Chapter 84
Having seen my brother in his room, I could not deny he was not a well man. There were a lot of answers I need, and so many questions. Questions I didn't know who to ask. I didn't know where to even being. I had to elderly great Aunts, and a few second cousins, but I wasn't really on terms with any of them. Did the answers still lie in the hidden office. I didn't know. I needed to find out.
We returned to the meeting room we were in, and I continued, begrudgingly, to speak with the clinic director. He was receiving $100m a year to maintain his facility, and too also by his silence. It was coming from the same company that was drawing the $500m from the bank. It was the other $400m I had to still work out. I wasn't sure if I should stop this lower payment to the clinic, as it would mean that my family maybe impacted by this decision. Johan and I still needed to figure out the rest of the puzzle. But we would do this. We would get to the bottom of this, regardless of the consequences. I had to.
Driving back to the Villa, I missed Michael. Normally when we were in the car, I could bounce things off him, and he would listen. I didn't have that same connection with Marcus. My relationship with him, was half personal and half professional. I didn't want him to have pillow talk with Jules, before I could come up with answers before discussing it in greater detail. I did need to talk to Jackson. I needed some assistance with my moral compass. It was slightly broken after today's revelation. I needed his reassuring voice, and I needed him to listen. Sometimes just me talking to him would allow me to find clarity on issues, without him saying a word. I so wished he was home in Munich with me.
"Hi Captain Hendrickson, I need an urgent favour. How soon can you have either plane airborne to New York."
"I need at least two hours to get crew, check plane, and file plans, but I can do it. The G8 will be quicker."
"Get her ready for an 8pm depart. There will 3 or 4 of us."
"Done. Everything Ok boss, you seem flat"
"All good, we will talk later, I just need to be in New York"
I hung up the phone and turned to Johan. "How angry would your adorable wife be, if I kidnapped you for a few days?"
"I assumed as much listening to that call. I have just texted her to pack me a bag. You need my help, and you have been good to me since day one, let's do this. But why New York?"
"I want everything out of the villa. I don't people sniffing around, and I feel a bigger sense of freedom there"
"That's fair enough. I do understand."
I rang Paul at the Villa.
"Hi Paul, I need you to urgently pick up every piece of paper in the library and the small office. I need it done now, I don't care if you use garbage bags. I just need it together ASAP. Once you have done that, I need you to come to New York with me for a few days, make plans with the household to be absent. Then have Jarrod pack me a bag as well. We are three hours out, we are departing at 8. Sorry for the short notice"
"Not a problem Herr. Consider it done."
Johan looked at me puzzled. "Why Johan?"
"I trust him and as most documents are in German, I will need someone else besides you to translate. It will make it quicker."
"Ok, Smart move."
"I'm still not sure how to deal with Inga. Was she a dedicated employee? Was she having an affair with my grandfather? Just how complicit was she in all this."
"All good questions, I am just not sure we can answer this yet. Just remember what I said about two rabbits. Just chase one at a time." He responded. He was right. I need to process.
"Hey bub. How you doing" I asked as Jackson answered. "Don't even ask. I am trying to organise some fabric swatches for The Caymans, and I am frustrated."
"How sweet, you've become a Stepford wife" I joked.
"Seriously thou, I will be landing in New York around 9pm your time tonight. I will have Johan & Paul with me. Please have Karl make rooms ready for them."
"Is everything OK, I wasn't expecting you so soon."
"No, it is pretty shit, but I don't really want to talk over the phone. I am ok, so don't stress, but we have a very delicate issue that needs some work, and I want to do it in New York rather than here."
"OK, as long as you are good, I will see you tonight. If you need to talk I will have the phone with me"
"Love you bub" I said as I hung up. I could feel his internal panic in his voice. I was to flat to follow up with him. I would talk to him tonight.
Eventually pulling up at the Villa, one of the butlers met me at the door with a Vodka.
"Master Paul suggested you might need this."
"Thank you, I do." As I took the liquid and swallowed it one gulp.
"PAUL" I yelled out, trying to find out where he was.
"I am in the library" came the response as I made my way quickly to him.
"How are we going?"
