Page 30 of Wild Oblivion

“Do you think it was really Klaus von Markov who visited you?”

Henrik’s eyes narrowed at me. “It was him and Heissler. I worked closely with those monsters on the device. Mindyou, my father and I had no part in their other experiments,” he said, his face twisting with disgust. “Those came later.”

“Could it have been von Markov’s grandson that came to visit, trying to pull the wool over your eyes?”

Henrik considered it. “I suppose.” He sighed. “I guess I did get excited about the idea that the device actually worked on such a scale. He claims to have it with him.” He paused. “I must admit, there is a part of me that would like to see it again. I never managed to recreate von Markov’s device myself.”

“Did you ever see the device work firsthand?”

Henrik hesitated for a long moment. “One time. We managed to create a stable dilation bubble for a fraction of a second before the device shorted out from the immense energy. A blink of an eye.” He snapped his finger for dramatic effect. “When I left the lab with my father, a week had gone by.” Henrik laughed. “My mother was not happy. He had some explaining to do. But that’s when we knew. My father took the Vrilkristall that night and absconded with it.”

JD regarded him with a degree of doubt.

“Where is the crystal now?” I asked again.

Henrik tapped his noggin again. “Only I know. And I’m taking that information to my grave.”

I kept playing along. “How did von Markov travel through time without the Vrilkristall?”

“Klaus said he found a way to synthesize one. He said it burned up after use. It must have had impurities,” Henrik said, working out the possibilities.

It was an interesting story, but it still seemed like science fiction.

I gave Henrik a card. “Get in touch if Klaus returns.”

He took the card and examined it. “I suppose he’ll be back. Klaus was always determined.”

I thanked him for speaking with us and said we’d be in touch.

“Come back anytime. I don’t get many visitors besides my granddaughter. You two seem like good people.”

We smiled and said goodbye.

JD muttered to me in the hallway after we’d gotten out of earshot. “How much of that do you believe?”

I shrugged. “Half would be generous.”

We crossed paths with Kathy as we neared the lounge.

“Did you get anything out of him?”

“Not really,” I said.

She frowned and shook her head. “I hear he was a genius at one point in time. Now he can barely wipe his ass.”

Henrik had them all fooled.

I gave my card to the receptionist at the front desk and asked her to get in touch if Henrik had any other visitors. She said that she would, but I wasn't holding my breath.

We stepped into the parking lot and made our way back to the Porsche. We climbed inside, and Jack fired up the engine. "You think Klaus is going to return to the Blissful Shores?”

"Look, I think we’re dealing with von Markov’s grandson. I think he found his grandfather's old technology, and he's chasing a pipedream. I know it'stheoreticallypossible, but it's just a little too woo woo for me."

Jack shrugged. "You know better than anyone else that the Universe is full of possibilities.”

I looked back at the main entrance. "If we sit here long enough, I think Klaus Brenner will return."

"If we sit here long enough, my ass is going to get sore, and I'm going to get hungry."