The Oslo Affair (Shadows of War, #2) by CW Browning (read after .txt) 📗

to carry it out of her room. He had offered in halting English to take the toiletries case as well, but she refused. She would carry it with her. As soon as he left the room, she turned to make one last check, ensuring that she had gathered everything. It was done more out of nervousness than anything else, for she knew she hadn’t left anything behind. She was far too thorough for that.

The car would be arriving any minute to take her to the station, where Anna would meet her. There was really no reason to tarry, but Evelyn couldn’t seem to make her legs move to carry her downstairs. She was comfortable here, in this room and under this roof with Else and Josef keeping an eye out for her. She had no idea what awaited her in Stockholm, and therein lay the nerves.

After taking a moment to compose herself, she pulled her coat on and picked up her shoulder bag from the desk. As her fingers closed around the handle of the toiletry case, she felt herself calm down and she turned towards the door.

In the case lay the reason she was here. No matter what Sweden held in store for her, at least she knew she had succeeded in her primary mission.

A moment later, she was striding down the hallway towards the stairs. When she was almost there, a tall figure emerged from the flight of steps, almost running into her. She let out a soft gasp and stopped mid-stride, narrowly avoiding a collision.

“Oh!”

Looking up, Evelyn felt her heart thud and her breath stopped for a moment as she stared into a face she remembered clearly.

“Fraulein!” A wide smile broke over the angular face. “Are you all right? We seem to keep running into each other.”

Herr Renner stood before her, a long black coat covering his dark suit. He had obviously just returned to the house and, as he spoke, he began pulling off his black leather gloves.

“Oh hallo!” Evelyn forced a light cheerfulness into her voice as her heart pounded against her chest. “Yes, we do, don’t we?”

“Now don’t tell me that you’re not staying here either, because I won’t believe it!” he said with a laugh, dropping his gloves into his hat and tucking it under his arm.

“No. I’m staying here,” she said with a perfunctory laugh.

“How wonderful. I’m glad there is a fellow German in the house. The landlord speaks a passable German, but it’s nice to hear a familiar Berlin accent.” Herr Renner smiled down at her. “Say you’ll have a drink with me.”

Evelyn swallowed. “I’d love to, Herr Renner, but I’m late for an appointment at the moment. Perhaps another time?”

“Alas, another appointment,” he mourned. “I suppose it can’t be helped. Perhaps tomorrow.”

He bowed slightly and stepped back to allow her to pass.

“I’ll look forward to it,” Evelyn assured him with another forced smile. “Goodbye!”

She went past him and started down the stairs, her mind clamoring to find a reason why he would be staying in the same nondescript lodging house as herself. When she’d run into him the night before at the Hotel Bristol, she had received the distinct impression that he was staying there. Yet, here he was.

She forced herself to maintain a steady pace down the stairs even as her breath was coming fast. She didn’t know who he was or what he was doing here, but she knew one thing for certain.

This was not a coincidence.

Chapter Fifteen

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Hearing a soft click, Herr Renner tucked the metal tools into his pocket and eased open the door, slipping inside. He closed it softly behind him and looked around the empty room. A fire still burned in the hearth, casting a soft glow through the darkness. Moving forward, he went to the desk before the window and switched on the lamp. Immediately, the shadows in the room dispersed and he turned to survey the space thoughtfully.

The bed was made neatly, the pillows placed perfectly, while the chair before the desk was pushed in. The Englishwoman had a penchant for precise neatness which he could appreciate. Everything had a place, and it was placed accordingly. He bent down to open the drawer of the desk. It was empty save the notepad and pencil provided by the landlord. He had the same notepad and pencil in his room.

Renner pulled out the pad and held it under the lamp, looking for signs of it having been used recently. After examining it carefully, he replaced it in the drawer. There were no indentations on the top sheet. The woman hadn’t jotted down any notes, at least not on that pad. Closing the drawer, he turned to look around for a moment, then went to work.

Moving methodically around the room, he began with the bed. Bending down, he lifted the bed skirt and peered underneath. The wooden floor was bare and nothing appeared to be tucked between the wooden slats holding the mattress. Straightening, he flipped the covers away from the side of the mattress and lifted it, scanning underneath. After checking one side thoroughly, he went to the other side and did the same thing. Satisfied that nothing had been slipped under the mattress or behind the pillows, he replaced everything and smoothed the cover back. When he was finished, it looked as if the bed hadn’t been touched.

Renner then moved to the side table, searching under it and leafing through the Bible resting on the surface. Systematically, he made his way around the room, going through furniture, checking behind paintings on the wall, and even inspecting the cracks in the floor. At one point he thought he had something when he spied a slip of paper peeking from behind the armoire, but further investigation revealed a receipt from a bookshop dated four months prior.

He had just slipped it back into the crevice between the wardrobe and the wall when he straightened up and looked around again. The room was clean, almost