Wolfie returned just as the food arrived, looking troubled as he picked up his napkin and eyed his piping-hot Wiener schnitzel mit Sauerkraut. However, after a bite to eat, he quickly recovered, and the conversation veered around the table. Time flew.
Everyone was simply having fun and happy to be in such a clean and well-lit space with such good history on the walls.
It wasn’t until the coffee had been served that Wolfie artfully steered the conversation back to Sigrid’s missing banker. He spoke in a low and quiet voice, encouraging the others to do the same. It was, after all, an extremely sensitive matter.
“I find the mystery of the dead banker at the bottom of a mountain quite fascinating, don’t you agree, Sigrid?” he said.
“You, too, Baron? This missing mystery man seems all anyone in my department is talking about. I can’t believe the bank has kept it out of the papers.”
Von Stuka said, “You won’t see this in the papers. It was one of my Tenth Mountain Division grenadiers who discovered the body, Sigrid. As the divisionnaire, I’m of course eager to help the officials find out what really happened.”
“Yes,” Hawke said. “Sigrid, we were up on the mountain with Wolfie all morning, watching the Tenth Mountain in combat training. The baron pointed out the exact spot where the victim was found. All very mysterious. The chief inspector here thinks he was thrown out of a helicopter. But, of course, he has a very vivid imagination.”
“I certainly do not think any such thing! I have no idea how he got there. But I am curious about something else. Tell me, Sigrid, you’re rapidly becoming a well-connected banker here in Zurich. Have you heard much at all about this alleged hacking scandal? It is my impression that it’s raising eyebrows within the Swiss banking system?”
“Certainly I have heard occasional whispers, Chief Inspector. All rumors and innuendo. No one really knows what’s going on. Of course, I work in the client service department. If any of this were true, we would have known about it. And become concerned about the security of some of our British clients.”
“Why do you say British, Sigrid?” Hawke said.
“Well, that’s the rumor at Credit Suisse, isn’t it? That hackers might be going after the Queen of England’s gold reserves?”
“The Queen, you say. That’s interesting, Sigrid,” Congreve said, lighting up his pipe and puffing away to get it lit. “And are there any security problems that you know of involving any other British-held accounts?”
“We’re not privy to such details at my level. And, even if I were, I would certainly not discuss it. But I’ve definitely heard water-cooler gossip that somehow the Queen of England is involved. And I very much doubt Prince Philip himself is the hacker.”
“Is anyone even capable of doing such a sophisticated invasion?” Congreve said, leaning closer to her and puffing away on his pipe. “Hacking an account of that importance? With that many firewalls? That would be a massive breach of countless defensive measures. The usual suspects? Iranians? Chinese? Russians? Any real suspects so far?”
“Our chief of cybersecurity, Helmut Koller, is a social friend of mine. I can only say that Helmut is having a difficult time keeping a lid on this long enough to find out if any of these attempted attacks are even real. And, if they are, how deep have the attackers gotten? The Swiss Banking Federation Security Division is breathing down Helmut’s neck, I can say that much. Not to mention our chairman, Dr. Scheel.”
“I’ll tell you one thing,” Hawke said. “We’d all better pray there’s nothing to this. Because if there is, and it’s significant, stand back and watch the world banking community crumble to the ground.”
“And as the Swiss banks go, so goes the world,” Ambrose added.
Wolfie said, “Exactly right, both of you. If Swiss banking security were to be breached and confidence in our system and its defenses was destroyed, it would be the end of all of us, I assure you, Sigrid. Panic, meltdown of international trade would spread around the world. And, most importantly, trust would evaporate overnight. Every significant nation in the world keeps the vast amount of its private wealth here. Hell, eighty percent of the entire world’s wealth is right here in Zurich. Such an event would be cataclysmic.”
Hawke said, “Do you agree with the baron, Blinky?”
“I’m just grateful our government and the banks are maintaining a heavy cloak of secrecy until someone gets to the bottom of this. Shut these cybercriminals down before the story leaks out to the world at large. But what do I know? I’m in chocolate.”
Wolfie said, “Sigrid, we’ve only just met. But knowing that our mutual friend, your chairman, Heinrich Scheel, has just demonstrated his faith and entrusted you with your promotion to a Vice President. I’ve just spoken about you with Dr. Scheel. And now I’d like to make a proposal to you. You don’t need to answer me now. Take some time to think about it. Will you hear me out?”
“Of course, Baron, I will do that. But may I ask what your involvement is in this case?”
“You may. Heinrich Scheel and I are old friends since childhood. He’s worried about what he sees happening inside the Swiss financial community. Deeply concerned. The first thing he wants me to do is identify the man at the bottom of the mountain. He knows that I myself, and the entire Swiss Army, have enormous manpower and technical resources far beyond his own. He has confidentially asked me to look into the murder. That request from Dr. Scheel is, of course, highly classified information, as it involves our national security at the very highest level. Reveal it at your gravest legal peril, my dear.”
“I understand. I give you my word, Herr Baron.”
“I give you my trust,” he replied. “But from now on you have to earn it.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“Never abuse it, Sigrid. You must believe me on that one. My thought for you is this. It would be most helpful to all of us if, through your CEO, you became our liaison inside the Swiss banking community. You would be expected to report any relevant information you come upon directly to me. Time is of the essence, obviously.”
“You mean that, as of now, I’m a spy?”
“Essentially, yes.”
“Fine. You say I could be helpful to all of you. What do you mean by all of ‘you,’ sir?”
“All of us at this table. Blinky and I are friends since schooldays. He is in the import-export trade, but he’s also an international forensic accountant. Alex is not a male model. In fact, Lord Hawke and Blinky are colleagues of sorts.”
“So, he’s Lord Hawke now, is he? It just keeps getting better, does it not?”
Hawke said, “I never use the title, Sigrid. ‘Alex’ still works.”
“Duly noted,” she said.
Wolfie said, “And what about our young tourist here? Chief Inspector Congreve, you see, is only partially retired from Scotland Yard. He has been involved in many investigations regarding the Crown and the British Parliament.”
“Nice to meet you all again,” Sigrid said with a smile.
“And you,” Hawke said, with a smile of his own, “again.”