Into the Lion's Den (76 page)
Read Into the Lion's Den Online
Authors: Tionne Rogers
“Cecilia Riganti? Ferdinand's mistress?”
“I don't pry on other people's lives, Konrad,” Friederich said very stiff. “Guntram only took a sip because it had honey and he hates it. I've been trying to make him take some for his sore throat, but he's worse than a child.
Can't stand it at all!”
“Stay with Guntram, Friederich. I have to speak with Goran,” Konrad said and left the room in the private suite the youth was staying.
Discreetly. Cecilia Riganti, sent a tea to Guntram through one of the Löwensteins girls… Of course the child has nothing to do! She must be six or seven years old! Her own father drove Guntram to the hospital! I don't understand why she had to send the thing through a child when she had offered to bring it by herself… Exactly, don't involve Ferdinand. Perhaps he's sore about this incident and used her to get rid of Guntram… If there was something, it should appear in the blood or urine.”
What the Hell was the boy thinking? Didn't he know it was dangerous even for a normal person! These youths were impossible! Even the small dose present in his urine was sufficient to provoke a severe episode of hypertension, something deadly for him.
He hated when a patient disobeyed so blatantly and the Duke will hear him what he had to tell. Furious, he crossed the corridors with the papers in the hand, to find the man, sitting in the boy's room, watching him sleep.
For a second he felt sorry for the man, so in love of a stupid junkie, exactly like his nephew, not even a week ago in the clinic for almost overdosing. Both boys must have been sharing their pills.
“May I speak with you? In private,” the doctor growled and increased the speed of the IV line and went to the suite's living room with Konrad behind him, closing the door softly.
“Have you found out what is the problem?”
“If you have a heart condition you shouldn't do drugs. It's basic knowledge!” Van Horn couldn't help to let all his frustration flow. “This is the most stupid thing I've seen in my life! Read the results yourself!” he said, extending the paper to a full brooding Konrad.
“Is this an amphetamine, like speed?”
“Yes, traces of it. Very low dose, almost imperceptible, but taking less, will not help in his case!”
“I'm convinced that Guntram didn't take it.”
“Your nephew had a large dose of methoxatamine! This one is also from that kind, but not the same. The structure is similar, but according to our biochemist, it's different to anything he has seen before.”
“When did you take the samples?”
“Immediately after he entered the hospital.
“But here writes traces, not the full dose as it should be, if he were in the middle of a trip.”
“Sir, I understand that you can make one hundred doses with only one gram of this substance. This is not precisely done in a pharmacy and who knows what precursor was employed! I've heard they use window washer fluid and water! Or perfumes!”
“How is it sold?”
“According to the biochemist, it's a powder that can be eaten, smoked or injected intravenously in case of real large doses.”
“What would happen if you dissolve this substance in boiling water?”
“I've never heard of these things put in hot water. Very rarely people mix them with room temperature water, but as they're highly soluble in water, the crystals go to the bottom of the glass. Very unpleasant taste and smells horrible, like nail polish remover or paint thinner. Will have to stir it while drinking to get something in. I know that people who want a purer kind of speed put the powder in acetone, warm it and add alcohol to dissolve it. They filter it several times and always keep the liquids in the refrigerator to allow the crystals to be formed. In theory, the hot water should lower the effects because it burns it. Amphetamines are medications! More than 35º C ruins them!”
“How long does it take to affect you?”
“Depends on how it's taken, sniffed a minute or two, as a pill, thirty to forty minutes, like any other medication.”
“What if Guntram took it with his tea?”
“No one would be so stupid! Water boils at 100ºC! Teas range from 70º C to 95º C and I know it because my wife is a fan of such things. Have you ever heard about taking your medications with hot liquids? Never! It's basic!”
“The last thing Guntram had was a hot tea and nothing else. My butler was with him all the time, Dr. van Horn. It should have been there.”
