Chapter 36 - Finding Celia

Oide Wies'n

 How disgraceful, April 19 was when I posted my last chapter! And I left poor Celia all that time locked up with the bad guys ... I can't imagine she'll ever forgive me. I hope to post again before 10 November.

The story so far ... Celia meets up with Jeremy Fisk at the Oktoberfest and shows him the material she and Franz have collected concerning Ned's investigations into the British government's involvement in arms smuggling to Croatia during the independence war in '94-95. Jeremy tells her he has somebody who will publish her claims and they arrange to go to meet him. As Celia stands up she feels very dizzy and confused and Jeremy is able to take her with no resistance to a small storeroom where they are joined by Morpheus Herman. But what is Jeremy's connection with Morpheus?

Chapter 36 – Finding Celia

It was Max who guessed that Celia had gone to the Oktoberfest.

‘I saw her from the window heading towards the underground,’ he said. ‘She had a dirndl on. Where else would she be going?’

‘It seems an odd place for a meeting,’ said Franz. ‘So many people and so noisy.’

‘Yes, and that makes it difficult for anyone to find her. Phone her immediately! Maybe they haven’t met up yet and we’ve got time to warn her,’ said Tante Ilse.

Franz rang, but Celia ignored his call and by the time Max tried with his phone she’d turned hers off completely.

‘Call the police,’ said Timothy. ‘It’s our only chance.’

They weren’t particularly helpful. With the Oktoberfest on and a football match scheduled for that evening their resources were overstretched and Franz was hampered by not being to explain properly why Celia should not be meeting Jeremy.

‘They just think I’m a jealous husband whose wife’s having an affair. I’m going down there to look for her myself. You lot wait here and warn her if she calls back.’

Max insisted on going too, so they left Timothy in one flat and Tante Ilse went back to hers.

‘Bring Celia back safely,’ she said to Franz, gripping his arm as he bent to kiss her goodbye. ‘I love her so much!’

Franz nodded, his eyes suddenly stinging, and left.

*****************************************************

‘If you could see the look on your face!’ said Jeremy. ‘Priceless!’ He drew up a chair the other side of the desk from Celia while Morpheus remained standing behind him.

‘What’s … what’s going on? Why is he here?’ asked Celia. The smelling salts Jeremy had given her had helped to clear her head, partially at least.

‘Ah, Morpheus is a good friend of mine. We’ve been working together on and off for many years. First of all with the Colonel and then - when he started getting all idealistic about how he wanted to fund his adventures in politics - without him!’

‘But Ned …’

‘Ah, dear old Ned. He was much too interested in the arms deals that I was organizing for the Colonel during the war.”
“That was you?” asked Celia. “Not … not Timothy Arnold?”

Jeremy laughed. “What? That fussy old woman? No, no, it was me. And your brother was starting to be a real nuisance with his questions. Very unpatriotic of him. I had the unofficial blessing of the British government itself! Or at least the Department for British Export Development.’

‘Did you kill Ned?’

‘No, but we might have had to if it hadn’t been for that Croatian tank shell landing in the right place at the right time. Just extremely good luck – for me at any rate!’

‘But …but why did you believe me when I said I’d seen him?’

Jeremy shrugged his shoulders. ‘Best way to know what you were up to. And there was always the remote possibility that you were right. There were just bits and pieces of body in the building after the shell hit it. I could see you weren’t going to give up looking for him and if we kept an eye on you then maybe you’d lead us to Ned. But that’s not going to happen now.’

‘What do you want though? What are you trying to achieve? I don’t understand.’

Jeremy waved the bundle of material Celia had brought with her.

‘Well, first of all this stuff. I have no intention of being prosecuted for helping the British government break UN embargoes. And then secondly, Morpheus here is very unhappy at the damage you and your husband have caused to his business operations.’

‘The prostitution rings?’

‘Exactly. Though you don’t need to sound so judgemental. Very bourgeois of you.  By destroying his relationship with the Colonel you’ve lost him his friend and protector, the only one he had left after his family was wiped out. And as perhaps you’ve heard, Morpheus believes in revenge.’

‘Have you poisoned me, is that why I feel so ill?’ said Celia, her voice shaking.

‘No poison, just a little drug in your beer to make you cooperative. A pity, if you’d only just given everything to that sleazy boyfriend of yours, Tomislav Lederer, none of this would have been necessary.’

Celia felt dizzy again, and again Jeremy put the small bottle under her nose.

‘You know about Tomi?’ she asked finally.

