Chapter 18 Chapter Sixteen

That night at Dulles Airport, Dana boarded a Lufthansa jet bound for Dusseldorf.She had called Stefan Müller, who worked at the cable station, to tell him she was on her way.Dana's mind was full of what Matt Baker had told her.If Dieter Zander blames Taylor Winthrop— "Good evening. My name is Hermann Friedrich. Is this your first trip to Germany?" Dana turned to look at her companion sitting next to her.He was in his fifties, slender, with a perfect mustache and an eye patch. "Good evening," Dana said. "Oh, are you American?" "yes." "A lot of Americans go to Düsseldorf. It's a beautiful city."

"That's what I heard." And his whole family died in a fire. "Is this your first trip?" "Yes." Could it be a coincidence? "It's beautiful, beautiful. Düsseldorf is divided in two by the Rhine, you know. The old town is on the right bank—" Stefan Müller can tell me more about Dieter Zander. "—The new town is on the left bank. Five bridges connect the two banks." Hermann Friedrich moved closer to Dana. "Maybe you are visiting friends in Düsseldorf?" Things are starting to snap together. Friedrich moved closer. "If you're alone, I know a—"

"What? Oh no, I'm going there to see my husband." Hermann Friedrich's smile faded. "Well. He's a happy man." A row of taxis parked in front of Dusseldorf International Airport.Dana took a bus to the Breidenbach Hotel in the city center.This is an elegant old fashioned hotel with rich decorations in the lobby. The clerk behind the desk said, "We're waiting for you, Miss Evans. Welcome to Dusseldorf." "Thank you." Dana signed the register. The clerk picked up the phone and spoke to the inside. "She's going to use the room soon. Hurry up." He put down the microphone and turned to Dana: "Sorry, miss, your room is not quite ready yet. As our guest, please have something to eat, once the maid cleans up When it's done, I'll let you know right away."

Dana nodded: "Very good." "Let me take you to the dining room, please." Upstairs in Dana's room, two electronics specialists were placing video cameras into a wall clock. Thirty minutes later Dana was unpacking in her room.Her first call was to a cable TV station. "I'm here, Stefan," Dana said. "Dana! I can't believe you're actually here. How about your dinner?" "I want to eat with you." "Shall we go to Philadelphia, eight o'clock?" "Great." Dana was getting dressed and was about to go out when her cell phone rang.She quickly took it out of her bag.

"Hey?" "Hi honey, how are you?" "I'm fine, Jeff." "Where are you?" "I'm in Germany, Düsseldorf. I feel like I've finally found something." "Dana, be careful. Gosh, I wish I was with you." Me too, Dana thought. "How's Rachel?" "The chemotherapy drained her energy. It was very painful." "Will she—?" She broke off. "It's too early to tell. If the chemotherapy is effective, there is a good chance that she will go into remission." "Jeff, please tell her I'm sorry."

"I will. Is there anything I can do for you?" "thank you, I'm fine." "I'll call you tomorrow. I just want to tell you I love you, sweetheart." "I love you, Jeff. Goodbye." "goodbye." Rachel came out of her bedroom.She was wearing a long robe and slippers, and a Turkish towel was wrapped around her head. "How is Dana?" "She's fine, Rachel. She asked me to tell you she's upset." "She loves you very much." "I love her very much." Rachel moved closer to him. "You and I were once in love, weren't you, Jeff? What happened?"

He shrugged. "Life. Or should I say different life. We live different lives." "I'm too busy with my modeling career," she said, fighting back tears. "Oh, I can't do that again, can I?" He put his arms around her shoulders. "Rachel, you'll be fine. Chemo will definitely help." "I know, honey. Thank you for being here with me. I couldn't face it alone. I don't know what I would do without you." Jeff was speechless. Sea Philly is an elegant eatery in the trendy district of Düsseldorf.Stefan Müller walks in and grins at Dana.

"Dana! My God. I haven't seen you since Sarajevo." "Seems like forever, doesn't it?" "What are you doing here? Are you here for the holidays?" "No. I was invited to visit a friend of his, Stefan." A waiter came to the table and they ordered drinks. "Who is that friend?" "His name is Dieter Zander. Have you heard of him?" Stefan Müller nodded: "Everyone's heard of him. He's somebody. He's in a big scandal. He's a billionaire, but he's stupid enough to scam shareholders and end up in jail .He should have been sentenced to 20 years, but he used some connections and they let him out after three years. He claimed his innocence."

Dana looked at him: "Really?" "Who knew? At the trial he said Taylor Winsrop framed him and stole millions of dollars. It was an interesting trial. According to Dieter Zander, Taylor Winsrop Winthrop made him a partner in a supposedly multibillion-dollar zinc mine. Winthrop used Zander as a cover to get Zander to sell millions of dollars worth of stock. But it turned out the mine was fake. " "Pretended?" "There's no zinc there. Winthrop makes a fortune, Zander suffers a crushing fate." "The jury didn't believe Xander's story?"

"If he was accusing anyone other than Winthrop, they would probably believe it. But Winthrop is like a demigod." Stefan stared at her curiously. Where are you interested?" Dana said evasively, "I just said that a friend asked me to come and see Xander." Time to order. The food was delicious and tasty.After eating, Dana said, "I'm going to hate myself tomorrow morning. But it's worth every bite here." After taking Dana back to the hotel, Stefan said: "Did you know that the teddy bear was invented by a woman here named Margaret Steiff? This cute little animal is popular all over the world." welcome."

