Page 26

“Yes,” Brand said. “Or, rather, the location of Camel Rock. So after this big guilt trip about waiting for him, when we do get all the way out there, he suddenly announces that he can’t go across the gorge. He has to get back to his sister.”
“That,” Lina said, “was what Zakaria told me as well.” She stared at the fountain, giving a tired sigh. “I’m afraid that’s all I can tell you about him. Perhaps Kadin might know something.” She called his name, and once again he stepped out from the arcade behind her. She asked him a few questions, listened as he answered, then translated. “The last
day he saw Mr. Kahrs he had just returned from a two-day trip visiting his sister. As usual, he was holding a backpack, but this time, when Kadin offered to carry it for him, he declined.”
She looked at Kadin, who continued with his story, before turning back to them. “In fact,” she said, “Mr. Kahrs was very protective. He went up to his room, gathered the few things he’d left here, then departed. One thing Kadin did notice, though, was that Mr. Kahrs’s boots were covered in red dust, the same as he saw on their shoes after he, Karl, and Brand returned from their trip to the mountains after first discovering the location of Camel Rock.”
That certainly fits with the time line, Sam thought, as Remi asked, “Have any of you ever met his sister?”
“No,” Lina said.
Karl shook his head. “Looking back, it’s so obvious. We only first heard of her after he tried to get us to put off hiking out to Camel Rock.”
“What about where he lives?” Sam asked Lina. “Do you or Kadin know?”
She asked Kadin, who shook his head. “No.”
With nothing further to learn, they thanked her and Kadin, then left, driving Karl and Brand back to their hotel. The moment Sam dropped them off, he got a text from Rube: Have an ID on your DG.
14
DG?” Remi asked when Sam showed her the text.
“Dead guy,” Sam said.
“Quite the top secret code.”
“Gets the job done.” He pulled to the side of the road and called Rube. “What do you have?” he asked, holding the phone so both he and Remi could listen.
“Durin Kahrs is his real name. Definitely has a record. Believe it or not, jewel thief.”
“A jewel thief?” Sam repeated.
“Part of an international ring. At least according to the file the FBI has on the guy. He’s suspected in a number of heists in Europe and the U.S.”
“Guess you can clear his warrants.”
“What’ve you found on your end?”
Sam told him what they’d learned from Zakaria’s cousin. “I’m guessing whatever was in that backpack is what we’re looking for.”
“You think he had it the whole time?” Rube asked.
“Looks that way.”
“But why come after you?”
“Undoubtedly, our untimely arrival,” Sam replied. “If I had to guess, Zakaria and the Hoffler brothers weren’t the only ones he was double-crossing. He hoped to use us as a distraction.”
“Pretty bold.”
“When you think about it,” Sam said, “what’d he have to lose?”
“His life,” Remi replied.
“What about the weapon he used?” Sam asked. “You get anything back on that serial number I sent you?”
“I was getting to that next. Stolen from Frankfurt a few days before a big heist in the same area. Same group suspected in a number of other heists throughout Europe.”