“It might well explain why they found traces and it only provoked a sharp increase in his blood pressure when a full dose would have killed him instantly. But why did he put it there? Normally such things are taken with juices!”
“Perhaps he didn't know it was there. He complained about the taste and didn't drink the tea,” Konrad pondered more and more convinced that it was a poisoning more than Guntram trying recreational drugs. “Will he recover?”
“Yes, of course. The drugs will flush out of his body in twenty-four to forty-eight hours. The main effect is over. He will feel very bad tomorrow, but fortunately there are no further damages to his original condition. I will increase his medications for a month, just to be on the safe side. He will need a lot of rest and should not move around much.” The doctor felt his indignation melt away and an increasing sense of guilt overtaking him because he had believed that the boy was into drugs. 'How can I be such an idiot? He's like a little mouse.'
“One more thing, doctor. I would prefer if we keep these lab results to ourselves. It would only stress Guntram more. It was only an acute episode of high blood pressure.”
“What if this incident repeats again? We should call the police. This is almost like murder.”
“The police would only make him more nervous. We will investigate this and I will appreciate your cooperation and discretion.”
“Of course, my Griffin. I'll brief Dr. Wagemann.”
He turned his head to the right and saw an IV line attached to his arm and a few metres away, Konrad totally asleep on the couch. 'He looks so sweet with his messy hair and undone tie. I hope he has not worried himself about me.'
Guntram turned to his side, just to get a better view and the small creak woke Konrad up.
“Hello, kitten.” He stood up, stretching his stiff neck muscles and approached the bed, carefully kissing the boy. “How are you feeling now?”
“I don't know. I swear I was in a Church's party and not in disco in Marbella.”
“Shh, don't worry, the doctor has everything under control, my love. You'll be fine in a few days and I'm going to stay with you at home for the holidays.”
“What happened? I remember I felt very sick and then nothing else. Were the macaroons guilty?”
“No,
Maus
, you can still attack them, within reason, of course. It was just a high blood pressure episode.
Perhaps it was the excitement and the stress of the past weeks. You only need to rest. I'll call your nurse. She has to get some more blood samples and give you breakfast.”
“That would be nice. I'm kind of hungry. Strange.”
“Probably because of all the sugar you took, how many of those sugar bombs?” Konrad joked.
“After the second, I stopped counting.”
“Children eat such sweeties without restraints, Guntram.”
“Someone sat me at the children's table. While in Rome do as the Romans do.”
“Don't get too tired. I'll get your nurse and she's quite bossy, so be nice to her.”
“Did you finally meet your match, Konrad?”
“Almost. If she had a bank, I would be very concerned.” Guntram laughed at his sour expression, thinking how cute he was. He had to repress a sigh when he only got a kiss in the forehead and Konrad left the room.
“that's what normally people take”. Goran was sure that she was telling the truth because he could not catch any inconsistencies in her story. What truly disturbed him was why Gertrud von Lintorff had sent her away to speak with the Weissmann woman when they had paid their share to the Order and added some more later.
“What did you do when Ms. Von Kleist ordered you to go away?”
“I went there because she offered to bring the tea for him. Do you think that he could be allergic to black tea? Could it have not been something else?”
“Did you speak with them?”
“Yes, of course, I convinced her to visit us after the holidays so we can show her our projects in El Salvador. I'm convinced that the authorities will let us name the schools after the benefactors. I'm hoping to start a war between the ladies, so we get something larger, Mr. Pavicevic.”
“Did Ms. von Kleist join you?”
“Yes, of course. She's very dedicated to her work.”
“Thank you, Miss Riganti.”
Logic would tell that Ferdinand might have been in league with his wife, but he knew the man for more than eighteen years and he would have never moved a finger for his wife or daughter. For some reason, he despised the little snake since her birth no matter how many times the Duke was telling that she had “all the traits of a real Lintorff”. Gertrud von Kleist would have never dared to do something so stupid as to try to poison Guntram! She was well aware of the risks and the Duke would kill her without a second thought.
