Chapter 39 Chapter Thirty-eight

The Rockendorf is one of Germany's preeminent hotels, and its avant-garde décor has long been a symbol of Berlin's opulence. The hotel manager greeted Diana as she walked in. "Can I help?" "I have a reservation. Miss Stevens Frank will come and meet me." "Come here, please." The steward arranged her at a table in a corner.Diana looked around carefully.There were about forty guests in the hotel, mostly business people.A handsome, well-dressed man sat at the table opposite Diana, eating alone. Diana sat, thinking about her conversation with Heidi Frank.How much will she know?

The waiter hands Diana the menu. "Bitte." (German: "Please.") "Thank you." Diana glanced at the menu. Luberks, Haxen, Labskaus (German: schnitzel with foie gras, pork knuckle, seafood chowder)...she didn't know what it was all about.Heidi Frank will explain. Diana looked at her watch.Heidi hadn't arrived for twenty minutes. The waiter came to the table: "Would you like to order now?" "No. I'll wait for the guests. Thank you." Time ticked by.Diana began to worry that something was wrong. Fifteen minutes later, the waiter returned to the table: "Shall I bring you something?"

"No, thank you. My guests will be here any minute." At nine o'clock, Heidi Frank still did not show up.With a moment of dismay, Diana realizes she won't be coming. When Diana looked up, she saw two people seated at a table near the door.The two were ugly in clothes and wretched in appearance, and the word that popped into Diana's mind was gangster.She watched the waiters come to their table and be waved off roughly.They are not interested in eating.Turning her head to stare at Diana, she felt a sudden panic, realizing that she had been tricked. Heidi Frank designed her.Diana felt the blood rush to her head.She looked around, looking for a means of escape.not even one.She can sit still, but eventually she has to leave, and that's when they can get their hands on it.She thought about using her cell phone, but there was no one to help.

Diana thought desperately, I must flee, but how? Just as she was looking around the entire restaurant, her eyes fell on the handsome man who was dining alone at the table opposite her.He is sipping coffee. Diana smiled at him: "Good evening." He looked up, was taken aback, and said kindly: "Good evening." Diana sent a warm, inviting smile, glad he spoke English: "I see none of us have company." "right." "Would you like to come and sit with me?" He hesitated for a moment.Smiling: "Of course." He got up and walked to Diana's table.

"It's no fun eating alone, is it?" Diana said lightly. "You're quite right. Not interesting." She held out a hand. "I'm Diana Stevens." "Greg Holliday." A fight with Sam Meadows left Kelly Harris reeling.After escaping, she walked up and down the streets of Montmartre all night, constantly looking back for fear of being followed.But I can't leave Paris with nothing, Kelly thought. At dawn, she stopped at a small café for a cup of coffee. The answer to her question came unexpectedly: Mark's secretary.She loves Mark very much.Kelly thought she would definitely go out of her way to help.

At nine o'clock, Kelly went into the phone booth to make a call.She dialed a familiar number, and a female operator said with a strong French accent: "Kingsley International Group." "I would like to have Yvonne Renais on the phone." "Please wait." A moment later, Kelly heard Yvonne's voice. "Yvonne Renais. What can I do for you?" "Yvonne, this is Kelly Harris." There was an exclamation: "Oh! Mrs. Harris—" In Tanner's office, blue lights flickered. Tanner grabbed the phone.It was three in the morning in New York, but he was determined not to leave the office until the troublesome problem had been dealt with.Now Tanner held the microphone and heard the conversation in Paris.

"I'm very saddened by what happened to Mr Harris. It's horrific." "Thank you, Yvonne. I need to talk to you. Can we meet somewhere? Are you free for lunch?" "Have." "A public place." "Do you know the Paris sky? In the Montparnasse Tower." "Know." In his office, Tanner Kingsley remembered. "Twelve o'clock?" "Okay. I'll see you there." Tanner Kingsley's lips were drawn into a small smile.Enjoy your last lunch.He unlocked it, opened the drawer, and took out the golden phone. Hearing a voice answer on the other end, Tanner said, "Good news. It's over. We got them both."

He listened for a moment, then nodded. "I know. It took a little longer than we expected, but we're ready to move forward now... I feel the same way... Goodbye." The Montparnasse Tower is 685 feet tall and constructed of steel and glass.The building is full of people.The offices are all rented out.The bar and restaurant are located on the fifty-sixth floor. Kelly arrived first.Yvonne arrived fifteen minutes later, apologizing profusely. Kelly had only met her a few times, but she remembered her very well.Yvonne is a petite lady with a sweet face.Mark often told Kelly how capable Yvonne was.

"Thank you for coming to the appointment," Kelly said. "I'm going to do my best — Mr. Harris is such a nice guy. Everyone in the office loves him. None of us believed what — what happened." "That's what I want to talk to you about. Yvonne. You've been working with my husband for five years?" "yes." "So you know him well?" "Oh yes." "Have you noticed anything strange-looking in the last few months? I mean, any change in his demeanor or speech?" Yvonne avoided her gaze: "I'm not sure...I mean..."

