Cassie sat on the chaise lounge, her eyes closed as she relaxed in the warmth of Italy’s spring sunshine. Hannah was securely napping on the lounge chair, shaded by the veranda’s awning. They had been in Veneto for three days, and they were both enjoying the calm atmosphere and Eva’s incredible cooking.

Before leaving Hennhofen, Cassie met with the staff and guards as planned. She informed them of her husband’s will, and even though she felt it was premature, she did assure them they would receive the money Hans left for them. She then asked if any of them wanted to leave the castle, assuring them there would be no hard feelings if they did.

The room was silent as they looked at each other. Elizabeth stood up after a moment and cleared her throat. She looked at the women next to her who nodded their heads in support.

“Baroness,” she began in a voice that was strong and confident, “on behalf of the kitchen staff, I want to assure you, we will not be leaving. The Mast…Baron, gave most of us a life far greater than anything we ever had. He rescued Kathleen and me from a life of hell, and we owe him our loyalty and our devotion. We will not abandon his wife and daughter when you need us the most.”

“That goes for the guards as well,” Otto said, standing up in the front row of seats that had been set up for them. “We were worried when things began to change, and the lessons became legitimate, and we all know you were the reason behind Hans’s decision to change the program. After seeing how many women want to be trained, we finally understood what Hans was telling us. He kept us on during the restructuring, and during the Anson incident, and promised us jobs when it was all over. We didn’t abandon him then, and we sure as hell won’t abandon his wife now. Money or not, this is as much our home as it is yours.”

The room erupted in a round of applause, causing Cassie to finally relent to the tears. She felt the camaraderie of the group and the loyalty for her and her daughter. She felt certain life would continue as usual, then left the castle with a much lighter mood.

Dieter agreed to go to India and said he wanted to do some research into the storm that caused the plane to go down in the first place. Erich volunteered to go along, as did Franz. With the aid of an old friend with Interpol, Dieter arranged transportation and equipment to begin their search. Hans’s former buyer was a high official in the organization and assured them full cooperation in the search, and all the manpower they would need. All he had to do was convince the Indian government to allow them to continue the search.

With the reassurance that life at the castle would continue as normal, Cassie left Hennhofen with a feeling of confidence she hadn’t had in three long years. She knew with enough manpower and money, it wouldn’t take long before they found the plane, and learned exactly what had happened to her husband. All she could do now was wait and pray.

Since arriving in Italy, Cassie had spent a great deal of time shopping in the small villages around Veneto. She bought Hannah nearly every toy she looked at, as well as several new outfits for herself. She found one shop that sold souvenirs and spent an hour shopping for the staff back home. The feeling of having a family was overwhelming, and her heartfelt full, despite the emptiness Hans’s left in her life.

Pop was scheduled to arrive later that afternoon, and she knew the old man would want to spend time getting to know Hannah. The man had always been more than a friend to Cassie, and she insisted that Hannah know him as her grandfather. He had been a big part of her life, and now that he was back in it, she wasn’t going to deny him the family he always wanted.

The aroma of Eva’s lunch drifted out through the villa’s back door, and Cassie found her stomach growling. She hadn’t spent much time eating over the past three years, and that didn’t sit well with the older woman. They had only been there a short time, but Cassie was certain she’d gained ten pounds since arriving.

Eva always had something cooking or would bring over cookies, pastries, or pasta dishes for her and Hannah. Her daughter’s favorite was the fettuccine. She liked to play with the noodles more than eat them.

Santos, Eva’s adult son, still lived at home and had spent much of the three days finding excuses to come over to the villa. Cassie knew, from the way he looked at her, he was interested in striking up something more than a friendship, but in her heart, she was still married. She may have spent many lonely nights in the large bed she once shared with her husband, but she would never try to replace him. Nobody could make her feel the way Hans did.

“You should not be out here so long,” Eva scolded her as she stepped out onto the veranda, looking at the sleeping child. “You are very pale. Your skin will burn and blister.”

“I’ve got sunblock on,” Cassie assured her, opening her eyes and focusing on the small woman. “Besides, a little color wouldn’t be so bad.”

