Chapter 29 Things Fall Apart

I rode into the Inner Stadt on the tram, listening to the Chief's latest voicemail. Mark would not be coming. His daughter Sandy had been in a car accident. She'd be fine, but for now, he needed to be with family. I knew he felt awful about not being with us, but Mark had always put family first and his priorities were definitely in the right place now, just as they'd always been. We would be ok without him. The Chief and Nico had gone to meet Inspector Vogel at Police Headquarters and would be back later in the day. The Chief ended his message with, 'It's a normal day', meaning that I shouldn't act like I knew a friend had been kidnapped or that I had forged a painting that would be attributed to Camille Pissarro and would be sold at auction in two days. The painting had been hidden in the floorboards of the apartment for safety and the dust and debris it might collect on it wouldn't hurt it either.

I entered the lab, went to the small office space I shared and brewed coffee. I came out with two cups and handed one to Rolf Sondergaard. He looked surprised to see me.

"Where have you been?" he demanded.

"A trip, took a few days off to visit a friend."

"Were you with Michaela?"

"No. I haven't seen her for a week. Why? Is something wrong?"

"You don't know? She has disappeared. I hoped you and she had gone off somewhere together."

"Sorry, she hasn't been in touch with me. Have you checked with her parents, other friends?"

"She is not with them."

"Have you called the police?"

"No"

"She's missing and you haven't called the police? How long has she been gone?" exasperation colored my voice.

"Three days."

I reached for my cell phone. He put his hand on my wrist. "No. I need to show you something first." We walked over to his lab bench and he opened his tablet, pulling up a video identical to the one sent me.

"You need to call the police."

"They will kill her if I do that." He said his voice contracted with panic, "and you are in danger as well."

"I'll be fine Rolf," I said cheerily. "But you need to call Police Headquarters."

He nodded and walked into our office to make the call. While he did that, I sent a text to the Chief asking him to do a background check on Rolf. We needed to know if we could count on him. Something seemed off. I was always uncertain of Rolf's relationship with Michaela. Friends? Lovers? Frenemies? Whatever, it was a strong one. I'd never asked.

I wanted to talk to Ed, to Eve, if only to bounce things off them. Eve's return to the family home in Grinzing had gone well. The Chief had information about the majority of Vienese elite because of her. I had to admit, she was good. No one suspected that the heiress and the mountain climber were anything but that. She'd sent me a picture the other day of Ed in Austrian evening attire. "Do you like this one? You could wear a drindl on your wedding day." Ed looked particularly handsome in it.

The fatigue and frustration were threatening to burst. Looking at the calendar, I realized I had one other thing to focus on. I headed for the one person who could help me with that."