VENGEANCE IN VIENNA by Blake Pierce

Author:Blake Pierce [Pierce, Blake]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2021-06-15T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

The café was very small, and most of the people were probably no more than half Diana’s age. Even though she didn’t fit in, no one looked at her. They were all busy reading their music, sipping their drinks, and chatting, their music cases by their sides.

She found a free table near the counter and the pretty, waifish barista, probably a student herself with a short black pixie cut and a nose ring, looked at her. “Wie kann ich Ihnen helfen?”

Diana assumed that was some version of, Can I help you? Her stomach was still full from the Bratwurst, so she only ordered a mélange.

As the barista went to fill her order, Diana looked around. She noticed several copies of the newspaper, announcing his death, sprawled out on the modern tables and chairs, and someone had constructed a memorial to him, which was simply his picture, propped up near the sugar, creamer, and stirrers. His dark eyes gazed at Diana in a discomforting way. Help me, Diana. Solve the mystery of my death.

She looked away as the barista pushed a frothing mug over to her. The woman probably knew just as much as the next person about Lukas Huber, but Diana decided it was the only shot she had. She pointed to the photograph. “So. Sad news, huh?”

The girl shrugged. “Not really.”

Diana raised an eyebrow. “You’re not a music fan?”

She laughed. “No. I am. I attend the university. But he was not a nice man. He’d stay in his booth over there—” she motioned with her chin to a place in the corner “—for hours, demanding refills again and again, and then he’d leave pennies for a tip. I don’t like to speak ill of the dead, but he was not nice. No one here really liked him.”

Diana pointed at the picture. “But—”

“Okay, some people liked him,” she corrected. “He was obviously a talented man. The pride of the Vienna Philharmonic. So if they liked him, they liked him for that. Not for the person he was. He treated everyone as if he was better than them. And do you know how many times he squeezed my butt while I was pouring him coffee? I probably have permanent scars!”

Diana nodded and leaned in to sample her drink. It was steaming, so she braced herself for a burnt lip. The girl’s impression sounded very similar to her own perception of him—he was a complete ego.

Then the barista added, “But he wasn’t the most talented the Vienna Philharmonic had. That’s for sure. They could do better. They have done better.”

Diana winced as her lip hit the too-hot liquid, and pulled back, in simultaneous pain and surprise. “What do you mean?”

“Well, he grew up here, but he went away for most of his training, and when he came back, a few years ago, he took Vienna by storm. Everyone just adored him, so the Philharmonic used him more and more, casting their long-standing lead pianist to the side. He sold tickets, not that Musikverein needed help with that, but an in-demand act always gets more publicity.

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