  Jones growled and snatched the receipt from Ulster’s hand. ‘In that case, I’m taking this and walking to Oktoberfest.’

  Payne laughed. ‘Have a nice hike. Don’t talk to strangers.’

  Ulster waited until Jones had left the room and disappeared into the darkness of the hallway. Then he glanced at Payne, concerned. ‘Good heavens! Is David miffed at me?’

  Payne shook his head. ‘Relax. When he comes back, everything will be fine.’

  Ulster gasped. ‘Comes back from where?’

  ‘Don’t worry! He didn’t go to Oktoberfest. If I had to guess, he went outside to get some air. Trust me, when he returns, he won’t even mention Munich.’

  Jones climbed the ladder on the far side of the tunnel and opened the secret hatch. Thirty seconds later, he was sitting on the fake tree stump and glancing at his waterproof cell phone. Reception had been nonexistent in the grotto and the tunnel. Now that he was outside, he could finally make a call. He quickly entered a number from memory.

  ‘Research,’ said Raskin from his office at the Pentagon.

  Jones instantly recognized his voice. ‘Randy, my man, it’s David Jones. I wasn’t sure you’d be working this late. I’m glad you’re on duty.’

  Raskin typed away furiously. ‘Let me see if I got this straight. You’re happy that I’m working the graveyard shift. That’s awfully sweet of you.’

  ‘Come on, man. You know I didn’t mean it like that.’

  ‘Then how did you mean it?’

  ‘I meant I’m glad you’re the one on duty because I need your expertise.’

  Raskin adjusted the microphone on his headset. ‘Damn, DJ, that’s even worse! You’re glad I’m working the graveyard shift because you want to use me. You didn’t even say hello or ask how I’m doing. Yet you expect me to jump to attention.’

  Jones groaned. ‘Wow! You, Jon – everyone’s giving me shit today.’

  Raskin leaned back in his chair. ‘Please tell me you aren’t getting a divorce. I’m too old for joint custody.’

  ‘No, nothing serious. Just a disagreement about something we’re doing.’

  Raskin played dumb. ‘Something you’re doing, where?’

  ‘Germany.’

  ‘Really? What are you doing in Germany?’

  ‘Long story. I’ll tell you about it some other time.’

  ‘Maybe you should tell me right now. You know, since you need my help.’

  Raskin had a better security clearance than he did, so Jones wasn’t worried about him blabbing to anyone. Still, Jones was reluctant to tell him anything too juicy. ‘I wish I could, but I’m temporarily sworn to secrecy. As soon as I get permission, I’ll be happy to fill you in.’

  ‘I can respect that. It doesn’t mean I like it, but I can respect it.’

  ‘So,’ Jones said, ‘about that favour of mine …’

  Raskin cracked his knuckles. ‘Fire away.’

  ‘I’m staring at a receipt from 1886. I was hoping you could tell me a little bit more about the store itself. What business they were in and so on.’

  ‘What country?’

  ‘Germany.’

  Raskin opened a database on one of his screens. ‘What city?’

  ‘Munich.’

  ‘Munich,’ he mumbled as he dragged a chunk of data from one screen to another with his mouse. ‘Please tell me you have a name or address. Otherwise, this is going to take a while.’

  ‘Actually I have both. The store was called Hauser and Sons, and it was located on a road called Briennerstraße. It’s the oldest road in Munich.’

  ‘Whoop-dee-fuckin’-doo. The age of the road doesn’t help at all. But do you know what would help? If you could spell that for me. That would help a bunch.’

  Jones laughed and spelled Briennerstraße. ‘Anything else?’

  ‘Just give me silence, so I can do my thing.’

  The sound of typing filled the line for several seconds. Every once in a while, Raskin would curse at one of his databases, but it
was usually followed by some sort of taunt that let the computer know who owned its ass. To Jones, it was like a progress bar on a computer screen. When the taunts increased, it meant Raskin was getting closer to the end.

  ‘So,’ Raskin eventually said, ‘do you want the good news or the bad news? Because I have a little bit of both.’

  ‘No games. Just tell me.’

  ‘Hauser and Sons was a family-owned jewellery store that opened in 1845. It stayed open until 1933 when the National Socialists – i.e. the fucking Nazis – took control of Germany. After that, the city of Munich changed dramatically. As you know, the Allies bombed the shit out of the city during World War Two. I’m talking seventy-plus air raids, not to mention a ground assault. By the time we took control of Munich in 1945, the city was mostly rubble.’

