The Dark Reckoning by Sarah Hamaker

Author:Sarah Hamaker [Hamaker, Sarah]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781958375037
Publisher: Sarah Hamaker

Chapter

Twenty-Two

Brenner drew on his cigarette, letting the nicotine calm his anger. He shouldn’t have relied on Schmidt, knowing how the man hated Lillian Hillam for giving his name to the Stasi all those years ago. The Stasi had known Schmidt was a double agent and had used him to pass along useless information to the enemy. But when Lillian gave his name, it forced their hand.

Stupid man had simply bided his time to make his move until Brenner was preoccupied with the murder of Marta Bauer. Brenner had returned in the early hours of the morning to find Schmidt drunk and bruised and Lillian missing. Leaving the other man, he’d followed Lillian’s flight path, but an ambulance’s flashing lights told him he was too late.

Grounding out the butt, he pocketed it before re-entering the house. His stomach clenched at the smell of vomit. At the kitchen table, Schmidt sat bleary-eyed, evidence of a recent embrace of the toilet on his rumpled shirt.

“Ah, good. You’re awake.” Brenner leaned against the counter. “Ready to tell me what happened?”

Schmidt swiped the back of his hand across his mouth. “Nothing to tell.”

“Then where’s the prisoner?”

The other man’s eyes dropped to the table. “Don’t know.”

“Du idiot.” Brenner sighed. “Do you know what you’ve done?”

“Regained my honor with the Verräterin.” Schmidt pointed a finger at Brenner’s chest. “You treated her like a queen when she was nothing but schmutz.”

Of course, Schmidt would think Lillian was dirt. He thought she’d unveiled his double life to the Stasi. “You’re the betrayer.”

Schmidt mumbled something Brenner couldn’t distinguish. His anger flared again at the man’s insolence. “You think we knew nothing of your double dealings until Lillian Hillam uttered your name?”

His question brought Schmidt’s head up, surprise evident in his wide eyes.

Brenner smiled. “Oh, yes, we knew. We knew you were passing along secrets to the enemy. We’d known about it for years. We just made sure you passed along the right information. We were already getting tired of your games and had a plan in place for your retirement. All Lillian Hillam did was speed up the timetable.”

Schmidt’s mouth dropped open. “But . . . ” he spluttered.

“Enough of the past.” Brenner silenced him with a slash of his hand. “I repeat—what happened here tonight?”

The other man’s jaw tightened. “She mouthed off, so I hit her.”

Brenner held onto his temper with a Herculean effort. “You did more than hit her. She was found with her head bashed in from several blows.”

Schmidt’s eyes widened. “I didn’t do that! I only slapped her lying mouth.”

“Then who did this to you?” Brenner gestured to the bruises forming on the man’s head and his torn, bloody shirt.

“I don’t know. Someone jumped me from behind, knocked me out.” Schmidt’s hand went to the back of his head. “The last thing I remember is hearing her scream.”

“Don’t step foot outside this house until I return. That’s a direct order.” Brenner didn’t wait for Schmidt’s acknowledgement. The man was in no shape to stand, let alone leave.

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