Snow White Must Die (Bodenstein & Kirchhoff, #4)(136)

“That’s bookkeeping. There’s nobody there.”

“Did you lock the door behind us when we came in the building?”

“No.” He snapped out of his paralysis, opened the box, and looked at the Beretta.

* * *



The restaurant above the Opel Zoo was crowded. The place was dark, warm, and loud, just the way Pia liked it, and she and Christoph were sitting at a table right by the front window. At the moment Pia was no longer hearing in her mind what the people from the zoning office had said, nor was she seeing the lights of Kronberg or the glittering skyline of Frankfurt in the distance. She could smell the enticing aroma of the perfectly grilled filet mignon on her plate, but her stomach seemed to be tied in knots.

She had driven straight home from the hospital and stuffed all her clothes in the washing machine. Then took such a long shower that she used up all the hot water, but she still felt dirty. Pia was used to corpses, but not to watching someone die right before her eyes. Especially not a man she knew, with whom she’d been talking only a minute before, and for whom she had felt a deep sympathy. She shuddered.

“Would you rather go home?” Christoph asked at that moment. The concern in his brown eyes nearly caused Pia to lose her self-control. Suddenly she was fighting back tears. Where could Tobias be? She hoped he hadn’t done anything to harm himself.

“No, it’s all right.” She forced herself to smile, but the sight of the juicy steak on the plate before her made her nauseous. She shoved the plate away. “I’m sorry I’m not better company today. I just can’t help blaming myself.”

“I know. But what else could you have done?” Christoph leaned forward, reached out his hand, and touched her cheek. “You said yourself that everything happened incredibly fast.”

“Yes, of course. It’s bullshit. I couldn’t have done anything, not a thing. But still…” She heaved a big sigh. “In moments like that I hate my job with all of my heart.”

“Come on, sweetie. We’ll go home, open a bottle of red wine, and…”

The ring of Pia’s phone cut him off. She was on call.

“Whatever was coming after ‘and’ interests me a lot.” Pia grinned feebly, and Christoph raised his eyebrows meaningfully. She grabbed her cell and took the call.

“A Tobias Sartorius called in an emergency seven minutes ago,” the dispatcher from the operations center told her. “He’s in the admin building of the Terlinden company in Altenhain and he says that a Dr. Lauterbach is there. I’ve already sent a patrol car—”

“Oh shit,” Pia interrupted her colleague. Her thoughts were racing. What was Daniela Lauterbach doing with Claudius Terlinden? Why was Tobias there? Did he want to take revenge? Without a doubt Tobias was a ticking time bomb after all he’d been through. She jumped up. “Radio the guys right away. And for God’s sake tell them not to go in with flashing lights and sirens. Tell them to wait for me and Bodenstein!”

“What happened?” asked Christoph. Pia explained it to him in a few words as she punched Bodenstein’s number into her cell. To her relief she reached him only seconds later. In the meantime Christoph signaled the restaurant owner, who knew him well since he was the director of the neighboring zoo. He promised to come by later and pay the bill.

“I’ll drive you,” he said to Pia. “It’ll take me three seconds to get our jackets.”

She nodded, went out front, and waited impatiently, staring at the snowstorm. Why had Tobias called in an emergency? Had something happened to him? She hoped they wouldn’t be too late.

* * *



“Damn,” Tobias whispered in helpless fury. Claudius Terlinden and Daniela Lauterbach had left the office. Loaded down with luggage and briefcases they were walking down the hall to the elevator. What could he do to stop them? How long would it take the cops to get here? Damn, damn! He turned to Amelie, who was peeking out from under the desk.

“Stay here,” he said in a voice rough with tension.

“Where are you going?”

“I have to get them involved in a conversation to stall for time until the police get here.”

“No, please don’t do that, Tobi!” Amelie slipped out from her hiding place. In the faint glow from the exterior lights her eyes looked huge. “Please, Tobi, let them go. I’m scared.”

“I can’t just let them take off after everything they’ve done. You have to understand that,” he replied vehemently. “Stay here, Amelie. Promise me that.”

She crossed her arms and nodded. He took a deep breath and put his hand on the door handle.

“Tobi!”

“Yes?”

She went over to him and touched her palm to his face.

“Be careful,” she whispered. A tear rolled down her cheek. Tobias stared at her. For a fraction of a second he was tempted to take her in his arms, kiss her, and simply stay with her. But then the fierce wish for revenge, which was what had brought him here, took precedence. He couldn’t let Terlinden and Lauterbach escape.

“I’ll be right back,” he murmured. Before he could have second thoughts he stepped out into the hall and took off running. The elevator was already on the way down, so he tore open the fire door and dashed down the stairs, taking three or four steps at a time. He reached the lobby at the very moment they were getting out of the elevator.