Mean Evergreen (Mercy Watts Mysteries Book Twelve) Read online

  Koch tucked away his notebook. “Neither of you can go. You’re both very…recognizable.”

  My room door opened and Novak stepped out. I had hoped he’d have fixed himself up a bit, but no such luck. Half his head was in cornrows. The other half lay in silky waves to his waist. He had Grandma’s red readers perched on his nose for some reason and wore an even more garish ski outfit with a Hello Kitty fanny pack.

  “I’ll go,” he said, and Koch was stunned into silence, so that was nice.

  “You don’t know what we’re talking about,” I said.

  “Janine’s in the hospital with fake everything and this guy’s boss is lurking around, trying to catch your scent,” he said. “How’s that?”

  “I guess you do know.” I looked behind him. “How thin is that door?”

  “Janine called me.” He held out his hand. “Keys.”

  Moe reluctantly handed over the keys to the Mercedes and Novak took off. I didn’t even have a chance to catch him up on what we’d found out.

  Koch watched him go and then said, “Do you work with anyone normal?”

  “Watch it, buddy,” said Moe.

  “My apologies, but you must admit this crew of hers is…unusual.”

  “We get the job done.”

  “Some of my people are normal,” I said.

  “Name one,” said Koch.

  Moe eyed me expectantly.

  I’ve got nothing. Absolutely nothing.

  “Carolina,” said Moe.

  “Ha! My mother. So there,” I said.

  “I’ve seen pictures of your mother. That lady isn’t normal.”

  “Incredible, isn’t she?” Moe smoothed his odd brindle hair. “What a looker. Puts Mercy to shame really.”

  “Hey!” I said. “I’m standing right here.”

  “Carolina’s got something. That’s all I’m saying.”

  “Swell. Great.” I went for my door. “Can I go or would you two like to harass me some more.”

  “I’m just saying you have no normal people with you,” said Koch. “It’s an observation.”

  “It’s your opinion.”

  “Mercy!” called out a woman. “There you are.”

  Right on time to prove Koch’s point, Isolda Bled sashayed down the long hall toward us, and boy did she fill it up. Isolda was one of those people that was impossible to ignore, like Big Steve Warnock she commanded attention wherever she went. For one thing she was the tallest female Bled at nearly six feet. She had broad shoulders and big hands. Her eyes were the Bled pale blue, but the rest of her must’ve come from her father and nobody knew who that was.

  Isolda originally had ash-blonde hair, but it was now white and like her cousins, Millicent and Myrtle, she liked to have it up in a swooping style of coils and curves. My dad called her handsome, but I thought she was beautiful. My opinion was probably more about her personality than her actual features, but I, like so many others, was blind where Isolda was concerned. I loved her. I didn’t know anyone who didn’t.

  “Wow,” said Moe.

  Koch said something in German under his breath. I think it was along the lines of “who the hell is that?”

  Isolda’s smile grew wider as she got to us. She pulled off her long black gloves and tucked them inside the pocket of her floor-length mink coat before taking me by the shoulders and giving me kisses on both cheeks. “My dear, I have been looking all over for you.”

  “Did you call?” I asked.

  “Where’s the fun in that?” Isolda turned her spotlight on Moe and held out a hand. “Moe Licata, I presume.”

  Momentarily stunned, Moe just stood there until I elbowed him.

  “Yes, yes, I’m Moe.” He took her hand gingerly like he hadn’t ever seen one before, but then she pulled him in for a hug.

  “I’m so pleased to meet you,” she said. “Janine can’t stop raving. We’re going to have fun.” Then she turned to Koch, whose mouth was open. If Claudia could’ve seen him at that moment, she’d have been less sure of her attraction.

  “Trouble with the Polizei so soon,” she said. “Dear me, Mercy, you do stir up a hornet’s nest whenever possible.”

  “Who?” whispered Koch.

  “Of course,” she said, holding out her hand. “I’m sorry. I’m Isolda Bled, daughter of Imelda and a kind of step-godmother to Mercy.”