Kelly said earnestly, "Nothing you say now won't hurt him. It will help me understand what happened." Kelly steeled himself with the next question, "Did he mention Olga to you?" Yvonne looked at her in bewilderment. "Olga? No." "You don't know who she is?" "I don't know at all." Kelly felt a burst of relief.She leaned forward. "Yvonne, is there anything you haven't told me?" "Uh……" The waiter came to their table. "Hello, ladies. Welcome to Paris Sky. My name is Jacques Brion. Our chef has prepared some special dishes for today's lunch. Would you like to order now?"

"Yes, sir. We'd like two sirloin roasts." After the waiter left, Kelly looked at Yvonne: "You just said...?" "Well, he—the last few days before he died, Mr. Harris seemed nervous. He asked me to book him a plane ticket to Washington, DC." "I knew about it. I thought it was just a routine business trip." "No. I suppose it was an extraordinary matter—an urgent matter." "Do you know what it's about?" "No idea. It's all suddenly very mysterious. That's all I know." Kelly grilled Yvonne for another hour, but Yvonne had nothing to add. After they finished their lunch, Kelly said, "I would like you to keep this meeting a secret, Yvonne." "You don't have to worry about that, Mrs. Harris. I won't tell anyone." Yvonne stood up. "I have to go back to work." Her lips trembled. "But things are different." "Thank you, Yvonne." Who is Mark going to see in Washington?And those weird phone calls from Germany, Denver, and New York. Kelly took the elevator to the lobby.I'm going to call Diana and see what she finds.Maybe-- Just as Kelly arrived at the front door of the mansion, she saw them. They were two strong men, one guarding one side of the door.They looked at her, then grinned at each other.As far as Kelly knew, there were no other exits nearby.Did Yvonne betray me? The two men started walking towards Kelly, pushing roughly through the incoming and outgoing crowd. Kelly looked anxiously from side to side, with his back pressed against the wall.Her arm hit something solid.She looked intently, and when the two approached, Kelly grabbed the small ax hanging from the fire alarm on the wall, smashed the glass, and the fire alarm immediately rang through the entire building. Kelly yelled, "Fire! Fire!" There was a panic.Crowds poured out of offices, shops and restaurants and rushed towards the security gates. For a few seconds, the hall was jammed, and everyone struggled to get out.The two managed to find Kelly in the crowd.When they finally made it to where they last saw her, Kelly had disappeared. The Rockendorf Hotel was getting crowded. "I was expecting a friend," Diane explained to Greg Holliday, the handsome man she had invited to the table. "It looks like she won't be coming." "Too bad. Are you visiting Berlin?" "yes." "It's a beautiful city. I'm happily married, otherwise I'd be your escort. But there are some very good sights in Berlin that I can recommend to you." "Great," said Diana absently.She glanced toward the entrance.The two men were walking out the gate.They'll be waiting for her outside.It's time for her to act. "Actually," said Diana, "I'm here with a group." She looked at her watch. "They're waiting for me. If you don't mind going out with me to find a cab—" "Very happy to." After a few minutes, they headed for the exit. Diana felt a great relief.Those two men might attack her when she was alone, but she thought that with a man around, they wouldn't attack.It's so eye-catching. By the time Diana and Greg Holliday walked outside, the two had disappeared.There is a taxi in front of the hotel and a Mercedes parked behind it. Diana said, "It's great meeting you, Mr. Holliday. I hope—" Holliday smiled, and took her arm, gripping it so tightly that Diana felt a sharp pain. She looked at him, taken aback. "what--?" "Why don't we get in the car?" he said softly.Drag Diana to the Mercedes.His hands clenched tighter. "No, I don't want to—" When they got to the car, Diana saw the two guys from the hotel already sitting in the front seat.Horrified, Diana suddenly understood how she had been tricked, and she was filled with overwhelming fear. "Please," she said, "no. I—" She felt herself being pushed into the car. Greg Holliday got in the car, sat down beside Diana, and closed the door. "Schnell!" (German: "Quick!") As the car pulled into heavy traffic, Diana found herself becoming more and more hysterical. "Please--" Greg Holliday turned to her, smiling softly. "You can rest easy. I won't hurt you. I promise, tomorrow at the latest, you can start your journey home." He reached into a cloth pouch behind the driver's seat and pulled out a needle. "I'll give you a shot. It's completely harmless. Let you sleep for an hour or two." He reached out and grabbed Diana's wrist. "Scheisse!" (German: "Shit!") the driver yelled.A pedestrian suddenly jumped in front of the Mercedes, and the driver slammed on the brakes to avoid hitting him.Unsuspecting, Holliday slammed his head on the metal frame of the driver's headrest. Dizzy, he tried to sit upright.Yelling at the driver: "What the hell—" Involuntarily, Diana grabbed Holliday's hand that held the needle, twisted his wrist, and inserted the needle into his muscle. Holliday turned to her in astonishment. "No!" a scream. Diana watched as Holliday's body went into spasms, then froze, and finally collapsed, as her horror grew.He died within seconds. The two people in the front row looked back to see what happened.Diana was out the door, and a few seconds later she was in a taxi, speeding off in the opposite direction.