Chapter 5

 

 

1:15 a.m.

Berlin

 

Calla’s eyes drew together in an agonized expression. “Herr Eichel, I’m really worried. I’ve not heard a word from Allegra all day. It’s not like her not to be in touch. We had an appointment to meet here today.”

“I wish I knew, Frau Cress,” he said and faced her for the first time since entering the room.

Eichel rested his frame against the aluminum table as Calla tapped her fingers on the table. “The hotel informed me she ordered a limousine for the Pergamon first thing this morning.”

Eichel peered past her, back the way they’d come. When he was certain they weren’t being overheard, he motioned for Calla to sit down and she sank into one of the workstation chairs.

“My police officers aren’t privy to the information I’m about to reveal. So, I need your cooperation. How well do you know Frau Driscoll?” he asked.

Calla shrugged. “We’re colleagues. I’ve known her close to seven years.” She thought for a few seconds. “She’s a good friend.”

Eichel took a seat beside her. He studied her face and leaned forward, his voice hovering in soft tones. “She was here. In fact, she was the last person to be seen with Priam’s Treasure.” He took a deliberate pause. “And with the Deveron Manuscript.”

“Are you saying both have gone missing?”

He stood erect, veered to the corner of the worktable and picked up a tenth century sculpture. When he’d studied it, he set it down with a gentle thud. “She came as you say.” His hands slid into his pockets as he paced around the table. “It was earlier. Around 6:00 a.m.” Another pause. “I gather it was to work with the artifacts before they went on display. We cleared her credentials yesterday.”

She said nothing as Eichel monitored Calla’s every reaction. “You work for the intelligence arm of your government, don’t you?” he said.

Calla opened her lips to speak.

“Don’t. I know Allegra was with ISTF,” his face breaking into a grin. “Do you know about the Deveron?”

He waited for her response. She gave none.

“It supposedly contains formulas and scientific clues that have helped perform military miracles and wonders in history. Your friend Allegra was here to verify those claims,” he said.

Calla was slightly amused. Each account that she heard of the Deveron Manuscript had a completely new twist to it. She rose with an awkward step and scrutinized Eichel’s round glasses. “I’ve heard the rumors. Surely today, educated people can’t believe that this document can do all you claim. Why have these so-called formulas never been tried before? What’s to say that a document dating what is it, six hundred years or even more, is of any value to military intelligence today?”

She `along the worktable and picked up a small brass plate and examined its exquisite Islamic designs. “Besides, aren’t you interested in finding Priam’s Treasure instead of a mythical document whose existence hasn’t even been confirmed?”

Eichel smirked and moved over to where Calla stood. “Come on, Frau Cress, you’re a smart historian. Even I know there’s some truth to the rumors.”

Is he fishing? Calla placed the item down and faced Eichel. “What are you getting at?”

Eichel stroked his pointy chin. “I think the document is older than most people think.”

“How old?”

He shrugged. “Who knows? I’m here to investigate the disappearance of prized treasures. I was at a dead end,” he said, smirking at her. “I now have you and your connection to Driscoll. Incidentally, we’ve secured Priam’s Treasure. It's down here. Only one item is missing. We’re not sharing this information until we put together the pieces of this puzzle.”

Eichel’s voice coaxed for a reaction. “Do you see?”

It was at times easier than others to follow his English. Now that he seemed to be getting onto something, his sentences weren’t entirely comprehensible.

“The real crime is that both Allegra and the manuscript are missing. They’ve been…what do you say? Abducted from the museum?”

Calla’s pupils dilated and she fired him a quizzical glare. “Abducted?”

Have I misunderstood his German?

“You mean she’s been kidnapped?”

He tilted his head to one side. “No. Vaporized. Vanished into thin air! Take a look at this.”

He led her to the end of the vault, and then through another narrow staircase behind a cement pillar. They entered a slender doorway, hidden within the walls. The moldy room formed part of the enigmatic maze under the museum. Past the narrow entrance, brushes, easels, small bottles of solutions and dyes, including several other artist tools, cluttered the petite chamber. Its minimal size suggested it served as a private work area, perhaps used for restorations. She’d never seen so many artifacts in such a small space.

Her fascination with the room was short-lived as a new sense of trepidation swallowed her. Is Allegra really in danger? What exactly could Eichel have meant by vaporized? Eichel hesitated at the far corner of the room. He glanced down and pointed to a hairpin. Even in the dim light Calla recognized it. Allegra always wore the rhinestone hairpin, handmade and designed to look like a blooming flower in her tasteful hair.

“Not a trace of blood, fingerprints, or even a sign of a struggle,” said Eichel.