  “Viktor Koch.” He took her hand much the way Moe had and said, “You’re a Bled as in Bled Beer?”

  “Yes, that is the family business. I’m on the board, but I’m not a brewer. I can brew. We all can, but I don’t as a general rule.”

  “You’re…part of Mercy’s investigation?”

  “No, no. I’m here to visit, say hello, and see the sights,” said Isolda.

  I saw my opening and took it. “We’re going to Esslingen tonight. There’s a rocking Christmas market there.”

  “What fun,” said Isolda and she looked at Koch as I knew she would. “Are you joining us? If you’re not arresting our Mercy, that is. I understand if you have to. You wouldn’t be the first.”

  “What the…?” I exclaimed.

  “He may as well know what he’s getting into,” she said. “You are a Watts.”

  “I am guilty of that, it’s true, but he’s not arresting me,” I said. “But he should come tonight.”

  Koch was slack-jawed again. “Come to what?”

  “Esslingen,” I said. “We’re going to the market and you should come.”

  “But…you and I…it’s official business,” he said.

  I wrinkled my nose. “It’s more like unofficial business.”

  “Hold on.”

  “I’ll keep my promise,” I said. “But I don’t have much to share at the moment. Tonight, there will be plenty.”

  “At the market?” Koch asked. “Why there?”

  “Because that’s where I’ll be and I’ll have the information.”

  “Can’t you just tell me now?”

  “I don’t have it now,” I said. “Where should we meet you? Do you have a spot in mind?”

  Koch stuttered for a moment and then said, “There’s a giant Christmas pyramid in the main square. We can meet there.”

  “Perfect,” said Isolda. “I look forward to knowing you better.”

  Stunned, Koch nodded and left, wandering down the hall a bit like he’d had a few too many.

  “So,” Isolda leaned over to me, “what are we up to with him?”

  “How did you know?” Moe asked.

  She smiled and hooked an arm through his. “Mercy would never speak of an outing in front of someone she didn’t intend to invite. We didn’t raise her that way. So she must have a particular reason for having the Polizei there.”

  “You know her well,” said Moe.

  “I do.”

  Isolda looked at me and I said, “We’re paying back a favor by hooking him up with a woman named Claudia. She likes him and he doesn’t know she’s alive.”

  “Romantic intrigue and on my first night in Stuttgart. I knew this would be worth the trip. What do you say? Let’s go to the hotel café. I’m starving, and since you’re with Janine, you must be, too.”

  I burst out laughing and hugged her. She enveloped me in her warm, soft fur and then soothed my hair. “My favorite girl. Nice to see you. Let’s eat.”

  “You go ahead,” I said. “I have stuff to do.”

  “You must eat. Janine has put the kibosh on that. I can tell.”

  “She likes to split things.”

  “I know,” said Isolda. “It’s odd, but we love her anyway. What can I have sent up for you?”

  “Anything but seafood.”

  “Hot chocolate?”

  “You’re the best ever.”

  “I try.” Isolda took Moe with her. I don’t think he quite knew what was happening, but he was extremely pleased about it. I ducked into my room, kicked off my boots, and collapsed on the bed amid Anton’s papers, books, and boxes. I had to call Spidermonkey, but I was so
tired, I decided to close my eyes for just a minute. It was a long minute.

  The knocking on my door was persistent, but my will to ignore it was stronger. Whatever they were selling, I didn’t want it. But then my phone started buzzing and you can’t fight on two fronts, not for long anyway, and expect a good outcome so I rolled over and stumbled to the door, wiping the drool off my chin.

  A room service guy was in the hall and his face said he had to give me the food or else. A Bled had ordered it and people tended to freak out about such things.

  “Sorry,” I said. “I was sleeping.”

  He blew out a breath and rolled in the cart. It had so much food on it. Thank God for Isolda. I tipped him well to make up for the stress and answered my phone the second he was out the door.

  “What’s up?” I asked Spidermonkey.

  “I was getting worried. First, Janine and then you don’t answer.”

  “Grandma’s fine.”

  “They don’t want to release her.”