“You will look like one of us before long,” Eva chuckled. “Come. Eat. I have prepared for lunch. Santos asked me to invite you over this evening for supper. I am making my famous lasagna.”

“Thank you, but Pop will be here in a few hours, and I want to spend some time with him.”

“Santos will be so disappointed. Why do you not bring your papa? There will be enough.”

“I haven’t seen Pop since…in a long time. There’s a lot we need to talk about, and I want him to get to know Hannah. Tell Santos I said thank you for the invitation, but I’ll pass.”

“You are sure?” the older woman asked with a slight frown.

“I’m sure.”

Cassie continued to argue her point as she walked Eva to the door. She wasn’t ready to start dating, despite everyone’s insistence that she had a lot to offer a man. She just wanted to move forward with the faith in her heart that Hans would be back.

She closed the door behind her and turned around to see a sleepy Hannah walk through the veranda doors. She rubbed her eyes and yawned, then held her arms out for her mother to pick her up.

“Are you hungry, my love?” Cassie asked her, cuddling her close in her arms.

“No. I want to swim.”

“You can swim for a little while after you eat some lunch, but then we must get you dressed to meet your grandpa. He’ll be here soon, and you want to make a good impression on him.”

“Where’s gampa?” she asked raising her head off her mother’s shoulder.

“He’s on a big plane like we were on. He’ll be here in four hours, and he’ll want to hug you and kiss you and tickle you.”

Cassie tickled Hannah’s tummy and behind her knees, making her squeal with laughter. She squirmed and wiggled until Cassie finally put her down. She smiled as Hannah sniffed the air, ignoring the growling of her own stomach.

The aroma of Eva’s sausage calzones filled the air with the promise of another fattening meal. She wasn’t sure if she was glad she would only be here another few days, or if she was disappointed she’d be going back to sausages and cabbage. Either way, she was certain she’d weigh much more than when she came here.

Hannah ate her lunch with quick bites, eager to play in the pool with her new toys. Cassie never bought into the wives’ tale about not swimming for thirty minutes after eating and saw no reason not to enjoy the warm water, with her daughter. Once the kitchen was clean and the left-over lunch was put away, the two returned to the shade of the veranda.

The sun was high in the sky, warming the air around them with the scent of lilacs. It felt amazing to have the sun on her face and shoulders, after the long winter. She hated snow, and she hated the cold, and Germany had both. Fortunately, she didn’t have cause to go outdoors much, except to teach Hannah how to build a snowman, and make snow angels. The best part of winter was the hot chocolate and scones.

Hannah was the first one to jump in the pool, followed by her mother. From the time she was born, Cassie and Hans had their little girl in the water. She’d been swimming since she was just a few weeks old, and she was quite good at it. Falling into the pool unsupervised, was the one thing Cassie didn’t have to worry about. Getting her out again was always the most difficult part. The child loved the water as much as her mother, and they spent countless hours playing and splashing in the pool back at the castle.

The two raced across the long pool and back three times, laughing as they challenged each other to be better than they were. Cassie watched Hannah climb up on the back of a blowup duck, then frowned as a strange sensation came over her. She had the feeling she was being watched, but it was different than the usual feeling she got when the guards were around. This made the hair on her neck stand up, and she felt her heart skip with a warning.

She looked up to the doorway of the villa, but nobody was there. She knew the guards Hans hired to keep the property secure, were around, but they hadn’t bothered her with more than a daily check to see if she needed anything. After living in Hennhofen for so long, she didn’t really care about them or bother paying much attention to them. She was used to having them stare at her as if she was on the dessert menu.

This sensation of being watched was different. It was unnerving, and she felt suddenly anxious. She looked around the large yard, trying to appear nonchalant about it, but didn’t see anyone out of the ordinary. Then she caught the flash from the attic window at Eva’s house. She moved closer to Hannah in hopes of getting a better look, without appearing suspicious.

She swam behind the rubber duck and looked over her daughter’s head to the house next door. Standing in the round window at the back of the house was the chubby face of Santos. The flash continued for a few brief moments until he saw Cassie staring at him, and stepped away from the window, and back into the shadows of the room. She knew he was taking pictures of them, and the idea of being spied on made her angry.

