The Good Thief's Guide to Berlin (20 page)

“Anyway,” Freddy said, “the hotel will have to report it to the police eventually.”

“Right,” I said. “And I’m guessing that if they do that, the police are going to want to know why the embassy didn’t get in touch with them direct. After all, you have an employee missing. Even if she was only meant to be in Berlin temporarily.”

“Quite.”

“Well, that’s a conundrum.”

Freddy was looking at me as if I was a touch simple. Perhaps I was.

“What was in the file?” I asked him.

“You know that already,” he snapped. “You’re the one who found it and photographed its contents.”

“Yes, but everything was in code. I’m asking you what the code said. Has it been deciphered?”

“I can’t tell you that.”

I had a sudden urge to lash out and slap Freddy across the chops. It was all I could do to restrain myself. My arm was practically vibrating.

“Honestly, Freddy, if only you could tell me all the things you can’t tell me, I reckon I could help you to clear this mess up in no time at all.”

He shook his head roughly. “I can’t tell you because I don’t know myself. The code went to our security people. They’ve not been in touch with any results. I asked, of course. Naturally I did. But there’s been no response. And in my opinion, that can mean only one thing.”

“They couldn’t crack it?”

“Goodness, no. Of course they could. They have some of the world’s finest brains available to them. They have advanced computer systems you and I can’t even begin to imagine. No, they’ll have cracked it all right. Their silence just means the information relates to something above my pay grade.”

“Your pay grade, maybe. But what about Jane Parker’s?”

“Hers, too, I imagine. Look I’m sorry, I’m in the dark here every bit as much as you are.”

“I seriously doubt that. It seems to me there are a whole cast of people running around who know a hell of a lot more about what’s going on than I do.”

“You mean the Americans?”

“And the Russians. Them in particular. Think about it. They seem to have been content enough with the pages of code they took from me. Otherwise, I think I can pretty much guarantee I’d have heard about it by now. So perhaps they might be able to help you with the whereabouts of your missing employee. They might even have had a hand in her disappearance.”

Freddy gawped at me. “You don’t really think so, do you?”

“Why not? Victoria’s already being held as bait.”

“By this German character, you say? What do we know about him?”

“I was hoping you might tell me, though I sense that’s not going to happen. Still, it seems perfectly possible that Jane Parker could be being held as well. But then, what do I know? I only have a few scraps of information. You’re the guy in possession of all the facts.”

“Hardly.”

“Sure you are. You just don’t know how to use them. Take the job you hired me for. You came up with a list of four possible culprits and four locations. But I bet with a little careful thinking, you could have narrowed the suspects down even further.”

“I fail to see how.”

“Then allow me to show you. I’ll bet the embassy keeps personnel files on all their employees. Let me take a look at them for you.”

“I can’t—”

“Save it,” I said, and raised my hand to stop him before he got into his stride. “Stop telling me what you can’t do and start telling me what you can. You need to take control of this situation. It’s no good festering here in your own funk. Chin up, Freddy. Both of them. It’s time to start solving this puzzle.”

I wasn’t confident that my little speech would have the desired effect. I’ve never been very good at chivvying people along. Hell, I’m slack enough myself at the best of times. One glance at my current manuscript, and my rapidly encroaching deadline, was proof of that. But either I sounded a lot more confident than I felt, or Freddy was a good deal more desperate than I realized, because after a long moment’s reflection, he gathered up his telephone and punched a single button.

His call was answered right away, and he requested the four personnel files as a matter of urgency.

“On their way,” he said.

“Marvelous.”

“Would you like more coffee? I can arrange it.”

“I’m fine,” I said. “But I do have a question. How many of your suspects come to work at the embassy by car?”

“What does that have to do with anything?”

I told him about the thinking I’d done out on the street. About the security on the exit from the embassy and how a car might be a great way to smuggle a stolen object out of the building.

Freddy moved his mouth around, chewing over the idea. “I’d have to check,” he said.

“So check.”

He picked up his phone again. Punched the same button. Spoke in the same gruff tone. Then he hung up and told me the results.

“Everyone commutes by car.”

“Crap.”

