The Secret Crown (2010) (36 page)

‘Our contact doesn’t know. He’s still trying to find out.’

Mueller nodded. ‘What about the other victim? Another friend of Krueger’s?’

‘I hope not, sir.’

Mueller glared at him. He wasn’t in the mood for games. ‘What does
that
mean?’

The assistant gulped. ‘Sorry, sir. As far as we know, he’s not connected to Krueger. The guy’s name was Collins. He was found on a hiking trail above the Partnach Gorge. According to several witnesses, a small caravan of soldiers was ambushed at an intersection. Collins was one of the casualties.’

‘Collins was a soldier?’

‘No, sir. He was a criminal dressed in camouflage.’

‘Camouflage? What was he doing?’

‘I don’t know, sir.’

‘What kind of criminal?’

‘Collins was a hired thug.’

Mueller stroked his chin. ‘But he
didn’t
work for Krueger?’

‘No, sir.’

‘Can we connect him to Ulster?’

‘No, sir, we can’t. But we
can
connect him to someone else.’

‘Who?’

‘According to our source, Collins worked for Kaiser.’

Fuelled by a wave of anger, Mueller cursed for the next ten seconds. No one made his blood boil like Kaiser. More than competitors, they were rivals. Bitter, bloodthirsty rivals. In the world of smuggling, Kaiser was the old guard and Mueller was the new. As long as both were alive, neither could feel safe. ‘Collins worked for Kaiser? Was Kaiser there?’

‘I don’t know, sir.’

‘That’s not good enough!’ he shouted. ‘We need to know if Kaiser was there!’

The assistant nodded. ‘Sir, our source is checking. Unfortunately, the local police are overwhelmed at the moment. In addition to the shootout, there was a major fire on one of the mountains. Right now they’re stretched pretty thin.’

‘A fire? What kind of fire? Was it connected to the shootings?’

‘I don’t know, sir. Our source doesn’t know.’

Mueller swore some more, this time in multiple languages. Something major was going on in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, and he was on the outside looking in. Unfortunately, because of the increased police presence in the region, he couldn’t risk a visit himself. Instead, he’d have to work his network of contacts from his office in Berlin to find out what was going on.

If Kaiser and Ulster had a connection, he would find it.

And then he would sever it.

Tuesday, 21 September

Linderhof, Germany
(55 miles south-west of Munich)

Linderhof Palace is located six miles west of the village of Ettal, not far from Ettal Abbey, a fourteenth-century Benedictine monastery that used to be a popular pilgrimage stop. From the window of Ulster’s chopper, Payne and Jones could see the abbey’s towering baroque dome in the distance. Covered in dew, it glistened in the early-morning sun.

Following Heidi’s instructions, Baptiste landed the chopper in a large clearing on the east side of the Linderhof grounds. The gates didn’t officially open until 9 a.m., but Heidi had called one of her friends on the security staff, who had given her permission to come an hour early since she had worked there for two years and was employed by the Bavarian Palace Department. The guard greeted her with a hug, then handed her the keys to a four-person golf cart parked nearby. Normally used to ferry elderly people around the spacious grounds, the cart would save them a lot of travel time as they made their way to the north end of the park.

Heidi and Ulster sat in the front seat while Payne and Jones sat in the back. As she drove, she provided some background information on the castle. ‘Ludwig was fascinated by the Palace of Versailles in France and copied many of its interior features, including the main staircase and the master bedroom. The exterior of the castle resembles Petit Trianon, a small chateau in the grounds of Versailles that was given to Marie Antoinette by King Louis
XVI
.’

She followed a narrow, stone path through a thick grove of trees. When they emerged on the far side, they caught a quick glimpse of the castle, which was built at the bottom of a gently sloping valley. Much smaller than Payne had imagined, the marble building was less than 100 feet in length. It was surrounded by several fountains, including one that shot water over seventy feet in the air. He was about to ask a question about the golden statue in its centre, but before he had a chance, Heidi turned to the right and started driving north.

