Part 32 (1/2)

Nate gripped her hand He opened his mouth, tried to speak

Behind her, she are of footsteps, of people drawing close, but that didn't matter, none of it mattered Not now

She stared into Nate's eyes and told him that she loved him and held his hand and smoothed his hair away from his face It took him a further minute to die, and then it was all over

CHAPTER 20

Sopron, Hungary 1927

Sitting on the steps of the baroque Trinity Column in Sopron's main square, Jakab watched the city's residents hurry past on loves and hats and overcoats Breath steaht had been cloudless and pure, and the heavens had sucked aarmth remained on the city's streets Now the sky was a brittle blue, as if dipped with a cera on his lap, Jakab tore off another fat strip of strudel and shovelled it into hison his tongue: sugary apple, cinna, cloves Days earlier he had discovered an Austrian bakery on the Varkerulet that , he had purchased three, and not just for the taste alone: his body would require plenty of energy fro closed and dusting flakes of pastry from his clothes, Jakab reached inside his coat and withdrew his watch He snapped open its gold hunter case and checked the tiht If his luck held, he should spot Albert Bauer crossing the square some time in the next five ly punctual

Out of habit, Jakab turned the watch over and slid his thumb across the inscription on the back plate

Balazs Lukacs Vegzet 1873 Fifty-four years after his father had presented it to hie outside Buda Palace, the watch still faithfully recorded the beats of his life Howlines of those seventeen letters? Even now, over a half-century later, the engraved words stirred emotions in him he would rather not confront He recalled his father's blade at his throat, the line of fire it drew across his flesh The blood

Jakab snapped shut the case and slipped the watch back into his pocket

He looked up, searching the cold-flushed faces of the people crossing the square for the one he hunted, and then, with a surge of excite towards him from the direction of the Firewatch Tower Jakab clas where they had pressed against the frozen steps

Albert, hatless, rapped in a heavy woollen overcoat that hung aardly on his tall frales Coave him the appearance of a hawk Jakab had studied those features relentlessly over the last few months He knew every cleft and di ears, the line of his thin lips As usual, Albert had slicked his hair with tonic and parted it to one side Jakab's hair matched exactly

He waited until the chemist had walked by, and then fell in step behind him He only intended to follow Albert as far as his workplace; he needed to confirm that thethe crisp winter air, Albert? Are you thinking about your young sweetheart? I wonder if she ever mentioned that she was already betrothed I wonder if she shared that secret with you Fear not; I'll be sharing that knowledge sooner than you'd probably hope

In front, Albert peeled off along Kolostor utca Jakab followed him doo more streets and watched hi that served as an apothecary and private laboratory

Satisfied, Jakab strode back to the main square and to the street where he'd parked his motorcar: a maroon Mercedes-Benz 630K It was hardly a vehicle suitable for this kind of work, but he had seen it in a showroom in Munich and had been smitten by its ed six cylinders could deliver a speed of nearly ninetyclose to that on the streets of Sopron

Jakab started the vehicle and followed the road southeast out of the city, towards the hter lived with her parents, Carl and Helene Richter, and her grandfather, Hans

The decades following Erna's death had slid past in a fugue of bitterness and sorrow, fury and grief Jakab hated the world, raged at the injustice of it Those were the black years; the lost years He had allowed himself to become the victim of events, rather than theirthat period, and what he did disgusted him He had sampled every vice, savoured every depravity By the tied, clear-headed and healed, nearly fifty years had passed He wondered hoas possible for such a huge tranche of ti it had taken hith, renewed purpose He had attained an awareness of the power he possessed to shape his reality, and the possibilities thrilled hie the family's naination, the woodse their first naain, it took him less than twelve months And what he discovered startled hier than her grander, fresher, yet somehoiser Her eyes were the sah with olive and caralossy brown Jakab had feared that he would find the beauty and grace Erna gifted to her descendants corrupted, diluted, by Hans's seed Those fears were extinguished the first afternoon he caught sight of Anna Far froacy, the woodsman's influence had helped to produce a creature evenhis time in Keszthely He fell in love that saiven a second chance of happiness He would not squander it

A mile from the Richter residence, on a forested road that was frozen mud and stones and little else, Jakab slowed the Mercedes and steered it into a depression aed at the sound of braainst the vehicle's coachwork

Switching off the engine, he lay back in his seat, concentrated on the ainst the fa , he stuffed the re the pastry before sing He took a silver compact mirror from the seat beside hiular cheekbones, thin lips, ears that stood proud of his head

The nose wasn't quite right He strained, pushed Checked thehis shoulders, Jakab cli his trousers on the undergrowth

The Richter residence was a wide-fronted mansion in the classical style, with ornate pilasters across the width of its facade and a porch supported by four stone coluraceless walk, filling out the mask he had created with mannerisms that were a perfect replica of the German chemist's, Jakab cli aopen and revealed Anna, he took a surprised step backwards and nearly tripped

Her eyebrows rose when she saw hiht you'd be at the laboratory today'

He gazed at her face, chest swelling, thinking about all the ways it reminded him of Erna And all the ways it didn't

'Albert?'

'Iyes I was there But I thought I'd pay you a visit Silly, but I wanted to see you again'

She pulled a face 'Won't you get into trouble?'

'Not a chance I've been working hard I deserve a little time of my own'

Anna opened the door wider 'Well, come in, come in You must be half frozen It's not ood fire going in the drawing roo us some coffee if you like'

'Are your parents ho in his study But he won't mind'

'And Hans?'

'He went into the city'

'Right' Jakab walked into the hallway Anna shut the door behind hi room

This was not the first time he had dared to visit her at ho He had waited outside the house until he saw Albert Bauer leave and then, on the pretext of forgetting so the bell and had been ad a few lines of conversation with Anna, flexing his new skin On his fourth visit, he arrived in the middle of the day, when he knew Albert would be at the laboratory He discovered her alone in the house, and an hour later discovered himself in bed with her He had repeated that experience several tih yet to supplant Albert completely, he found hi a huge risk

While Anna perched on the ar fire, Jakab settled hiback chair and folded his hands in his lap He drank her in Over a grey dress of soan Unlaced leather work boots adorned her feet The skin of her calves was creaain, Anna shtly at him 'Coffee, then'

'Please'

Once she had left, Jakab looked around the rooeometric pattern lay on the parquet floor Marble-topped side tables supported a ceralass vase of ostrich feathers, a tortoiseshell cigar box, a Victrola gra an enorilt mirror In one corner, a lacquered Chinese screen was alive with the twisting bodies of dragons Her father's writing desk stood in another

Jakab rose to his feet and went to one of the s Outside, frost bearded the leaves of rhododendron bushes yet to be touched by sun

Hedesk A leather-bound diary lay on its surface beside a Waterle shelf stood a row of older journals Soold foil;the volume before him, Jakab saw a bookplate attached to the inside front cover Illustrated with twisting vines, wolves and deer, the handwritten h the pages of pale-blue handwriting, seeing the names of Carl, Helene, Anna and Albert He selected an entry at random, and had just started to read the text when he heard a noise fro about the sound had been furtive, not quite right Quickly, he dropped the book andbeside a walnut occasional table In one hand she held the shaft of a telephone mouthpiece To her ear, she held the receiver

'I won't, I prorinned, replaced the phone on the table, and sauntered up to hi his chest with her finger 'Coht up'

He nodded towards the telephone 'Proble deeper into the house, and Jakab returned to the living room where he checked his appearance in the mirror