It was the first time since Hans left that she felt awkward about her lack of clothing. The bikini she bought the last time she was in Italy, revealed the swell of her ample breasts, though it was modest in design, and unlike the one Justina bought, the bottoms were a short-style instead of the typical bikini or G-string. It was a beautiful robin’s egg blue with wide diagonal white strips and a bow in the middle of her cleavage. Hans loved to see her in the suit and wearing it made her feel that much closer to him. But to have this…voyeur…this Italian ghoul staring at her was enough to raise her temper.

“We need to get out now, angel,” Cassie told Hannah, lifting her off the duck. “Your grandpa will be here soon, and we have to get ready for him.”

“Can he swim with us?” Hannah asked, swimming to the ladder.

“I’m sure he can if he brought a suit with him.”

“He can use Daddy’s.”

Cassie froze for a moment on the stairs, a frown pulling her slender brows across her blue eyes. She’d spoken about Hans often to their daughter, telling her stories about him, and even put a photo that was taken on their wedding day next to her bed. But until now, Hannah had never spoken about her father.

“How do you know Daddy has a swimsuit here?” Cassie asked a moment later.

“Daddy has clothes. They’re in your closet. Auntie Anne said so.”

“Yes, Daddy’s clothes are in the closet. He’ll need them when he comes home.”

Cassie wrapped a towel around her torso, completely forgetting about Santos. She sat down on the chaise lounge and began drying Hannah’s small body with a thick towel. She wasn’t sure how she felt about Hannah talking of Hans and decided to speak with Anne about watching what she said around her daughter.

“What else did Auntie Anne say about Daddy?” she asked, wondering how much the child had overheard.

“She told Uncle Leem she’s worried about you. Are you sick, Mommy?”

“No, I’m not sick. Why would you think that?”

“Auntie Anne said you had a dented head. What does that mean?”

“It means your Auntie Anne needs to watch her mouth,” Cassie growled softly.

She wrapped the damp towel around Hannah’s small frame and picked her up again, carrying her into the back of the villa. Her anger was growing, and she was becoming frustrated with everyone’s insistence that she was unstable for believing Hans was alive. Until a body was found, or proof that he didn’t survive the crash was discovered, there was always hope.

Cassie started the tub for Hannah and filled it with scented bubbles, then helped her out of the wet swimsuit. Once her daughter was content and playing in the water, she went back into the master bedroom and picked up her cellphone. She wasn’t certain who to call first; Dieter, Liam, Anne, or Eva.

Dialing the programmed number, she waited until her neighbor picked up.

“Ciao, bella ragazza,” Eva said in a cheerful voice. “Did you change your mind about dinner?”

“No, but I would like you to pass along a message to your son,” Cassie began, then quickly drew a deep breath to calm her nerves. “Will you tell him for me, that I would appreciate it if he stopped taking photos of Hannah and me in the pool. I came to Italy to get away from reporters, and I’m tired of having our pictures taken.”

“When was he taking pictures of you?” Eva asked in a thick tone that sounded more insulted than upset.

“He was in the upper window. I saw the flash and when I looked up, he was watching us.”

Pausing for a moment to rein in her temper, she continued.

“Please tell him I’ll buy the photos from him. I would consider it a favor if he did not sell them to the tabloids. I’m trying very hard to keep Hannah out of the papers, and away from the reporters who want to know how she feels about Hans’'s...disappearance.”

“I am very sorry, Cassie,” Eva answered, her tone less accusing and more sympathetic. “I am sure you’ve had a very hard time with all of this. I will speak with Santos, and I promise, he will not sell any photos he has taken of you.”

Cassie thanked the woman then hung up and walked to the bathroom door. Hannah was playing with a toy boat Hans bought her when she was three months old. Quietly, she returned to the privacy of her room and dialed Liam. She waited for a moment, trying to put together her thoughts.

“Hello, Cassie,” the deep voice said. “Is there a problem?”

“Only with what is being said behind my back,” she answered, feeling more comfortable speaking with Liam than with Eva. “Hannah has overheard Anne’s conversations about me and asked me what a dented head meant.”

