Lee hadn't expected to see a familiar face when he stepped through the security doors at Munich airport, but almost instantly he'd heard a voice at his elbow. "Herr Stetson!" He turned to find Lieutenant Volkenauer waiting just outside the barrier, a small smile crossing his face when he saw how startled Lee was to see him. "I am surprised it took so long for you to return to enjoy the sights of this beautiful city."

Lee had underestimated the Interpol officer the first time they'd met, distracted at first by Amanda's arrest and his part in it, but he knew that rumpled exterior hid a razor-sharp intellect, one he'd come to appreciate as the noose had closed on Harry all those months ago, even if he hadn't appreciated Volkenauer's laughable attempts at flirting with his partner.

"Lieutenant! I wasn't expecting a welcoming committee," he greeted him with a smile. For the first time he realized that the detective wasn't in his usual suit, but was dressed casually and obviously not on the clock.

"Well I was hoping you were bringing the lovely Frau King, but I see I am doomed to disappointment." The detective could no longer hold in a chuckle at Lee's reaction. "Ach, calm down, Igel, I am joking with you. No, seriously, I have friends who let me know you were coming," the police officer was smiling conspiratorially, as he shook Lee's outstretched hand. "And I thought perhaps you might need a friend here, or so." He gestured to Lee's suitcase. "Is this all you have? Then I can take you to your hotel and we can discuss your Mr. Hollinger in the car."

"One can always use a friend in a strange land," said Lee, appreciatively. He turned to follow the detective out the door into the morning sunshine and toward the nondescript car parked in a no parking zone. Volkenauer waved his badge imperiously at the uniformed police officer that was scowling at it and gestured for Lee to climb in. "So do you and your friends in Interpol have some idea where I might begin searching for our friend?"

"I have started a little bit of a hunt, yes, but unfortunately, Interpol is not officially interested," replied Volkenauer, as they climbed into the car. "So I am here in an un-official capacity."

Lee was intrigued. "If Interpol isn't interested in him, why are you?"

Volkenauer scowled for a moment. "Your Herr Hollinger annoyed me. As you know, I was in charge of the investigation into the counterfeiting ring and he caused me to be inhospitable to a guest. Frau King was inconvenienced and I wish to make up for that." He turned over the ignition and pulled out in the busy airport traffic.

"Well, I certainly appreciate this hospitality, Lieutenant. And yes, I would like to see Harry pay properly for inconveniencing Amanda."

"Since I am not helping you 'officially', but as a friend, perhaps we should use first names, ja?" Volkenauer took one hand off the wheel and held it out to Lee. "I am Dieter."

"Well, Dieter, I am Lee – and I really am very grateful for any help, official or otherwise. Do you have any leads of where I might find Harry?"

"Herr Hollinger was not working very hard to cover his tracks at first, so we know he was in Munich for at least four days after his release."

Lee cocked an eyebrow at him. "He wasn't trying to cover his tracks? What was he doing then?"

Dieter wrinkled his nose and made a disparaging noise in the back of his throat. "Mostly drinking. He managed to avoid getting arrested again but there is no doubt he was thrown out of many, many bars in the first few days after he got out of prison."

"Figures," Lee grunted in disgust. "It's a wonder he hadn't drunk himself to death back in Tegernsee."

"Ja," agreed Dieter. "He showed great dedication to that activity." He continued to weave through traffic as they headed toward the city center. "I can find many complaints about him for those first days, including being thrown out of the hotel where he stayed three nights, but after that, the trail goes colder."

"How cold?"

"He was seen at the central train station two days ago, but it is unclear what direction he might have gone or if indeed he went anywhere." The sideways look the detective gave Lee spoke volumes.

"Great," groaned Lee. He glanced at the man beside him and decided there was nothing to be lost by taking him into his confidence. "It is possible Harry will have headed east. He would be of great interest to certain parties there."

"Yes, I thought of this already," said Volkenauer, nodding. "I already have my friends in the Berlin office checking for me. Many of them still have ways to speak to contacts across the border, but we will check with the local police as well. After all, it is likely that if he is has gone there, he will be picked up for drunkenness again shortly, ja?"

