The building on Kaiserstrasse was one of the newer ones that included a telephone system much like I had seen in London, with a half-dozen call tubes.
She made a call with one of those tubes, relayed a message to the party on the other end in rapid-fire German.
“Your names?”
“Lady Forsythe and Mr. Brodie,” he informed her, which did raise one rather bushy eyebrow on the woman.
She repeated our names, then closed the call. Within a matter of moments there was a buzzing sound at her desk. She answered the call.
There was a brief exchange in German, then she put down the handset.
“An attendant will escort you to Herr Wagner’s office. You will wait here.”
We waited.
Within only a few moments, a young man appeared, fresh-faced with blonde hair, brown eyes, and a polite smile.
“If you will follow me, please.”
We followed.
There was a lift at the end of the entry hall. We stepped inside the cage and the attendant closed the gate, then engaged the lift that rose to the second floor. He stepped out, bowed, then indicated that we were to follow him.
Herr Wagner greeted us as he stepped out of his private office. The young man bowed again, then promptly disappeared.
Greetings were exchanged.
He was a pleasant-looking man, about the same age as Sir Laughton, with a steady blue gaze that I suspected missed nothing, and a congenial but speculative smile.
“I have been expecting you. Safe travel from Brussels?”
Brodie assured him that we had.
“What is it that I may assist with? My good friend, Sir Laughton, said only that it was of utmost importance that I make myself available upon your arrival in a matter that is most urgent.”
I complimented him on his almost perfect English with only a hint of an accent. The courteous expression turned to a bemused smile.
“Sir Laughton and I studied at university in London together, and then we both apprenticed to Sir Henry Asquith. After a four-year apprenticeship where I obtained a broad experience in the English legal system, I returned to Frankfurt and apprenticed here for two more years before establishing my own practice.
“There is much to be said about the bond of friendship,” he continued. “We have since shared cases, my friend in London, and myself here where I can be of help to him, at times when others will not.
“I cannot share the details of these things with you, but perhaps he will tell you as much as he can when you return.” He looked from Brodie to me. “How may I help you?”
Brodie watched him as he began to explain the case beginning with Sir Collingwood’s murder.
“There has been a serious situation. The Lord of the Admiralty, Sir Collingwood, has been killed and important documents are now missing. It is thought that they were stolen. We have some information in the matter that we are following. We need your assistance in this.”
He then mentioned the names of the two men we know were involved—Szábo and Bruhl.
Herr Wagner sat back in his desk chair and studied both of us for several moments.
“I understand that you were a detective with the Metropolitan Police in London. You have undoubtedly encountered different criminal elements. It is no different here. There are the usual crimes found in any large city—assault, robbery, petty thievery among street vendors, young men making mischief, that sort of thing…”
We did not know how much Sir Laughton had revealed of the information my great-aunt had provided. She knew almost nothing about the case.
I did understand that it was important to be as discreet as possible about the reason we were there. On the ride from the rail station, Brodie and I had discussed just how much information we needed to provide Herr Wagner for such a delicate matter as the theft of highly secret information.
“It is a bit more than petty thievery, sir,” Brodie now replied. “We are here on behalf of the Crown. And in view of the close relations between our countries, most particularly on behalf of Her Majesty the Queen, we have been sent to set aright a certain matter.”
