On a nice clear day Innsbruck’s Hofgarten is a pleasant green park along a beautiful mountain river, with flowers compressed in long gardens, and curving walkways where lovers stroll hand-in-hand.
In the darkness, like it was now, the place took on a far more sinister appearance. In the winter and spring there were few lights along the paths, and those that were there did little to light the way.
Otto Bergen walked cautiously toward the heart of the park and stopped next to a small fountain that was not working. He lit a cigarette, the orange glow bouncing about the end of his mouth.
A moment later he heard movement to his left and he startled when the dark figure approached.
“A little jumpy, Otto?” Marcus Quinn said, moving uncomfortably close to the Austrian.
“Nobody comes to the Hofgarten at night this time of year,” Otto said, gazing nervously around him. He inhaled on his cigarette and then let it hang between his fingers at his side.
“I know. That’s why we’re meeting here.” The American nodded to his right. “It’s amazing more people don’t come here with polizei headquarters less than a block away.”
“What’s the point of standing in darkness?”
“Otto...you have no sense of adventure.”
“What is it that you want?” Bergen asked, rather irritated.
Quinn pulled his gun and aimed the silenced barrel right at Bergen’s mouth. “Don’t get short with me, motherfucker. I’ll show you terminal darkness.”
Bergen was scared. He’d never had a gun pointed at him, and he knew this man would just as soon pull the trigger as take another breath. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean anything.”
Quinn smiled and returned the gun to inside his jacket. “Relax, Otto. Jesus Christ, I was just giving you shit. You need to learn to settle down or you’ll have a fuckin’ coronary before you have a chance to take that damn solution of yours. Now that would be some God damn irony if you ask me. I can see the headlines now. ‘Company president dies before cure hits market.’ Hell of a shame.”
Bergen wasn’t sure where this was heading, but he had enough sense to keep his mouth shut. He flicked ashes to the wet grass and then stuck the cigarette into the side of his mouth.
Quinn’s attitude changed quickly from jocularity to grave concern. “I went to the airport to shadow the Italian researcher of yours, Giovanni Scala. He never showed.”
“You’re kidding.”
“I don’t fuck around when it comes to work or money. He didn’t show. The airline said he was a no-show in Milan.”
Bergen gazed off nervously and then settled on Quinn. “What about Leonhard Aldo’s apartment. He only lives a few blocks from here. Let’s see if he’s there. Scala hates to fly. He might have decided to take a train.”
“Save your breath,” Quinn said. He hesitated, thinking things over carefully, knowing exactly what Aldo’s apartment looked like. “I just came from there. Trust me. He wasn’t there. While I was there I looked around for Aldo’s research, but it wasn’t there either. He must have had everything with him in Italy.”
Bergen thought about leaving, forgetting about this man he knew little about. Things had gotten far too complicated. Everything was out of his hands and he didn’t like it a bit. He was used to controlling his own destiny, which is why he had started Tirol Genetics in the first place. He drew in the last of his smoke and then stamped out the butt in the grass. “We had a meeting in the morning,” Bergen finally muttered. “I expected Scala to present his findings to us. He must be there. Please. Do anything you can to get Scala to that meeting.”
Quinn looked surprised. “Anything?”
“Within reason.”
“If Scala is in this town I’ll find him.”
Bergen checked his watch. “I’ve got to go. I have that dinner meeting.”
Quinn nodded and slipped back into the darkness. Bergen walked off toward his car.
●
Back at his hotel room, Quinn closed the door behind him and threw the plastic card key against the mirror. He could hear the shower going in the back, so he slumped into a chair and pulled out the photos he had of his old partner. He smiled at the wild eyes the girl made as Murdock was about to enter her. When he had first found the young woman at Aldo’s apartment he had been surprised, and then he saw it as an opportunity. She spoke no English and very little German. All he understood, through hand gestures and the equipment she carried, was that she was Aldo’s maid.
He flipped to another photo. The one where he had made Murdock ejaculate all over her breasts. She had been so frightened he had almost achieved an erection himself. A poor maid trying to make a new life after escaping a stagnating Rumania. That’s all she had asked for. Death was so much easier.
The shower had shut down and the door opened. Ute came out naked, toweling herself off. She stopped briefly when she saw him in the chair, and then simply lifted the towel to concentrate on her long blonde hair. Her breasts bounced with each stroke, her nipples pointing rigidly toward Quinn.
“It’s about time you got back,” she said. “You get to have all the fun while I’m back here bored to death.”
“They found the car. Adams...alerted the polizei about the bomb. I don’t know how he knew.”
She sat down on the bed across from him, opening her legs to him. “He’s smarter than you think?”
“Not as smart as he thinks. I’ve still got a few more surprises for him.” He ran his eyes across her body, where she was curling the hair away from her vagina. “Save yourself, Ute. I want you to connect with Adams again tonight.”
She smiled with the thought, running her finger inside herself. “Ummm. That could be interesting.”
“Perhaps. But here’s what I want you to do....”