The next morning's bright sunshine and pleasant drive through the English country side as Eyal and Annie headed south toward Crawley where they stopped for a late morning breakfast. The entire road trip would only take a little less than an hour and a half but they wanting to spend some time taking in the sights as Annie had never been outside of London. Breakfast order and both drinking a hot cup of tea, not saying much as Annie was interested in how and when Eyal previously knew Blair Vogel and Eyal wanting to avoid the subject all together.
"Guess there is no getting around avoiding the subject if I ever want to hear you speak to me again."
"What subject." Annie peeking over her mug at Eyal.
"The Blair Vogel subject."
"Well I was wondering."
"Blair was once married to a German aristocratic by the name of Jordon Vogel."
"That much I know, the tenth Earl of a German family." Annie putting down her mug and resting her chin in both hands to listen to Eyal's tale of one Blair Vogel and George Yiokas.
"The Kleinbruck family is extraordinarily wealthy from East Berlin. When the Russian were closing in during WWII, the head of the family transferred large holdings of the family's vast wealth to foreign banks and almost forgotten. East Berlin as we know was cut off from the western world by the Russians and not much is known about what happen to many of the wealthy families and that included the Kleinbruck family. The little we do know is Jordon was the son of Richanda Kleinbruck and her husband Buell Vogel. Sometime in the 1990's Jordon shows up in London, wining and dining Blair Steward, the niece of Malcolm McMillan and soon married."
"She married for money."
"Blair likes what money can buy so yeah I'm sure that was her reason but Jordon Vogel may have had another." Eyal thanking the waitress for another cup of tea as they were served breakfast. "Little over three years ago Mossad had some special interest in Jordon Vogel and I won't go into that but I was given the mission to get close to him or his wife to find out as much as I could. They have a lovely London flat in Chelsea and she wanted to redecorate. Now that was my in, George Yiokas antique dealer in the finest European antiques money can buy."
"One thing leads to another, hmmm..."
"All part of the mission, yeah you might say that but her information was very good indeed and what a price I had to pay and money didn't interest her."
"She was cheating on her husband."
"Certainly not the first time. Blair has a real appetite for the other sex." Eyal starting to eat his breakfast.
"Now that I did notice." Annie giggled.
"How could you not." Eyal scuffed. "Evidently things were closing in on Jordon Vogel and his private plane crashed about three months later. His body was never found but we think he is still alive and well in the safety of Russia."
"Did Blair know her husband was a Russian spy?"
"No, not a clue but she also being the jealous type kept close tabs on him and that was all we needed."
"Guess if the goose is playing around so is the gander." Annie laughing at the thought of Blair and her many boy toys - the pleasures money can buy.
"Lucky for Mossad." Eyal finishing his breakfast and ready to hit the road again. "Ready to motivate?"
Annie finishing her last cup of tea, "I need to hit the little ladies room before we start, I won't take long."
Arriving in Seaford on the English Channel, Eyal and Annie took their time to have a look around, something season spies do, recon the area. A coastal town and very quaint and beautiful in a rugged looking way. Parking the car, they walked several blocks, stopping along the way in different shops and of course asking about the McMillan estate.
"Haunted you say." Eyal speaking with one of the local shop keepers, a woman in her late sixties and friendly.
"I should say. There are all kinds of strange things going on out there and we have heard even murder."
"Murder now. What about it, did the authorities catcher the killer?" Eyal with a curious tone to his voice.
"Blood everywhere but no dead body ever found, buried some place on the grounds my guess and walks the halls at night looking for his or her killer. On bright moon lit nights you can hear the high voice call out in some weird language. Like a banshee calling and within a week someone will die."
"Is anyone living out there?"
"For heaven's sake no but Busby Ferguson is the caretaker, goes out there every other week to take care of the grounds but will not go near the castle. He has told of noises coming from the old section of the home place, strange clanging of sorts."
Annie with more questions and asking with a friendly smile. "Do you know the current owner?"
"Blair Stewart and a strange one at that. Known her since she was a child and I don't mine telling you she marches to a different drummer. Doesn't live here anymore, not enough upper crust for her liking if you know what I mean."