A moment later, the cart was swallowed by shadows as it entered the mouth of the longest arbour Payne had ever seen. Hundreds of arching metal poles had been planted into the ground, approximately one foot apart on both sides of the steep path. The poles were connected by several horizontal rails, which formed a series of one-foot squares that functioned as a trellis. Over the years, dozens of trees had been trained to grow over the extensive framework. The resulting tunnel - a combination of vines, leaves and branches - shielded them from the sun and blocked their view of water steps on their left that flowed towards the ornate castle behind them.

Ulster admired the vegetation. ‘Is this the
gartenlaube
you mentioned?’

She nodded. ‘We entered it from the east. It arches all the way up to a music pavilion on top of the hill before it arches back down to the western side of the grounds. When viewed from the palace windows, the arbour looks like a green rainbow on the hillside.’

Payne leaned forward. ‘And what does the arbour have to do with swans?’

‘Nothing,’ she admitted as they reached a fork in the path.

‘Then I’m confused. I thought
gartenlaube
helped you solve the riddle?’

The arbour continued to arch gently around to the left while an uncovered trail veered off to the right. This new trail went straight up the hill towards the north. She made the turn before she answered his question. ‘It did help me solve the riddle. Back in Ludwig’s time,
gartenlaube
had multiple meanings. Sometimes it meant garden arbour, which is the literal translation of the term. But in the world of landscaping, it was a generic term for man-made garden. If you think about it, that’s what an arbour is: the trees and trellis were shaped by man.’

‘What’s your point?’ Payne asked.

‘My point is simple,’ she said as she drove up the steep path, ‘there’s more than one man-made garden on the Linderhof grounds. The one we’re going to was Ludwig’s personal favourite. It’s called the Venus Grotto.’

‘Does it have swans?’ Jones wondered.

She smiled as she parked their cart next to a large rock formation that was covered in green moss. ‘The Venus Grotto has
everything
. I’m sure you’ll be impressed.’

Payne climbed out of his seat and stared at the spacious grounds. The approach of autumn had splashed the trees with a vibrant mix of colours. Everywhere he looked, he saw reds and yellows, oranges and gold, all mixed against a palette of greens. If the Venus Grotto was half as impressive as the leaves around him, he would be pleasantly surprised.

‘Is it much of a hike?’ Payne asked.

She shook her head. ‘Not at all.’

‘Then what are we waiting for?’

‘I wanted to see if you would spot it.’

‘Spot what?’

‘The secret entrance to the grotto.’

He looked at her. ‘The
what
?’

‘You heard me. The secret entrance to the grotto.’

In unison, Payne, Jones and Ulster turned towards the large mound behind them. Standing twelve feet in height, the rugged formation appeared to be a natural extension of the hillside. Weeds grew from the cracks in the grey rocks. Small trees sprang from the crevices. If they had walked past it, they wouldn’t have given it a second thought. Everything about it looked as though it belonged, as if it had been there since the dawn of time. Naturally curious, Jones tapped one of the moss-covered stones to make sure it was real. Then he tapped another. Payne and Ulster quickly followed suit, each of them hoping to find the entrance first.

Payne called over his shoulder. ‘If you’re messing with us, I’m going to be pissed.’

She laughed at his comment. ‘I swear, I’m not messing with you. There really is a secret entrance to the grotto. In fact, Ludwig designed several secret doors and passageways in his castles - not to mention a number of slick contraptions that catered to his dream world. Believe it or not, some of them were quite brilliant.’

Payne glanced at her. ‘Such as?’

‘When Ludwig was entertaining guests, he didn’t want to be disturbed by servants. He felt they invaded his privacy and ruined the fantasies he was trying to create. Obviously this was a major problem when he was throwing a dinner party for a lot of people. No servants meant no food. So Ludwig designed a special dining room in the Linderhof that met his personal needs. The room featured a full-length table that could be lowered into the kitchen below so his servants could stock the table and raise it back up without being seen.’

