Amber

Chapter 14

With Leopov behind the wheel of their SUV, navigating the streets of Kaliningrad became much more efficient. Maddock rode shotgun, talking on the encrypted satellite phone, while Professor, Bones and Willis occupied the back seat.

“Yes sir,” they heard him say into the phone. “We’re on our way now.” Maddock pocketed the phone and turned around.

Willis preempted him. “Mission accomplished? They know all they need to?”

“Just the opposite. Admiral Liptow is impressed with our progress, but says they still want to locate the actual pieces of the Amber Room if they still exist. And our latest findings point to the fact that it might.”

“So what’s our next move?”

“He wants us to meet with a local Amber Room expert by the name of George Wagner. He gave me an address, but not much else.” He read the address to Leopov, who said she knew where it was and then made a quick right-hand turn onto a larger avenue.

“Have you heard of him?” Maddock asked her.

“Yes. Reclusive, scholarly type, a historian. Retired university professor, if memory serves. He’s in the news from time to time whenever someone investigates Russian antiquities.”

“Where’s he live?” Bones wanted to know.

“Outskirts of Kaliningrad,” Leopov answered. “We’ll be there soon.”

The house was nothing special to look at; it didn’t stand out in any way and was much like the others surrounding it. The street ran through a quiet suburb on the outskirts of Kaliningrad, where the team saw only an elderly couple walking a dog about a block away. Leopov pulled the SUV to the curb and killed the engine.

“Try to look respectable,” Maddock told Bones, Willis and Professor as they exited the car and began walking up a brick path across a small lawn.

Leopov stepped ahead of them on the way to the door. “Perhaps we’ll seem less threatening if I go first?”

“Could be,” Bones said. “Unless he has a fear of femme fatal types, but we’ll take our chances.”

They got to the front doorstep and the SEAL team waited a few feet back but in plain sight of the peephole while Leopov stepped up to the door. She raised her hand to knock, but it opened before her fist came into contact with the wood. The door opened part way, the man who greeted them speaking through a gap limited by a security chain.

“George Wagner?”

“Yes?” he said in Russian.

Leopov answered, also in Russian, before stepping aside to introduce the four men behind her. To Maddock, she said, “I explained that you’re Americans on a sponsored expedition to locate the amber chamber.”

“I can speak English,” Wagner said. “What exactly do you want?” He kept his face back from the door, which was still open only a crack.

“We would like the pleasure of your company for a few minutes, sir, to speak about the amber chamber.”

The door slammed suddenly in Leopov’s face with a startling report. The five of them stood there in the silence that followed.

“It must be your perfume,” Bones said.

Willis was cracking up over this, Leopov turning around to tell him to shut up, when the door opened again, fully this time.

“I suppose you wouldn’t knock on my front door in the middle of the day if you were trying to kill me.” George Wagner was younger than Maddock expected, somewhere in his late thirties or early forties. A thick head of black curly hair framed a pair of reading glasses. The scholar wore jeans with a pullover sweater, and slippers.

“I assure you we are here for peaceful reasons,” Leopov pressed.

Wagner opened the door fully “I apologize for the paranoia.” He waved an arm inside. “But you must understand. You are not the first group seeking my help about the Amber Room. The first one stole my research. Please, come in… ” He stepped clear of the doorway.

Leopov crossed the threshold, followed by the four naval warriors. Wagner led them through a small entrance hall into a living room, where he indicated they should have a seat on the couch or chairs.

“I don’t make tea or have any servants to make it for me, so I hope you don’t mind if we dispense with the polite stuff and just get down to business?”

“I like your style.” Bones grinned at the historian.

Maddock saw an opening. “Tell us about how your research was stolen. Who was it? Russians?”

Wagner shook his head. “In fact, they were German. Two of them, and they were violent. One held an old Nazi-era dagger up to my throat.”

The four SEALs looked at one another. “We encountered men like that in the castle.” Maddock recounted a simplified version of events that wouldn’t compromise the security of their mission.

“Yes, yes… the whole thing makes me nervous… ” Wagner seemed to withdraw.

Leopov, seated next to him on the couch, moved closer to him. “Mr. Wagner, if you can help us we may be able to help keep you safe. The closer we get to finding the amber chamber, the more we will draw the heat off of you. We will be the ones your attackers will seek, instead of yourself.”

At length, the scholar exhaled heavily. “Very well. I suppose dying with my knowledge doesn’t do anybody any good.” He paused for a few moments while his eyes shifted in their sockets, as though accessing information. Then he said, “I have always thought it unlikely the Amber Room would have burned in Königsberg Castle, because of the incredible stench it would have created and there’s not a single historical report of that happening.”

Maddock looked him in the eyes. “So that would seem to corroborate what we found in the castle ruins today — as well as what we didn’t find — the empty crates, but also the elaborate mechanism for hiding the subterranean room they’re in.”

Wagner nodded thoughtfully. “Most promising indeed. Especially when taken together with the following piece of information.” He leaned forward on the couch to look at his guests. “Did you know that a panel from the Amber Room was recovered in 1997 and authenticated as such?”

The group shook their heads, and Wagner continued.

“One of the room’s four jeweled mosaic panels — these were a special gift from Austria- was found during a sting operation by German police. These particular panels contained five gemstones, besides amber, including lapis lazuli, agate, and opal. Together they were supposed to convey each of the human senses.”

“So which one did they find? What sense does it represent?” This from Professor.

Wagner nodded at him. “This particular one represented two senses: touch and smell.”

Maddock brought the conversation back to their objective. “But obviously that found panel never led to the discovery of the rest of the room. Did anyone ever trace back how that single panel was found?”

Wagner cleared his throat before answering. “The consensus is that it was stolen sometime during the chaos of the war. World War Two, that is.”

Professor chimed in with, “So the best we can do is to say that, combined with what we found today, it is possible that the Amber Room survived the war.”

Wagner smiled mischievously. “Perhaps we can do a little better than that.”

All of his guests looked at the historian with rapt attention. “But first I must warn you, especially if you intend to continue your endeavors to find the amber treasure.” He paused to let this sink in before continuing. “There is a curse associated with the Amber Room.”

Bones and Willis looked like they were about to crack up.

“I’m quite serious. Many individuals searching for it over the years have met with untimely ends. More than is statistically likely, I’m afraid.”

Professor took on an accepting look. “I believe it. I damn near became one of those statistics myself on that shipwreck.”

Wagner stared into his eyes for a moment and then addressed the entire group. “I’ve been holding something back.”

“What is it?” Maddock met his gaze until Wagner got up from the couch. “It’s something I’ve got to show you, but it will require some travel. Come on, I’m going with you on the next leg of your journey to find the Amber Room.”