Chapter 9

While waiting for the search warrant, Chip telephoned Admiral Johnson's office requesting information on Decker. He also called Agent Gordon to bring him up-to-date.

"Decker? Yeah, I've heard of him. Where are you?"

"About fifteen minutes from the hotel."

"Good, I'll meet you back there in twenty minutes. Watch what you say around the cops. Benner is okay, but don't trust anyone else."

The warrant arrived along with news Schmidt had been captured and was now being transported to headquarters. Benner gave orders no one was to question the suspect until he got there and proceeded to search the house. The three Americans were told they needed to wait outside since they had no legal standing to assist in the search. Their statements would be taken later. Unable to help and with the ONI agent on his way, Chip informed Detective Bennerthey would return to the hotel.

Waiting for Gordon, Morton called Angie. He finally had something positive to report. A knock on the door came just as Chip finished. Opening the door Chip ushered the agent in and quickly reported what had happened.

The agent settled down in a side chair and got comfortable. "The only reason I'm in the loop on this is because I am active in this part of the world. Decker has had two run-ins with Crane, both going badly for him. The gang back in DC will be interested to learn he's working in Germany. He seems to do lots of business in Russia and Hong Kong. Last couple years, there have been reports of him in contact with undesirables in Iraq and Syria."

"Schmidt claims Decker wanted Lee for personal reasons."

Gordon pondered that. "Just Crane's bad luck to show up in Germany at the same time as Decker. I wonder if he was after the professor's manuscript after all and Lee was just a bonus. I can't think of anything current that would draw Decker toGermany. He tends to show up when there are rumors in the intelligence world of a new discovery or something for sale. I have never heard of him operating in this part of Europe. Could be he's been careful to leave no trace."

"Maybe he's here on vacation?" Ski joked.

It would be Lee's bad luck if that were true. He definitely is a trouble magnet. Okay, how about some of that brotherly ESP you claim we have. It should work both ways. Need a little help here, pal.

"Sir, Mr. Morton, are you okay? You seemed to space out there for a minute."

"Sorry, Pat. I guess I'm disappointed we couldn't get something more out of Schmidt."

Gordon rose from his chair. "Morton, I think the best bet is to head out to Neuerburg tomorrow. It's not far from here; in fact, it's very close to the Luxembourg border. It's a very small town, only 1500 people but a heavy tourist population. Lots of hiking in the Eifel Mountain range and there are plenty of castles to tour, which will make our task a little harder. We should split up. Morton, you team up with Patterson since he has a pretty good grasp on the language and Kowalski and I will take the other car. We can show Lee's picture around, and I have a description of Decker."

"I suggest checking out of here 'cause if we do find Lee, we'll need to get him to the flying sub right away. I'm sure he'll need medical attention, either on Seaview or the base hospital if his condition is critical." Chip shifted gears slightly. "How long doyou think it will be before Admiral Johnson gets back to us?"

"I'm afraid it might be several hours, this criminal doesn't work in the US too much. I'm sure he keeps a small group nosing around. ONI is probably waiting for responses from Interpol and several other government agencies for any intel of his current activities."

Kowalski expressed his disbelief. "How can one man escape justice for so long?"

"He's not greedy, stays away from extremist groups so he's low on the terrorist threat list. Moreover, I hate to say it; there are governments willing to do business with him. They tend to look the other way if it doesn't affect them. In addition, the body count is low in regards to his crimes. However, that has changed in the last five years or so. He has turned to torturing to obtain when he wants if needed, at least what has been reported."

"So Lee is in the hands of a psycho who wants revenge. Great, just great!"

Hoping to get the XO's mind off that gruesome thought, Ski and Pat suggested the two of them get the medical supplies out of the flying sub while Mr. Morton waited for the calls from Detective Benner and Admiral Johnson. After their return, it would be time to give their statements to the police.

"Make sure to pick up some bottled water, who knows what condition we'll find ourselves in. We might be doing some hiking."

Two hours later the police picked up and delivered the men to the station to answer questions and give their statements. Gordon stayed behind to call Johnson. He knew how close to the chest that man liked to play things. Gordon was disappointed in the information received. The most recent was six months ago and even that was speculation. He requested a check of anything of importance occurring in Germany and surrounding area that might be of interest to Decker. It would help to know why he was in Germany if not for the manuscript. Unless someone close to Johnson was a mole, it had to be a coincidence that Decker was in the country.

