Page 43

“You’re right,” said Decker. “Particularly given Godwin is unlikely to be flying commercial. Give me a few minutes to dig deeper into this.”
“Copy that,” Zeppelin muttered, leaning against the seat and closing his eyes after the call ended.
“Macht says he has an update about Hans.”
“Tell him we’ll be back in twenty and have Reaper meet us at the chalet.”
“Roger that,” I said, sending messages to both men.
Zep put the SUV in gear, and we rode in silence on our return trip to the resort.
12
ZEPPELIN
Macht and Reaper were waiting inside the chalet when Verity and I returned, holding what looked like a recording device at least two decades old.
“This is what Hans was after,” Macht said when we approached.
“Is there anything on it?” Verity asked.
He nodded. “I don’t know how much. I turned it off when I heard your voices.”
“Where is Hans?”
“On duty, so he had to leave,” said Macht.
“Why do you still have what he was after?”
He smiled. “He offered to pay me half of what he was paid if I would deliver it to the place he was instructed to leave it.”
“You’ve got to be joking,” said Verity.
“Whoever hired Hans is unaware of his stupidity,” said Macht, shaking his head. “A perfect example is that he attempted to get in through the window when he could have easily used his master key.”
“Who hired him?” I asked.
“He says he doesn’t know. Someone offered him a hundred Swiss francs to retrieve it from the chalet and take it to the Corviglia ski area.”
Verity cocked her head. “Then what?”
He held up a key that had been sitting on the table next to him. “I am to leave it in locker XX427.”
“When?” I asked.
“By ten hundred tomorrow.”
“Why didn’t he just do it himself?” I would agree Hans wasn’t terribly bright, but this made no sense to me.
“He is on duty tomorrow too. And before you inquire, it either did not occur to him to ask me to cover his shift, or he fears what will happen when the key is delivered.”
Verity’s eyes scrunched. “What does he fear?”
Macht smirked. “The bogeyman.”
“Well, then. I suppose this means we will be visiting the ski area tomorrow. Sadly, though, not to ski.” I turned to Reaper. “Tell us what you found out about Godwin.”
“The argument he appeared to be having in the dining area continued once he reached the room. He didn’t mention any names, and I couldn’t hear the other side of the conversation. The gist of it was that whoever he was talking to apparently insisted Godwin leave St. Moritz, to which he responded he couldn’t yet. He had unfinished business.”