He kissed Verena’s shoulders, quietly requesting consent before he cupped her breast.
“Go for it,” she said. He squeezed her and groaned, overacting. A hint of her old smile returned. “A little much, dial it back.”
“Funny you won’t talk to us, since I heard you were seen here talking to Harry,” lied Sterling.
Verena dodged the question, kissing down Sterling’s chest.
“Nice try,” said Sterling, tilting Verena’s head back by her hair and looking down at her.
“Funny you ask about Harry. After I missed my standing reservation at the Loos Bar, she came around asking aboutyou,” said Verena.
“Is Harry working for Weiss now?” asked Fernando.
“Please, Harry only works for herself. She said she was concerned for my safety,” said Verena.
“Did she mention a storage container? Or Floridsdorf?”
“No. Why?”
Sterling lowered her voice. “Because someone killed a man inside of my storage unit and framed me for it. Seems like a clear warning, and it seems like Madame’s style.”
“How?”
“The body was maimed, eyes gouged, hands scarred, and they cut his wrist around like a bracelet, like the one stolen from David Goldfinch.”
“Huh? What bracelet?”
Sterling kissed up the side of her neck then whispered, “David Goldfinch, the man killed with Hedy, had a Cartier Love bracelet when he went into the room with her and it was missing when we found the bodies even though the room was locked. It’s unique, one of those ones that you screw onto your wrist. Custom, covered in sapphires and diamonds.”
Verena leaned back. “Madame Weiss has one just like that.”
“Wait, she’s wearing the victim’s bracelet?” said Sterling.
“Would she really be so bold?” said Fernando.
Sterling gaped, her fingers absent-mindedly dancing over Verena’s hip as she muttered to herself, thinking. “If it’s David’s bracelet, she’dhave a direct connection to the crime. Even if not, the police checking might distract Madame long enough for us to get you somewhere safe.”
“We can’t trust the police. Weiss has too much dirt on them.”
Sterling felt a pang in her chest. “Yeah. The department isn’t interested in closing this case. Except for one cop who won’t give up. I know who you can talk to.”
“I can’t—Weiss has eyes on me. Someone will be here to pick me up soon,” said Verena.
“Then we have to leave. We can escort you to the police tomorrow, or if you meet us at the Hotel, we’ll bring them to you,” said Sterling.
“Nowhere’s safe.”
Sterling withdrew her wallet from her garter purse and slipped Andreas’s card between two bills that she palmed to Verena. “Just think about it.”
Sterling and Fernando exited the playroom and returned to the bar, where staff were overturning chairs onto tables. Once people entered the playrooms, they stayed until closing.
Fernando went outside to grab a taxi while Sterling questioned the bartender about Harry again, and got no response a second time. Sterling downed a complimentary shot before ambling out to find Fernando.
The street was empty. She called for Fernando. No response.
An eerie scuffling came from around the corner, through a tunnel leading to a courtyard behind the building. Perhaps a rat toying with trash, but MA 48 kept Vienna too pristine for that.
Sterling followed the sound to the end of a plastered tunnel scarred by age and overgrown ivy, where a gate stood ajar. The passage dimmed with each step she took away from the streetlamps.