“A dented head?” Liam asked with a curious tone to his voice.

“I assume it was the same conversation I overheard from the dining room the morning I left Hennhofen. Because I am holding out hope that Hans will be found, it does not make me delusional. If people at the castle cannot keep their mouths shut, especially when my daughter is in the room…”

“I’ll take care of it from here,” Liam assured her, interrupting any threat she could make. “I promise, there will be no more discussion about this, with or without Hannah in the room.”

“Thank you,” she answered with a deep sigh. “I don’t want to cause problems, it’s just…Hannah doesn’t need to know other people’s opinions about me, or her father.”

“Hans was my best friend, and if you believe he’s alive, then that’s what we should all believe until evidence to the contrary is found. Don’t worry about it. I’ll make certain the subject is dropped.”

Cassie hung up the phone, listening to Hannah begin to sing her twinkle-twinkle song. She looked up to the ceiling and sighed.

“You better not be up there,” she whispered as tears slid down her cheeks. “We need you, Hans. Please come home.”

Pop arrived shortly before supper, making their reunion one that was happy and tearful. He was introduced to Hannah, who offered the old man a big hug and kiss on his stubble rough chin.

Cassie ordered supper from the local restaurant and showed her surrogate father to the spare bedroom. Hannah sat on the end of the bed swinging her legs and talking to Pop as he unpacked. She told him about the horses she wanted to ride in the morning, and clouds she saw from the airplane, the new toys her mother had bought her, and asked when he wanted to go swimming. By the time his suitcase was empty, he and the child had become best friends.

The conversation was light, and they stayed on safe subjects while Hannah was with them. Pop told Cassie about the bar and his decision to sell after news of her…not coming back to New York was made public. He had a land developer offering to buy his property for the past few years, but he held out until the offer doubled. By then, Cassie was gone, and he had nothing to keep him from selling. He packed up Hemingway and sold his house, then moved to Florida.

The evening wore on until Hannah started to fall asleep on her mother’s lap. The threesome had retired to the sitting room where they continued to talk about Germany and the castle. Cassie told him about life after arriving in Hennhofen but avoided speaking of the lower levels. She mentally put Hannah in the box Hans once created for her and made certain to stay inside it whenever the child was near.

Taking her daughter upstairs, Cassie helped her dress into her pajamas, then tucked her into the large bed and read to her until she drifted to sleep. She sat beside her daughter for several long moments just looking at her. The older she got, the more like Hans she became. She was strong-willed and bossy, and Cassie wondered if the domineering mentality of her father was an inherited trait of the Hennhofen genes

“She’s asleep at last,” Cassie told Pop when she rejoined him in the sitting room. “She had a very busy day and was exhausted.”

“She’s a beautiful child, Cassie,” he told her, accepting the cup of coffee she poured him. “She looks just like you.”

“Hannah has her father’s nose and eyes. Sometimes it’s hard to look at her and not think of Hans.”

“I’m sorry to hear they called off the search. It must be difficult on your own.”

“I’m not technically on my own,” Cassie told him, taking her cup and sitting back against the sofa’s soft cushions. “I have a castle full of people, and a quaint village I can visit. But it isn’t the same as if Hans was there with me, and the nights are long and lonely. Still, someday…I’m certain he’ll be back.”

“I thought the news reported they hadn’t found the plane?”

“They haven’t, but I have Hans’s people searching, and I know he’s alive. There’s something…I don’t know what to call it…a feeling perhaps, or a connection with him, but I know in my heart he’s alive.”

“Why hasn’t he come home if he’s alive?”

“That’s something I can’t figure out.”

Cassie took a drink from her lukewarm coffee and frowned, as she considered the many possibilities to the question.

“Hans was working with the BPOL, trying to shut down a human trafficking ring,” she told the old man. “They went to Berlin, but the next day they learned, through their resources, the leaders of the ring left Germany and were on their way to India. They are known to lure people from poor villages with the promise of jobs, homes, food…”

“Like that story, you wrote for the paper?”

“Exactly,” she answered, thinking back on the article.

