Chapter 36

For some reason, when Rummy drove them into the Hoch und Tiefbau car park the next morning, Helen was glad she'd decided to follow his example and wear the rather uncomfortable vest. It wasn't that she was worried about another attack, she told herself...

"I have to tell you, Rummy; I'm still uncomfortable coming here."

"Can't blame you, Helen. So am I." He looked over at her. "I'm not your regular rugger bloke, you know. I know when it's smart to be cautious."

"Well, I'm glad I have you to keep me company. What I also know is how lucky Doris is to have you."

Werner Siegman came out of the office as they parked. Helen noticed that he spoke to a security guard stationed near the door.

"Morning, Werner," she said, "Taking no chances, I see."

The older man came forward and took her hand. "That's right. I figure we can pass the cost on as justified additional expense." He smiled.

"That should work. I'll authorize it," Helen said. "Has a Herr Villion shown up?"

"Yes, he arrived a short time ago. I understand he is Dumont's replacement."

"So I understand, Werner. Would you ask him to step out here so we can introduce ourselves? And, when will the rest of the group be here?"

"The others will be here for the meeting in about a half-hour. I can tell you they are all looking forward to it. I'll get Villion." He turned and went back into the office. The security guard eyed Helen and Rummy.

Nothing daunted, Helen went up to the guard. "I am Frau Wallace, and this is Herr Harms. I am the lead architect and he is the lead engineer. Will you be on this duty regularly?"

The guard took off his cap. "Ja, meine Dame. I will be the one usually here, though there will sometimes be replacements."

"Good. You will be seeing us quite often. I hope you will be particularly careful about strangers in the car park."

"I have my instructions, Frau Wallace."

As they spoke, a small, stocky man in his fifties came out of the office and approached them. "Mme Wallace," he said in French, "I am Villion. It is a pleasure to meet you. M Schellen has briefed me about you and the project."

"My pleasure, M Villion. This is M Harms, my engineer and partner. Let's go over here in the shade and talk."

They moved across the car park and found a bench under the shade of an oak tree well away from the blackened bit of dirt where Dumont's car once stood. Helen sat down and indicated a place for Villion. They began a discussion of the project, and Villion demonstrated that, though he had only been assigned the previous day, he had been able to go through a great many of the reports and reviews Helen and Rummy had submitted.

As they talked, men from the site began entering the office. Eventually, Werner Siegmann appeared in the doorway and waved them in.

Helen stood up and extended her hand to Villion. "You have done a good job of getting up to date on this, M Villion. Please call me Helen — we are quite informal here; I hope you don't mind."

"I do not mind, madame. I am Gaston." He looked at Rummy, who replied, "Call me Rummy, Gaston."

The older man's brows lifted. "Rummy Harms? Ah! You are the rugby player?" Rummy nodded. "Very good," he said, vigorously shaking Rummy's hand. He led the way toward the office.

There were about a dozen men in the gathering, all dressed for site work, all familiar to Helen and Rummy. As the two of them came in the door, they rose as one, took off their hard hats and began to applaud.

Helen was somewhat nonplussed, but recognized the acceptance and affection the gesture implied. She smiled and looked at Rummy, took off her hard hat and swept it in front of her as she bowed as deeply as her vest allowed. Rummy matched her movement, and the room throbbed with laughter.

Werner appeared from the back of the room with glasses and several bottles of Sekt, pouring the sparkling wine into the glasses and handing them round. The laughter and comments had hardly died down when Werner raised his glass.

"An die Sieger! — To the Victors!" he cried and the glasses raised; the toast was drunk.

Helen spoke into the relative silence that eventually ensued. "Thank you, gentlemen. I hope that we are, indeed victors, but I am satisfied to be a survivor." She gestured for them to take places.

"I appreciate your thoughts, your concern, and especially, Werner, the Sekt. I hope that from now on, we will have a lot less excitement.

"Gentlemen, allow me to present Herr Villion, the new project manager for Compagnie Schellen. We have had only a short time to get acquainted, but he seems well qualified. I hope you will be kind to him, because, after all, it is his boss who pays the bills." There was the usual laughter.

"For your information, you should know that Herr Dumont, the previous project manager, is in good health, and has been assigned elsewhere by Compagnie Schellen. I, for one, am satisfied that none of the unfortunate events we have had to deal with were his responsibility. Moreover, Herr Schellen has assured me there will be no further suggestions to any of you from Herr Sauter or from Constructeurs Sauter. You may also be interested to know that I have received similar assurances from the Swiss Police and Interpol." Nods, mumbles and a few knowing chuckles from the audience.

"In addition, I have spoken with IG Bau, and Sebastian Ritter will no longer be visiting you. I think you can expect to see a variety of Men from Bau showing up on your doorsteps, as has usually been so in the past. In any case, I hope you understand that neither Compagnie Schellen, nor I will permit any infraction of the rules for hiring on this job." Applause.

With that, Helen opened her briefcase and began a project review. She and Rummy went down their lists of items and discussed them with the various contractors. Now and then, Villion asked a question, usually constructive, occasionally uninformed, and never ignorant.