Chapter 46

"Are you bored?" Eva asked her brother while they waited for another selection of evening gowns to be brought out.

"Not so much," Wolfgang shrugged. "How many dresses do you want to see?"

"All of them," she said with a small laugh.

They were in one of Berlin's better design boutiques, Dernier Cri, and sitting on a silk divan while their hostess organized a parade of expensive dresses for their private shopping pleasure. The showing was by appointment only and Eva had been lucky to get one, but convincing Wolfgang of that wasn't so easy. He'd already finished two glasses of Moet champagne and was looking at his watch.

"Would you like to go someplace?" Eva asked him slowly. "I could meet you at the hotel later."

"Where would I go?" Wolfgang smiled and then caught the look in Eva's eyes. "Tell me."

"It's nothing," she sighed as three young women emerged from the dressing area wearing three different gowns.

Wolfgang sat quietly while the hostess directed her models, explaining with refined enthusiasm the qualities of each dress in turn. Eva was unimpressed with the selection, largely because she felt distracted by Wolfgang's unease while he tried to understand his sister's cryptic mood.

"Now tell me," Wolfgang insisted gently after the small show had finished, putting his hand behind Eva to touch the small of her back.

"The old man," Eva said quietly, "just before ... he killed himself ... told me that you had been to see my mother..." she looked at Wolfgang, " ... many times. Is it true?"

"Eva..." he narrowed his eyes.

"At first I thought he was merely playing a game," she explained. "He wanted to separate us, that much seemed obvious, but ... Is it true?"

"He sent me there," Wolfgang replied. "I didn't ask for the assignment."

"What assignment?"

"Geli's apartment is wired," Wolfgang shrugged. "Some of her clients are ... interesting people. He sent me there to get the tapes, the video."

"How many times?"

"Six," Wolfgang cleared his throat. "She knew, of course, but Geli pretended not to. It was like a game for her. I would arrange a date and once I was there, she would arrange to leave me alone at some point, long enough for me to recover the data."

"A date," Eva nodded. "Six times."

"I should have told you," he sighed, stroking her back with his fingertips. "It was wrong of me to keep it a secret from you."

"Yes." Eva sat very still and forced herself to smile as the hostess reappeared with three new designs.

"She would ask about you," he offered softly.

"My mother?" she whispered. "While you fucked her?"

"I'm sorry," Wolfgang told her and after a long moment of silence, "Perhaps I'll step outside for a moment."

"Yes," Eva took a deep breath. "That would be best. I'll be finished soon, I think."