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Günter smiled. “The one in my safe was a counterfeit and worth a hundred times more, at least to my brothers. It happens to have the same serial number as the German bar I gave Maxine.”
Riley shook her head. “If it was ever discovered, it could implicate the Grunwalds.”
“Bingo. I told Maxine she should get hold of the bar in my safe and turn both bars over to the press if anything bad should happen to me.”
“Like death?” Riley said.
“Yes. Like death. Unfortunately, Maxine didn’t wait for news of my death. She got into my safe and switched the two bars. Then she went to Fletcher’s Cove and showed it to Werner. She was trying to broker her own deal. To get some measure of revenge. She didn’t know what she was getting into. If only I could have reached her in time to stop her.”
“How did you know she had the fake bar?” Riley asked.
“We would talk once a week. Just a short conversation keeping me informed. She told me she was going to get the bar and blackmail Werner. I told her not to do that, but she wouldn’t listen. It was the last conversation we had. She wouldn’t answer my calls after that so I returned to D.C. to try to stop her. I didn’t dare go to her house but I suspected she would attempt the transfer at the cove. Werner went fishing there every Wednesday. It was a safe way to meet with his brothers and other partners in crime. Needless to say, I didn’t succeed in making contact with Maxine.”
“And then you came back here?”
“I can’t explain it. I feel safe here. It’s like I’m hiding in plain sight. Or maybe I’m waiting for Werner to visit his gold and I’ll sneak in and choke him while he sleeps.”
Riley cut her eyes to him. “You’re kidding, right?”
“No,” Günter said. “I’m quite serious. I would like to kill Werner.”
“Okay then,” Riley said. “Good to know.”
“I’d like to see the gold and get a sample,” Emerson said to Günter.
“The nearest tunnel entrance is over an hour’s walk from here,” Günter said. “Ordinarily I couldn’t do it in the dark but I can find my way if I use your goggles.”
“How did you know we would be here?” Emerson asked Günter.
“I didn’t,” Günter said. “I come here when I want to spy on the airfield. I saw the landing lights go on a couple hours ago so I hiked over. Seeing Miss Moon standing there was a shock.”
“I heard a plane fly in when I was halfway up the mountain,” Riley said.
“I got here just after it landed,” Günter said. “I was too late to see the passengers disembark, but I’ve seen Hans fly into Groom Lake in a similar plane.”
“Does he come here often?”
“Almost never,” Günter said.
—
Riley was walking on autopilot. The day had been too long. She was wearing the wrong shoes and she was thirsty. She wanted a mojito.
“How much farther do we have to go?” she asked.
“Not much farther,” Günter said.
“I heard that three hours ago.”
“We’ve only been walking for two hours,” Emerson told her.
“So we should be there, right?” Riley said. “Remember how this magical tunnel entrance was over an hour away?”
“It’s slower going in the dark,” Günter said.
“What happens when we find the tunnel?” Riley asked. “Is it attached to a Ritz-Carlton?”
“It’s just a tunnel,” Günt