"Yes, we think we do. We are to meet her today to have a look inside. My partner and I are thinking about an investment of sorts in the property." Annie giving a reason for their interest.
"Be thankful you going in day light. No one in their right mind would adventure out to Trotter Castle after dark."
"Trotter Castle, is that the name of the place?"
"It was once a fortified watch tower on the Trotter vast estate. Somewhere about three hundred years ago the manor house was build and attached to the old tower for one of Trotter's many sons. It's not a castle but that is what the young Trotter calls it, his castle and the name stuck."
A few more questions and answers before Annie and Eyal departed for Trotter Castle and their meeting with Blair Vogel. The drive along the windblown coastal road heading to and finding the access road leading to Trotter Castle, an old tree-lined road did little to alleviate the gloomy and depressing atmosphere of the estate. From the black iron gates with overgrown vines surrounding the place to the once iron fountain now falling in decay it seemed a fine atmosphere for mystery and mayhem.
The tower beside the manor house was an old stone watch tower reaching to the sky and several missing stones blocks from the top. The attached empty manor house of brick and stucco, old harsh weathered look it was dark and foreboding, seemed to exude a sort of wickedness all of its own. With a heavy iron fence surrounding it, peeling paint as well as the decaying portico it looked like the perfect place to stage a Halloween party, complete with ghosts.
Blair agreed to give Eyal access for a couple of hours that afternoon but only in her company. He accepted, because he had no choice. But he had no intentions of going in there alone - not with Blair.
"Well," Annie remarked looking up at the gray, two and a half story house. "I certainly see why Blair Vogel wouldn't want to live in this creepy old house. But why would she want this place at all? It looks like it's about to fall down. It surely can't be worth all that much."
"Trotter Castle isn't," Eyal agreed looking out the window at the decrepit building. "But what's in it may be. After I dropped you off last night, I did some research. There's a reason relatives are lining up for a piece of this place."
"What do you mean? Is there some sort of treasure in there?" Annie couldn't imagine that place having anything but cobwebs and ghosts.
Eyal shrugged. "Well, there's been a rumor, for years, that McMillan hid all sorts of documents in the house as well as gold and jewels and anything else of value he could get his hands on. The claims have mostly been discounted or discredited but the rumors persisted. So much so that every relative the good Deputy Chief had, no matter how distant, wants this place thinking they'll strike it rich. Blair Vogel being the only daughter of his only sister, and the closest one to him, is currently the only one with keys to this place. Though, by the looks of it, keys wouldn't be too necessary to get in."
"But I thought Blair Vogel was already rich." Annie asked, confused.
"She is," Eyal nodded. "But apparently not as rich as she would like everyone to think. I found some information on her last night, indicating she made some risky investments with her dead husband's money that didn't pay off. She's not destitute but if her bank account keeps bleeding, she might have to reconsider the big homes and servants she currently has."
Annie looked at him in shock. "It is hard for me to believe she was ever married." She couldn't imagine the woman she saw ever being able to attract a man, much less get one willing to marry her.
Eyal chuckled. "Well, she was much younger than and her husband, Jordon Vogel, was much older. Also Malcolm McMillan was well off but not fifty rich and Jordon Vogel was the one with money."
"Maybe he saw something in her no one else did." Annie nodded her head in wonder.
"Maybe so."
Just then, Eyal saw Blair Vogel's Mercedes pull into the driveway. "Here we go." He said as he got out of the car and came around to Annie's side.
Blair had a smile for Eyal until she saw Annie get out of his car. "Good morning." She greeted them rather stiffly. "I didn't know you were bringing her with you." She spoke to Eyal with a scowl directed at Annie.
"Well, I explained that," Eyal put on his most charming smile. "Annie is my partner. She has to come with me on things like this." When the woman didn't seem convinced, he stepped away from Annie and moved closer to her. "Come on, now, Blair. Remember what we talked about yesterday?"
Suddenly Blair giggled an unattractive sound to be sure, and grinned at Eyal. "Well, alright." She happily grabbed Eyal's hand and led him toward the house, totally ignoring Annie. "Come on, let's get this over with, so you and I can enjoy some time alone together."
