the engine.
“What are we going to do with the gold?” she asked Emerson.
“We’ll take it with us.”
“I’m not carrying that gold into the building.”
“No problem. I’ll carry it. I’ll put it in my rucksack.”
Emerson pulled the bar out of Riley’s bag and dropped it into his rucksack.
“Good riddance,” Riley said.
They took the elevator to the seventeenth floor, walked the corridor to Maxine’s office, and peeked inside. Empty. Riley stepped across the hall and asked a woman if she knew where they could find Maxine.
“At home,” the woman said. “She called in sick.”
Riley looked at Emerson. “Now what?”
“Now we visit her at her home.”
Riley got Maxine’s address from Human Resources, they returned to the Mustang, and Riley plugged the address into the maps app on her iPhone.
“It looks like she’s about fifteen minutes away,” Riley said.
She drove down Pennsylvania Avenue, turned right onto Thirteenth Street, and found herself in the gentrified neighborhood of Columbia Heights. The street was lined with expensive row houses built around the turn of the last century, but remodeled and refurbished and polished like antique jewelry.
“How can she afford a place like this on an executive assistant’s salary?” Riley asked as they stepped out of the car.
“Maybe Günter helps her out,” Emerson said.
“You think?”
“You’re speaking sarcastically as a way of agreeing with me, aren’t you?”
“You think?”
“You did it again. I find that endearing.”
They walked up the stoop and rang the bell. The door opened and Maxine looked out at them. She wasn’t dressed like somebody who was home sick. She was wearing rugged workout clothes and a yellow and gray jacket with a drawstring at the waist.
“Goodness,” Maxine said. “This is a surprise. Is something wrong?”
Emerson pulled the gold bar out of his rucksack, and Maxine stared at it, dumbfounded.
“Did you leave this at Günter’s house last night?” Emerson asked.
“Of course not,” Maxine said. “Why would you think such a thing?”
“Because I’m brilliant,” Emerson said. “Can we come in?”
—
M axine led them into her living room but didn’t invite them to sit.
“I hope you won’t think me rude,” she said, “but I only have a few minutes. I was on my way out.”
The room was nicely furnished with a chunky pale gray sofa and two matching club chairs. The end tables were mahogany and the rug was a deep pile Tibetan.
“About the gold bar,” Emerson said.
“I don’t know how you came to get that bar,” Maxine said, “but something bad might happen if you don’t put it back. Does Irene know you have it?”
“She wasn’t present when I discovered it,” Emerson said. “I would like to know how it got into the safe in the first place.”
“You guessed right. I put it there last night.”
“How did you manage it?” Riley asked.
“Günter has a sailboat tied up to the dock behind his house. I don’t believe he’s sailed it in years, but he loved the boat, and he would have his coffee there in the morning, and sometimes a cocktail in the evening. I knew he kept a spare key with a remote to turn the security system on and off in the cabin, so I went to the boat after dark, got the key, and waited until after midnight, when Irene would be too drunk to hear anything. When I saw the lights go out, I let myself into the house, went up to his office, opened the safe, and left the gold bar.”
“Why?” Emerson asked.
“Because that’s what I was told to do.”
Maxine pulled a plain wooden box off a bookshelf, took another gold bar out of it, and placed it on the coffee table next to the one from Günter’s safe. They were identical. Same “München” inscription, same half moon and crown. Same date and serial number.
“A few months ago, Günter heard he was getting a new responsibility—one he’s wanted for a long time,” Maxine said. “I know Werner
“What are we going to do with the gold?” she asked Emerson.
“We’ll take it with us.”
“I’m not carrying that gold into the building.”
“No problem. I’ll carry it. I’ll put it in my rucksack.”
Emerson pulled the bar out of Riley’s bag and dropped it into his rucksack.
“Good riddance,” Riley said.
They took the elevator to the seventeenth floor, walked the corridor to Maxine’s office, and peeked inside. Empty. Riley stepped across the hall and asked a woman if she knew where they could find Maxine.
“At home,” the woman said. “She called in sick.”
Riley looked at Emerson. “Now what?”
“Now we visit her at her home.”
Riley got Maxine’s address from Human Resources, they returned to the Mustang, and Riley plugged the address into the maps app on her iPhone.
“It looks like she’s about fifteen minutes away,” Riley said.
She drove down Pennsylvania Avenue, turned right onto Thirteenth Street, and found herself in the gentrified neighborhood of Columbia Heights. The street was lined with expensive row houses built around the turn of the last century, but remodeled and refurbished and polished like antique jewelry.
“How can she afford a place like this on an executive assistant’s salary?” Riley asked as they stepped out of the car.
“Maybe Günter helps her out,” Emerson said.
“You think?”
“You’re speaking sarcastically as a way of agreeing with me, aren’t you?”
“You think?”
“You did it again. I find that endearing.”
They walked up the stoop and rang the bell. The door opened and Maxine looked out at them. She wasn’t dressed like somebody who was home sick. She was wearing rugged workout clothes and a yellow and gray jacket with a drawstring at the waist.
“Goodness,” Maxine said. “This is a surprise. Is something wrong?”
Emerson pulled the gold bar out of his rucksack, and Maxine stared at it, dumbfounded.
“Did you leave this at Günter’s house last night?” Emerson asked.
“Of course not,” Maxine said. “Why would you think such a thing?”
“Because I’m brilliant,” Emerson said. “Can we come in?”
—
M axine led them into her living room but didn’t invite them to sit.
“I hope you won’t think me rude,” she said, “but I only have a few minutes. I was on my way out.”
The room was nicely furnished with a chunky pale gray sofa and two matching club chairs. The end tables were mahogany and the rug was a deep pile Tibetan.
“About the gold bar,” Emerson said.
“I don’t know how you came to get that bar,” Maxine said, “but something bad might happen if you don’t put it back. Does Irene know you have it?”
“She wasn’t present when I discovered it,” Emerson said. “I would like to know how it got into the safe in the first place.”
“You guessed right. I put it there last night.”
“How did you manage it?” Riley asked.
“Günter has a sailboat tied up to the dock behind his house. I don’t believe he’s sailed it in years, but he loved the boat, and he would have his coffee there in the morning, and sometimes a cocktail in the evening. I knew he kept a spare key with a remote to turn the security system on and off in the cabin, so I went to the boat after dark, got the key, and waited until after midnight, when Irene would be too drunk to hear anything. When I saw the lights go out, I let myself into the house, went up to his office, opened the safe, and left the gold bar.”
“Why?” Emerson asked.
“Because that’s what I was told to do.”
Maxine pulled a plain wooden box off a bookshelf, took another gold bar out of it, and placed it on the coffee table next to the one from Günter’s safe. They were identical. Same “München” inscription, same half moon and crown. Same date and serial number.
“A few months ago, Günter heard he was getting a new responsibility—one he’s wanted for a long time,” Maxine said. “I know Werner
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