Lucky Break
The little mermaid sat on her rock and glistened in the early morning sun. Humphrey sat on a bench nearby and fiddled with his computer. He had left his hotel and was sitting beside Copenhagen’s famous harbour, trying to make sense of the message he had received from Charlie. Kirstin sat beside him. She had been feeding the seagulls before a man approached and said bread was bad for them. Both were trying to behave like ordinary people who had got up early and were out and about for a bit of relaxation.
Humphrey preferred to communicate with Charlie in a public place. Using sophisticated scrambling devices inevitably caused suspicion. The remedy was to be anonymous. That meant going out in disguise so that the CCTV cameras couldn’t provide any useful information. A Cossack hat, sunglasses and false beard left scarcely a patch of skin uncovered.
Kirstin wore an ankle-length coat over a padded jacket. That disguised her slim figure. A woolly hat and scarf hid most of her face. She leant forward.
‘What did Charlie say?’
‘Petra is in mortal danger.’
‘From whom?’
‘Uncle Henry wants to kill her?’
‘He’s already told us that. Is there anything else?’
‘David has been hired as a gigolo. Charlie is concerned that his mother might get to know. He relies on us not to tell her.’
‘And …’
‘Nothing. That’s all he had to say.’
‘You mean we came out here to learn that?’
‘No. There is one other thing.’
‘What’s that?’
‘I have received an email from Olaf.’
‘But you have only just emailed him.’
‘Yes. He was so pleased we visited his mother. He wanted to thank me immediately.’
‘Did he ask how you got his address?’
‘He seems to think she gave it to me.’
‘You mean it never entered his clever head that you might have filched it from his adoring mother when she wasn’t looking?’
‘Apparently not.’
‘What else did Olaf say?’
‘He wants to meet me. I said how much I admired his work in the preservation of ancient monuments and asked if I could contribute in any way.’
‘And that did the trick?’
‘He said he had always wanted to meet me.’
‘He knows about you?’
‘We are engaged in similar fields of expertise.’
‘Anything else?’
‘He mentioned my talk on cyber warfare at the Rome conference and our unexpected encounter in the tourist chalet near the Saint Bernard Pass.’
‘You mean when he tried to kill you?’
‘No, Mother. He was trying to kill Charlie. I just happened to be in the plane at the time. Olaf seemed quite upset when we bumped into one another, at dinner that night, and he realised what had happened.’
‘And you think he has no evil intentions towards you?’
‘None that I am aware of.’
‘What language did he use?’
‘Danish … same as me. I told him about our family connections with Bornholm Island and mentioned cousin Bendt and his folks. Olaf said he remembered them from when he was a child.’
‘All very cosy!’
‘Yes, Mother. You lectured me on the need to exploit family history when researching a difficult case. People get sentimental about their past.’
‘I’ve not noticed that trend in you, Humphrey.’
‘No, Mother.’
‘So why do you think that the super-intelligent Olaf Magnusson is imbued with the sort of sentimental slush that you are talking about?’
‘I see him as a little boy lost.’
‘Did he invite you to meet him?’
‘Yes. He is currently engaged in a project to record prehistoric rock art in the mountains of the French Pyrenees. We have received an invitation to join him.’
Kirstin’s features hardened.
‘Come into my parlour said the spider to the fly.’
‘What was that, Mother?’
‘Olaf Magnusson almost killed you when he sabotaged your plane over the Alps. Now he’s talking about a visit to the Pyrenees. What makes you think he won’t try to kill you there?’