Dana listened, wondering what he was going to say. "There are real bears here in Germany, Dana, and they're very dangerous. You have to be careful when you meet Dieter Zander. He looks like a teddy bear, but he's not. He's a real bear." Zander Electronics International occupies a sprawling building on the industrial outskirts of Düsseldorf.Dana walked to one of the three receptionists in the busy lobby. "I want to see Mr. Zander." "Do you have an appointment?" "Yes. I'm Dana Evans." "Please wait a moment." The receptionist said a few words into the phone, then looked up at Dana. "Miss, when did you make an appointment?" "A few days ago." Dana lied. "I'm very sorry. His secretary has no record." She said a few more words into the phone, and then put the receiver back: "It is impossible to see Mr. Xander without an appointment." The receptionist turned to a messenger at the desk.A group of employees walked in the door.Dana leaves the desk and joins them in the middle.They go into the elevator. As it started to rise, Dana said, "Oh my God, I forgot which floor Mr. Zander was on." "Fourth floor," said a woman. "Thank you," Dana said.She got off the elevator on the fourth floor and walked towards the desk where a young woman sat in the back: "I'm here to see Dieter Zander. I'm Dana Evans." The woman frowned: "But you don't have an appointment, miss." Dana leaned over and said quietly, "You tell Mr. Zander that if he refuses to talk to me, I'm going to broadcast a national TV show about him and his family, so it's in his interest to talk to me now." .” The secretary watched her carefully.Confused: "Just a second, please." Dana watched as she got up, opened a door marked private, and walked in. Dana looked around the reception room.Above are framed photographs of various Zander Electronics factories around the world.The company's market is in the United States, France, Italy and other countries...the countries where the Winthrop murder happened. A minute later the secretary came out. "Mr. Zander wants to see you," she said disapprovingly. "But he's only got a few minutes. This is the most—the most special." "Thank you," Dana said. Dana was ushered into a spacious, wood-floored office. "This is Miss Evans." Dieter Zand sat behind a huge desk.He was a fat man in his sixties, with a kind face and mild brown eyes.Dana remembered Stefan's story about the teddy bear. He stared at Dana and said, "I recognize you. You're the reporter from Sarajevo." "yes." "I don't know what you want to ask me. You mentioned my family to the secretary." "Can I sit down?" "Please." "I wanted to talk to you about Taylor Winthrop." Xander's expression became serious: "What about him?" "I am conducting an investigation, Mr. Zander. I believe Taylor Winthrop and his family were murdered." Dieter Zander's eyes became cold: "I think you'd better leave right away, Miss." "You did business with him," Dana said, "and—" "leave!" "Mr. Zander, I suggest you discuss it privately with me rather than watching it on TV with your friends. I want to be fair. I want to hear your side of the story." Dieter Zander was silent for a long time.There was a deep bitterness in his words as he spoke: "Taylor Winthrop is smart. Oh, he's smart, very smart. He set me up. When I was in prison, miss , my wife and children are dead. If I had been at home... I could have rescued them." His words contained grief and indignation. "It's true that I hated that man. But murdering Tyler Winthrop? No." He smiled like a teddy bear. "Goodbye, Miss Evans." Dana calls Matt Baker: "Matt, I'm in Düsseldorf. You're right. I may have found a profitable deposit. Dieter Zander was with Tyler Winslow Zander had a business partnership. He claims Winthrop framed him and put him in jail. While he was in prison, Zander's wife and children died in a fire." There was a stunned silence over there: "Did they die in a fire?" "That's right," Dana said. "Same death as Taylor and Madeleine." "Yes. You should have seen Xander's eyes when I mentioned murder." "It all fits, doesn't it? Xander had a motive to get rid of the Winthrops. You've been right about these murders. I—I can't believe it." "Sounds pretty sure, Matt, but no proof yet. I've got two more stops to go. I'm leaving for Rome in the morning." "take care." "Ok, deal." At FRA headquarters, three men stare at a giant TV screen on the wall as Dana is on the phone in her hotel room. "I have two more stops to go," she said. "I'm going home in a few days...I'm leaving for Rome tomorrow morning." The men watched as Dana put the phone down, got up and walked into the bathroom.The screen cuts to a hidden peephole camera in the bathroom medicine cabinet.Dana began to undress.She takes off her shirt and bra. "Dude, look at those tits!" "Spectacular." "Wait. She's taking off her skirt and drawers." "Honey, look at that ass. I'd love to touch it." They watched intently as Dana walked into the shower and closed the door.Steam began to curl from the door. One of the men sighed. "That's it for now. Movie at eleven." Chemotherapy was a disaster for Rachel.Doxorubicin and taxochemicals are injected into a vein from a bag, and the process takes four hours. "It's going to be a very difficult time for her," Dr. Yang told Jeff. "She's going to be sick and exhausted, and she's going to suffer from hair loss. It can be the most devastating thing for a woman. It's a side effect." "yes." Jeff said to Rachel the next afternoon, "Get dressed. Let's go for a drive." "Jeff, I really don't want to—" "Don't argue." Thirty minutes later, they were at a wig shop, and Rachel was trying on various wigs and said to Jeff with a smile, "They're beautiful. Do you like them long or short?" "I like both," Jeff said, "and if you get bored of them, we can come back and make you a brunette or a redhead." His voice softened: "As far as I'm concerned , I like the way you are now." Rachel's eyes filled with tears. "I like you the way you are."