  “Huh?”

  “The doctor’s think she’s got an arrhythmia.”

  I yawned. “She does. It’s under control.”

  “Well, they are insisting on checking her out fully,” said Spidermonkey.

  “Fine with me. Second opinions are a good thing.”

  “You’re not worried?”

  “She’s on meds, fit, and otherwise healthy,” I said.

  “Is she taking them?” he asked.

  “I assume so.”

  “You probably need to check.”

  “Alright, you old worrywart. I will do that,” I said, rolling my eyes. “What have you got for me?”

  Spidermonkey got quiet and that was never a good sign, but I was patient and just listened while I uncovered my cloches. Isolda knew me better than I thought. I got eggs benedict, crepes stuffed with quark and strawberries, and a large slab of quiche.

  “So about the money,” he said finally.

  “Uh-huh.” My mouth was full and I didn’t care. Quark, my beloved cheese that really isn’t cheese, I love you.

  “Are you alright?”

  “Eating.”

  “I’ll just go ahead,” said Spidermonkey.

  I could tell he didn’t want to and I should’ve been concerned, but there was hollandaise and no grandma trying to split it. Heaven.

  Spidermonkey took Alison Fodor and Sergio Tarantina’s families back to the studs just in case they had something to do with the blackmail, but they were clean. Well, maybe not clean. Alison’s mom was sleeping with a gate guard and Sergio’s dad had a gambling problem that his wife wasn’t aware of yet, but they hadn’t done anything to Anton. The Café Goethe didn’t take credit cards other than for large party orders and there was nothing suspicious there. Spidermonkey had a mind like a mole. Once he went down a hole, he just kept digging. I loved that about him. He went through both counselors lives. Hobbes and Meredith were clean. No extra money and they appeared to be genuinely nice people.

  Then he moved on to Sindelfingen and Weil der Stadt, checking everyone connected with the school that lived in the communities. It was a good amount of people and it took him most of the night, but no one renting houses in those two towns had come into money.

  “You got into everyone’s banks?” I asked.

  “There aren’t that many banks that Americans use for their German needs. N26, Volksbank, the credit union on post. Pretty easy really.”

  “I’ll never get used to this.”

  “It’s for a good cause,” he said.

  “Because it’s you.”

  “True, but let’s not dwell on it.”

  “Oh.”

  “What?”

  “You’ve really got bad news,” I said. “I’m going to eat all this quiche.”

  He did have bad news and I did eat the entire slab. I regretted it, but I still did it. Spidermonkey kept pretty good tabs on me and so did my Uncle Morty when he was well. They’d both been alerted to someone tracking me. Uncle Morty wasn’t supposed to be working, but he’d snuck into his office when his beloved Nikki was out shopping. He discovered someone hacked the airline—super easy apparently—and got our itinerary. It did take them twenty-six hours to find our hotel because my credit cards are so heavily guarded. They only found out by hacking Petra at the Bled travel office. She’d logged into her work accounts from her personal computer at home. A big no-no. They were able to log in using her computer and get my hotel and rental information.

  We did confuse them with the Mercedes rental. They had to go through all the rentals that day until Moe’s name caught their notice. They tried to break into his accounts, but he was as well-guarded as I was. The Fibonaccis don’t play, but apparently, Mercedes does. Our car had a handy-dandy tracking system installed called Mercedes Connect. They got ahold of our movements up until Sindelfingen when Spidermonkey caught on and cut the feed.

  “I can’t go anywhere anymore,” I said.

  “You never could, Mercy,” he said. “Morty was just handling it for you.”

  “I’ll have to thank him.”

  “You should.”

  “What else?” I asked.

  “You’ll probably get a call from the rental agency. They’ll notice the car is offline and want to check on the situation,” he said.

  “They’re tracking me, too?”

  “No, but the Connect service is for emergency calls. They want you to have it for safety.”

  I poured some coffee and went back to my crepes. “Kind of a double-edged sword, isn’t it?”

  “For you, yes,” he said.

  “I’m afraid to ask, but what else?”