"I have everything packed, I found these two portable safe boxes in the bottom of one of the filing cabinets. I have no idea about keys." He said as I looked at them.
"Let's take them, and I will have someone break them open later." I said as I walked around seeing what was left in the office. It appeared Paul had done an excellent job. Diaries, calendars, note pads and everything possible was in boxes and bags. It would look like we were raiding a house, which really, we were.
I had Marcus load everything in to the back of the SUV whilst I grabbed a shower and shave before leaving.
"Herr, your hand? What happened?" Paul asked.
"Oh nothing, apparently I was being emotional" I responded with a grin. "Go get changed into something more casual, you are not travelling in that suit" I instructed. "Think of it as a working holiday, casual clothes only"
"Certainly, I will be ready in 10mins."
Chapter 85
We took off from Munich spot on 8pm. The plane was loaded with everything we needed to work out of New York in peace, and without interruptions. Not much had been spoken since we had picked Johan up on the way to the airport. Our minds were each racing through what we had discovered, and working to put the puzzle together. Others had to be involved, and there was also a sizeable piece of money still unaccounted for. Hopefully the coming days would help us put all the pieces together again, and sooner rather than later.
My head was starting to hurt as moved to the rear of the cabin to lay down for a bit. Mentally, today had taken a lot out of me, and I was still struggling to process everything that I had learnt.
Marcus approached me as I lay with my eyes open.
"Is there anything I can get you boss?" he asked I guess more out of concern. I still hadn't shared with him what had gone on inside the Institution, but the bruising on my knuckles gave him a good indication that I had hit someone.
"No thanks, I just need to chill a bit"
"So, did it feel good?" he asked as he motioned towards my fist.
"Actually yeah, it did" I grinned slightly.
"At least let me wrap it in ice whilst you lay here. It will do it good."
"OK, if you must" I smiled at his attentiveness.
Each interaction I had with him; I began to understand what Jules saw in him. He was caring, attentive, and protective. Even at a younger age that the other detail, he was always thinking of others.
As he approached with a cloth filled with ice, he bent down with the hands of a surgeon and wrapped my fist, making sure the ice was in prime position to bring out the swelling.
"Wanna tell me what happened?"
"As much as I would like too, at the moment, I can't. It is no threat to me, so I don't want you to stress, I just my cool with an arsehole"
"OK, that's all I need to know. I have to make sure you are still around to hold your grandbaby" He added with a grin.
This kid is going to be so spoilt I thought to myself.
"Hey Marcus, can I ask you a question?" I said to him, motioning him to sit on the chair opposite me.
"Do you think you are ready to be a dad?"
"Well, can I ask you the same? When Jules was born, were you ready."
"I thought I was, but when she came home, all hell broke loose." I replied thinking of the sleepless nights, the feedings, the nappy changes, the crying and screaming.
"Good point. I just want you to know you are not alone, and I want you to have a nanny to help."
"Thanks for the offer, but, I would rather we did everything ourselves, and if we start to break, I promise to put my hand up for help. Is that ok?"
"That's more than ok. But you do realise you will be living in a house full of domestic help don't you!"
"How could I forget. I was going to ask, and I haven't spoke to Jules yet, although I will, but, would it be possible if install a door between our room, and the nursery? I am happy to pay for the work." He asked.
"Marcus, how about we convert the third floor into a semi apartment for you both. That way you can a bedroom, a sitting room, a nursery and a couple of bathrooms, and you can have some independence and privacy of your own."
"I probably couldn't afford to do that" he said, not really catching on to me.
"No Marcus, it's a gift. You don't have to pay. I know your pride is at stake, but sometimes it is ok for you to accept without it damaging your pride. I am doing it for you as a family."
"OK, well, that would be great."
"There is one unavoidable catch thou" I said as a grin crept across my face.
"Jackson will want to work on the design, and trust me, he gets a bit crazy on these things."
Marcus laughed, but nodded his approval.
"I will talk to Jackson once I get to New York, and he can work it through with you and Jules, but let's plan to have it completed by the time the baby arrives. It is not as if we use all the rooms in that big place, this would be a practical solution, where I also know you will be safe."
