told you he wasn’t, but Werner lies. He lies about everything.”
Riley thought there was a lot of anger in Maxine’s voice when she talked about Werner’s deceit. Most likely Maxine had some unpleasant personal experience with Werner and his lies. Or maybe she was just feeling protective of Günter.
“Günter was going to be put in charge of all the gold holdings at Blane-Grunwald,” Maxine said. “More specifically, the huge underground vault that’s built into the Manhattan bedrock below the New York offices. The B&G vault is the biggest privately owned gold repository for central banks, institutions, exchange-traded funds, you name it. It’s where all the largest investors store their gold.”
“Who was in charge of this prior to Günter?” Emerson asked.
“The senior Grunwald. After he died, the position was simply left open, but for whatever reason the board recently decided to name Günter as overseer. Anyway, Günter went to Manhattan to check it out. He met with Yvette Jaworski, an old friend of his at the New York office, and discussed things. When he came back, he was a changed man. Distant. Uncommunicative. I asked him what was wrong. He wouldn’t talk about it.
“Then Yvette disappeared. He became more secretive after that. He would go away for long weekends. Even I didn’t know where he went. Finally, he showed up here one night, after work. And he had these two gold bars. They’re identical in every way. Down to the serial numbers.
“He told me to keep the one you brought with you, but if anything happened to him, I was to get my hands on the one in his home safe and swap it out. He said if it was found among his effects it would be bad for his wife, for his reputation. So I was supposed to switch them.
Emerson looked at the two gold bars. “One of these is counterfeit.”
“I’ve thought the same thing,” Maxine said.
“But which one?” Emerson asked.
Maxine paused and adjusted a wisp of hair. “I don’t know,” she said. “And I don’t care. I’ve done what he asked me to do. I can let it rest.”
Emerson leaned in closer to Maxine. “Did you know that the CIA has identified six primary physical signs of deception, including behavioral delay and grooming gestures? It’s true. I read it in a book.”
A hint of a smile crossed Maxine’s face. “Günter might have also mentioned the one I swapped out would be really, really bad for Werner’s reputation.”
Emerson nodded and turned to Riley. “Three things cannot be long hidden. The sun, the moon, and the truth.”
“Did you read that in a book too?” Riley asked.
“It’s attributed to Buddha.” Emerson paused. “Or maybe I heard it on an episode of MTV’s
Real World.
”
“Do you mind if I take these gold bars?” Emerson asked Maxine.
“Why?”
“I want to saw them in half and see what’s inside.”
Maxine snatched her gold bar from the coffee table. “No! Did Werner put you up to this? Tell him I’m hanging on to this until further notice!”
“I don’t intend to tell Werner anything about this until my investigation is complete.”
“Well, I’m not giving up my gold bar,” Maxine said. “What’s really, really bad for Werner could be really, really good for me.”
“Possibly,” Emerson said, taking the bar that was left on the table. “It’s been a pleasure.”
“You should put it back,” Maxine said. “It belongs in the safe.”
“I’ll take it under consideration,” Emerson said.
Riley followed Emerson down the sidewalk to where the Mustang was parked.
“She’s upset,” Riley said.
“Indeed she is.”
“Well, so much for that question-and-answer session,” Riley said. “I’m voting for lunch next. There’s a Five Guys on Irving Street. I could really use a bacon cheeseburger with Cajun fries. You ever try that?”
“No. And we’re not going to lunch yet.”
“Why not?”
“We’re waiting to see what Maxine Trowbridge does.”
“Can’t we find out
Riley thought there was a lot of anger in Maxine’s voice when she talked about Werner’s deceit. Most likely Maxine had some unpleasant personal experience with Werner and his lies. Or maybe she was just feeling protective of Günter.
“Günter was going to be put in charge of all the gold holdings at Blane-Grunwald,” Maxine said. “More specifically, the huge underground vault that’s built into the Manhattan bedrock below the New York offices. The B&G vault is the biggest privately owned gold repository for central banks, institutions, exchange-traded funds, you name it. It’s where all the largest investors store their gold.”
“Who was in charge of this prior to Günter?” Emerson asked.
“The senior Grunwald. After he died, the position was simply left open, but for whatever reason the board recently decided to name Günter as overseer. Anyway, Günter went to Manhattan to check it out. He met with Yvette Jaworski, an old friend of his at the New York office, and discussed things. When he came back, he was a changed man. Distant. Uncommunicative. I asked him what was wrong. He wouldn’t talk about it.
“Then Yvette disappeared. He became more secretive after that. He would go away for long weekends. Even I didn’t know where he went. Finally, he showed up here one night, after work. And he had these two gold bars. They’re identical in every way. Down to the serial numbers.
“He told me to keep the one you brought with you, but if anything happened to him, I was to get my hands on the one in his home safe and swap it out. He said if it was found among his effects it would be bad for his wife, for his reputation. So I was supposed to switch them.
Emerson looked at the two gold bars. “One of these is counterfeit.”
“I’ve thought the same thing,” Maxine said.
“But which one?” Emerson asked.
Maxine paused and adjusted a wisp of hair. “I don’t know,” she said. “And I don’t care. I’ve done what he asked me to do. I can let it rest.”
Emerson leaned in closer to Maxine. “Did you know that the CIA has identified six primary physical signs of deception, including behavioral delay and grooming gestures? It’s true. I read it in a book.”
A hint of a smile crossed Maxine’s face. “Günter might have also mentioned the one I swapped out would be really, really bad for Werner’s reputation.”
Emerson nodded and turned to Riley. “Three things cannot be long hidden. The sun, the moon, and the truth.”
“Did you read that in a book too?” Riley asked.
“It’s attributed to Buddha.” Emerson paused. “Or maybe I heard it on an episode of MTV’s
Real World.
”
“Do you mind if I take these gold bars?” Emerson asked Maxine.
“Why?”
“I want to saw them in half and see what’s inside.”
Maxine snatched her gold bar from the coffee table. “No! Did Werner put you up to this? Tell him I’m hanging on to this until further notice!”
“I don’t intend to tell Werner anything about this until my investigation is complete.”
“Well, I’m not giving up my gold bar,” Maxine said. “What’s really, really bad for Werner could be really, really good for me.”
“Possibly,” Emerson said, taking the bar that was left on the table. “It’s been a pleasure.”
“You should put it back,” Maxine said. “It belongs in the safe.”
“I’ll take it under consideration,” Emerson said.
Riley followed Emerson down the sidewalk to where the Mustang was parked.
“She’s upset,” Riley said.
“Indeed she is.”
“Well, so much for that question-and-answer session,” Riley said. “I’m voting for lunch next. There’s a Five Guys on Irving Street. I could really use a bacon cheeseburger with Cajun fries. You ever try that?”
“No. And we’re not going to lunch yet.”
“Why not?”
“We’re waiting to see what Maxine Trowbridge does.”
“Can’t we find out
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