He crouched down. On the floor next to the hairpin lay a peculiar object, a tubular cylinder. Handcrafted out of thick glass it was transparent enough to display an empty interior.

“We’re not sure where this came from or what it is,” he said. “It’s a container of some sort but we can’t open it. It’s electronically protected. Have you seen anything like this?”

Calla shook her head.

“A museum worker in Saint Petersburg claimed it had been sitting with the Priam artifacts for years even though it was only discovered yesterday.”

“Where did it come from?” Calla asked.

“We don’t know. However, like I said, one gold item from Priam’s Treasure is also missing.”

Calla examined the cylinder. “Was it looted from Berlin in 1945 with the rest of the treasure?”

Eichel let out a sigh. “My guess is that the cylinder contained the Deveron Manuscript or the culprit wanted to place it in there.”

Calla studied him closely. For a stern police officer, probably nearing retirement, the soft eyes behind his spectacles revealed a gentler side to him. He obviously was still looking for clues and dared not tamper with the crime scene. He examined the cylinder with care, sliding it back and forth with a toothpick. “It’s locked shut. We’ve yet to find the access code to this secure system. It looks a little dated but it’s as secure as they come.”

“Let me see?”

He raised his head. “You work in intelligence. Isn’t this a biometric fingerprint lock? I thought these systems only came into existence this past decade.”

Calla knew the security program. It had been designed by the UK government a few decades ago and patented globally to government agencies alone. She tunneled a hand through her loose hair, trying to keep up with the pieces of the story. Was Allegra involved? If so, why?

“There’s no way the manuscript could have been taken out of the glass case. Every inch of this cylinder is intact. We have already conducted fingerprint tests and there’s no proof it was there in the first place,” he said.

Calla relaxed the muscles in her face. “Why do you think the manuscript was with the treasure? That makes no sense to me.”

Eichel was getting to some point and had revealed more than he wished from the quiver of his bottom lip. He was right about one thing, according to Jack, these security systems were resilient. Eichel was looking for a scapegoat. The manuscript had been lifted from the cylinder without any damage and, according to him, no alarms had been triggered and there was no sign of forced entry. But why is he telling me all this?

“Are you accusing Allegra of taking the manuscript? That’s absurd! Don’t you know who she is?” she said.

Eichel cast her a superficial sneer. “You’re the only person who understood Allegra’s real mission here.”

Am I a suspect?

He paced around her. “You know her well. Therefore we’d like to ask for your cooperation on a few things. What was Allegra working on? What did she discover concerning the Deveron Manuscript? You’re a historian. Is it connected to the antiquities of Priam? After all, it was stolen while on Priam’s guard.”

He believes the Deveron stories. And…is quite confident that the two items were equally valuable.

“Your documentation says you’re also a linguist. I imagine you’re gifted in ancient hieroglyphics and symbols as those on the manuscript. That’s why Driscoll needed you here. You must know something,” he added.

What were her legal rights in the situation? She knelt beside the hairpin. “I don’t know what you think I know. Right now I’m more concerned about Allegra. Are you going to investigate her disappearance? She could be hurt.”

“Surely you have access to her files.”

Calla sighed. “Even if I did I wouldn’t be authorized to share anything. Listen, unless you’re going to give me more information I’ll just have to contact the British authorities.”

He drew back, narrowing his eyes. A shrilling beep came from his police radio. Even though its signal was weak, he studied it as it flickered before switching it off completely. “Come. I think you’ve seen enough.”

They advanced back toward the door and an awkward silence swamped them until they re-entered the security room. Eichel roamed toward two museum officials and exchanged a few words.

Calla’s ear picked up most of the German conversation as the men debated whether to keep her for questioning. Soon, agitated discussions escalated as police and other administrators determined the next steps in the investigation. Faint lights overhead triggered Calla’s fatigue. She signaled for Eichel’s attention with her hand. “Herr Eichel, before I go, I need to know if your investigation will focus on Allegra’s disappearance.”

He turned his head and paced to her side. “We’ve alerted British Intelligence. They’ll send someone to help us with the investigation.”

“Can I go now?”

“Yes. For now.”

He escorted her to the exit of the museum. “Please, take my card. I can’t force you but advise you to stay in Berlin a few days, in case we have more questions.”

Calla took his card and turned to the door. As she did, he set a steady hand on her elbow barring her. She glimpsed down at his imposing fingers that gently gripped her arm. Judging from his stance he could certainly damage it. “Frau Cress, we’ll expect your full cooperation.”

“Of course. I take it the investigation here is going to focus more on the artifacts than finding Allegra.”