She hadn’t made the connection until now, and she felt her heart skip a beat. She’d learned a lot during her investigation, and the one thing she learned about every organization who stole women, was that they were very unforgiving. Hans may have walked into something more sinister than he originally predicted.

“Tell me more about your husband,” Pop said, watching Cassie’s eyes glaze over as if she were a million miles away in her thoughts. “You were very reluctant to say much over the phone, but from what you did tell me, he sounds like your knight in shining armor.”

“He was more like the devil incarnate,” Cassie answered with an amused chuckle. “At least that’s how I thought of him at first.”

“But I thought he rescued you? Didn’t you say he saved you from the men who didn’t like what you’d written?”

Cassie drew a deep breath. She’d forgotten the lie Hans invented for Travis Boyd. She told Pop about it the first time she’d reconnected with him, but she didn’t know why. There was nothing the old man could do to change the past, and when Hans came back, she knew he’d win the old man over to his side, just as he had with her.

“The story isn’t…exactly true,” she began a moment later. “I met Hans the day after I arrived in Hennhofen. Everyone had a different story about how Sophia died. When I spoke with one of the men she had befriended, he said Hans told them, he and Sophia were getting married, but the last night they were at the lodge, she was taken to a nearby hospital because of her appendix.”

“So, which was it? Was she killed, or taken to the hospital?”

“Neither one,” Cassie explained, watching the frown deepen across the man’s aged face. “Hans’ ancestors were less than…noble. They were the reason the villagers sent their daughters away at an early age. For centuries, they would kidnap women, beat them, and rape them until they submitted, then sold them as whores to private buyers. Hans’s father was most likely the worst of the lot.”

“Wait a minute,” Pop said, setting his cup down on the coffee table. “Are you saying your husband was a kidnapper?”

“Hans’s father willed the family business to him when he died. Hans hated what his father did, and the way he did it, but he didn’t have a choice. He had to follow through with the old man’s demands. Instead of continuing the traditional way of finding women, he chose them based on their appearances and their background. He had a team of men he called investigators who would find the women and become friends with them. They learned everything they could about the women and decided if they fit the criteria.”

“What criteria?”

“The women had to be attractive, young, and unattached. No families, no husbands or boyfriends, nobody who would miss them. They had to be orphans. Once the investigator decided the woman was what they were looking for, he would lure them away from safety and usually drug her. When she woke up, she was in the first stages of training.”

“Training?” Pop asked with a curious, angry frown.

“Hans didn’t abuse women the way his father did,” she continued, setting her cup on the table beside Pop’s. “He redesigned the dungeons and cells in the castle, to seven levels. Each level was a different style of…specialized training. The women spent the first weeks being whipped and put to work, then moved to the next level where they began learning how to please a man. The women are fed well, clean, safe, and cared for. Hans’s sister was a doctor, and she kept the women healthy.”

“Was? Is she no longer?”

“Rosa was killed four years ago by one of the guards.”

Cassie drew a deep breath and glanced at the clock on the mantle. It was nearly eleven o’clock, and with the way Pop was hanging on every word of her story, she knew the night was far from being over.

She repositioned herself on the sofa, tucking her feet beneath her, and continued with her story. When she had finished, she sat across from the man, watching him try to absorb everything he’d heard. She told him about the Italian girls and Anne, and how she had surrendered herself to Hans in an attempt to protect them.

Cassie explained the bartering game she had with Hans, and how she managed to earn privileges for the girls. She concluded her story with the admittance that she fell in love with the Master, and how he had changed the program again, this time making the lessons legitimate.

“Say something,” she said in a soft voice, feeling her heart skip when she considered everything the man might say.

“I’m not sure what to say,” he admitted. “I’m…angry that he did that to you…I’m frustrated that he isn’t here for me to punch in the nose…and I’m happy you found love. But, if he was involved in all of that, why did he agree to help the authorities find that other organization? Isn’t that like the pot calling the kettle black?”

