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Back The Enigma Affair Save as PDF
Chapters (25)
  1. SECTION ONE: ALTA VISTA
  2. I
  3. II
  4. III
  5. SECTION TWO: BUCKINGHAMSHIRE
  6. IV
  7. V
  8. VI
  9. VII
  10. SECTION THREE: MUNICH
  11. VIII
  12. IX
  13. SECTION FOUR: PRAGUE
  14. X
  15. XI
  16. SECTION FIVE: BRENNER
  17. XII
  18. XIII
  19. SECTION SIX: OBERAMMERGAU
  20. XIV
  21. XV
  22. ARRT CODA
  23. Author’s Note
  24. Acknowledgments
  25. About the Author

“Excellent,” said Patton. Turning to Bob, she added, “It’s beautiful up here, isn’t it?”

Bob did not reply.

SECTION SIX: OBERAMMERGAU

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SECTION SIX:
OBERAMMERGAU

XIV

XIV

Christian Ulrich hated press briefings. He had never liked standing in front of people—not when he gave reports as a schoolboy in front of the class, not when local civic groups asked him to speak, and certainly not when he had to stand before the press and admit he had no answers to most of their questions. Or at least no answers he was willing to give at the moment. But with the new message from Ingrid Weiss and the explosion in Italy, he felt he had to make some sort of official comment. He had spent the past hour working on his statement and considering what he knew.

He knew, after talking with some of her associates in the United States, that Jean Simpson was no terrorist. He knew there was something fishy about Columbia House—apparently some of the books they had “returned” had forged inscriptions and invented provenances. He knew the finances of Columbia House were a tangled mess—probably intentionally tangled—and that the charity was €2 million in debt to two German banks. And he knew there was something very odd about the “victim” of a terrorist attack sending the police what amounted to a press release and then disappearing into the wind. More than anything, he knew he wanted to have a chat with Ingrid Weiss. But he wouldn’t talk about any of that this afternoon, he thought, as he stepped in front of a confrontational bristle of microphones and read from his paper.

“I have a short update on the bombing that took place in Döbereinerstrasse. We continue to search for Jean Simpson and Patton Harcourt to question them about the attack. With regard to the explosion in northern Italy early this morning, we do believe the two incidents may be related, but how remains uncertain. The Bavarian State Police are working together with the Italian Polizia di Stato to coordinate investigations.”

“Are the bodies of the terrorists at the Italian site?” shouted one reporter. Ulrich knew that the tabloids were already speculating that the Italian chapel had been a hideout for Simpson and Harcourt. The rumor mill had the two suspects dying in an accidental explosion.

“I won’t confirm that at this time,” said Ulrich, reflecting that this statement was technically true.