"Excellent! Thank you so much."
"There is one other thing I wanted to talk to you about. Your parents." Marcus raised his eyes as I mentioned this.
"I do not want them to think that they need to miss out on the babies up bringing, it's important dates like birthdays etc. I want them to be able to visit whenever they want. Please make sure that they are aware that if they wish to travel to Germany, they just ring Sam, and he will organise their travel, on me. Whether it be private of commercial, I need to make sure that they are involved in the baby's upbringing."
"That's just too generous." Marcus added, a slight blush appearing on his cheeks.
"No, it's not. It is protecting family, and supporting each other, time to get on board, Marcus."
I could see he was genuinely appreciative of my offer. Not sure his parents would be, but it was a small step in securing the support of those around me, and if Marcus was here for the long haul, which I believed he was, I needed to incorporate him, and by extension, his family, into the fold.
The closer we got to New York, the bigger my anxieties flared up, as I knew I we had some daunting work ahead of us. I phoned Sam who I'd neglected to tell I was leaving, and asked him to block out my diary at least for three days.
"Gee boss, do you ever work" he chided me as I spoke.
"More than you know!" I egged him on. "Is James near you at all?" I asked hoping I could grab him at the same time.
"Hello?" James voice boomed down the line. "Where the fuck are you, and why don't I know?" He asked in gruff manner.
"Completely my fault. Currently an hour out of New York. I know, I am sorry, I will explain soon. But I need you to do some digging for me soon. On Thursday once you are done, can you please make your way over here. I need a few days first to gather some bits and pieces. I have Johan and Paul with me. I don't want Sam here initially. This is a pretty serious family matter."
"Boss, tell me you're ok, you're safe and not in trouble, and that's all I need to know."
"100%, but until I have all my info together, I'd be wasting your time flying you in earlier. Have Sam book you on Commercial. I'll even spring for first class for you" I added jokingly.
"You know I don't need the fancy stuff"
"Ok, cattle class it is."
"Hey, let's not to get too carried away" I heard him laugh as I hung up the line.
As we got stuck in a holding pattern, I could see the lights of the night from Pittsburgh to Boston it felt like. The millions of lights flickering below were keeping my over active brain in check, and a pleasant distraction. Eventually touching down, there were a few cars waiting for us.
"Johan, come with me, Paul are you ok to supervise all this being moved."
"Yes, no problem. I will see you soon"
We sped off the apron and out the gates, heading to the town house. I made it clear I was in a rush. I needed to talk to Jackson. I need to get some perspective on everything.
Arriving outside, Karl was waiting, without his normal smile. As I approached him, I knew the reason for his glum demeanour.
"Cheer up" I said, "It is for the better, and before you know it, he will be back. Trust me. He loves you"
I think it was that reassurance that made him get moving.
"Right, I need the dining room stripped bare. I need laptops set up. Think FBI visiting again. This is now ground zero for something." I instructed the house team. "Karl, no one is to enter or exit this room, besides you, and no one is to look at anything on the table. Do I make myself clear!"
"Yes Sir" came the answer in unison.
"Would you mind telling me what's going on?" Jackson's voice came from behind me.
"Hey bub!" I said as I turned to greet him.
"What is with the fist?" was his first question.
"He knocked a doctor out cold" said Johan beating me to the punch
"OK then, this is getting more interesting by the minute. But why the top secret, secret squirrel business?" he prodded at me.
"Johan, go grab a shower and freshen up, I will have Karl make some sandwiches and coffee. I am going to do the same. Karl, when Paul arrives, have him freshen up too" I said as issued instructions.
"As for you" pointing at Jackson, "come with me and I will explain whilst I shower"
As I stripped down to shower, I could see Jackson chomping at the bit to know what was going on. I started to talk as I stood under the water, and he just sat listening as I explained the past 24hrs, what we had found, what was happening and why I decided to come to New York,
"I feel safer here doing it, away from many prying eyes. Away from anyone remotely connected. I bought Johan and Paul to help translate the pages and pages we have. I don't think you understand how many boxes and bags of documents we have."
"OK, but what exactly are we looking for." He asked, which I guess was a pretty good question.
