Page 14

“So you are new here in Geneva.”

I flinch, then redden. I’ve been caught staring again. This poor woman is going to think I’m infatuated with her. “Yes. I’ve visited before, but this is my first position in the city.”

The two of us are walking toward the small café where Sophie and I enjoy crepes the other day. I wonder if we’ll see her there with Luc and his father. Probably not. Lukas seems terrified of Claudia.

“You are Sophie’s caretaker?”

“Her governess, yes.”

“Ah. And how do you like it?”

I blink. “The city or Sophie?”

She smiles slightly. “Working for Dr. Rousseau.”

“Oh. It’s… good enough, I guess.”

She meets my eyes. “Challenging?”

“The work is easy enough,” I deflect. “Sophie is a wonderful girl. I’ve grown quite fond of her already.”

We reach the café then, and Claudia pauses her questioning to order us two cappuccinos and two apple strudels. “I know you’ve eaten breakfast already,” she tells me, “so I’ll finish yours if you can’t, but I just can’t resist the strudels here. Have you tried them before?”

“No. I’ve eaten the crepes here, though, and they’re delicious.”

“To die for,” she agrees.

She leans forward over the table, and her smile vanishes. The look that comes to her face now is brusque and businesslike, almost cold. It is nothing like anything I’ve ever seen on Annie’s face, and I am pulled out of the fog in my mind and right back to the reality of the present moment. Which is probably exactly what Claudia intends.

“I’m going to be blunt, Mary. May I call you Mary?”

I nod. “Yes, that’s fine.”

“Thank you. I won’t repeat it here, but I know you overheard a portion of my conversation with Dr. Rousseau.”

I don’t know if it’s wise for me to admit that, but it’s not like I can hide it. “Yes.”

“This missing pocket watch is connected to the issue we were discussing. It’s believed to be one that once belonged to a prominent German intelligence agent who made efforts to pull the Swiss into the Axis fold.”

“I see. But why is—”

Claudia lifts her hand to quiet me. A moment later, our coffee and food arrive. She thanks the server and takes a big bite of her strudel. Her eyes roll back in her head, and she moans with satisfaction. “Oh, God. That’s so good. Try it.”

I take a bite, and as I chew it, Claudia says, “I can’t speak for Mossad, and I won’t try to. I’ll only say that they have a vested interest in wiping out any remnant of the Third Reich. They frown upon anyone profiting on those remnants or seeking to preserve them for posterity’s sake. An understandable position given that the Third Reich was very determined to wipe them out.”

“Yes. I can understand that.”

"Then you can understand how serious this is. It's critical that the watch be retrieved and turned over to me so that I can ensure it gets where it belongs.”

“I’d love to help you,” I reply, “but I truly don’t know what happened to it.”

“No?”

“No. I’ve already had my belongings searched and been interrogated twice. I don’t know where it could have gone to.”

Claudia nods and says nothing for a little while. Her impassive gaze makes me uncomfortable, and I have to fight the urge to squirm. Finally, she says, “I believe you.”

I release a nervous laugh and say, “Well, that’s good to hear.”

“So why have you been so anxious around me?”

I blink and fight for an answer. Claudia holds her impassive gaze and her diamond-hard eyes.

This is my chance to tell the truth, my chance to find out about Annie. I open my mouth to tell her this, but once more, my senses fail me.

“I was taken aback somewhat by your arrival in the middle of breakfast.”

Once more, she doesn’t reply right away. She leans back and cocks her head, her eyes searching mine. It’s disturbing to see that much shrewdness in the eyes of one so young, and even more disturbing that those eyes look so much like the eyes of a woman I haven’t seen in over thirty years.

She’s trying to figure out if I’m lying, and she will. She’ll see right through my lie and demand to know the real reason for my interest in her. And I should tell her. Why can’t I tell her? I could learn everything I wanted to know if I could only be brave right now.

But I don’t. I’m so thrown off by all of this that I can’t seem to get my feet underneath me mentally. I just need time to process all of this and then attack it on firm footing later.