By the time the men returned from speaking to the police, Gordon was no wiser. Switzerland was hosting a conference pertaining to changes in international banking laws and France had a multinational doctors' conference. Nothing that Decker would seemingly beinterested in. Chip reported Detective Benner wasn't having any luck with Schmidt. Safe from imaginary assassins, he wasn't talking. There would be a lengthy legal battle between Britain and Hong Kong to extradite him for complicity in the British agent's murder, although Germany had no issues with getting rid of him to either court. As for the kidnapping charge, there wasvery little evidence to make a charge stick. Schmidt's lawyer was already claiming he was in fear of his own life, being held by three gunmen in his own house.

Early the next morning the four men traveled to Neuerburg, a small village approximately 20 km northeast of Bitburg. As agreed, they split up in two cars.Once in the tiny village they showed Lee's picture around the medical clinic and a few other places where Lee might have sought help if he was injured. They had no luck, even in the off-season one stranger wouldn't stand out unless he looked pretty ragged.

"We knew this wasn't going to be easy. I think we should look for places he could be held, maybe a vacant house or barn." Gordon pointed skywards. "The best plan would be to concentrate most of our efforts on those buildings which are situated up in the hills."

"Mr. Morton, we could check to see if any local properties are for rent. It's possible Decker could've taken a place for a month or two before he grabbed the skipper."

"We'll look into that, Pat, because I can't see him in one of the hotel rooms."

They stopped and had coffee at a small but busy restaurant. When she returned, Chip asked the waitress if she knew of any houses for lease.

"There are a few rental houses, but the same families have lived there for several years. Your best bets are the hotels. One is new and has weekly rates if you plan to stay that long. Or if you wish to hike there are some sites where you can set up your tent and camp for as long as you wish."

"Danke, we have a friend who said he was looking to rent. I guess he found he was out of luck. Thank you for your help."

The server walked away after she refilled their cups.

"Well, there goes that idea, sir. Guess we put on our hiking boots and head for the hills."

"Don't give up so fast, Ski. I saw a butcher shop down the street. He would notice a new customer. We have a decent description of Decker from the skipper's encounters with him. Let's see if he recognizes him."

Finishing their drinks, all four walked the short distance up the street taking in the picture postcard atmosphere of the village. It was hard to imagine such a picturesque place harboring a person like Decker.

The butcher completed his transaction with his customer and turned to Chip's group. Morton explained there had been a mix-up in their plans and theywere trying to find a friend. He was meeting up with someone but Chip didn't know the name. The merchant carefully consideredthe description.

"It could be Baron Drechsler's nephew who comes almost every year for a month or two. However, he wears a patch over his left eye and has a long scar on that side of his face, from anaccident right after he graduated from University. Of course, many travelers don't come in here. We get pretty good cell phone reception in the valley, but if he took off to the mountains, well, maybe that's why you haven't heard from him. Have you tried the hotels?"

"He does love to hike so that might be the answer. Thank you for your time and suggestions." Chip politely finished his conversation and left the store. It probably would be a waste of time tocheck the hotels. It had to be very difficult to hide a person kept against their will in a single room. However, even if there was only a small chance Chip knew they couldn't dismiss it. Splitting up, they would show Lee's picture and describe Decker on the off chance one of them had stayed there.

After two nonproductive hours of questioning at the hotels, the men regrouped at the same restaurant as before. Highlighting places on the maps to check, they enjoyed an excellent meal.

"Sounds like you got the same answers as we did, sir. Tourists who are staying for a couple days or longer, but no one resembling the skipper or Decker."

"It was a long shot, Patterson. Detective Benner is still sweating Schmidt, maybe he'll give up something more to help us. In the meantime, looks like we're going on maneuvers." He openedup the small guidebook he had picked up at the last hotel. We'll rule out the six castles that are open for tours."

There were ruins that could hide a dead body. Chip hated to admit they would need to examine those places plus three partially torn down castles that could house the criminal and his prisoner. The two privately owned castles and some houses scattered around the mountains would be harder to investigate. One couldn't go pounding on the door demanding to search the house without any proof of wrongdoing. They would show these people the pictures and hope they recognized one of them.

"Ski, you and I have the GPS handheld monitors. Keep scanning for the skipper's signal. He might be able to turn his cell phone on. We all know from experience how resourceful he can be. We shouldn't have trouble with our phones thanks to Admiral Nelson's tinkering with them."

Chip and Pat took the west trail, Gordon and Ski headed east. They would check in on the hour and meet at a designated place at 1800 hours to set up their tents, not wanting to be wandering in the dark forest.