Chapter 26

They had lunch in their favorite restaurant on the Isle des Loisiers, one of four little islands in the Port of Cap d'Agde. They had spent a warm, passionate and romantic night together when she returned from Freiburg. Now, Helen told Sandy about her visit and what had happened there.

"... and, when we got back to the hotel, we found my room had been entered and disturbed. Not plundered; I think they wanted to impress me." She looked at him across the table. "They did. And then, Rummy made me take my vest off and to be sure I wasn't hurt more than I thought." She looked thoughtful. "That was a strange feeling. Until they came down here, I'd never thought of being even half-naked with him. But..."

"Don't get off the subject," Sandy chided her, reaching his sandaled foot under the table and running his toes along her calf. "What did the police say?"

"They did a thorough check of the room, but I didn't think they would find anything. Johannes says they didn't even find any fingerprints. We think it was a warning."

"Sounds like it. And a professional one. But, what happened at the site wasn't a warning."

"I don't know, Sandy. That piece of re-bar was probably a fluke. We looked at it before the KP went off with it, and both ends were equally rusty. It hadn't been cut recently, must have been lying about on that pile of re-bar for some time. I think that was just bad luck."

"Well, I'll give you a maybe on that. To my way of thinking, that whole load was supposed to hit you. The fragment may have been an accident, but only because you weren't underneath the whole thing." Sandy said, doubtfully. Helen shuddered in the warm, congenially crowded restaurant. "The ladder was no fluke, either," Sandy added.

"No. No, it wasn't. What I don't understand, though, is why it didn't break when I climbed it. I'm no lightweight. Rummy's analysis makes sense, but, I'll bet it would have broken if I'd started off with the other foot."

"Can't say. Well, they may just be handing out warnings, but I doubt it. It's gone beyond that."

"They?" Helen looked at him quizzically as they settled the bill and left the restaurant. They began strolling along the Quai du Golfe, where the sun warmed their bodies.

"They," Sandy said emphatically. "Whoever they are, there is more than one of them, and they are after you, maybe Rummy and possibly after people like Werner, as well, though it may not have been him they were after. Just a general warning. That's typical for these guys."

They were walking along the quai toward the foot bridge that connects the Isle des Loisiers with the city proper. The slips in the marina were filling up with sailboats and the muscular power boats and yachts that populate the French Mediterranean shore in the summer. Sandy wore sandals and shorts with a contrasting shirt. Helen, typically, wore a tight top with spaghetti straps and light, long, clingy skirt. They were wandering along, looking about at the people, many of them tourists who were beginning to throng the streets. Some of the women were far more scantily clad than Helen.

Helen stopped and faced Sandy. "How much do you know about 'these guys'?"

Sandy grinned. "I guess I'm sounding like someone who's read too many Mafia books. But that's not it. That job I had — in Hamburg, you know — I was head of security for Schenker, a big international freight company. And before that, well, I told you I did security work while I was at college; my degree was in criminal investigation. And then I spent a few years in police work. I've had a number of years to learn how 'they' work. And what you're telling me sounds just like them."

Helen turned, continuing their stroll. She took his hand and looked out over the water, scanning the moored boats, then looked back at him. "Does Johannes know about you?"

"He called me yesterday, told me he'd checked out my background. He knows a couple of the KP guys I worked with in Hamburg; they gave me a clean bill of health, I guess. Asked me to look after you."

"Bullshit, Sandy. That isn't all he said to you. If he thinks you're a pro, he's got you on his team in some way."

"Well, yes. And that's all right with me, even though I'm out of that particular rat race. I've got the business to run, but Jean and Astrid can handle a lot of the routine. So, I can help Johannes out now and then.

"So, what did he say?"

"Without going into detail, we agree there's 'somebody' behind this. There's money in illegals, you know. So, we'll have to follow this down. Or, at least Johannes will. I'm not really interested in being in the trenches any more."

"Don't want to get dirty?"

Sandy stopped and turned to her. "I don't want to get dead, Helen. They're not playing hop scotch. I've had all I want of that. It's why I left Hamburg."

"Sorry," Helen said with genuine regret. "You had a lot of reasons for getting out of the freight business."

"Maybe." Sandy looked down and, with an effort, relaxed. He turned and moved on toward the footbridge. Helen let it go and regained his hand, walking close.

"How was it with Doris? You never told me much."

Sandy laughed. "Great. We had a grand time. But she wasn't after my body. It's the absolute truth that we found those videos while I was showing her the system. I should have known they were there, but it just didn't occur to me that Astrid and Jean had been caught in it. I guess I owe them an apology, but I don't even want to tell them about it. Uh, thanks for calling so we could get to her place and find some clothes for dinner. I'm amazed and pleased that Rummy's so accepting. It didn't seem to bother him that she and I might have been making love."

"Well, it's sort of like you and me, isn't it?"

"Yeah, I guess, except I thought — then — that Rummy would be the jealous sort."

"We all make our own rules, Sandy. I'm beginning to find that out. I probably ought to ask you..."

Sandy's interruption was deliberate. "Anything come of that training center you and Doris were talking about?"

"Oh, yes." The change of subject did not escape Helen, but she went along with it. "I've made some calls and talked to the people. I have to go to Orange next week for a day, maybe two," she told him. "That's where the foundation that's organizing the center is located. I'm getting into the design competition and they want a presentation.

"They want a new building or really a group of buildings — they need administrative space, dormitories, dining hall, and a big gym with practice areas and showers, locker rooms — all that stuff. It's a design-and-build job, so I would do the whole thing. It's another turnkey job, the budget is good, and I'd be managing the project again, if I get it. And of course, I've got the Wald Sauna in Freiburg." She looked down at the water. "I'm probably going to need some help. I haven't done two things this ambitious at once before. But I know I can do it."

"How did you get into this? Not the architecture, I mean the saunas and such."

"Easy. You know I grew up in Germany — Stuttgart. I went there for gymnasium and university. I got used to the saunas — you know me and the body. My friends and I would hang out in the sauna; I even used to do my homework there. You know how it is — the German sauna culture — and there were about a dozen neat sauna complexes in Stuttgart — Das Leuze, Cannstatt, there was even a Wald Sauna out in the woods. Going to a sauna meant I could spend the time without clothes. I've never been much for wearing clothes."