“The village physician is a former investigator with the BPOL. Garran told the courts about the lower levels, but they were never able to find them, and he didn’t know any other way into the castle besides the tunnels or the elevator. Hans and Liam locked up the castle tight, so the investigators couldn’t find anything. Wilhelm used that information to convince Hans he’d expunge his record if he helped them. There was no proof other than Garran’s word against Hans, and Hans has former buyers in very high places, who would have done everything possible to keep his name clean. Wilhelm would have looked like a fool to his superiors, humiliated in the village, and be ostracized in the medical field. But Hans didn’t like the way these men were using the women they stole, so he agreed to help close them down.”

“Is he a perverted kidnapper, or a nobleman?” Pop asked with a sarcastic snort.

“Pop, you don’t know Hans. True, at first, I hated everything about him, but after a while, I realized just how much he cared for the women he sold. He chose men very carefully and spent a great deal of time investigating them. He wanted the match to be perfect. It took me a long time to realize he wasn’t a monster. The men who bought the women truly cared for them. A lot of the men married the women before they even left the castle.”

“It’s a lot to take in. Perhaps if I’d have had the chance to meet your Hans…”

“You’ll get that chance, and you’ll see he’s a decent human being. There’s something else.”

Cassie drew a deep breath, steadying her nerves. He didn’t know her husband, and yet Hans knew how much Pop meant to her. It was his love for her, that made him change every corner of his life, including taking the chance of losing the castle when he reconstructed the training program.

“The only reason the search was called off, was because of who Hans is,” she continued. “As Baron of Hennhofen, a great deal depended on his money. The courts had no choice but to declare Hans deceased, so his property wouldn’t be left in limbo. He made out a will shortly after Hannah was born and left everything to me and our child. There were a few other people who received a stipend from him, including you.”

“Me?” Pop asked with wide eyes. “Why me?”

“Hans knew how much I loved you, and he knew I’d contact you once I had the chance. He didn’t want me to be alone, so he left you enough money that you could travel to Germany to be with us. Whether you stay or not, is your choice, but the offer is open.”

“Do you mind if I ask how much he left me?”

Cassie smiled. The man was far from being greedy, and he was an honest, decent man. Still, he was human, and like any man, he was curious if he was rich, or just a little better now than he was a few days ago.

“In American terms, it would be a little over half a million dollars.”

Pop’s eyes widened, and his jaw dropped open as he drew a sharp gasp.

“But…I didn’t know him.”

“Hans loved me, and he knew…” Cassie paused as the tears began to cloud her eyes again. “I need you Pop. Everyone thinks I’m delusional because I have faith he’s alive.”

“Oh, honey,” he said, moving to her side and wrapping her in his warm embrace. “I thought you were dead for four long years, but here you are. If you believe he’s alive, then I’m right there with you. I’ll box the ears off anyone who dares to call you crazy.”

Cassie laughed as she rested her head on his shoulder. She had needed the support of someone’s arms around her for a long time. Since it couldn’t be Hans, she’d settle for her father.

Pop stared out this bedroom window for a long time, just looking at the moon. Somewhere beneath it was the man who made his Cassie happy. Despite how unlikely it was for the man to be alive, Pop had to continue to support her. If her husband’s decision to leave him half a million dollars was any indication of how much Hans loved Cassie, it was no wonder she wasn’t willing to give up hope.

There was another reason Pop hoped Hans was still alive. After all, Cassie told him about how she came to be a part of the man’s life, Pop had a few things to settle with Hans. One of them was bound to leave the German Master with a broken nose and a few less teeth.

Dieter ran his hands through his dark hair and yawned. He’d been staring at the map for over three hours. He recalculated the flight path Hans’s chartered plane had filed, four times, and listened to the last transmission from the pilot twice as much. He had a gut feeling there was something he was missing, but he just couldn’t put his finger on it.

The plane had come across a storm over China. It was nothing more than some rain and wind, nothing to be concerned about. The storm was far enough off the coast of India, that air travel was no worry. By the time they were over the Himalayas, however, the winds had shifted, and it quickly grew into a category four storm with winds up to one hundred and fifty miles an hour. The pilot radioed that he was going to try and go around it, but they didn’t have enough fuel to turn back.