Payne smiled. ‘You’ve got to be kidding me.’

‘Trust me, that’s nothing compared to what you’ll see inside the grotto. That is, if you guys can find the way in. I thought one of you was supposed to be a detective?’

Jones, who was a licensed investigator, took the comment as a personal challenge. Less than thirty seconds later, he found a tiny metal handle imbedded in the rock face. Without waiting for Heidi’s permission, Jones yanked on the latch. A soft click could be heard in the centre of the mound, followed by a loud rumble. Suddenly the large boulder in the middle of the formation started to twist to the left. Unsure of what was happening, Jones jumped back and watched as the boulder turned on a centre axis. The left side of the rock went in while the right side swivelled out. Once the rock stopped moving, Jones stared at the resulting fissure. It was seven feet tall and three feet wide. Beyond it, a narrow corridor stretched deep into the darkness.

Jones glanced back at the group. ‘I’m not sure, but I think I found it.’

Armed with flashlights, the foursome walked single file into the man-made cave at the northern end of the Linderhof grounds. Heidi led the way, followed by Jones, Ulster and Payne. To ensure their privacy, he closed the door behind them. When the grounds were officially open, the narrow corridor would be awash with floor lights for the safety of the crowds. But that was later. For the moment, nothing was turned on.

‘Watch your heads,’ she called out from the front.

Fake stalactites dangled from the ceiling above as stalagmites rose from the floor, as if the group was passing through a sharp set of teeth. Payne wasn’t sure where they were going or what they were about to see, but he sensed something great was lurking ahead. Outside, he’d had his doubts about this place until that giant boulder had twisted aside like something from a movie.
That
had changed everything. Suddenly, he felt like a little kid again exploring one of the walk-through rides at Kennywood, an amusement park near Pittsburgh. All that was missing was the taste of cotton candy and the safety of his grandfather’s hand.

‘How old is this place?’ Jones asked in the darkness.

Heidi answered as she opened the grotto’s control panel, which was hidden behind a fake boulder. ‘It was finished in 1877. Workers installed a framework of steel girders and pillars. They covered them with cement, sometimes laid over canvas, then sculpted them into shape.’

Payne shone his flashlight to the far left. At first glance, it looked like the ground was rippling. He assumed it was an optical illusion caused by his light until he heard the dripping of water. ‘What’s out there? Is that a fountain?’

Heidi put her hand on the switch. ‘Nope. Something better.’

‘Like what?’ he wondered.

Instead of answering, she started flipping switches. One by one, lights popped on throughout the grotto. Suddenly, the stalactites and stalagmites were bathed in blue light. Then the ceiling above them turned gold. An instant later, their pathway lit up like a ramp in a movie theatre, followed by a series of recessed lights in a painted alcove. Finally, the ground to the left started to glow - blue at first and then an alien green. It took a few seconds for Payne’s eyes to adjust, but when they did, he was stunned by the sight. The entire time he had been walking in the darkness, he had been strolling beside an underground lake.

His mouth fell open. ‘Wow.’

She turned off her flashlight and walked towards them. ‘I told you it was impressive.’

Ulster nodded in agreement. ‘I’ve seen pictures of the grotto, but I never fully grasped how large it was until now. It is truly immense.’

‘Women have said the same about me,’ cracked Jones.

Heidi ignored him. ‘The Venus Grotto is the largest artificial cave in Europe. Everything you see in here - the rocks, the ceiling,
everything
- was made by man. The cave is 270 feet long and forty-two feet high. By comparison, the palace itself is only ninety-eight feet long.’

Payne stared at the lake. At first, he had assumed it was shallow like the
Pirates of the Caribbean
ride at Disney World, but the longer he stared at the underwater lights, he could tell they weren’t close to the surface. ‘How deep is the water?’