Or so I tell myself.

Claudia nods finally. “Well, I’ll admit that was rude of me. I should have waited in the lobby.” She smiles. “Next time.”

She finishes the last of her strudel, then says, “I have a request, Mary. You can say no if you want to.”

“Oh, um… Okay.”

“I’d like you to keep an eye on the museum for me.”

I blink. “Keep an eye on it?”

“Yes. Just observe. Note the comings and goings. Who comes, who stays, what they talk about, if they seem suspicious. You don’t have to investigate anyone. In fact, you should not do anything more than look and listen and say absolutely nothing to anyone but me.”

“Um…” I shake my head. “You’d… You want me to spy on Dr. Rousseau?”

“Yes.”

“Um… I mean… I suppose I can, but… why?”

Claudia smiles. “To satisfy my curiosity. It would be safer for you if you don’t know more than that.”

I nod. “I’ll do this for you, but you need to answer a question of mine, and you need to answer it honestly.”

“I’ll do that to the best of my ability.”

Are you the daughter of Annie Wilcox? “How much trouble are we in? The museum, I mean?”

Claudia sighs and folds her arms across her chest. “That’s a very difficult question to answer right now, and it will remain difficult until I discover if that watch is what I think it is and if there’s anything or anyone else there that requires my attention. I speculate that Dr. Rousseau is in danger of losing several of her more valuable pieces. That’s likely to be the only ill she suffers as long as we determine that she isn’t intentionally trying to impede our investigation. If she is … well, that’s when Mossad starts thinking about sending their own agents.”

I laugh, but there’s no mirth in it. “Surely we’re not going to be raided by armed special forces agents.”

Claudia laughs, and there’s quite a bit of mirth in her laughter. “Oh no, no. Nothing like that. No, that sort of thing is Hollywood embellishment. In a worst case, Mossad would seek her arrest for hiding Nazi artifacts that are listed as under Mossad’s jurisdiction by international treaty. Unless she’s attending skinhead meetings, she won’t serve any sort of time, and the fine she’d have to pay would be modest. It is just a pocket watch, after all. But her reputation would be ruined, and that, I suspect, is why she's reluctant to talk to me."

I shake my head again. “I just can’t believe that Dr. Rousseau is being investigated for having Nazi memorabilia.”

“It’s unbelievable,” she agrees. She stands and says, “But I’ve kept you long enough, and I have work to do as well. Please don’t fret too much about this. The last thing I want is to put you in an uncomfortable position. If you feel it’s too dangerous or stressful to assist, then feel free to ignore my request and go about your life as though you’d never met me. I won’t be offended. And just in case there’s even the slightest doubt in your mind about this, let me assure you that you are not in any way at risk. Even if this were Hollywood, the governess who arrived less than a week ago would not be near the top of anyone’s list of suspects.”

Tell that to Inspector Moreau.

The two of us return to the museum. It’s open for business now, and guests are already starting to file in. Claudia stops outside of the entrance and turns to me. “It was lovely to meet you, Mary. I look forward to talking again.”

“When?” I blurt out. “I mean… when should… when do you…”

Claudia shows me mercy. “I’ll be back within a few days. I’m not sure yet how many. Just keep your eyes and ears open, and again, don’t worry too much.”

“Right. “Um… It was nice to meet you, Ann—Claudia.”

If Claudia notices my slip, she doesn’t let it show. “Goodbye, Mary.”

She leaves, and no amount of willpower I possess will allow me to keep from staring at the way her hips sway as she walks. Even the way she moves reminds me of Annie.

Finally, she turns the corner, and I’m able to enter the museum. Gustaf is behind the visitor’s information counter. He gives me a look of wary concern and asks, “Miss Mary? Are you all right?”

I look at him and catch my reflection in the mirror. It’s only then that I realize that I’m pale as a ghost.

I should probably lie to him, but I don’t think I can manage it right now.

“No, Gustaf. I am quite far from all right.”