Where would a lady like her find a newly designed drug like this one? It was the next generation and not produced in Europe: imported from South East Asia and in very small quantities because it was very expensive. What Armin had taken was the old type from the same family; old traditional “speed”, but this one was “exactly like that one, but you don't get depressed while landing. It's gonna be a bust!” according to one of his sources. “You feel like you're going to explode in bliss, but your body is catatonic at the same time. Everything seems to be funny.”
He took out his mobile phone and dialled the Duke's number. “My Griffin, I need your permission.”
“What is it?”
“I need to speak with Claudia Löwenstein.”
“No, leave the child out of all this. I'll talk with her father and he will ask her. Something else?”
“Gertrud von Kleist had the teacup for a moment. Should I speak with her?”
Konrad's fury rose to an unknown level, but he hid it as Guntram was in the same room with him, drawing peacefully with the dog sleeping next to him. “No, Goran. I'll take care of the matter by myself.” He hung up almost punching the phone.
Guntram felt that something was amiss with his lover and looked at him and asked: “troubles?”
“No, kitten. Everything is fine. I'll go to my studio. I have to make some business calls.”
“I can go to my studio.”
“No, stay here where is warm. Friederich will bring tea very soon.”
“All right, I promise to leave the macaroons alone,” Guntram smiled and stretched his body to get a kiss, but it didn't loosen Konrad's righteous fury.
The Duke went to this private studio and closed the door before dialling Adolf zu Löwenstein's private number. The man answered at the second ring and asked about Guntram. “He's much better now, but we believe that some allergens could have been in his food. I understand that your daughter brought a teacup for him. Friederich saw her.”
“Yes, she did. Claudia was very proud that Gertrud asked her to carry it. She's dying to be like her older sister, Katherine,” Adolf answered. “My wife has to stop a fight almost every day because Claudia touches her things.”
“Must be exhausting for her,” Konrad commented lightly to conceal his murderous rage. “Are you certain that it was from Gertrud and not from Cecilia Riganti? I understand that she was helping Guntram with the children.”
“No, it was your cousin. Cecilia was with the Weissmanns, my wife was there too. Gertrud came by later. Do you think that it was the tea?”
“No, no, of course not. Guntram had a hypertension episode and with his general condition, it can very taxing for him. He's much better now.”
“My father sends his best wishes for him. He would like to know, when it would be suitable to visit him.
I think, he's jealous that Guntram got more pills than him.”
“The Prince will get more if he insists on his escapades to the
Königshalle
like he does. I saw him yesterday keeping company to a large steak,” Konrad said. “Guntram will be delighted to see your father at his convenience. The doctor has grounded him till further notice. Why don't you ask him to come for lunch? I've taken holidays till the New Year. The Princess can be sure that her husband will stick to the diet for one day.”
“Thank you very much, my Griffin.”
“Good-bye and send my regards to Helena.”
Still unable to believe that he had been attacked once more by his own inner circle in less than a week, Konrad thought about his next step. Everything pointed in Gertrud's direction, but it was only a child's and an outsider words' against her. Why would she attack Guntram? He had saved her two boys and Ferdinand's position within the Order. Guntram had not spoken against Marie Amélie although he had many reasons to. For some reason she was against his kitten since the first day. He had always preferred men to women and that was no secret. The succession had been changed but her sons would get all the money he had promised. Guntram had only made him happy and given him the greatest present of his life.
He was unsure.
He hated to be disoriented. He took his mobile and once more called the Serb. “Goran, could you come to my house now? I want to speak with Ferdinand and his wife and I need you to moderate us.”
Konrad took a deep breath but he couldn't find once more his inner steel core; the one he had built over the years and allowed him to treat the rest of humans as what they were: greedy, impulse driven creatures, using only their intelligence for their selfish purposes. Once more he had a snake in his own nest, but this time from his own blood and flesh.