Mystery of the Amber Room

Chapter 11

Nina had finished packing while Sam had been taking one last shower. They were due at the airstrip in an hour, bound for Edinburgh.

“You done yet, Sam?” Nina asked loudly outside the bathroom.

“Aye, just giving me ass one more foaming. Be right out!” he answered.

Nina laughed and shook her head. Her phone rang in her purse. Without looking at the screen, she answered.

“Hello.”

“Hello, uh, Dr. Gould?” the man on the phone asked.

“This is she. Who am I speaking with?” she frowned. She was being addressed by her title, which meant that it was business or some insurance salesman.

“My name is Detlef,” the man with the heavy German accent introduced himself. “Your number was given to me by one of Mr. David Purdue's assistants. I am actually trying to get hold of him.”

“So why did she not give you his number?” Nina inquired impatiently.

“Because she has no idea where he is, Dr. Gould,” he replied in a gentle, almost timid manner. “She told me you might know?”

Nina was stumped. That made no sense. Purdue was never off the radar to his assistant. His other employees, perhaps, but never his assistant. It was pivotal, especially with his impulsive and adventurous nature, that one of his people always knew where he was going, in case something went wrong.

“Listen, Det-Detlef? Right?” Nina asked.

“Yes, ma’am,” he said.

“Give me a few minutes to locate him and I’ll call you right back, alright? Give me your number, please.”

Nina did not trust the caller. Purdue would not just vanish like that, so she reckoned it was a shady businessman trying to get Purdue's personal number by bullshitting her. He gave her his number and she hung up. When she called Purdue's mansion, his assistant answered.

“Oh, hi Nina,” the woman greeted her when she heard the familiar voice of the pretty historian Purdue always kept company with.

“Listen, did a stranger just call you to speak to Dave?” Nina asked. The answer caught her completely by surprise.

“Aye, he called a few minutes ago, asking for Mr. Purdue. But truth be told, I have not heard from him today. Maybe he was gone for the weekend?” she speculated.

“He did not check in with you about going somewhere?” Nina pushed. It worried her.

“The last I had him in Las Vegas for some time off, but he was going to travel to Copenhagen on Wednesday. There was a posh hotel he wanted to visit, but that's all I know,” she reported. “Should we be worried?”

Nina sighed hard. “I don’t want to start a panic, but just to be sure, you know?”

“Aye.”

“Was he traveling with his own jet?” Nina wanted to know. It would give her a place to start looking. On affirmation from the assistant, Nina thanked her and ended the call to try Purdue's cell phone. Nothing. She rushed to the bathroom door and stormed in, catching Sam just wrapping his towel around his waist.

“Hey! If you wanted to play, you should have said so before I got all cleaned up,” he grinned.

Ignoring his jest, Nina rambled, “I think Purdue might be in trouble. I'm not sure if it is Hangover 2 kind of trouble or real trouble, but something is off.”

“How so?” Sam asked, following her into the room to get dressed. She filled him in on the mysterious caller and the fact that Purdue’s assistant have not heard from him.

“I suppose you have tried his cell?” Sam suggested.

“He never switches off his phone. You know he has that funny voicemail taking messages with the physics jokes or he answers, but it is never just dead, right?” she said. “There was nothing when I called him.”

“That is very strange,” he agreed. “But let’s just get back home first and then we can snoop around. This hotel he went to in Norway…”

“Denmark,” she corrected him.

“Whatever. Maybe he is just really enjoying himself. It is the man's first ‘normal people' kind of holiday in — well, forever- you know, the kind where he does not have people trying to kill him and such,” he shrugged.

“Something doesn't seem right. I am just going to call his pilot and get to the bottom of this,” she announced.

“Fine. But we can't be late for our own flight, so get your stuff and let's go,” he said, tapping her on the shoulder.

Nina had forgotten about the man who had pointed her to Purdue's disappearance in the first place over trying to think where her former lover could be. Boarding the plane, they both switched off their phones.

When Detlef tried to contact Nina again, he was met with another dead end, leaving him infuriated, immediately thinking that he was being played. If Purdue's female associate wanted to protect him by eluding the widower of the woman Purdue killed, Detlef figured, he would have to resort to what he had been trying to avoid.

From somewhere in Gabi's little office, he heard a hissing sound. At first, Detlef ignored it as an outside noise, but soon after it turned into static crackling. The widower listened to locate the origin of the sound. It sounded like someone hopping through channels on a radio and occasionally a scratchy voice would come through in unintelligible muttering, but no music. Detlef moved quietly toward the spot where the white noise was growing louder.

Finally, he looked down to the air vent just above the floor of the room. It was half concealed by the drapes, but there was no doubt that this was where the sound was coming from. Feeling the need to uncover the mystery, Detlef went to get his toolbox.