‘Of course! Tomi approached Morpheus a short time ago, wanting to sell him Ivana’s information which he believed he could get from you, thanks to those most artistic photographs that he took of you two. Morpheus told me and we hatched this little blackmail plan for Tomi to try to get hold of everything without anybody getting hurt. But then you spoilt it by being all noble and refusing to hand it over. Very foolish of you! It’s going to lead to two deaths.’

‘Deaths?’

‘Morpheus will explain. It was his idea.’

‘One is already happen,’ said Morpheus. ‘Sometime soon police find Lederer’s body near Ostbahnhof . With nice photos. Two will be you, also with nice photos. Look like you murder him, then suicide with same gun.”

“The shame you see, Celia. You couldn’t live with yourself,” added Jeremy.

“But … but the police will know you’re involved. I told Franz I was meeting you!”
“And I shall tell them all about it! You rang and said you had a story from my good old friend Ned about UN embargo busting. Because I’m so good-hearted, I agreed to try and help Ned’s poor little sister.  I came to see you, found you had nothing and left again, very annoyed at how you had wasted my time.”

He looked at his watch. “Speaking of which, Morpheus, I need to leave now if I’m going to get my plane. Give me about an hour’s start before you kill her, there’s a good chap,” he turned back to Celia. “Perhaps I’ll hear about this on the news tomorrow night back in London, eh?”

He got up from the chair and patted Morpheus on the back. “I’ll be in touch again soon. I think we can use this material against our good friend the Colonel in due course.”  He opened the door and looked at Celia again. “Sorry about this Celia. It’s nothing personal with me, just business. Morpheus on the other hand … I think it’s very personal!” Then he left.

Morpheus pulled out a gun from his pocket and sat down in Jeremy’s chair. His Grand Inquisitor’s face had developed dark rings under the eyes since the last time she’d seen him and they made him look pitiless. Celia shrank back in the chair behind the desk, her heart beating faster than she’d have thought possible, tears starting to trickle down her face.

“Maybe you pray. We have time. Nobody come here until much later. Pray!”

Celia fell to her knees and put her elbows on the desk and started to pray like never before. At first just random words, but then she began to whisper all the prayers she could remember one after another, over and over again, like a chant. The repetition gradually calmed her down and she started to think. She had to try to make a connection to her captor.

“I know what happened in the war to your parents and your wife,” she said eventually, her hands still clasped in front of her and her elbows on the edge of the desk. “It was very terrible!”

Morpheus said nothing. He kept his eyes down and the gun steadily pointing at her. After a moment, Celia carried on.

“What kept you going? How did you manage to survive that?” At first she didn’t think he’d respond, but then he spoke.

“Anger. Hate. Revenge. Very powerful emotions. Makes many things possible,” he said.

Celia was silent, thinking what to say next.

“But … but those emotions eat you up inside if you can never let go of them,” she said. “They can make you ill, give … give you cancer …

As she spoke she saw his eyes flicker up to her face with a look of surprise in them. Then she realized.

“Oh …it’s happened to you, hasn’t it? You have a cancer, don’t you?”  she asked. Again there was a moment’s silence.

“That’s what doctor say.”

“So it’s serious then?”

Morpheus nodded. “Nothing can be done anymore, but …” he shrugged his shoulders. “… we all die some time.”

“How much time do the doctors say you have?”

“Longer than you. I think you should …”

Celia never heard what he thought because at that moment something crashed against the wall of the store room and she heard the sound of German voices arguing outside.

“Ich hab’ doch gesagt, wir müssen die …”

Surprised, Morpheus half-turned in his chair to see what was happening behind him. Celia seized the chance and with all her strength tipped the desk up and over so it toppled onto Morpheus and knocked the gun out of his hand. She leapt for the door, wrenched it open and was outside and running before he could stop her.

Chapter 35 - "Meeting at the Oktoberfest" audio file now available!

You can listen to what happens when Celia goes to the Oktoberfest if you click here!

Chapter 35 – Meeting at the Oktoberfest

 I've always had mixed feelings about the Oktoberfest. Travelling around Munich during the season can be horrible, with too many drunks, too much noise and the constant necessity to step around piles of vomit.
Yet when you're actually there it's very hard to resist the atmosphere. There are so many people having fun and this is infectious. 
In these last chapters I want to try to convey these mixed feelings I have and I also think the Oktoberfest can provide an exciting setting for the finale. I hope you agree!

The story so far ... Franz had an unexpected visit from Timothy Arnold, looking for Celia. He's heard that she plans to give the information she's collected about the arms smuggling tolerated by the British government into Croatia during the civil war in the 90's. He warns Franz that under no circumstances should she give this material to Jeremy Fisk, the very person she has just gone to meet.