Eyal swallowed hard and cast a pleading look in Annie's direction. The last thing he wanted to do was spend any sort of time alone with Blair Vogel. But Annie just gave him her sweetest smile and followed along behind them without a word.
When the front door opened on creaky hinges to what, at one time, used to be considered a mansion, dust flew out from everywhere and sounds seemed to emanate from the belly of the house as though it was alive. "No one's entered this house, besides me, since my uncle died." Blair said, as she entered and looked about the gloomy interior. "As you can see, nothing's been touched."
"I see." Eyal nodded as he looked around. Glancing over at Annie, he could see the place had the same chilling effect on her, as it did him.
Crammed with old furniture and knick knacks of every sort, it looked dangerous just on that standpoint alone. But there also seemed to be an underlying evil that permeated the place and reached into the very heart of anyone who dared to enter. Shaking his head, Eyal briefly pressed his hand into the small of Annie's back to reassure her, and himself as well, that there was nothing in the old mansion besides inanimate objects that couldn't hurt anyone.
"Well George, where would you like to start looking?" Blair asked Eyal.
"The basement." Eyal answered as he quickly stepped away from Annie. He wanted Blair on his side until this search was finished. And she wouldn't be, if he paid any special attention to his partner.
Blair led them through the dark, cluttered and musty smelling hallway to a room that had been converted into a kitchen and to a door just to the right of the back entryway.
"I don't believe anyone's been down here at all since uncle died." Blair stated as she opened the door and switched on her flashlight. "I'm not sure what shape the stairs are in. It could be awfully dangerous going down."
Something in the way she said that, bothered Eyal and he instinctively stepped in front of the two women, more to protect Annie than Blair. "Tell you what." He smiled gallantly. "Let me go down first, then you follow me and Anna can come in behind you. That way, if there is any problem with the stairs, I'll find it first and can keep you from getting hurt."
"Oh, George, you're such a sweetheart." Blair smiled happily giving a gloating look to Annie.
Annie said nothing, understanding Eyal's thinking. Being the last on the stairs, she would also be the safest. Giving Blair the merest of nods, she stepped aside and let Eyal go first, then Blair. But as Eyal led the way down into the bowels of the ancient creaking structure, she prayed the whole way, they'd escape unscathed.
Despite one broken stair tread near the bottom, the trip down was uneventful and Eyal smiled when Annie finally reached the floor of the basement and stepped down beside him. "Okay." He said, clapping his hands together with more enthusiasm than he felt. "Let's get started looking."
The basement however, seemed to be even more formidable than the upper level of the house. Against every wall, was stacked either a filing cabinet, a pile of boxes, or broken furniture of some kind. The late Deputy Chief of Defense, it seemed, never threw out anything. There was barely a path between the mounds of debris on either side to get from the bottom of the stairs to the other end where a large old roll-top desk stood on weary legs, covered in spider webs and paper.
Carefully, and with an eye behind him occasionally, to reassure himself of Annie's safety, Eyal led the way across the basement with his flashlight held in front as though it were his gun. Right then, the security of light, in that scary old basement, trumped that of the gun.
Annie looked dolefully at the countless number of boxes and piles of paper then back to Eyal. "Where do we start?"
Eyal shrugged and reached for the nearest box. Picking it up, he handed it to her. "Here" He answered as he took a box for himself.
"Well," Blair sighed and grabbed the only chair as she watched Eyal and Annie get to work. "I think I'll have a seat while I wait for you two."
Eyal threw Annie an exasperated glance, and with a shake of his head, opened his first box. As he did so, he felt a sudden cold draft of air sweep over him and for just a moment, he could've sworn he heard piano music, but he shrugged it off as his imagination. Though she hadn't felt the cold air, Annie had heard the music as well. But one look at Eyal and she decided it best to keep that to herself.
Two hours later, which was all the time Blair would allow them, they emerged from the underground space, dirty and exhausted and with very little to show for their trouble.
