Chapter 29

Less than seventy-two hours later the phone rang in the bedroom of their Frankfurt am Main apartment.

Located in Altstadt and with a view of the river over lesser rooftops to the rear, it faced the medieval town square of Romerberg. The price was outlandish, even in the off-tourist season of late autumn, and Wolfgang, being practical by nature, had protested the expense. His sister had a different opinion however and looked upon their stay as an extended honeymoon.

The place was modest and very comfortable, despite its outward appearance. The building itself was a reproduction of an original structure dating from the late 14th century. The once famous medieval city center had been destroyed during World War Two and had later been rebuilt with stone and thick timber to exacting specifications. The façade was painted white with brown trim while the interior was fresh and modern, with all the comforts one would expect.

Eva looked over her shoulder, wearing nothing but a pair of flimsy black lace panties as she leaned over the balcony. It opened from the bedroom and sat five stories above a narrow street of cobblestone. It overlooked other structures equally authentic in appearance and home to shops at street level and innumerable apartments above them. Across the dark tiled rooftops were more buildings, several blocks of them until her gaze reached the busy river Main with its barges and transports moving slowly. And beyond the river, in Neustadt, she could see the modern skyscrapers that set Frankfurt apart from so many other European cities.

The phone continued to ring and Eva scowled as Wolfgang left her.

"Yes?" he answered, unsure why anyone would be calling. The phone had come with the furnished apartment, which was the only reason they had one at all.

"Wolfgang Brandt?" a man's voice asked through the receiver.

"Yes," he answered cautiously. "Who is this?"

"An old friend," the man said mysteriously. "I'm in town and I thought we could have lunch together. Is Eva with you?"

"Who is it?" Eva asked, catching her brother's eyes as he looked up suddenly.

"She is," Wolfgang replied. "I'm sorry, but I didn't get your name."

"Do you know the Leinwandhaus? Perhaps we could meet there?" the man said, ignoring Wolfgang's question. "Two o'clock?"

"Yes, I know it. Who are you?"

"Don't worry, Wolfgang," the voice reassured him. "I look forward to seeing the both of you again."

"Again?" but the man had already disconnected and Wolfgang stared at the handset he still held.

"What is it?" Eva asked, crossing the bedroom. "What's wrong?"

"I'm not sure," Wolfgang replaced the phone in its cradle. "We've been invited to lunch."

"Lunch?" Eva smiled with confusion. "By whom?"

"An old friend," Wolfgang answered, sucking his top lip pensively. "I didn't recognize his voice."

"Did he say what he wanted?" Eva asked and her brother shook his head.

"Two o'clock at the linen drapers' hall."

"The police you think?" Eva frowned.

"No," Wolfgang said. "They wouldn't be so polite if they wanted to arrest us."

"Perhaps they want to ask us questions?" Eva suggested, but neither of them thought the police had any suspicions. They were not hiding, as evidenced by their visit to their father.

"Someone else," he decided with a frown. "A friend of yours perhaps."

"Not Russian?" she asked him.

"No accent," Wolfgang said with a shrug.

Oss Fromme had in fact been able to pass someone else off as Yuri's killer. The young man had denied it at first, of course, but eventually a man will confess to anything if it will make the pain go away. Fromme had been happy to collect a reward and Eva was no longer of much interest to the Russians now that they had the satisfaction they'd been looking for. It had worked out well for all concerned, but the phone call was troubling and neither of them liked it.

"Dubert?" Eva wondered, but it seemed unlikely that anyone could tie Wolfgang to his murder after so many months.

"I don't know," he sighed, knowing that idle speculation would get them nowhere. He picked up his watch from an antique dresser. "We have a few hours," he said, looking at his sister. "What do you want to do?"

"Hmmm..." Eva smiled, sliding her palms up her flat stomach to her smallish breasts and dark nipples.

"Silly question," Wolfgang breathed, feeling his heart quicken the way it did everytime she teased him like that.

He took her over an ornate chair of carved oak with Eva's knees spread wide on the red velvet cushion. She'd been off the heroin for two months and the young woman's body had recovered remarkably well. She had gained her weight back, mostly in the form of muscle, and rebounded from a little over forty kilos to a much more attractive fifty kilograms that better suited her 1.8m stature. She could even keep up with Wolfgang during his workouts, although he hadn't really started to push her quite yet.