When Helen and Rummy returned to Freiburg, they each brought vests. They were Kevlar Threat Level II, and not especially visible under business clothing.
“This certainly isn´t my preferred clothing,” Helen said as they met outside her room on the way to breakfast.
“Mine either,” Rummy replied, though he looked little different than ever, his clothing rumpled and loosely assembled on his big frame.
“Well, Johannes is right, I guess, there´s no point in taking chances.”
“Me, I´m wearing this for Doris.”
Helen laughed, and they sat down to eat.
.oOo.
At the site, the form work was well advanced and it was easy to see the progress that had been made. Werner Siegmann met them with a pleasant smile.
“Anything new?” Helen asked.
“You have the notes I gave Rummy about Dumont?”
“Yes. Those prices would give him one hell of a margin, wouldn´t they?”
“From what I know of what they´re paying illegal workers, he´d be making a fortune. Well, I hope that was helpful, but I´m not going to have anything to do with him from now on.”
Rummy said, “Well, don´t let him down too hard, Werner. You don´t want him mad at you, and you don´t want him thinking you´re going to turn him in. Give him some guff about your boss breathing down your neck or something. Stall him.”
“Well, it bothers me to see him peddling his stuff around here.”
“Werner, these guys play rough. Don´t make yourself a target.”
“Oh, I won´t. Don´t worry.” He put on his hard hat. “Now, let´s get to work. I need you to look at the form work over at the main administration building. There´s a problem in the join with the dressing rooms.”
The three walked around the heaps of earth and excavations where forms were being erected. Workmen waved as they passed.
“I see you´re dressed up today, Helen,” Siegmann said, noting her business-like suit jacket over her usual shirt, jeans and boots. “Aren´t you warm in this weather?”
Helen smiled, her eyes alight. “I´m trying to project a more serious image, Werner. I read this book about dressing for success.”
Werner laughed appreciatively, and with not a little skepticism. “Well, whatever.”
The administration building was two stories at the far side of the site, and had a single-story building off to each side of it that one day would house the lockers, showers and dressing rooms for the complex of pools and saunas. The concept of the facility was to allow users to circulate either with clothing or without, with similar facilities for those of either persuasion. The two areas were not mirror images, but each was intended to maximize the differing types of use each might favor. The saunas, after all, allowed no clothing, and people tended to remain nude when resting or wandering about for food, recreation or games on one side of the facility. The huge pool would be multi-leveled on either side of a porous but opaque wall above which a dividing wall and shrubbery would obscure the fact that there were two different clothing zones.
With some difficulty, Helen had arranged for the excavations to avoid damaging old-growth trees in the area, and there were plenty of tree canopies to shade the areas around and even within the diggings. They walked through the grove of trees and toward the corner of the building in question.
A workman hailed Werner, and they stopped to answer questions about a set of forms that would support the sunning plaza, under which would be machinery spaces.
“We´ll begin pouring tomorrow or the next day on some of this, Helen,” Werner said, gesturing to the expanse of form work. “Should be finished in a week, then curing time. We´ll begin stripping the forms as soon after pouring as we can.”
They rounded a stack of ready-made forms that would be set up for use on straight walls and structures. Werner turned to Rummy, “You were smart to let us rent standard forms. We can get them in and out in a hurry, and that saves money. These are going in later today.”
“That´s Helen´s idea, Werner. She knows this stuff as well as either of us.”
They moved on toward the building, when a cry arose. They stopped and watched as a crane, swinging a load of steel reinforcing bars toward a new resting place, lost control of the load. The heavy steel rods began to fall in a cascade of deadly force, certain to hit not far from where the three stood.
“Down!” called Rummy, tackling Helen and driving her farther away from the apparent impact point. Werner stumbled back, falling over a rock. Helen, too, tripped, ended up in the dirt and rolled onward; she rose to her knees, ready to respond if needed. The load of re-bar hit the ground close by, missing Rummy by about 2 meters. Short pieces of iron flew through the air. One of them, about 30 cm long and 2 cm thick, struck Helen in the back as she rose, knocking her flat. Rummy scrambled to where she lay.
“Helen! Are you all right?”
Helen raised her head, her helmet still in place. “I guess so,” she said. “How´s my back look?”
“Your jacket´s a mess, but I think that´s all. Can you get up?”
Helen pushed herself to her knees again, and looked around. “Anyone else get hit?”
“No,” Werner said, scrambling up and scanning the area. “I don´t think so. Damn. That sort of thing happens now and then, but there usually aren´t any little pieces to go flying around.” He picked up the bit of re-bar. “This thing must weigh nearly 3 kilos.” Werner looked at her sharply. “Let´s go back to the office and get you looked at by a doctor.”
Helen wiggled her shoulders, moved her arms, her upper body. “No, I´m all right. I´ll get looked at later. Bring that thing and let´s go look at that form and get it out of the way. I don´t want pouring to be delayed because of this.”
Ignoring the men´s noises, Helen strode off to the site of the problem. Workmen were already restoring order to the mess of re-bar left helter-skelter on the ground. The foreman hurried over to express his concern and shame that there should have been an accident on his shift and Helen gracefully reassured him.
At the building, Helen and Werner found the questionable point in the form work. They took a ladder that was standing near and Helen climbed up, looking into the form-work.
“Yes, I see what your problem is, Werner. Hold on.” She stepped down off the ladder and fished a bit of chalk out of a pocket. She sketched a few lines on the form near where the ladder stood. “The three walls meet at an angle, and I guess you think there´s a problem with the join. I think you can put in an expansion joint there, and it will work. Take a look and see what you think.”