"Ja," agreed Lee. He stared out the window for a moment, trying to think his way through Harry's likely actions. "But they haven't run into him yet?"

"Not yet, so it is possible he may have crossed the border already and we have missed our opportunity. Or perhaps he has gone another direction altogether – who knows?"

"A running man only runs two ways," muttered Lee. "Toward something or away from something."

"Wise words," commented Dieter, pulling up in front of the hotel. Lee laughed as he realized he'd never actually told him where he was staying – Volkenauer obviously had an excellent intelligence network, even on an unofficial job. "So which way do you think Herr Hollinger is running?"

"I wish I knew," sighed Lee. "Until we figure that out, he's going to be much harder to find."

"I have a friend at the hotel who has made sure your room is ready. You would like, perhaps to - how do you say, freshen up, and then I can take you through what we have found so far."

"You seem to have a lot of friends," grinned Lee.

Dieter shrugged with only a small twitch of the lips to show he saw the humor in what Lee was saying. "It is a consequence of my profession, ja? It is good to have friends in many places."

"Like a family," supplied Lee.

"Ja, like a family," the detective nodded in agreement. "I shall come back for you in an hour and then perhaps you can tell me why you have not brought your lovely Frau King back to Munich with you."

"Ah," said Lee. "That is another thing I should discuss with you while I'm here - without my Frau King."

Dieter suppressed another smile at Lee's emphasis on the possessive pronoun but raised a brow. He had liked Amanda very much – not as much obviously as the man sitting beside him but she had been kind and remarkably patient with her hot-headed partner. "There is a problem with her, Igel?"

"Not with her, no. But if we have time, perhaps I could point out some problems with her arrest file later? I reviewed it later and it was not only Harry who caused her inconvenience."

"It would be my pleasure to correct any discrepancies," the policeman nodded. "I will pull the file before I come back."

"Thank you," said Lee gratefully. "And thank you for the warm welcome."

"As I said, it is good to have friends," smiled Volkenauer.


By the end of the day, Lee had accomplished three things: he had gone through enough files to prove that Harry had not been spotted anywhere in Berlin, he had had Amanda's arrest scrubbed completely from the German police files, and most important, he had made sure there was a red flag in the system to question Leslie again if she ever showed up in Germany again. Volkenauer had sat in shocked silence when Lee had explained exactly what Leslie had done to Amanda, beyond leaving her facing criminal charges for passing counterfeit currency.

"You know we can do nothing about it if she returns though?" he questioned. "Without an assault charge being laid at the time… it would be very difficult to make this happen. Especially since Frau King still has not made a complaint."

"Oh, I know," said Lee grimly. "But even just a note on her file might help someone else in the long run. Her next victim might not be so frightened of her, might come forward in time – and I want that suspicion on file when it does."

"No wonder you did not bring Frau King back with you," remarked the lieutenant. "It would be difficult for her."

"It would," agreed Lee. "But you know," he shook his head with admiration, "She would have done it if I'd asked. She is so much stronger than I gave her credit for."

Dieter glanced at the notes he'd made from Lee's second-hand version of the story. "All of this had just happened when we met? And she said nothing? Showed nothing?" He was now also shaking his head in amazement. "How did she do it?"

Lee grimaced, knowing the answer made him look bad. "She told me she was trying to be a good agent in front of me – not let her personal feelings interfere."

"Ah," Dieter nodded in comprehension, then gazed at Lee with a shrewd look. "But she did tell you in the end? That is good," he added.

"It is," Lee agreed. "But it took until a few months ago for me to know the full story." He looked up at the questioning noise from the policeman. "I found out part of the story about eight months ago when I met Leslie O'Connor myself and dated her for a while." He paused to let that sink in, then continued. "She let slip something one night that made me go back through the files and figure out what had gone wrong with the counterfeiting investigation." Dieter made a face and Lee rushed to add. "That was not your fault – it was all very confusing with two American women involved and with Amanda not denying it… Anyway, for a long time I thought it was just a bit of drunken groping. It was not until recently that I found out about that." He pointed to the notes. "I had no idea how bad it had been. I still don't know how she coped for so long."