Chapter 35 – Meeting at the Oktoberfest

The late September sun was shining out of a blue sky as Celia hurried through the crowds towards the entrance of the Oktoberfest and her meeting with Jeremy. Although it was only midday it was already busy and she couldn’t go as quickly as she wanted.

‘Don’t stand out,’ Jeremy had warned her. ‘Make sure you’re not followed. Dress and move inconspicuously.’

Celia forced herself to slow down and by the time she reached their agreed meeting point outside the Löwenbrau tent she was calm again.

‘You can’t miss it,’ she’d explained to him. ‘There’s an enormous model of a lion above the entrance, holding a mug of beer which moves up and down. And the lion roars from time to time.’

 Jeremy wasn’t there yet, so Celia stood slightly to one side and waited for him, sniffing the Oktoberfest scents in the air. The smell of sugared almonds being roasted dominated, with the occasional whiff of charcoaled fish providing a contrast. From time to time she caught a touch of cinnamon from the large spicy biscuits, decorated with kitsch sentiments written in faux Bavarian that hung around many people’s necks, while underlying everything was the stale, sour reek of beer, spilt over the previous days. There were groups of middle-aged, camera-clicking Japanese and American tourists being led around while the atmosphere was still relatively sober and their anxious guides had a reasonable chance of getting them something to eat and drink and out again before losing somebody. That was nearly impossible to do in the evening when the atmosphere became rowdier.

Somebody tapped her on the shoulder making her jump. It was Jeremy.

‘Sorry,’ he said. ‘I didn’t mean to frighten you. I’ve got us a table inside the tent. We might as well make ourselves comfortable and have something to eat and drink, don’t you think?’

He was much more relaxed than he’d been on the phone the previous evening and insisted that Celia drink with him although she didn’t much feel like anything.

‘We need to look very ordinary,’ he said after he’d also ordered food for them. ‘My contact has agreed to meet us here if I say it’s worth his while. Now, have some of this delicious beer … that’s it … cheers! And tell me again about everything you’ve found.’

Celia went over it once more, adding the information about Tomi’s visit, but leaving out his blackmail attempt and her subsequent row with Franz.

‘So, you just told him that you hadn’t received anything from Ivana, is that right?’

‘Yes. He was suspicious, but there was nothing he could do to prove we had got something.’

‘Very good. Now, Celia, my contact will ensure worldwide publicity for this story, but in return he wants exclusivity. Where is all the material? In your bag there?’

‘Yes,’ said Celia. ‘Everything’s here, including our print outs, Ivana’s memory disk and Bernard’s CD.’

She showed him a couple of the photos including the incriminating address and the fake inventory lists for school equipment signed by the Colonel.

She’d just finished putting everything back when her mobile phone rang. She looked at the display, it was Franz. Well, he could wait. She turned it off completely. That would teach him.

‘I see. Did you make any copies to your computers?’ asked Jeremy. ‘I’m sorry to be a bore about this but my contact is insisting on absolute exclusivity for this story. He told me that if I had even the slightest concerns that you’d kept some of the material, then he wasn’t interested. I have to protect my reputation, you see.’

‘This is really everything. We decided not to risk making copies. The CD and the disk were easy to hide but the computer wasn’t. I told you our flat was already broken into once.’

‘Smart thinking. I can see you’ve got a talent for this kind of thing. Now, I’m just going outside the tent for moment to make a phone call. I think we should go ahead, but let’s see if my contact agrees. Excuse me a moment…’

He got up, leaving Celia alone at the table. The tent’s brass band began playing the first set of the day and as she listened to the sentimental trashy music she felt the Oktoberfest charm start its work. The place was noisy, vulgar, over priced and full of drunks but somehow she nearly always enjoyed going there. She began to relax and drank some more.

Jeremy reappeared, carrying a giant pretzel for them both.

‘It’s on!’ he yelled at her above the brass band. ‘He said he needs about an hour to get here, which gives us time to enjoy ourselves a bit. I think we should drink a toast. To Ned and his sister: the two best journalists I’ve ever worked with!’

Their food arrived shortly afterwards. Jeremy asked if Celia would fetch him some mustard and then attacked his pork knuckle while keeping up a flow of conversation and joining in enthusiastically with the frequent toasting required by the brass band. Celia felt relaxed for the first time in a long while. It was good to be freed from the burden of knowing what to do about Ned and Ivana’s material. Somebody else’s problem. She had enough other ones still to deal with, it would be nice to be able to go to sleep and wake up with them all solved.