"That I can't answer yet, but we will know it when we find it."
Hoping out of the shower, I ran downstairs, ready to attack.
I sent Karl and a driver to Dempster & Carroll on Lexington to grab a white board, and a heap of stationary we would need. They were open late, and did not want t waste time.
"Don't come back without it all, and phone if you have any issues"
"OK Grant, you're the boss" Karl said as he grabbed his coat and left.
Paul and Johan joined Jackson and I in the dining room as we looked at all the boxes and bags we bought with us.
"Shit" Jackson said. "You weren't kidding. Where do we start"
"Well, all of the sorted English printed Documents are in the boxes there. All of the German ones are in those boxes. All of the bags have not been sorted yet, and in that bag," He said pointing to a sports bag in the corner, "are the two lock boxes I found."
"Right. Jackson, can you please start sorting the English & German papers. Separate piles of each, no need to read yet, just separate. Paul, Johan, grab a box each of German, and start reading, and anything relating to Sebastian, money, my mother or any family business that looks not right, pull to the side. If it is general bank business, just put to the side and we can come back to them. I am offer to find a tool kit to break into these boxes."
"Are you sure you want to Grant" Jackson said, showing signs of caution.
"No I am not, but I think I have too. There has to be some reason for them, and we need answers"
Chapter 86
I went down to the basement to see if I could find some sort of tool kit, a hammer, a saw, anything that would allow me to break into the lock boxes. I had almost become possessed by wanting to know their contents. Giving up, I grabbed my phone and rang Karl.
"Karl, Hi, I need a tool kit, or tools or something to open a metal box."
As he started to give me directions as to where they were in the basement, I couldn't find them.
"We are 5 mins away. Just leave it and I will get them when we get there" he instructed me.
"OK, I can wait" I said knowing the suspense was killing me.
Back up in the dining room, the place in 10 minutes had turned into a war zone. I joined in the sorting so we could start to go through everything. The answers lied within, we just had to find it.
As Karl retuned he entered the room to drop all the stationary supplies off, and to build the larger than expected whiteboard we were going to use for our mapping, I dismissed him to find the tools I needed. It was within minutes he returned with what I needed.
The boxes seemed to be the type that are used in bank vaults. One was on the larger size, and the other seemed to be smaller. As I studied the boxes for the best way to open them, I noticed that it appeared I only had to tap out the hinges and I would be in. Seemed easy, but they were built to obviously withstand this type of destruction.
I eventually got out a small crow bar and managed to leverage under the lip popping the first, and smaller box open.
"Oh Fuck!" I exclaimed as the contents spilled out of the box. This caused everyone to stop what they were doing to turn and see what I had in front of me. A hundred or so velvet pouches all filled with beautiful rare gems. Diamonds, rubies, Sapphires, Emeralds, Black Opals, you name it, they were in here. One satch contained the largest, most unique princess cut diamond I had ever seen.
"Wow. What is that." Jackson exclaimed, before Johan made his way to the table to see.
"Grant, show me that diamond" he asked, sounding more forceful that I have seen him be.
"This is one of the original De Beer Diamonds, missing since the Nazi's stole them in WW2."
"How do you know?"
"I have studied gems as a hobby my whole life. I just cannot believe they are here. I am lost for words"
"The plot has well and truly thickened" I added in as we all huddled around the precious stones.
"Grant, with all due respect, it may be time to call in the authorities" Johan said, looking a little pale.
"I tend to agree, but first, lets just get through everything here first, see what we are actually dealing with. Give it until Sunday night, and first thing Monday morning, I call our lawyers and we take it from there" I said to the group. Knowing, the most important thing was my brothers welfare, the history behind it, and why I was missing $400m every year.
"I can live with that, I think that's a good idea" Johan chimed in.
"Jackson, can you please place these in our personal safe. I think they are best kept there for the time being, until we can figure out what we are doing."
"Good idea. Let me get them all together." As he was collecting them and placing them back in their velvet pouches he picked up a beautiful pair of Emerald's.
"OH maybe earrings from Maggie" He joked whilst holding them to his ears.
"Safe, Now!" I said as he walked away with the stones.