“I’m not finished. Only two of them are allowed to park inside the embassy gates. That’s Daniel Wood, my first suspect, and Andrew Stirling, suspect number four.”

“What about Jane Parker?”

“A taxi from her hotel. It’s a firm we have an account with. But they’re not allowed inside the gates.”

“And the cleaner?”

“We employ a cleaning firm. They provide a minibus for their staff.”

“So it’s a possibility.”

Freddy pulled a face. “I don’t think so. Not with other cleaners on the minibus. They’d have spotted something.”

“I see,” I said. “So the item’s not small, then?”

Freddy winced, but before I was able to quiz him further, there was a sharp rap on the door to his office and a young woman stepped inside. She was smartly dressed in a dark pencil skirt and a black silk blouse, and she was clutching a stack of buff document files in her hands.

“Excellent,” Freddy said. “Set them down on my desk.”

She did as he asked, then turned on her heel and vacated the room. I watched her leave. I would have watched her walk most places.

“Now then,” Freddy said, once the door was closed. “What are we looking for here?”

He scooped the stack of files toward him, but I reached out and claimed them for myself, carrying them over to the window and resting my backside on the ledge.

“Tell you when I’ve found it.”

I didn’t find it. Not even close. And truth be told, I hadn’t really expected to. But I had wanted to take a look at the files and learn a bit more about the people Freddy suspected of stealing from the ambassador.

First up, I discovered that Daniel Wood was a junior diplomat. From the information in his file, I could see that he’d worked in Berlin for just over a year, and there was a batch of tedious paperwork relating to his impeccable employment history. A portrait photograph was clipped to the inside cover of the file, showing a neat, squared-away guy in a shirt and tie.

Jane Parker was only in Berlin on a short posting, and her file contained nothing but a brief letter confirming her appointment, a color snapshot, a personnel form that included her home address in Crouch End, London, her date of birth, and her seniority grade.

The cleaner’s file also contained a headshot image, as well as a security clearance, initialed by the embassy’s head of security, and a letter in German from her employer. The letter informed the embassy that she’d worked for the cleaning firm for a period of twelve years, that she had an exemplary service record, and that they would have no hesitation in recommending her as an entirely trustworthy individual.

The remaining file belonged to Freddy’s fourth and final suspect. It was thick with paper. Andrew Stirling’s portrait shot revealed a man in his late fifties with dark, neatly trimmed hair styled in a side parting, and a drawn, haggard-looking face. He was a senior diplomat and his record included stints in embassy outposts and consulates all across the world, from Washington, D.C., to Sierra Leone. He’d been working in Berlin for almost six months and had another eight to go until his retirement. I got the impression the Berlin posting was the culmination of a long and distinguished career.

“Anything?” Freddy asked. He’d settled back down on his posture ball and was watching me keenly from across his desk. His palms were pressed together, fingers steepled, as if in prayer.

“Not much,” I told him. “They all might have done it. And from what you say, they all had the opportunity. But if you want my honest opinion, I think we can exclude the cleaner. I’d say she’s the least likely of all your suspects.”

“Agreed.”

“Then why on earth did you have me search her home before this chap’s?”

I tossed the file belonging to suspect number four onto Freddy’s desk, spinning it round so that the information was pointing toward him. I tapped the guy’s face.

“It’s … a sensitive situation.”

“You mean he could have your job if he found out you suspected him?”

Freddy held my gaze. “I’m as interested in self-preservation as the next man.”

“Right,” I said. “And you wanted to see how I did on the other locations first. You wanted to be sure I didn’t screw up before you set me on this guy’s apartment.”

“I’m not sure I’d put it quite like that.”

“But you like him for it, don’t you?”

Freddy exhaled. “‘Like’ is not the word for it.” He clasped his hands to his face, then pulled them downward, tugging at the pouched skin beneath his eyes and doing a fair impression of a bloodhound. “Believe me, I’d rather it was just about anyone else.”

“But he’s the guy you always felt could have done it. The moment you heard about the theft, he’s the first one who sprung to mind, isn’t he?”

Freddy shuddered. “There is a certain logic to it.”

“On account of he’s nearing retirement? He might be looking to make some extra cash. He might be willing to take a risk?”

