Page 61 of Once Upon A Time

Flicka sighed. “So he’s on the edge and ready to implode into a big, black hole of nothing.”

“Precisely,” Yoshi said.

“Damn it,” Flicka said. “I should never have left them. Is Dieter here?”

“He didn’t come to the residence today. He must have been at his office. He has a security business, you know.”

“Yeah, ‘Rogue Security.’ I’ve heard.”

“He hasn’t been around more than one day a week.”

Wulf slammed his bedroom door open. “Dieter is on his way here. There’s been a problem. We need to get him inside right now.”

Betrayed

Dieter Schwarz

When betrayed by everyone,

I called Wulfram.

The toddler wailed in the back seat, and Dieter checked his rearview mirror, watching her, while he drove.

The fifteen-month-old was more distressed about being restrained than she was raging at her absent mother. Dieter’s anger at Gretchen grew with every passing minute.

Outside Dieter’s black SUV, crowds of cars swung through the five lanes as he drove over the sun-scalded freeway. Even the cacti on the sides of the freeway were shriveling from the heat pounding on the tan concrete and crushed granite on the ground.

His fists tightened on the steering wheel, and he thumbed a button and spoke. “CallDurchlaucht.”

His car rang around him, startling the toddler. She wailed louder, her shrill cry jangling his nerves.

Wulfram answered the phone. “Yes, Dieter?”

The words tumbled out of Dieter’s mouth, leaving a bitter taste on his tongue. “She left me, Wulfram. I don’t know what to do.”

“Who did?” Wulfram’s voice came from the stereo speakers as if the man were all around him.

Dieter lapsed into Alemannic. “Gretchen. I went home. Her clothes were gone. The bank accounts were cleaned out, both personal and business. All is gone. It wasmillions.She’s gone.”

“Where’s Alina?” Wulfram asked.

The toddler screamed at the sound of her name, her angry squeals climbing. “Gretchen left her with a neighbor and told me where to find her. Can you imagine the heartlessness of it? Gretchen left a note stuck to our television, telling me where my child was, with a neighbor. We don’t even know Lupe that well. Is HansWernerat work today?”

The silence on the other end of the line told Dieter far more than he wanted to know.

He slammed his fist on the steering wheel. “It was Hans, wasn’t it?”

“I’m not sure,” Wulfram said. “He submitted his resignation this afternoon, effective immediately. I was otherwise involved and just took the letter. He said it was a private matter and asked for it to be handled quietly.”

“Thatprivate matterwas mywife!”

“Come to the house, Dieter. We’ll take care of you and Alina.”

“I don’t need to come there, Wulfram. I can stand on my own two feet.”

“Of course, you can. Just come here. We’ll have a drink or two. Frau Keller can help you with Alina for a short time. Let us help you.”

“That money was for the security agency. She took millions. Without it, I can’t even pay my people this week. I can’t pay on the loan you gave me.”