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Anna’s grandmother had always been so practical. Max had seemed to prefer Anna’s company to that of her grandmother. She had always felt sorry for him, and now he was telling her that he had shared a grand passion with a woman who also seemed to have fled from her past for a reason that no one knew anything about?
    Anna couldn’t help but hit her forehead with the heel of her hand. But Max seemed to want to talk again—albeit in riddles.
    “All we have left of the past are remnants in our minds, Anna, and all we can do is look at them sometimes, every now and then. Take them out, dust them, turn them over in our hands until we must return, full circle, to the present. And when we are back here, we try to live our lives as best we can—again.”
    “What a philosopher you are,” Anna said, but she almost choked on her words.
    “One has to be. Goodbye, darling.”
    Goodbye? Anna wanted to shout that she had so much more to ask.
    But she didn’t want to push him any further. Not now. He was so . . . vulnerable in many ways, even though he seemed formidable in his convictions at the same time.
    Anna decided to play things safe. “I’ll find out the name of that lawyer, and, Grandfather, no matter how hard I have to fight for it, I will do my utmost to get you your ring.”
    Once she said goodbye and hung up the phone, Anna collapsed on the hotel bed.

    Frau Engel was dining in the hotel restaurant when Anna walked downstairs a few minutes later. She was seated with the woman who had been working at the hotel earlier that day, along with a middle-aged man whom Anna had not seen before. He was dressed in a pale pink shirt, cream trousers, and tan leather shoes. Frau Engel had changed into a fitted navy-blue suit. A brooch was pinned to the breast of her jacket. Both women glanced at Anna and then turned away, fast.
    Anna felt even more unwelcome than she had in the shop. And yet she would have to approach the group in front of her, and soon. She might as well take advantage of their presence to get some more answers.
    A waitress appeared at her side and showed her to a table. The English couple she had met that afternoon were seated in a far corner but didn’t look up when Anna entered. Several of the long tables were occupied, and there was a small group at the bar.
    If she could not get the mayor to tell her the name of the lawyer who handled the estate, she would have to talk to the people at the bar and hope they were locals. It wasn’t really Anna’s style to pursue strangers like that, but what did it matter? She was miles away from home and she was going to have to be resourceful. Failing all that, she would have to find the local council offices. The mayor had to have a proper office somewhere. She couldn’t run the district from the shop, could she?
    Anna took the menu from the waitress, only half listening while the young girl listed off the specials. Anna ordered buletten —specialty meatballs—and a glass of wine for courage.
    Once the waitress had left, Anna pushed her chair back and stood up. She would have to act now, while the mayor and her friends were still there.
    “ Guten abend ,” Anna said, as she stopped at the mayor’s table.
    The two women looked at her as though she had insulted them. The man nodded, but Frau Engel remained stock-still and regarded Anna through narrowed eyes.
    “I am sorry to interrupt you,” Anna said. “I won’t take up too much of your time.”
    “Please, if you would allow us to enjoy our evening.” Frau Engel sounded cold.
    Anna stood her ground. “I didn’t tell you the whole story. You see, my grandfather has great regrets about the past.”
    She sensed a shift in the women’s mood. The man in the pink shirt put his beer glass down and studied Anna.
    Even so, Anna decided she would not give too much away. An idea had formed in her head. “The Albrechts, my family, were an instrumental part of this village for centuries, I believe. I am just asking