  “They’ve been trying to get into your phone and computer through the hotel server, but I’ve blocked that,” he said.

  “For crying out loud,” I said. “Leave me alone people.”

  “I’m afraid that isn’t going to happen. Since you went on the move, attempts on your mother have doubled as well as The Girls.”

  “So it’s The Klinefeld Group, not some creepy bottom feeder of 4chan?”

  “Yes, it’s them,” said Spidermonkey. “They obviously think you’re onto something.”

  “Like them and Anton. I’m going to lose that bet,” I said.

  “Bet?”

  “Chuck and I bet about whether it was The Klinefeld Group that sent Anton. I said no. He said yes. I’m screwed.”

  “Well, this might make you feel better,” he said.

  “Do tell.”

  Spidermonkey had worked his way backwards through the attempts and they weren’t local. They were sophisticated enough to bounce their work around the world through various IPs, but he narrowed it down to the Berlin area.

  “No movement on the attempts?” I asked, feeling a bit better. “Not coming this way?”

  “Not so far, but it’s not like they only have one person working for them.”

  “Does Novak know about all this?”

  “He does and interestingly, they don’t appear to know about him. No attempts on him whatsoever.”

  “Do they know he exists?” I asked.

  “If you’re in our world you know Novak exists, but they haven’t connected him to you, which surprises me after Paris,” said Spidermonkey. “I think if they had boots on the ground here, they’d know he’s with you.”

  “Me, too, but maybe they just didn’t put the effort in.”

  “That doesn’t sound like them.”

  “I guess not.” I poured a fresh cup of coffee and suppressed a burp before lying back on my pillows. “I know you’ve been up all night, but I did get something today. I was going to ask Novak to do it, but he’s at the hospital.”

  “What is it?” Spidermonkey’s voice got tight.

  “You okay?”

  “I’m just worried. I had hoped this trip would escape The Klinefeld Group’s notice.”

  “Sorry,” I said.

  “Don’t apologize for something that isn’t your doing. What did you find out?”
>
  I told him about the boy being there during Anton’s meetings with the blonde and gave him the Wi-Fi password to make it easier.

  “You’re sweet,” he said.

  “I thought it would be helpful,” I said with a laugh. “It could’ve taken you a whole ten seconds to get CaféGoetheFrühstück.”

  He chuckled as he typed like mad. “That is a tough one.”

  “I thought so.”

  “I’m in,” said Spidermonkey. “Anything else?”

  “Who bought the tickets?”

  He was typing at lightning speed and didn’t slow down as he asked, “What tickets?”

  “We were in first class over here?” I asked. “Who did that?”

  “Isolda Bled. It was kosher. I checked. I didn’t know that you knew her,” said Spidermonkey.

  “I thought it might be her. Who put Moe in our group?”

  “That would be me.”

  “Without asking me?” I asked.

  He chuckled and his typing slowed slightly. “It came from the Fibonaccis. Calpurnia herself called. Am I going to say no to that woman? Not a chance.”

  “You could’ve warned me.”

  “What would you have done?”

  “Changed my tickets. Escape somehow,” I said.

  “And you’d have failed because the Fibonaccis don’t.”

  I sighed because it wasn’t only the Fibonaccis. If Spidermonkey was in on it, I had no hope of going it alone. I wasn’t ever going to go it alone and I’d like to have tried it at least once to see if I could.

  “Mercy, Moe is good. Don’t leave his side for a second when you’re out of that hotel.”

  “What about in the hotel?” I asked. “Someone could get in here. It’s not Leavenworth.”

  “I’ve got a friend monitoring their security and it’s pretty good. If someone comes in and asks about you, we’ll know. Use your peephole and always keep the bolt locked when you’re in. That can’t be breached with a swipe.”

  “That’s good, I guess.” I was feeling less and less secure the more he said I was.

  “I’m serious about sticking to Moe,” said Spidermonkey. “Control your instinct to Fike him. Don’t say anything. We both know you love to break free. Just don’t.”

  “You think it’s The Klinefeld Group,” I said.