The next, larger, box was a lot harder to open, and took me about half hour before I could leverage it open using hammers, crow bars, screw drivers. I was at the point of taking a bloody sledge hammer to it, when all of a sudden it gave in to Jacksons force.
"See you needed a man's touch to open it" He dropped sarcastically.
"Don't even start!" I joked.
The box was loaded with documents. All in German, and all a fair age. Perhaps only a dozen or so appeared to be less than 20 years old. Considering my Grandfather had been dead 11 years, I was not really surprised.
"Johan, can I please ask a favour. Can you stop what you are doing there, and start on this box. It was looked for a reason, if we were going to find a smoking gun, it will probably be in here."
As I slowly emptied its contents, there were old German Bank bonds, about $50k in old German currency. A few war medals, and a few photo's but the bulk of it was old typed documents which I had no idea what they contained.
"Well, lets get started" Johan said as he started at the top"
Johan was quiet and very concentrated as he started reading. I was sitting next to him waiting on the edge of my seat for something, anything. He had flicked through about 20 pages when he stopped and looked at me.
"I know where the money goes"
"Well?"
"Your grandfather has funded neo-Nazi and hate groups, and it has never stopped. He also was involved with some of the same gangs your second cousin was involved in. Some of these documents tie the German Government to it, and some show where he advised former Nazi's on financial matters, on how to hide the wealth they had gathered during the war."
We sat there dumbfounded.
It appeared that Johan had a light globe moment.
"Pass me my laptop" He asked "I think I know something."
As he logged in to the bank's data system, I let him work his magic. It took him about 10 or so minutes before he yelled.
"FUCK! I found it." It was the start to trail I wish we had never found. The account he pulled up related to a memo from 1947. The account was of a former SS military commander that had pillared away the equivalent of $1mUSD post WW2. That same account today had over $360m Euro in it. All from the means of stolen proceeds. This was not good, as it not only placed us in a dangerous situation, but it also placed the bank in a situation that could potentially cause severe reputational harm. For me it was a no brainer, we had to come clean, but we also had to trace not just this account, but the many that Johan was finding as he continued to dig up more and more.
It had just passed 3am, and whilst we were all working our tails off, I told everyone to stop what they were doing and call it a night. Hopefully tomorrow with a clear head and fresh eyes we could get to the bottom of it.
`let's wrap it up guys, get some sleep. Sleep in a bit in the morning. We need rest."
As everyone started to head up stairs, Karl did a quick tidy up before turning the lights out.
As I reached our bedroom and walked in I turned to Jackson for the first time and admitted something I hadn't since we started on this rollercoaster.
"I'm scared bub"
As he wrapped me in his arms, he knew I was serious, and he needed to be my strong man. It was the support I needed, and they were the arms I wanted. My rock, my world.
Chapter 87
Morning came to soon, and whilst I had instructed everyone else to sleep in, the same rules didn't apply for me. 7am was met by a knock on our door with Karl with a breakfast tray. Some coffee and fresh croissants.
"Don't you ever sleep" I said as I struggled to open my eyes.
"You don't pay me to sleep. Plus Sam has rung twice, wanting to speak to you. I didn't tell him you were up all night, I just said you were busy."
"Thanks. I will drink this and call him. Anything else?"
"What did you want today?"
"Oh, make some eggs and coffee and take them to Paul and Johan, around 8am if you haven't heard from them. Then we will need coffee and food throughout the day. At some stage I will have lawyers here, so just use your common-sense and bring what we need. Please make sure no one enters the dining room thou. It's still a no-fly zone!"
"Roger! Now have some breakfast, get showered, and take your time."
He flipped on his heel and left.
I looked at my phone, and sure enough, Sam had rung my mobile 4 times. I loved putting the damn thing on silent at night. I thought I better ring, as he never phoned this early, or so consistently.
"Morning Buttercup! Do you realise what time it is. Don't you know how to sleep?" I asked half jokingly.
"It's 1pm here boss, get in your zone. I have a problem, and James is tied up so he has asked me to call you."
