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He leaned down and whispered, “I need to be incognito. Having the manager with me might get me more attention than I want.”
“Oh.” Her voice was thick with disappointment. “All right.”
“Thank you.” He slipped her forty euros.
She startled and pressed it back into his hand. “Oh, please no. Your family is so generous with me already.”
She stepped out before the doors closed and he was left holding the money. He knew his country had been very blessed financially and the fact that he could offer not only free but consistently great healthcare was something he prided himself on. He felt a surge of gratitude for his family and his country and silently prayed in gratitude for everything he’d been blessed with, and asked that he could help Hattie.
If only he knew what he was supposed to help Hattie with. Getting her clothes and passport and money back seemed important, but the beautiful billionaire had clearly been damaged deeply by Treven Rindlesbacher killing her friend and trying to frame Hattie for murder and then losing her own parents. He wished he could heal her spiritually and emotionally as well.
The operator pushed some buttons, and the glass-walled box gently swooped up the mountain. He could see Hattie in the line forming for the next lift. She’d be to the top before nine. It would all work out well, and then she’d be on her way. Dang.
He stared out the glass at the photo-worthy view of his valley that he’d seen thousands of times—lush greenery, mountains so tall framing the valley that they changed from emerald to blue to barren and gray at the top, clear blue mountain lakes, the village, the church, his family’s ornate and massive castle.
His heart was beating too fast. Was something about to go wrong, or was he simply not ready to say goodbye to Hattie? Her ordeal should be over soon, and she’d be on her way. Were some of Jensen’s men in this gondola with him?
They stopped at the top platform with a lurch. Steffan exited and walked through the main level of the visitor’s center with a nice restaurant, information about Augustine’s history and his own family and their predecessors, and three-hundred-sixty degree views of the beautiful valley.
Steffan headed outside, making a slow loop of the patios, but he didn’t see anything or anyone out of place. He wandered around to the dirt paths that led to different overlooks. Was he doing good at being incognito, or was he somehow drawing attention to himself that he didn’t even recognize? Jensen’s men must be very good, because he couldn’t tell if the annoyed dad who’d been first in line until Steffan had arrived, or one of the backpacking college students, or the businessman in a suit were undercover or not. The fit woman with the German Shepherd on a leash had to be undercover. Jensen had insisted they would use a dog trained with the ability to sniff the chemicals in explosives. Steffan highly doubted Franz would bring Hattie up here to blow her up, but he appreciated Jensen’s diligence. He didn’t see anyone who resembled Franz’s description.
Hattie should be at the top of the lift by now. They had no idea where Franz was or how he planned to contact Hattie. He couldn’t imagine what the guy hoped to accomplish. Apologize for being a jerk? Did he think Hattie wouldn’t press charges if he gave everything back?
Steffan saw Jensen but didn’t make eye contact. Instead, he headed to his favorite overlook, a grassy spot that paragliders regularly launched from. He wouldn’t show it to Hattie. He smiled to himself, thinking of her reaction to paragliding.
Jensen ambled directly toward him, and Steffan stopped to take in the view. His friend paused next to him, staring out at the drop-off and the beautiful valley below.
“There’s an envelope with Hattie’s name on it attached to the railing twenty feet to the north,” he said. “Attached by Scotch tape. It doesn’t appear to be any kind of threat. I’ll let Hattie know how to retrieve it and have her meet me in the family bathroom. I want to lift prints before she opens it. We’ll proceed from there.” He sauntered off.
Steffan wanted to grab the note, protect Hattie from whatever Franz was trying to do. Hattie needed to be the one who retrieved it, if Franz was somehow watching, and Jensen didn’t need Steffan’s prints on the envelope. He kept walking but shifted to a different trail where he would have a view of the overlook and could follow Hattie discreetly after she picked up the note.
Hattie walked out of the visitor’s center, hat and glasses allowing her to blend in. She must’ve talked to Jensen, as she angled directly to the overlook, her gaze searching around for Franz or the note.
As soon as she saw the note, she delicately pinched it between two fingers like it was a spider, turned, and walked back toward the visitor’s center and restaurant.
The bathrooms were downstairs. Steffan strode around the outside and used the wrought-iron staircase that led to a lower patio and a couple different overlooks some visitors never noticed. He hurried through the exterior door and saw Hattie coming down the stairs. Not looking at her, he walked toward the bathrooms, glancing around. No one in the open area. He walked into the men’s bathroom entrance as Hattie opened the door to the family bathroom located between the two larger bathrooms and eased inside.
There was an older gentleman and two teenage boys in the men’s bathroom. Steffan used the toilet, washed his hands, and then walked out. It was killing him that she was out of his sight, and he was dying to know what was on the note.
Pulling out his phone, he saw a recent text from Jensen.
Family bathroom, was all it said.
Glancing around, he walked to the family bathroom, pushed on the door handle, and slipped inside.
Jensen and Hattie were inside. Jensen held the note with plastic gloves.
“He’s sending her on some wild goose chase,” Jensen said, clearly annoyed. His tone lightened when he asked, “Is it worth having your Prada and Louis Vuittons back?”
“You have no idea how hard all that shopping was on me,” Hattie flung back at him. “It’s worth him being caught and not bugging me forever.”
“What does the note say?” Steffan asked. He unconsciously reached for his stethoscope before he remembered it wasn’t around his neck. He folded his arms across his chest instead.
“He wants her to meet him at Josephine’s Lake at four a.m. There’s even a map on the back for her.” He flipped the note around, arching a brow. “How does this guy know the Augustine mountains?”
None of them had an answer.
Hattie finally shrugged. “I met him in London, but he said he was from Poland.”