‘Are you alright, Celia?’ Jeremy’s voice penetrated her thoughts. ‘You look very sleepy suddenly.’

Celia shook herself.

‘Sorry, I don’t think I’d better drink any more beer. It makes me tired. Where will we meet this person? We can’t talk here!’

Jeremy looked at his phone.

‘He’s just sent me a message. He’s arranged somewhere quiet for us nearby. Come on!’

As Celia stood up she felt the ground beneath her feet tilt and would have fallen if Jeremy hadn’t caught her elbow. He grinned.

‘Powerful stuff that beer, eh? Never mind, let me help…’ and he steered her out of the tent into the crowds.

‘Don’t understand … didn’t drink much,’ she mumbled, swaying from side-to-side. She saw people looking at her and a group of teenage girls began giggling.

‘Come along my dear. This way …’ Jeremy put his arm around her waist and half carried her along with him. Celia tried to work out what was happening but it was as if her brain had filled with treacle and she couldn’t string two thoughts together, while around her the world span out of control.

A door appeared in front of them. Jeremy opened it and pulled her inside, then sat her on a chair in front of a desk. Celia looked blearily round the tiny room, lined with files. She knew she was still at the Oktoberfest because outside she could hear the noise of the funfair and screams from people on the different rides. This must be some sort of office belonging to one of the tents. The desk suddenly rose up and hit her in the face.

‘Here, sniff this!’ ordered Jeremy, thrusting a small bottle under her nose. The liquid inside had a sharp, smell that stung her nose but cleared her head and allowed her to sit up again and stay upright if she held onto the arms of the chair.

‘What … what’s happening? I think I’m ill. You’ve got to take me to the doctor,’ she said, trying to stand up. Jeremy pushed her back into her seat.

‘You don’t want to go anywhere, Celia. And anyway, you’re supposed to be meeting my contact aren’t you?’ There was a knock at the door.

‘Ah, that must be him now. Please don’t feel you have to get up!’

He opened the door and Morfeus Herman walked into the room.

Audio file Chapter 34 - False friends

... is now available here. I hope you like it!

Chapter 34 - False friends

False friends

After all the excitement of 'Chapter 33 - Blackmail' and Tomi Lederer turning out to be such a villain I got a bit stuck with this chapter. 
One problem was I found it very difficult to know how much to include of the inevitable argument that ensued after Franz told Celia he wants a divorce because of her fling with Tomi. A row in these circumstances is inevitable but just not very interesting to write about, so I tinkered around for ages trying to imagine how both parties would react and behave. 
I think Celia is essentially a very pragmatic person. For her, sleeping with Tomi was just something she wanted to do at the time because she liked him, they had the opportunity and she was fed up with being ignored by Franz. It had a physical, but no emotional significance.
Franz is however tortured by the thought of the physical side, in particular because he knows that he bears some of the responsibility for it due to his treatment of Celia, prior to the trip to Venice (Chapter 21 - Death on the Rialto). 
My theory is that the physical side is a much bigger deal for men than women. Men aren't so bothered with the idea of their partner  loving somebody else, as long as the other person doesn't sleep with their partner. Women don't like their partner sleeping with somebody else either, but as long as they feel they are the only one that is truly loved they are able to deal with it better.
Not that I have the courage to test this idea any time soon.
The story so far: Tomi Lederer has attempted to blackmail Celia into giving him the information sent to her by Ivana Kaiec concerning arms smuggling into Croatia during the Yugoslavian civil war. Celia refuses and in revenge Tomi tells Franz of the night they spent together in a hotel. Franz throws Tomi out of their flat and at Celia's request doesn't look at a blackmail photo that Tomi dropped. However, he then tells her he wants a divorce ... 
Chapter 34 – False friends can be found on the right under 'Good Stuff'.

'Speak Up!' - short story

Nothing to add to Celia's adventures this weekend, I'm afraid. But if you click here, you can read and listen to another short story I wrote recently. I hope you enjoy it!

Audio recording of Chapter 33 - Blackmail

Tom Hanks

I decided I had to change the name of Chapter 33 from 'Love Rat' to 'Blackmail'. It seems more appropriate. You can download the audio file here.

It's a strange experience doing these recordings. I really like producing them and oddly enough it's the villains, such as Tomi, that are the most fun. I think that if I was an actor I'd probably enjoy doing bad guy parts most, unlike Tom Hanks who has never played a villain. It's a shame, he'd do it so well. 
Funnily enough, when I spoke Tomi's lines, I had Hanks's voice in my head. I wonder why? Perhaps when this project is made into a film I can persuade him to play the part of Tomi. Does anybody out there have his agent's number?