Chapter 7: The Plan

She woke up shortly before 8 a.m., took a warm bath in the bathtub, not caring if it was her turn or not. Half an hour later, she went downstairs to the dining room where she was greeted with a cheerful smile from Alesa. Her suitcase and bags were already packed, sitting in the reception area. She was waiting for her father to take her home.

She and Alesa were having a lively conversation when the Russian woman came to serve them their breakfast. The woman turned pale like a ghost and was visibly surprised with wide open eyes upon seeing Clara so happy and good-humored. Even Alesa noticed and quietly commented about the stunned expression on the woman’s face which went from her usual scowling attitude to one of simultaneous awe and fear.

When they were finally alone, free of the inquisitive stare and nosiness of the woman, Clara asked Alesa if, during her two years at the pension, there were other young women who had stayed in room 12, other than Rebeca, for a short time and from one day to the next vanished in thin air.

Despite having graduated in mathematics, Alesa squinted her eyes and began counting on her fingers. Indeed, there were at least four others and none of them ever returned to the pension or were seen by her thereafter.

Clara also wanted to know if there were others in rooms on the same floor or on the floor below whose stay was short. Alesa never paid much attention to this aspect, but remembered of at least two other students who had occupied the room right below Clara’s and who were there for two maybe three months. The last girl to occupy that room was a student from Africa who had the most beautiful, flawless black skin she had ever seen, and her teeth were whiter than the mountain snow caps.

Alesa looked astonished and asked Clara if she suspected that the rooms were cursed. Clara responded that she didn’t believe in superstitions, and quickly changed the subject when the Russian woman returned to collect the dishes from a neighboring table.

Minutes later, Alesa’s father appeared in the lobby, happy and smiling, congratulating his daughter and giving her a big hug. Clara followed the two to the car parked in front of the pension and, before saying goodbye, handed Alesa her police calling card with the name of detective Obermoser written on the back. Alesa was blown away upon discovering that Clara was in reality an agent of the Brazilian Federal Police. She was under the impression that her friend was an indecisive student, keeping distance from her father’s young, brash wife.

Clara not only confirmed her real identity, but also revealed that she was the sister of Rebeca. Alesa was dumbfounded, her jaw dropped and her eyes popped wide open to match her agape mouth. Clara continued, saying that she needed Alesa’s help to go find the detective at the police station and ask her to come immediately to meet with her at the pension. It was a matter of the utmost urgency, one of life and death, but couldn’t say anything further, nor lose another minute giving her explanations. Alesa needed to trust her.

Instead of returning to her room, Clara took up a position several meters from the corner out of the line of sight from the pension. While she waited, she began crafting a plan, relying on her experiences in the field and those of her colleagues at the Federal Police.

It didn’t take long for Clara to spot the detective’s car and she waved her to pull to the side of the street. It took her several minutes to relate the facts and irrefutable evidence she had uncovered. She also enumerated her plan to get detective Obermoser’s comments and suggestions. Together they reviewed and adjusted some of the details taking into account Austrian legal procedures.

They looked at each other one more time, knowing that their plan was sound, but also acknowledging that Clara’s mission was fraught with danger, but not as perilous as the act she pulled during the night. It was time to set things in motion. Clara got out of the car and with solid determination returned to the pension.

She had hardly closed the entrance door when the detective entered the reception lobby and rang the desk bell. Within seconds, the Russian woman appeared, upset with ruffled feathers, but became tame as a puppy when she came face-to-face with the police officer.

The detective explained that the woman had to accompany her to the police station to respond to some questions about a routine formality she was not authorized to speak about. The woman complained that she was the only employee present at that moment and was unable to leave the pension unattended. The detective did not back down one millimeter and insisted that the woman call the maintenance man.

Fearful of not cooperating with the police, the woman went to the kitchen with the detective her on her heels. From the window of the kitchen with a perfect view of the rear of the other house, the Russian woman shouted, calling the man who within moments stuck his head out a window on the first floor. He said something in a language that the detective did not comprehend, but understood according to his gestures that he would be over right away.

From the lobby, Clara was able to hear a running conversation between the two Russians, as he traversed the back yards of the two buildings rather than coming up through the tunnel that connected the two. It was a smart ploy to avoid police detection. Once he entered the kitchen, the woman did most of the talking, apparently giving the man instructions while she was away at the police station. There were lots of affirmative responses of dah and very few niet on the part of the brute which helped to shorten the woman’s hyperventilated monologue.

As the detective approached the lobby with the woman in tow, Clara climbed the stairs to the first floor. From the landing, she could hear them leaving. She also heard the brute throw himself on the couch most likely to take a nap after a busy night, assisting the playboys torment the women in the other building. A couple of boarders came down from the second floor, followed by a group of four from the first floor minutes later, all sporting student backpacks and heading for the university.

Clara waited until all was quiet.

Then, in a burst of despair, she ran downstairs shouting and flapping her arms, thanking God that the handyman was there, beckoning him to come quickly to fix a defect in one of the bathroom sinks which threatened to overflow with water. Groggy, but understanding the urgency, the brute followed Clara to the second floor, she maintaining several steps ahead of him.

While he was napping on the couch, Clara had loosened the screw which held the shank connected to the drain plug. The plug was down stopping the water from draining. She held the door for him to enter the bathroom and pointed to the problem. He made fun of her for making such a fuss. She could have turned off the faucet. Moreover, the overflow hole would never have allowed the water to fill the sink and cascade onto the floor. Nevertheless, he lowered himself, trying to locate and tighten the errant screw. If only he knew that it was tucked away in Clara’s jeans pocket.

Seeing that her plan was working, she grabbed the heavy bronze hand-held shower head from the bathtub and wacked the back of his head, knocking him unconscious and leaving him sprawled on the floor. She dragged the brute by his ankles to the elevator. He weighed something like 120 Kg (260 lbs.) equivalent to six bags of cement. They descended to the cellar where she tied his legs, hands, and arms together, then tied him in a sitting position up against a solid brick column. She admired her achievement, but something was missing. She grabbed two rags and muzzled and blindfolded him, too.