Page 27 of One Last Step

Claudia lifts her hand to quiet me.A moment later, our coffee and food arrive.She thanks the server and takes a big bite of her strudel.Her eyes roll back in her head, and she moans with satisfaction.“Oh, God.That’s so good.Try it.”

I take a bite, and as I chew it, Claudia says, “I can’t speak for Mossad, and I won’t try to.I’ll only say that they have a vested interest in wiping out any remnant of the Third Reich.They frown upon anyone profiting on those remnants or seeking to preserve them for posterity’s sake.An understandable position given that the Third Reich was very determined to wipe them out.”

“Yes.I can understand that.”

"Then you can understand how serious this is.It's critical that the watch be retrieved and turned over to me so thatIcan ensure it gets where it belongs.”

“I’d love to help you,” I reply, “but I truly don’t know what happened to it.”

“No?”

“No.I’ve already had my belongings searched and been interrogated twice.I don’t know where it could have gone to.”

Claudia nods and says nothing for a little while.Her impassive gaze makes me uncomfortable, and I have to fight the urge to squirm.Finally, she says, “I believe you.”

I release a nervous laugh and say, “Well, that’s good to hear.”

“So why have you been so anxious around me?”

I blink and fight for an answer.Claudia holds her impassive gaze and her diamond-hard eyes.

This is my chance to tell the truth, my chance to find out about Annie.I open my mouth to tell her this, but once more, my senses fail me.

“I was taken aback somewhat by your arrival in the middle of breakfast.”

Once more, she doesn’t reply right away.She leans back and cocks her head, her eyes searching mine.It’s disturbing to see that much shrewdness in the eyes of one so young, and even more disturbing that those eyes look so much like the eyes of a woman I haven’t seen in over thirty years.

She’s trying to figure out if I’m lying, and she will.She’ll see right through my lie and demand to know the real reason for my interest in her.And I should tell her.Why can’t I tell her?I could learn everything I wanted to know if I could only be brave right now.

But I don’t.I’m so thrown off by all of this that I can’t seem to get my feet underneath me mentally.I just need time to process all of this and then attack it on firm footing later.

Or so I tell myself.

Claudia nods finally.“Well, I’ll admit that was rude of me.I should have waited in the lobby.”She smiles.“Next time.”

She finishes the last of her strudel, then says, “I have a request, Mary.You can say no if you want to.”

“Oh, um… Okay.”

“I’d like you to keep an eye on the museum for me.”

I blink.“Keep an eye on it?”

“Yes.Just observe.Note the comings and goings.Who comes, who stays, what they talk about, if they seem suspicious.You don’t have to investigate anyone.In fact, you shouldnotdo anything more than look and listen and say absolutely nothing to anyone but me.”

“Um…” I shake my head.“You’d… You want me to spy on Dr.Rousseau?”

“Yes.”

“Um… I mean… I suppose I can, but… why?”

Claudia smiles.“To satisfy my curiosity.It would be safer for you if you don’t know more than that.”

I nod.“I’ll do this for you, but you need to answer a question of mine, and you need to answer it honestly.”

“I’ll do that to the best of my ability.”

Are you the daughter of Annie Wilcox?“How much trouble are we in?The museum, I mean?”

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