Both Eyal and Annie were coughing while they dusted off their clothes as best as possible. But they noticed, other than a light coating of dust on Blair's shoulder she seemed to have suffered little from her trip to the basement.
"Well, that was a waste of time," Annie opined as she stretched her aching back and anxiously searched her arm for the spider that might've been attached to the web that was there.
"Oh, I'm sorry you couldn't find what you were looking for." Blair said rather snidely as she slithered up to Eyal, nearly knocking Annie down in the process. "But I warned you it wouldn't be easy to find anything down there."
"Yeah," Eyal gave her an irritated frown. "Look, Blair, are you sure you won't allow me to come back and have another look down there?"
Blair shook her head. "I'm sorry, George. Like I told you, until this thing is settled in court, I can't let you or anyone else spend too much time in there. Why if any of my relatives found out that we did this…"
"Yeah, I know." Eyal waved her off as he finished dusting off his jacket and then took Annie's arm.
"Thanks, anyway, Blair. Have a good day."
Annie took a wary look at Blair's suddenly furious face and then over at Eyal's rather amused expression.
"Uh ?" Annie leaning near to Eyal and whispered softly.
"Tell you in the car." He whispered.
"George?" Blair hurried after them. "What about this evening? You promised you'd have dinner with me before the gala." She gave him what she considered to be a provocative smile but to Eyal it looked a little more like a lopsided sneer.
"Oh, yeah." Eyal acted as though he'd just remembered. "I am sorry Blair but I had forgotten about another engagement ." He smiled just before climbing into his car. "I'll call you, we'll make it another time before I leave England, okay." Quickly as he could, Eyal shut the door and locked it, then quickly reversed the Audi and left the grounds of Trotter Castle as rapidly as possible.
When they'd passed through the gates and back out onto the road, Annie looked over at her partner. "Eyal, what was that all about? I mean, I know you don't want to spend time with Blair Vogel and I know we didn't find anything in that basement…"
"Annie," Eyal managed before she caught her breath and continued.
"Well, I mean found all kinds of things, but we didn't find the things or at least the papers we were looking for. Of course with that many boxes, it would be hard to locate the vault and …"
"Annie," Eyal tried again to interrupt her.
"But why did you have that smile on your face?" She gave him a perplexed look, not even aware he had tried to stop her rambling.
Eyal shook his head and his grin widened. "Because, I did find something down there." He said smugly.
"You did?" Annie was suitably impressed. "What? Where is it?"
Eyal's grin faltered a little but it didn't disappear entirely. "It's still down there. Blair was watching us like a hawk and I have an idea she would've insisted on seeing anything we tried to take out of there. My reasoning to Blair for looking was based on an incredibly personal letter received from US President Bill Clinton about the Monica Lewinsky scandal that Malcolm McMillan had stashed away in a file with several love letters written by Prince Phillip, the Duke of Edinburgh to Margaret Thatcher, the onetime Prime Minster. Those letters would be worth millions and Blair is as money hungry and man hungry. Our deal was to split the revenue before the relatives knew of the letters."
"Queen Elizabeth's husband and the Iron Lady, clever. So that was your cover, a greedy antique dealer."
"Yeah that and a promise of a little more."
"Don't tell me." Annie half tapped him on his arm in a playful jest. "So what did you see?"
"But that's just it, though." Eyal told her as they sped back towards Crawley and on to London. "I couldn't get a good enough look at it to tell exactly what it did have to do with. But it looked like it could very well be important. And I didn't get the impression that Blair Vogel wanted us to find anything important. In her greedy little mind she will return and search for herself, you know cutting George Yiokas out of the take and keeping the riches for herself."
"That makes for good reasoning. Guess in her mind she is entitled to all the treasures Trotter Castle holds."
"Yeah. Also I think I located the vault, that roll top desk in hiding it."
"Well, what we are going to do then?" Annie asked, suddenly getting a queasy feeling in the pit of her stomach that she knew unquestionably what he was thinking.
"We're going back." Eyal told her. "Tonight."
"It's Halloween and we have that costume gala to attend, remember my tickets and besides your girlfriend should be there." Annie not wanting to make a return trip after dark.
"Don't remind me."