Fatal Network: A Jake Adams International Espionage Thriller by Trevor Scott

Author:Trevor Scott [Scott, Trevor]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Calabria Publishing
Published: 2024-03-25T00:00:00+00:00

20

URMITZ, GERMANY

The green and white Polizei car slowly cornered back and forth down the switched-back hills of the west bank of the Rhine River. A morning iridescent glow filled the sky above a light fog that rose from the warmer river. The car turned left at the bottom of the hill and drove two kilometers along the curved edge of the Rhine where volcanic rock cliffs of the Neuwied Basin narrowed the road at numerous junctures. Two other Polizei cars and a medical van waited alongside the road.

Walter Kaiser slowly opened the front passenger door and lingered for a moment to observe the scene. He’d seen a number of dead bodies throughout his Polizei career. Mostly young men with too much beer and a heavy right foot destined to test the laws of physics with their Volkswagen laboratories. But this was the first time that he would have to determine the cause and reason of death and who was responsible.

“Inspector Kaiser?” asked an officer in uniform who approached from the river’s edge.

Walt closed the car door and greeted the officer, “Ja.”

“Sir, the body has been pulled from the river, but we don’t want to move it any farther,” the officer said.

Walt followed the officer to the edge of the river at a reluctant pace. He hadn’t been told of the condition of the victim, but was fairly certain it wouldn’t be a pretty sight.

A green plaid wool blanket lay haphazardly over the body in short grass on the bank of the river.

“How was the body found?” Inspector Kaiser asked, looking out to the river.

“A passing bicyclist on his way to work noticed it hung up in some overhanging branches,” said one of the officers. “It couldn’t have been there too long.”

Kaiser turned and looked at the officer. “Why is that officer...Jung?” he asked reading his name tag.

“Well, the rain-swollen river reached its highest crest almost a week ago, and it receded nearly a meter in just a few days,” he said apprehensively.

“So the tree is normally out of the water, and now the river is down to about normal levels,” Kaiser added. “Therefore, the body must have gotten hung up in the branches less than a week ago. But, that only tells us when the body got here. How long has it been floating down the Rhine? And, where did it come from?”

Another officer stepped forward and uncovered the body. “The victim is still well preserved, so it couldn’t have been in the river long.”

Walt finally made himself look at the body lying at his feet. There was a bag over the victim’s face, and some sort of vest strapped around his mid-section. Well preserved may have been a hasty observation. Looks can be deceiving, but the smell of rotting human flesh is ingrained forever upon the nostrils of those who have had the displeasure of taking in a whiff. Walt was relieved at what he saw, but still puzzled.

“What in the hell is that?” Walt asked, pointing downward to the body’s head.

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