"OK, hit me"
"Michael never boarded the plane from Dubai-Brisbane. We have made inquires and his passport hasn't been used, and we can see that his bank account on file hasn't been accessed. He landed in Dubai, and then that is the last we have seen and heard of him."
"Oh fuck, what else can go wrong." I queried out loud.
"What do you mean, what else? Is something else wrong?" Sam asked knowing I had not kept him in the loop on what I was doing.
"OK buddy, I have a lot of shit going down. I just don't know how bad it is. Leave James on the Michael update, and I want hourly updates. I need you, the banks general counsel, and our team from our lawyers in Munich here today. I want the Lawyers from New York, here this afternoon. I don't care what time, I need them here and you, now. Use the A330, just get everyone together. I want you in the air no later than 3pm, which will put you here around 4:30. Book rooms at the Plaza, just make it happen."
"OK, do I need to bring anything?"
"Just you. I will explain it all later, put James on."
"He's on another call. I will have him buzz as soon as he can"
"OK. Fuck, it's going to be one of those days."
I jumped out of bed and hit the shower, Jackson walked in and I explained what was going on.
"Are you ok?" he asked with genuine concern.
"No, not really but, people are relying on me. I am worried about Michael. Something is just not right. Can you please grab me Chris ASAP"
As I finished up I walked in to the room naked, to find Chris standing there with Jackson.
"OK, I guess ASAP meant now" I said, as I went to grab my clothes.
"Morning boss, letting it all hang out this morning I see"
"Well, yeah, grab a seat and listen"
As Chris grabbed his seat, I explained what I knew. James had still not rung me, but I needed some changes ASAP.
"I want everyone vital, or close to us on lockdown. Maggie, Marcus, Karl, anyone in the states, I need extra protection on. And that happens now. Not in 5 mins, but now. Am I clear. Then I want you to ring James and co-ordinate everything, until we have some clarity on what has happened to Michael. Make sure Steven and Kalus are also protected, and I wouldn't mind some extra security in Belize until we know more. Can you make that happen?
"Sure boss on to it. Michael will be fine, he's probably gone shopping or exploring, you know how goofy he can be" He added trying to calm me a bit.
"Yeah, I know, I am just worried. No mention of this to Karl. I don't extra hysterics today either"
"Consider it done, excuse me I have work to do"
At that moment James rang. I stopped Chris from leaving, so he could join in on speaker. After listening to James, he agreed with me about a possible abduction of Michael.
"I want Jules on that plane today as well. Are you right to travel, or do you have better equipment there?" I asked.
"I am going to stay here, I might move in to the Villa thou, as it is more secure."
"Yeah fine, do what you need, just keep me posted."
I explained what I had instructed Chris to do.
"I hope I haven't stepped over the mark." I asked
"Not in this case Boss, perfect. Chris, do what you need to do, and then call me. If you hit any roadblocks let me know."
"Roger! Leave it with me and we will talk soon."
As I headed down stairs Maggie was having breakfast, as Sally stood by drinking coffee.
"Sorry kiddo, I can't let you go to school today. I really can't explain in detail, but, we have a little bit of heat happening, and I just want to make sure you are safe"
"Seriously! You have got to be kidding."
"Join via zoom. Once I am in a position to explain, I will. But the good news is your sister will be here later today. Sally, if you don't mind, can you please go catch up with Chris for briefing. He is using my office" I finished off with.
As we were the only two in the breakfast room, I pulled up a chair next to her.
"Michael is missing. I need you to keep this to yourself for the time being, and not mention it to Karl. We are not sure if he has wondered off, or if he has been taken"
"Fuck, really. My big teddy bear!" Tears welled up in her eyes. Maggie had taken a shine to Michael and treated him like a big brother. I knew she would be upset, but I needed to tell her the truth so she understood the importance of the situation.
"I will find him. James is on to it now. There will be a lot of people coming and going today, so if you need anything, find me, or find Karl, but do not leave the house. Sorry sweetheart"
"I understand dad. I might grab Sally and watch Netflix."
"Oh, I didn't realise that was what I paid I her for"
"She's mine dad!" she laughed. For 19yo, she was a good kid. I worried about her to often, but she always pulled up better than all of us in the long run.