Page 58 of Idaho

"I don't have anyone to spend it with. The ex took the kids to her parents in Milwaukee for a few weeks. This at least keeps me busy. Anyway, I already emailed over the background reports for Thomas Muller and Tatiana Desmet... You realize she's the daughter of the Grand Duke of one of those tiny European nations...right?"

"I do."

"You realize that means he's the ruler of that country? His uncle is the king of The Netherlands. Not sure where you found this girl but she is connected."

"I know, James," I replied in a less than patient tone. Eva had stopped and pulled back, her eyes searching my face. I wasn't sure if she could hear what James was saying or if my tone was alerting her that something was up.

He cleared his throat. "Great. Uh. Also, does the name Richard Krier mean anything to you?"

Glancing over at Eva again, I asked, "You know a Richard Krier?"

Anger flashed in her eyes as they narrowed, answering my question.

"Yeah. We know him." I would anyway, just as soon as I hung up the phone. "What about him?"

"It took some digging, but I found a wire transfer to one, Gerald Green, for thirty thousand dollars two days before everything went down at the bar. Gerald Green was one of the men in the group that attacked your friends."

"How the hell did you find all this? And so quickly?" I asked. Though I shouldn't be surprised. James had a talent honed from years with the FBI. It was the whole reason I hired him. Still, sometimes he even shocked me.

"Had cameras at the bank across the road from where the fight went down and pulled the security footage. Ran it through the facial recognition database and got a hit for him and one of his friends. Do you really want to hear all this?"

"No," I sighed. "Tell me the rest."

"That's all I know for now, I just thought you'd want the head's up."

"I do. Thanks, James."

"No problem, Mr. Sharpe."

"Let me know as soon as you find out more." Hanging up the phone, I turned and faced Eva. The anger was gone, replaced by worry and fear. I hated seeing that look on her face.

Searching her eyes, I demanded, "Tell me who Richard Krier is."

CHAPTER 20

Eva

Ilet out an unhappy sigh. "He's one of my father's cousins. Twice removed, or something like that."

"Okay. Why would he be paying some piece of shit to make trouble for you?"

"For the same reason we have hardly any contact with the majority of our families. Everyone wants the title. They all think they should have been chosen to control the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.

"Run me through how that works."

"My father, as the Grand Duke, is the ruler of Luxembourg. It was a huge honor for him to be appointed to the role. We also have a parliament that he works with. Though he has final say, it's always best if both governing bodies agree before action is taken, or so Father always says. "

"And who is his heir?"

"My brother, Charlie, will take over once my father passes."

"So, this Krier guy comes after you to try to force your father's hand? To what? It's not like he's ever going to hand over the ability to rule Luxembourg. Can he even do that?"

"No. The Luxembourgish Parliament would step in and make another selection if that were the case. As it is, Charlie has to be approved to even take over as successor for it to officially happen," I told him.

"So what's the point of this Krier guy coming after you?"

"Having my father in his back pocket would benefit Richard in many ways. I just never thought he'd be devious enough to try."