Werner climbed up to look at the offending location. As he reached the fifth rung of the ladder, it broke, sending him tumbling toward the ground. As he fell, he was able to grab the side rail of the ladder, which began to slide off to the side as well. Rummy, standing close by, moved with speed and grace that was belied by his bulk and was able to break Werner´s fall.
“I think it´s time to take that break,” he said as he set Werner on his feet. “Past time.”
Helen was looking at the ladder, a typical, worn, hand-made wooden ladder often found at construction sites. “Rummy, come here. That rung was cut.”
Rummy and Werner looked at the rung. The fourth and fifth rungs had recently been sawn more than half-way through close to the side rail. The fourth rung was cut on the left, the fifth on the right.
Helen said to Werner, “This was meant to break. I´m probably just light enough that I didn´t break it, but either you or Rummy would have been enough. In fact, you were.”
Rummy was thoughtful. “Helen, start to climb the ladder the way you just did.”
Helen went to it and put her left foot on the first rung.
“Yes,” Rummy said, “that way, your foot would be on the right side, the safer side, of both rungs. Now you, Werner.”
Werner, of course, had began with his right foot.
“There´s another factor, Helen, not just that Werner´s heavier. It was meant to break, all right. What saved you was chance.”
Helen nodded. “Let´s get back to the office. But Rummy, you bring that ladder with us. Werner, let him borrow your gloves, there might still be fingerprints on there. Werner, as far as that form problem goes, you decide what you want to do and let me know. You can figure it out as well as I can.”
“Well, I think your suggestion is a good one, Helen. I´ll probably do that.”
Rummy slipped on Werner´s work gloves and shouldered the ladder. They moved off toward the office trailer in silence.
As they walked, Helen dialed her mobile phone. “Johannes? We´ve had an incident…” She described the two events as they walked.
“No, I´m fine. I´ll probably have a bruise, but the vest prevented any serious injury. It was a good idea, after all, Johannes… No, I don´t think that was intentional, Johannes. You can´t predict what will happen when a load falls like that. At least I don´t think so.
“But there´s no question about the ladder… Yes, we´re taking it to the office and we´re trying not to spoil fingerprints, if any. You will? Good, we´ll wait for him.” She disconnected and spoke to her companions.
“Johannes is having someone from the Freiburg KP office come to pick up the ladder and take our statements. Guess that means a late dinner. Man! Stuff like that makes me hungry.”
“Well, there´s coffee at the office,” Werner said, “and some of my wife´s cookies.”
“Thank god,” Rummy muttered.
“Who´s Johannes?” Werner went on.
“Johannes is Interpol, Werner. But don´t tell anyone,” Helen added. And she called Marie in Paris to tell her about the change in the joint Werner had just agreed to.
.oOo.
It was some time before the Kriminalpolizei finished with them at the site. Somewhat subdued as they drove back to Freiburg, they spoke only a little and mostly about irrelevancies.
“Are you sure you´re all right?” Rummy wanted to know as they walked from the parking structure into the Hotel am Rathaus.
“Yes, I´m sure, Rummy. But if it will make you feel better, come up to my room and take a look at the damage.”
They rode up the elevator and Rummy stood close behind Helen as she opened the door to her hotel room and started inside. He felt her stiffen and come to a halt.
“Shit,” she muttered. She turned to Rummy. “Someone´s been in here. Be careful and don´t touch anything.”
Gingerly, Helen entered the room. Rummy used his elbow to hold the hall door open. Helen stood in the middle of the room.
Although her belongings had not been ransacked, drawers were open and various items had been re-arranged. It was obvious that her room had been entered and disturbed in a way to serve as a reminder that it could be done again.
“I guess I need another room tonight, Rummy. Let´s go and call the cops.”
“Yeah, if we can use my room, that is.”
.oOo.
Rummy´s room had not been entered, and they called the police from there.
“Take your jacket off, Helen,” Rummy said. “I need to be sure you aren´t hurt.”
Helen grumbled. “I don´t think I´ve been bleeding, Rummy, but okay.” She took off the jacket, which had a tear in the middle of the back. Her shirt was torn as well, as was the fabric covering of the Kevlar vest.
“Off with the vest, Helen,” Rummy ordered.
She laughed. “I´ll tell Doris,” she threatened, but undid her shirt and vest, turning her naked back for his inspection. She moved to be able to look in the mirror. There was the beginning of an ugly bruise. She rubbed her breasts. “These things are really uncomfortable, even though they say they´re ‘anatomically correct´. It´s good thing I´m not any bigger.”
Rummy made no response and scrutinized her back. “All right,” he said, “I guess you´ve got nothing much there. How´s it feel?”
“Fine. A little sore, that´s all. Can you see if the skin´s broken?”
“Doesn´t look like it, but you may have to replace a plate in the vest.”
Helen leaned back against the dresser. She shook her head, smiled. “Well, at least, a visit to Heliopolis hasn´t hurt our partnership, Rummy.” She picked up her torn shirt and slipped it on. “Body modesty has never been my strong suit.”
“I´ve always known that,” Rummy replied with a grin.
“I know you´re devoted to Doris, and I like that. It´s a way of life I´m beginning to think hard about.” To herself, she added, ‘Again´. In the flash of realization, Helen thought about the myriad problems involved in having her partner as lover, balanced against her fondness for Sandy and respect for Doris. ‘I need to change my life,´ she said to herself.
The phone rang. It was the police.