  Jones cursed under his breath. He had been confident the receipt would lead them to Camelot. Now he’d have to go down below and admit his mistake to everyone. ‘What about the Hausers? Are any of them still around? Maybe I can—’

  ‘Hold up! I’m not done. The best part is yet to come.’

  ‘Sorry, my bad. Please continue.’

  Raskin collected his thoughts. ‘As usual, our government felt guilty about blowing up a city, so Uncle Sam rebuilt Munich with American tax dollars. Which, on a personal note, didn’t sit well with my grandparents since they were Jewish. Seriously, do you know how many holiday meals were ruined by stories about the past?’

  Jones smiled. ‘You’re Jewish, I’m black, let’s move on.’

  ‘Anyway, it didn’t take long for Munich to start thriving again. In 1955 Hauser and Sons opened a new store at a new location, which is still open today.’

  ‘Please tell me you’re serious.’

  ‘Of course I’m serious. I just sent the address to your phone.’

  ‘That’s awesome! I can’t wait to rub this in Jon’s face.’

  ‘Wait. So you two really are fighting?’

  ‘Not fighting. Just competing, like we always do.’

  Raskin smiled. ‘In that case, I gotta ask: is he pissed at me?’

  ‘At you? Why would he be pissed at you?’

  ‘Because of his ringtone.’

  Jones burst out laughing. ‘You changed his ringtone?’

  ‘Of course I changed his ringtone. Twelve times on three different phones. You’re telling me he still hasn’t figured it out?’

  ‘Nope. He’s clueless.’

  Raskin grunted in frustration. ‘I have to admit, I’m kind of insulted by his confusion. Who else does he know who could pull a hack like that?’

  ‘Actually, he thinks it was me. Well, at least he did until yesterday.’

  ‘What happened yesterday?’

  ‘I was flying a chopper when you switched his ringtone to “Little Bunny Foo Foo”, so he knows I couldn’t have done it. Great song, by the way. It totally pissed him off.’

  Raskin grinned in triumph. ‘Speaking of which, the next time you take Petr Ulster’s chopper, you really should get permission.’

  ‘Permission? What are you talking about?’

  Raskin groaned at his mistake. He didn’t want Jones to know too much about his cyber-stalking, for fear it would upset him. ‘To change Jon’s ringtone, I’ve been forced to track his phone. Because of that, I know you guys spent the night at the Ulster Archives.’

  ‘And?’

  ‘I was bored, so I ran a search on Petr’s latest projects. You know, just to see if he was working on anything exciting.’

  ‘And?’

  ‘And I noticed his personal chopper had been reported stolen.’

  ‘When?’ Jones demanded.

  ‘About an hour ago.’

  ‘By whom?’

  Raskin quickly pulled up the information. ‘No name on the report, but it was filed by the Bavarian State Police in Munich. They’re tracking the beacon as we speak.’

  ‘Son of a bitch! Can you stop it?’

  ‘Of course I can stop it.’

  ‘Then stop it! Immediately!’

  Raskin typed furiously for the next several seconds. This time, there was very little cursing. ‘Okay … done! The beacon is toast.’

  ‘Thanks, man, I appreciate it. I really do. But I gotta go.’

  ‘Why? I told you, I stopped the beacon.’

  Jones opened the secret hatch. ‘I know you did, but we’ve been sitting still for the last hour. Whoever was tracking us knows where we are.’

  67

  Using the camera feature on his phone, Payne started taking pictures of the artwork and blueprints that hung from the walls. He knew from experience that missions, particularly those in uncharted territories, were prone to interruptions, so he compiled as much documentation as he could while he still had the chance.

  His foresight proved invaluable when he heard the sound of footsteps in the tunnel. Worried, he pulled his weapon and headed for the door. ‘Be quiet. Someone’s coming.’

  Ulster dismissed the warning. ‘It’s probably David.’

  Payne listened closer. ‘Then why is he running?’

  Heidi and Ulster immediately tensed and looked to Payne for further instructions. Unfortunately, he didn’t have many options. They were in a windowless room with only one exit, which led to a concrete tunnel with no protection. The best they could do was stay put and hope for the best. With that in mind, Payne swung the door until it was nearly closed. The gap was just wide enough to keep an eye on the hallway.