In less than ten minutes, the plane was surrounded by high winds and blinding rain. The engines were fighting against the weather when lightning struck. The last report from the pilot was that one of the two engines was on fire, and he had lost control of the plane. A few seconds later, a frantic SOS was called out. Then there was nothing. The radio went dead, and the plane disappeared from radar.

It had been a lightweight plane, weighing just under twenty thousand pounds. Faced with a category four storm warning, it wouldn’t stand a chance of survival. The only question was, where would it have landed.

Dieter stood up from the chair and stretched his sore back muscles. He walked to the window and pulled back the curtain. Cassie was counting on him to find something useful, and he didn’t want to let her down. She was the only one left to believe Hans was alive, and for her sake, and the sake of her daughter, he wanted to prove her right.

The man turned and looked back at the laptop sitting on the small table and nearly growled in frustration. He knew he was missing something. It was staring him square in the face, but until he could understand what it was, he was left pacing the room like a caged animal.

After all, they had been through together, Dieter had to admit, he admired Hans a great deal. Their friendship had been sturdy during Rosa’s death, the whole Anson/Wendel ordeal, and even the joyful celebration of Hannah’s birth. They shared good times and bad, and even a few women in the lower levels. Hans trusted him. Cassie trusted him. And he wasn’t going to disappoint either one.

Dieter walked back to the single cup coffee pot and poured the black liquid he’d made an hour ago, into his Styrofoam cup. He ripped open two packages of sugar and dumped them on the liquid’s surface, then took a red and white striped plastic straw, and stirred it together. It looked like it was going to be a long night, and until he had some answers, he wasn’t going to give up.

He returned to the table with a sigh and took a drink of the cold coffee. Wrinkling his nose, Dieter sat down at the table once again. He pulled up the map he’d made with every radar notation of where the plane had been during the fateful trip. The storm hit land shortly after eight o’clock at night, and the plane was over the Himalayan Mountains when it came face-to-face with it.

He pulled up the calculator on the computer and began figuring the speed of the plane versus the speed of the storm, then factored in the weight of the plane. If he considered the last reported radar on the plane, as well as the area that had already been searched…

Dieter paused with a frown. The one thing nobody was taking into account was the fact the plane only had one engine. They could have fought the storm for a short distance, and the pilot said he was trying to go around it.

He began shuffling through the papers strung across the table, typing in numbers on the computer screen, and writing down possible answers. The black box was never located, but typically, they only have a battery supply that lasts up to a month, and you had to be close enough to detect the signal. That meant, either the plane wasn’t where they thought it was, or something happened to make it malfunction.

The night continued to drag on until Dieter had no choice but to surrender and get some sleep or fall asleep in the middle of his papers. He closed his computer and drained the last few drops of his ninth cup of coffee that night, then tossed the cup in the trash. He walked into the small bathroom and splashed cold water on his face, then quickly brushed his teeth. He couldn’t stop thinking about the data or the figures he’d been calculating. So far, the only answer he found was that the plane was not in the area the searchers had been looking for.

He shut off the light and walked back into the bedroom, then pulled off his shirt. He stripped off his jeans and underwear and climbed between the rumpled sheets, making a mental note to ask the maid to come up and change them in the morning. He started to flip off the light when a fly buzzed past his head. The insect had been nagging him for the past few hours and he was growing irritable with it.

Picking up the small brochure of things to do in New Delhi, he swatted at the pest. He missed it twice, but on the third try he caught it with the corner of the paper. Dieter watched it flip over with the impact and tumble to the end of the bed. With wide eyes he watched the bug until it landed on the thin comforter.

Jumping out of bed, he hurried back to the table and sat down, ignoring the cool wooden seat against his bare backside. He pulled up the simulation program he’d been using the past week and programmed in the scenario he’d just considered.

Within a few minutes, the computer had calculated the information and a drawing began to take form, and he watched the outline of a plane twist and tumble, then fly off in several different directions, from where the report had suggested the plane might have landed. Picking up his cellphone, Dieter pushed the button for Franz and listened to the sleepy voice answer the ring.

“What?” he grumbled.

“Get dressed and tell Erich to get his lazy ass up,” Dieter ordered. “I think I know what happened to the plane.”