“There’s that,” Freddy allowed. “But there’s also his attitude. There’s a … tension between us. Always has been. He’s made it clear to the ambassador on more than one occasion that he believes I’m underqualified for my role. He practically told me I have my brother to thank for my job. He could be right, of course. Look at me now. You probably think the same thing. But I’m here to protect the ambassador. So, naturally, when he challenged my capabilities—”

“You began to question his motives.”

“Precisely. And there have been times when I’ve seen him … well, loitering outside the ambassador’s office.”

“All right,” I said, and nodded. “That’s what your instinct tells you, then your instinct can’t be completely off. I’m willing to buy it. He’s our guy. Tell me, is he working today? In this building?”

Freddy nodded.

“Good. Then I’ll head to his place right away. I’ll get inside and I’ll search it and I’ll check everywhere until I find what we’re looking for.”

I turned the file back to face me. The personnel form stapled to the inside cover listed Andrew Stirling’s address as an apartment in the Hackescher Markt.

Freddy released a burst of air. “You will be careful, won’t you?”

“I’m always careful. He’ll never know I’ve been there. But there is one thing I’ll need from you.”

“What’s that?”

“Your trust. You have to tell me what the secret object is. This whole situation has gone too far. There’s too much at stake. Victoria’s in danger. You can’t afford for me to make a mistake, and neither can she. And frankly, I’m not prepared to break into this guy’s home until you spill the beans on what I’m hunting for. I’m done wasting time, Freddy. Either you tell me, or we forget the whole thing.”

He reared back like I’d punched him in the face. “That was never the agreement.”

“Forget the agreement. Things have changed.”

“How do I know you won’t betray me? How do I know you won’t exchange the object with this German chap for Victoria?”

“You’ll just have to take a chance on that. I want Victoria back. No question. But if you tell me what we’re dealing with here, there may be a way I can satisfy us both. And besides, what else are you going to do? If you had another viable option, you’d be using it already.” I placed my hands on my hips. “So what’s it to be?” I asked. “Will you tell me?”

“Very well,” he said, shoulders slumping. “I’ll tell you.”

And so he did. And though I was braced for the worst, what he said was far more fanciful than I could possibly have imagined.

TWENTY-SIX

When I got back to the security booth, my two friends with the attentive hands patted me down thoroughly to make sure I hadn’t pinched any paper clips. Then they returned my cigarettes, my penlight, and my spectacles case to me. I popped open the case and went through the routine of checking its contents. I didn’t really believe they’d have swiped anything—there was nothing of any obvious value inside—but hey, they’d treated me like a common thief, and the petty part of my psyche wanted to return the favor.

Once I was finished laboring my point, I bid them so long and walked away up the street, turning left onto Behrenstrasse and pausing beside a litter bin. Now that I was out of sight of the embassy gates, I opened my spectacles case and selected what appeared to be a fountain pen with the lid removed. I say appeared to be, because when I unscrewed the nib, it revealed an earphone socket.

I ducked down and reached a hand beneath the litter bin. There was a plastic sandwich bag taped to the underside that I’d stashed earlier. Inside the bag was a set of earphones. I fitted the little foam buds inside my ears and plugged the jack into the socket in the pen.

There was a lot of static on the line. There was a fair bit of whistling, too. It was pretty much what I’d expected to hear. The system was only good for perhaps five hundred meters, and I was standing on the outer limits of its range. Plus, there was a lot of concrete and glass and steel between me and the bug I’d planted.

The bug and the listening device had formed part of Victoria’s spy kit. The transmitter was in the lid of the pen, and the lid was currently swathed in the plastic from another sandwich bag. Oh, and the plastic was adhered to the bottom of the takeaway cup I’d carried into Freddy’s office, submerged beneath the thin layer of cold coffee.

I’d tested the device back at my apartment before I’d set out for the embassy, and I’d been pleasantly surprised by the way the transmitter had been able to pick up the tunes playing on my kitchen radio through the plastic bag and the liquid I’d poured over it. Now, though, the signal kept being interrupted by short bursts of white noise, and whenever it came back online, the low-level whistling was constant.