Chapter Two
Suspicions

"I must admit, this is an unexpected honor, Lord Gloria."

Dorian stood on the threshold of the Private Detective's office a moment. He was relieved when he saw it was not the typical seedy type straight out of a Mickey Spillane novel. It was clean, bright, and organized, the desk a rather intriguing antique mahogany. "I must confess to finding this rather unexpected myself, Mr. Evans," he said as he entered and took the chair being offered to him.

"You mentioned on the phone that you believe your partner is cheating on you," Evans said conversationally as he took a seat behind the desk.

"Yes. I might just be imagining things, of course."

Evans sat back in his seat. "Lord Gloria, let me be frank. Ninety-nine times out of a hundred, if someone suspects something is going on, then it's going on." He paused, allowing this to sink in. "Now, if you could give me the particulars on the man I'm to check on? And a recent photograph if you have one."

"First off, he's NATO intelligence. He'll know if he's being followed," Dorian said as he handed over a photograph.

Evans nodded. "And you came to me because I'm former SIS, am I right?"

"Well, who better to follow a spy than a spy?"

Evans' eyes flickered. "This is his current location? Bonn, Germany?"

"Yes. He's in London from time to time, but Bonn is home."

"That will put the cost up a bit…"

"Money is no object," Dorian stated flatly. "My accountant will have a heart attack when he sees I've hired you, but I don't care. I want to know the truth." That I'm being ridiculous, because there's no way that Klaus would ever think to cheat on me. Would he?

"A handsome man." Evans scowled, looking at the photo again. "He looks very familiar…"

"He's a living piece of art, he's so beautiful." Dorian sighed longingly before saying in a serious tone, "Don't let his looks fool you, Mr. Evans. They don't call him Iron Klaus for nothing."

Evans' eyes widened. "Iron Klaus, of course! I thought I recognized him." He looked up sharply a startled expression on his face. "That would make you Eroica. Well, this is going to be an interesting case."

Dorian shifted in his seat. As much as he loved being the center of attention, this was not the kind he was going for.

"I'm not SIS anymore, Lord Gloria. Nor am I Interpol," Evans said reassuringly. "They don't pay as well."

Dorian gave him a small smile, tossing his mop of blond curls over his shoulder. "Thank you, Mr. Evans. I'm sure everything that goes on here will be held in strict confidence."

"Naturally." Evans looked down at his notes. "I know just the person to start this investigation," he said slowly. "And Iron Klaus won't suspect a thing…"

Dorian gave a snort. "The man suspects everything, Mr. Evans."

"Will he suspect a woman?"

"I beg your pardon?"

Evans grinned. "I'm sure Iron Klaus would suspect a man watching him, but will he suspect a beautiful woman? Even if he were to ask what she was doing, she would just reply that she was watching him because she thought he was handsome."

"Women give him the creeps."

"Then he's even less likely to suspect her, isn't he?"

Dorian thought this over and grudgingly agreed. The last person on earth Klaus would suspect would be a beautiful woman. Unless she tried to make further contact, of course, then he'd think she was KGB, which Dorian pointed out.

"You let me worry about the details, Lord Gloria," Evans said as he got to his feet. He crossed to the door, holding out a hand. "Give me a few weeks. Then I'll be in touch with the results."

Dorian shook the man's hand and left. He could not believe he had actually hired a private investigator to follow Klaus. Was it really just his vanity getting the better of him? It had taken years to get Klaus into his bed, and even that had been a struggle. For an atheist, the man had so many ridiculous moral objections. So long as he got pleasure from the act, what difference did it make if he slept with a man or a woman? Dorian had pointed out.

Now Dorian was wondering if he had awakened a sleeping giant. Now that he'd tasted the forbidden fruit, what if Klaus wanted more now than just him?