"She is a woman," remarked Dieter. "They are remarkable creatures when they need to be, ja?"

"They are – and Amanda is more remarkable than most."

"I think you are right. And I also think you are hungry – so I will file this and then we go find dinner. I know just the place."

"You don't need to do that – you must have better things to do with your evening than entertain me."

"No, I insist. Frau King refused my dinner invitation last time, I cannot be insulted by having you refuse as well." Lee gave him a quick look and realized Dieter was laughing at him a little. "Besides, you will get over the jet lag better if you stay up until your normal time to go to bed."

Lee couldn't disagree with that – taking advantage of Circadian rhythms was the best way to get back on track, and on such a beautiful late spring evening, the tables at the nearby biergarten were full to overflowing. Dieter had fetched them two plates of schweinshaxe, its briny bite and the accompanying sauerkraut just the thing to go with the excellent beer that was going straight to his head, as tired as he was. Dieter had kept him entertained with a rambling conversation that he had let wash over him but eventually the Austrian had leaned back in his chair with a grin.

"Is there somewhere you are supposed to be, Lee? That is the third time you have looked at your watch in the last five minutes."

Lee looked up embarrassed. "I'm sorry. I am supposed to check in and I'm just making sure I'm not late. With my reputation for finding trouble, the folks at home get worried quickly."

His companion looked at him knowingly. "Ah well, if your Amanda is waiting for you to call, we must get you back to your hotel. I cannot be the cause of any more worry in her life - and you will not do well either if you are worried about her."

Lee looked at him sheepishly. "Am I that obvious?"

"You are tired and not trying very hard to hide it," said Dieter. "Besides I was there when Hollinger tried to hurt her – you told him it was personal even then, but not as personal as it is now, I think?" He peeled a few bills out of his wallet to leave on the tray and stood up.

Lee couldn't help but chuckle. "No, it is more personal now." It was liberating to actually be able to talk to someone about Amanda – it made it seem more real. He gave his companion a sideways look as they began to walk up the street. "But it is still new and no one we work with knows."

"They will know if you don't get better at hiding it," said Dieter dryly. "Is that also why she is not with you? Because no one knows?"

"No, she isn't here because she has a young family at home and I don't want her to travel when it isn't necessary. And honestly, I also didn't want her to have to see Harry again."

"That is a good decision," agreed Dieter. They had reached Lee's hotel and paused on the pavement outside. "You will give her my best wishes, ja?"

"I, ah, can't do that," Lee said guilty and Dieter nodded.

"Ah, so. She does not know at all where you are?"

"Not exactly, no, just that I am in Europe," Lee admitted with a grimace. "As you say, she would worry too much."

"Well, that is probably a good decision also," nodded Dieter. "So, I will come back for you tomorrow morning and we will continue to hunt for Herr Hollinger. I am sure it will go quickly now that I know you have an extra reason to get this over with." He grinned broadly now and clapped Lee on the arm. "Now go talk to your Amanda – you will feel better. Good night, Igel."

Lee watched him start to walk away before finally giving in and calling him back. "Dieter? Why do you keep calling me that? What does it mean?"

Dieter turned back, beaming at him. "It is the way you look when I make jokes about your Amanda – you look just like one." He cupped his hands as if he was holding a ball. "I cannot remember the English name but it is a small animal with little spikes all over it and when it is unhappy, it puffs up like so." He spread his fingers with a chuckle.

Lee surveyed him for a moment before starting to laugh too. "A hedgehog? You've been calling me Hedgehog all day?"

"Hedgehog!" repeated Dieter with delight. "Ja, that is the word." He looked very pleased with himself and in his jet-lagged state, it made Lee laugh harder.

"I've been called worse," he said finally. "Good night, Dieter."

"Good night. Tomorrow we will find your Herr Hollinger and send you home, ja?"

Lee watched as Volkenauer walked away with a wave, then turned and jogged inside. He could hardly wait to hear her voice.