“It has taken me over a day to obtain this connection to Schwerin,” Erika declared once she had Kurt on the telephone.
“I would far rather fight with operators than have to do what I have done,” Kurt replied. “Which is sit on my hands.”
“Waiting is pure agony,” Erika agreed.
“Especially when there is nothing but doubt for company.”
“I told you I could be trusted.”
“Yes, you did that.”
Erika paused, acquiesced, “Were I in your place, I would feel no different.”
“Your honesty is most reassuring.”
A muffled voice spoke from the distance. “Ferret is reminding me again.”
“No doubt.”
“To business, then.” She kept her voice brisk, determinedly calm. “The transfer has been made.”
Though expected and hoped for, the news brought with it an electric stab. He had to stop and breathe before asking, “All of it?”
“So many zeros,” Erika replied. “You cannot imagine how it feels to stand in such a place, one of the grandest banks in the world, and look at a number that large.”
Kurt searched as far inward as he ever allowed himself, found only doubt and worry and fear. “And here I stand,” he said bitterly. “My passport is in the hands of others, and there you are, looking at all those zeros.”
“It boggles the mind.”
“No doubt,” he agreed. For a moment, he felt the fear give way to a certainty of ruin, and in that brief instant Kurt felt a bonding with the old colonel and his tired, defeated air. “Never have I felt more helpless, or more alone.”
“Such a confession,” Erika said.
“At least you have the decency to act surprised.”
“I am surprised because it is exactly as Ferret predicted,” she replied. “He has arranged a suitable reply. Do you have pen and paper?”
“What for?”
“Do you have it?” A little sharper this time.
“Wait.” Then, “All right. Go ahead.”
“Write this down,” she said, and proceeded to give him a bank’s name and a Zurich address, followed by a telephone number, then two longer numbers.
“Do you have it?”
“What is it?”
“Our bank. The first set of numbers is your account. They have been instructed that you will either call or fax and request confirmation of a deposit.”
“A what?”
“A deposit. A large one. Very large. Your share of the proceeds, to be exact. You are to give them this second number, which is your access code.”
The flood of relief left him utterly weak. “You have done this?”
“Deliver the treasure map to Poland,” Erika replied. “Then come to Switzerland. It is time to begin your new life.”