Of course it was Rita whom Mathias thought of right away. Was she in some way helping to keep the peace? She had to be. She would throw herself into the task with twice the passion of anyone else.
“This is fortunate for us, too. You see, it increases the odds of the treasure we are here for being still untouched.”
“True.”
Mathias was conflicted. He was hoping the fortune was safe, but only so it would fall into the hands of thieves. He took a step towards the wooden door that served as the mansion’s rear entrance. The surface was iron-plated, and a heavy-duty lock secured the edges. It wasn’t going to be easy to break.
“How do you want to do this? Should we hop over the wall again?” Mathias asked.
“My, you are getting the hang of this! ‘Should we hop over the wall again?’” Bernhardt said, imitating Mathias’ voice. “Spoken as though it were completely normal. Should we have breakfast? It’s rather cold today, should we don an overcoat? Should we hop over the wall again?”
The man’s tone was more mocking than friendly, and Mathias would have hit him were he not familiar with the former soldier’s martial prowess.
Just barely controlling himself, Mathias asked, “So how are you going to get in?”
“Well, we do have Nikki with us. Surely you’d be interested to witness her particular expertise?”
“Her expertise?”
Nikki was already holding the lock and gazing at it in deep concentration. She let go for a moment and plunged a hand into her long coat to delve around inside. When it reappeared it was with a collection of thin metallic rods.
“Mind if I took the stage?”
She squatted again before the lock, clamping most of the rods between her lips. She pinched the remaining one between two fingers and inserted it into the lock’s mechanism.
“Yep, obvious you’re rich, this one’s pretty clever,” she remarked despite the metal in her mouth.
“Nikki…can pick locks?”
“Clearly! What else do you think she is up to? Is she cooking? Is she making music?”
Mathias could swear that when it came to annoying people, the outlaw was a genius.
“By the way, Mathias. I’m not sure I approve of a gentleman who stands by as a lady gets soaked in the rain.”
It hadn’t even crossed the junior Kramer’s mind.
“Sorry.” He hurried over, stretched himself above Nikki, and opened his coat so her hands wouldn’t get wet. “Isn’t it a bit dark?” he asked her.
“It’s all in the sound and the feel.”
Mathias took this to mean she didn’t require any illumination to pick a lock.
After a while Nikki nodded, then turned her head to look at Mathias.
“Heheh.”
“You got it open?”
Instead of answering she held the unhinged lock up to her face. Hardly any time had passed. Four, maybe five minutes at most.
Mathias got up with a giddy sensation. “When I get back to Fuerth I’m telling my father to change the locks.”
“I could help you choose?”
“We’ll be fine.”
“It pays to listen to good counsel,” Bernhardt scolded. He reached forwards and quickly pulled the door open.
The three of them walked through.
It wasn’t far to the courtyard.
They made a straight line down a corridor with a curved ceiling. Familiar smells, of foliage and of scented wood, drifted on the air. Mathias’ thoughts were pulled back to a memory…the memory of the day he and Rita first met. It felt as though only hours had passed, and yet it could have been centuries, too.
“Ah, yes, wonderful… This air of refinement! This aroma of wealth, of power, of erudition!”
Bernhardt seemed to dance as he walked. Mathias ignored him and headed towards the corner of the courtyard. Treading over the muddy surface, he continued until he reached the foot of the tree.
“This is it.”
“Where?” Nikki was looking this way and that.
“Let me just open it.”
Mathias kicked with his shoes to clear away the dirt, exposing the iron plate underneath. He crouched and, heedless of getting wet, ran his fingers through the handle. The metal was cold through his gloves. He tensed and heaved upwards with all of his might.
“Ooh, cool,” Nikki offered the vaguest of impressions.
When the plate was partway open, Mathias held it still. This was to stop the rain from flooding into the underground room. Bernhardt stepped up and peered inside.
“Anything to suggest it’s been looted?”
“No,” Mathias informed him. “We didn’t see any footprints. And why cover it with dirt, if it was empty?”
“Good points. I suppose it’s about the size of an ordinary household’s bedroom?”
Mathias’ thoughts went to the bedrooms in Rita’s home. He’d never used them, but he’d been inside. “Yes. Pretty much.”
“I think I’ll take a look, then.”
“Please.”
“No reason for us all to go in.” Bernhardt cast his eyes toward the cloisters that surrounded the courtyard. “Would you be kind enough to wait for a bit? Both of you. You won’t get wet if you stand under there.”
“Fine. What do you want to do about the lid?”
“I assume you can open it from the inside? I know I wouldn’t make one that didn’t.”
“It does, yes.”
“Then feel free to close it. It wouldn’t do for the treasures to get wet.”
“What about lighting?”
“I wouldn’t be so unprepared!” Bernhardt pulled open his coat to produce a lantern from somewhere underneath.
Impressive…
Mathias nodded and stepped to one side, raising the iron lid until it was vertical.
Bernhardt proceeded down without hesitation. From below came the sound of a flint being struck, and pale light streamed out immediately.
“Good. No problems with airflow,” his voice sounded.
“I’m closing the lid.” Reversing the steps, Mathias shut the trapdoor.
He noticed that Nikki had moved to the cloisters. And that she held her rifle in her hands. She didn’t seem to be aiming at anything, but only moments earlier, the weapon had hung from her shoulder on a leather belt inside her coat so it wouldn’t get wet.
“Why…” Mathias began to ask, but the answer flashed into his mind.
She was ready to act if Mathias didn’t fulfill his end of the bargain─if the concealed riches failed to materialize, or if he tried to run.
Having worked through that much, Mathias hit upon the horrific truth.
Bernhardt had no reason not to dispose of him right there, whether or not the hidden treasure existed. If anything, it would behoove the man to get rid of Mathias. If the artworks were still there─and Mathias had good reason to believe they were─killing him would remove the only person in the world who could identify the thieves. It significantly lowered the chances of the Military Police Brigade coming after them.
Not good. Not. Good.
Mathias’ fingers traced down the inside of his long coat and reached his thigh. Freeing the shotgun from its clasp, he brought his other hand over to hold it crossways over his stomach.
The time might come for him to actually need it.
Nikki had the muzzle of her rifle pointed towards the ground; she wouldn’t be able to fire right away. She was pressing her free hand into the windows and doors lining the cloisters, keeping Mathias in the corner of her eye as she surveyed inside. The first floor contained the kitchen, the dining room, and the servants’ quarters, so few of the doors were locked.