“He’s here in Alt Aussee then?”

Gunther remained silent. “They may be able to help you. Would you be willing to meet them?”

“Of course.”

“Wonderful,” said Gunther. “Leave the Kohlbacherhof and walk down the main road, toward town. Before you get to town, at the point where the road splits, there is a small shop that sells toys, books—”

“I know the one.”

“Good,” Gunther said. “Meet me outside that store.”

“When?”

“Now.”

“Now?”

“Have you better ways to spend your evening in Alt Aussee?” The man’s voice was suddenly laced with impatient sarcasm.

“No. No, of course not.”

“Good,” Gunther replied. “My friends are eager to meet with you. Come right away.”

Seth hung up, paid for the gluhwein he and Zoe had been drinking, then explained the conversation to her as they returned to their room to fetch their coats. Stratton listened to Seth repeat the conversation.

Seth and Zoe walked outside. The snow had slacked off to a fine powder sifting down from the sky. The temperature had dropped and the snow squeaked underfoot as they walked the rest of the way in silence, hand in hand, reaching the toy/bookstore about five minutes later. They stood about stamping their feet as if the cold were an insect that could be tramped to death under the soles of their boots.

A few moments later, something hard jabbed into Seth’s ribs from behind. The sound of a car engine starting filled the night

“Don’t make any quick movements, Mr. and Mrs. Ridgeway.” He didn’t recognize the voice. It was not Gunther’ s. The battered Mercedes they had seen parked in front of the café earlier pulled to the curb. Seth turned his head to catch a glimpse of the license plates, but could see nothing through the glare of the headlights.

“Get into the backseat,” said a voice in his ear. The back door swung open. Seth looked as Zoe opened her mouth as if to scream. Swiftly, a gloved hand clamped itself over her mouth. She began to struggle. Seth moved to help her and a blunt heavy blow slammed into the back of his head.

The blow cut his legs out from under him.

“That was unwise,” a voice said as they were hustled into the back of the car. “There’s no need for alarm.” There was no threat in the voice. As soon as Seth and Zoe were inside the car, the doors slammed and it began to move forward.

“I am going to cover your eyes,” said a voice. Seth tried to turn his head to the source of the voice but the splitting pain in his head arrested his movement. Moments later, hands pulled what seemed to be a thick black sock over his head. The cloth was opaque, yet thin enough to breathe through without difficulty.

“Please relax,” the voice told them. “We don’t intend to harm you.”

The ache in Seth’s head made the words hard to believe. He remembered the killers he had encountered in Zurich, in Amsterdam, in Marina Del Rey. He tried to console himself with the thought that, unlike those men, these had merely tried to capture him, not kill him. It didn’t offer him much consolation.