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“Anderson.”

“Andy, when you’ve dropped off Miss Buckminster, please come into the restaurant and take up a position at the bar, near the window. You know what the perp looks like, don’t you?”

“I didn’t get much of a look at him last night,” Anderson replied, “but I’ve got the description.”

“Keep an eye peeled for him.”

“Will do.”

The car stopped. “You guys watch the block for a guy matching the description,” Stone said.

“Right,” the detectives replied.

Stone got out and went inside. He gave Elaine a kiss, then joined Dino at their usual table.

“Sarah coming?” Dino asked.

“She’ll be here in a minute; Anderson is bringing her. Anything happen today?”

“We checked with the Hamburg police for the whereabouts of Mitteldorfer’s nephew, Ernst Hausman. They checked his home address and the cigarette factory; he was at work today. Hasn’t had a day off in more than a month.”

“What about the check of Mitteldorfer’s old neighborhood? Turn up anything?”

“Half a dozen of the older residents remembered Mitteldorfer, but they didn’t know anything about relatives. As far as they knew, Herbie and his wife were childless.”

“Did they talk to Herbie’s correspondent? What was her name?”

“Eloise Enzberg. Yeah, this morning. Frightened her, it seems. She didn’t know anything; she just writes to Herbie once a week and visits him once a month. Takes him strudel.”

“How gemütlich.”

“If you say so. You know, Germantown isn’t what it used to be.”

“What is?”

“I mean, there’s not so many Germans anymore, just some old people. I guess their kids moved away. You remember the Gay Vienna restaurant?”

“Sure, the one with the kalbshax.”

“The veal shank that looked like a giant drumstick.”

“Yeah, that’s the one.”

“And they had a zither player. I liked the zither music. Where was that place, exactly?”

“You’re sitting in it,” Dino said.

“It was here?”

“It finally closed, then Elaine bought the building and opened up.”

“I’ll be damned; I never connected the two.”

“I guess all the kalbshax lovers died or moved away.” Dino sighed.

Elaine came and sat down. “How’s it going?”

“Not bad,” Stone replied. “Say, do you think you could put kalbshax on the menu?”


Tags: Stuart Woods Stone Barrington Mystery