Read Online Return to Vienna by Nancy Buckingham - Free Book Online Page B

on to a bar afterward.”
    Richard made me feel on the defensive. “We just had a beer each, that’s all. And then he drove me back to the hotel.”
    “You also sat in the car and talked.”
    “Oh, that! Only for a few minutes.”
    Richard had assumed the look of a jealous lover. He was playing his part skillfully for the benefit of our little audience. “Is there anything between you two?” he asked.
    “Between Steve and me? Don’t be absurd! I’ve explained how good he was to me while I was in the hospital.”
    “Gratitude can grow into something more. You mustn’t let it, Jessica, not until we’ve sorted this business out”
    I said hotly, “You sound as if you really do suspect Steve of being involved somehow.”
    Richard took my hand in both of his. “You really mustn’t think in terms of good old British justice now. With us, everyone is guilty until they’re proved innocent. All I am asking is that you don’t get too friendly with Elliott for the time being. Afterward, it’ll be up to you.”
    “There is nothing between Steve and me,” I said stubbornly. “Nothing at all!” But even as I said it I remembered how I’d kissed Steve last night outside the hotel, and no doubt it was included in the meticulous report given to Richard. That kiss, that brief brushing of Steve’s cheek with my lips! I’d not understood the impulse that made me do it, yet to Richard there could be only one explanation.
    Richard went on to ask if I had any more to tell him. “Did Mitzi Flamm and her boyfriends say anything of interest last night when you were with them?”
    “No, but afterward she passed on the news that I was back in Vienna. First thing this morning I had a phone call from Gretl Kolbinger, and she’s asked me to a party at her place tonight.”
    He sounded pleased. “Tell me about this Gretl Kolbinger.”
    “She’s one of our old set. Her husband is quite a big noise in television, and they live somewhere out toward Cobenzl.” I was rather surprised that Richard seemed not to know them. “Didn’t Max ever mention the Kolbingers to you?”
    Richard considered. “Yes, I believe he did, now I come to think of it.”
    “It’s a useful contact for me, because Otto and Gretl are always throwing parties, and I shall get to meet a lot of the old crowd through them.”
    “Good! She didn’t lose much time getting in touch with you, did she?”
    “Do you think that’s significant?”
    He shrugged. “It could be. Anything could be.”
    I hated this business of having to suspect everybody and everything. And yet there was a horrible sort of fascination about always looking for hidden motives.
    “There’s probably nothing in it,” I said hastily. “I gathered from Gretl that she met Mitzi at the Strip Bar X Club. Having only just left me, it was perfectly natural for Mitzi to mention I was here in Vienna. And Gretl was always a great one for asking people to parties.”
    “Well, we’ll just have to wait and see what develops. Keep your eyes open, won’t you?”
    The three men across the room had finished their snack. As they passed us on their way out, they nudged one another and smirked. The ill-fitting door slammed behind them, and the cafe was suddenly quiet. The only other customer, the man on his own, was reading a newspaper. The fat woman rested her elbows on the counter, and I could tell she was hoping to eavesdrop. I had no idea whether she understood English.
    Richard was saying, “That Mitzi woman gets around, by all accounts. She might be worth cultivating.”
    “I doubt that!”
    Unthinkingly, I’d spoken with a good deal of heat, and Richard lifted his eyebrows. Lamely I added, “She’s absolutely man-mad. She thinks of nothing else.”
    “You don’t like her!”
    “I never did very much. Even less now.”
    “Why?”
    I clamped back the bitter words on the edge of my tongue. Then it struck me that Richard had known Max very well, almost better than Steve. Perhaps I’d be