Frauleinstein

Chapter VIII: Monstrous Developments, Part II

"So, that's your story?"

Detective Miklos looked at Roddy, sitting across the desk from him in the Bistritz Police Station. The man seemed perfectly harmless. An ancient British ex-pat, Roddy Williams had been a member of the Bistritz community longer than most people who had been born here. No record of any trouble with the law, past president of the Rotary Club, owner and operator of a local small business. Everything about him would suggest to any police detective that this is a person of good character whose word can be relied upon. And yet...

"That's exactly what happened? You haven't left anything out?"

Roddy appeared thoughtful, going over everything in his head. "No, that's everything."

"Okay," said Miklos. "Let's just go through it one more time, and if you don't mind I may just interrupt with a few questions."

"Oh, by all means," Roddy told him, and then repeated his story. "I received a call this morning from an old friend, asking if I could meet her for lunch."

"This would be Valeria Engel, the deceased?" the detective interjected. "Valeria Engel, the German corporate billionaire, is an old friend of yours somehow. You, a British expatriate operating a small souvenir shop in the mountains of Romania, know Valeria Engel?"

"That's right," Roddy answered.

"It must be an interesting story how you met," Miklos wondered.

"Oh, not really," Roddy said. "We met during the war."

"Now you see, this doesn't make sense to me. What would either of you be doing in Afghanistan, during a war, let alone both of you at the same time?"

"Heavens, not the Afghanistan war!" Roddy told him. "Before that!"

"The Iraq War then?" Miklos suggested. He continued as Roddy just shook his head and gestured to continue back. "Gulf War? Vietnam? Korea?"

"You left out the Falklands War," Roddy suggested.

"So you met during the Falklands War?" asked Detective Miklos.

"No," replied Roddy. "Sorry, I didn't mean to imply that."

Detective Miklos was starting to get a bit red around the collar. "Perhaps you could just tell me what war you are actually referring to."

"World War 2," Roddy revealed.

"The two of you met during World War 2?!" Miklos exclaimed.

"Not really during the war," Roddy attempted to clarify. "We actually met just after the war. It was 1946, and we were both attending a peace conference in Switzerland. I was at an evening affair and noticed her across the room. I took her a glass of champagne and struck up a conversation."

"And this led to an affair?" Miklos suggested, trying to determine motives.

"Not at all," Roddy replied. "It led to a pleasant conversation, but we were like chalk and cheese. Very different politics, as you can imagine."

"But you've remained in touch all these years?" asked Miklos.

"Actually no," Roddy explained. "I hadn't heard from her ever since. Until this morning, that is."

"So out of the blue, after almost seventy years, she calls you for lunch. And what did she say she wanted?"

"Oh, just something light. Maybe a salad, or soup. When you get to our age..."

"I meant," said Detective Miklos, gritting his teeth in an attempt to hold his temper, "What did she want, from you!"

"Oh, of course," Roddy replied. "She didn't really say. Just the name of a good restaurant. I suggested the Golden Crown, which really is one of the under-rated gems of this city."