  Then he pointed at the desk. ‘Turn off your lights and stay low.’

  They quickly followed his orders.

  As the footsteps got louder and louder, Payne calmly aimed his Sig Sauer into the hallway. For the next few seconds, shot discipline would be essential. The only way he would fire was if he saw men with automatic weapons or explosives. Otherwise, violence wasn’t warranted. Still, it was wise to take the necessary precautions. In the darkness behind him, Heidi and Ulster crouched near the floor, the two of them huddling together for support. Hearts pounding, palms sweating, they prayed the noise in the hallway was Jones and there wasn’t an actual threat.

  Only half of their prayers were answered.

  ‘Jon!’ Jones called as he ran towards the room.

  Payne recognized his voice. ‘What’s wrong?’

  ‘Someone tracked Petr’s chopper. We gotta go!’

  If anyone else had sounded the warning, Payne would have asked for additional information before he gave the order to abandon the site. But he trusted Jones far too much to question his judgement. ‘You heard the man. Let’s go!’

  Heidi stood up and started to complain. ‘We’re leaving? Why are—’

  ‘Now!’ Payne growled. ‘Or you’re on your own.’

  She looked to Ulster for support. ‘Petr? It’s your helicop—’

  Ulster, like a father quieting his child, put his fingertip on her lips. ‘Hush, my dear. It’s time to go. Not another word.’

  Heidi wasn’t happy, but she scurried out the door.

  Payne fought the urge to smile. ‘Follow DJ. He’s got the lead.’

  Ulster glanced around the room one last time, disappointment etched on his face. There was so much more he wanted to learn about Ludwig and his final years as king. Ulster hoped he would have a chance to return someday soon to finish his historical research. If not, he would always be filled with regret. ‘Will you be locking the door?’

  Payne nodded. ‘I’ll even let you hold the key.’

  Ulster thanked him, then lumbered towards the others.

  Meanwhile, Jones was already approaching the vertical shaft that led to the fake stalagmite. Although the deep water of the Venus Grotto would temporarily slow them down, he realized it was the fastest route to the chopper. Plus, he wanted to grab their personal belongings and the map, which had been stashed by the control panel, before they left the castle grounds. No sense in giving anyone else a head start in finding them or Ludwig’s secret room.

  Jones waited for Heidi’s a
rrival before he climbed the ladder. When he reached the top, he made sure they were safe, then signalled for her to join him. One by one, they popped out of the stalagmite and jumped into the Grotta Azzurra. As usual, Payne was the last one out. He made certain the hatch was secure while the others headed for the shore. According to his watch, it was already past ten. That meant the Linderhof gates were officially open. An influx of tourists would make things messy, especially if gun play was involved. Payne hoped it wouldn’t come to that, but he didn’t know what they were facing since he hadn’t been fully briefed.

  Less than a minute later, they were gathering their things and rushing towards the door. As an ex-employee, Heidi knew where supplies were stored in the bowels of the grotto. To protect the map and the black swan envelope, she placed them in a clean plastic bag and handed it to Ulster – not to avoid the responsibility, but because she assumed she would be driving the golf cart back to the chopper. Nevertheless, Ulster thanked her for the sign of respect.

  ‘Okay,’ Jones said as he hustled towards the secret entrance, ‘keep your eyes open. If you see anything suspicious, call it out. Understood?’

  Soaking wet, they nodded in agreement.

  Jones continued. ‘I’m out of the door first. Stay here until I give the all clear.’

  With gun in hand, Jones cranked the handle that held the door in place. There was a soft click followed by a loud rumble as the giant boulder turned on its centre axis. Jones knew exactly what to expect this time, yet he couldn’t help but smile. It really was a cool special effect, the type of thing that was commonly used in movies but rarely seen in real life. The fact that it was over a hundred years old made it even cooler.

  When the boulder stopped moving, Jones peeked through the resulting fissure. He hoped to see their golf cart and a deserted path. Instead, he was greeted by a four-man hit squad. They were armed with semi-automatic pistols and sound suppressors. Ordered by Mueller to follow the chopper’s beacon, the squad would have entered the grotto a lot sooner had they been able to figure out the secret door; now that was no longer an issue. They were standing in a semi-circle in front of the opening, all of them poised to shoot.

  Schultz, the lead goon, stepped forward. ‘Raise your hands!’