Free Ben Hope 05 - The Shadow Project by Scott Mariani Page B

them.?
    ?Naturally, the Steiners had their driver stop at the scene, in order to help. But in the very next instant, a van suddenly appeared with more men who tried to grab Herr Steiner and drag him inside it.?
    ?Armed??
    Dorenkamp nodded gravely. ?Heavily.?
    ?Masked??
    Dorenkamp nodded again.
    ?How did they get out of it??
    ?Purely by good fortune and sheer coincidence,? Dorenkamp said. ?There had been a real accident further along the same road, a few kilometres away. It later transpired that the ambulance was already there, attending to the injured. But the police were late arriving on the scene, and happened to appear at the right moment to frighten off the kidnappers.?
    ?But they didn?t catch any of them.?
    ?No, they escaped.?
    ?Did the Steiners and their driver get a good look at the injured man, or the woman who was with him??
    Dorenkamp shook his head. ?Sadly not. The injured man was lying face down, and the woman was wearing dark glasses and a headscarf. She had long black hair.?
    ?Which you can assume to be a wig,? Ben said. ?Now, you said they were on their way to a wedding when it happened. How many people knew about their travel plans that day??
    ?You are thinking about sources on the inside??
    Ben nodded.
    ?It was a high society wedding,? Dorenkamp said. ?Well publicised, and the hotel additionally had a guest list.?
    ?So the information was openly accessible.?
    ?In any case, the police have already pursued these avenues of inquiry,? Dorenkamp said.
    ?Though they haven?t come up with anything, apparently.?
    ?Not yet.?
    ?So does anyone have any idea who might have attempted the kidnap?? Ben asked.
    ?Herr Steiner has his own theories.?
    ?Which are??
    Dorenkamp smiled. ?To be revealed. He will tell you himself in just a moment.?
    They came to a tall doorway, and Dorenkamp led the way through it and past a broad gilt-framed painting depicting a classical scene with semi-naked nymphs frolicking around Greek ruins. Ben heard one of the men behind him muttering something about nice tits. Again, if Dorenkamp noticed, he made a good show of hiding it.
    ?Do the Steiners have children?? Ben asked the PA. ?I ask because kidnappers will often target other family members, even if it?s only to get to the main person they want.?
    ?No children,? Dorenkamp said. ?There is just him, his wife Silvia and their nephew, Otto Steiner, who is in line to take over the business when Herr Steiner retires.? He chuckled. ?Though I find it difficult to imagine that he ever would. Perhaps at the age of ninety-nine, when Otto is nearly seventy himself.?
    ?Where does Otto live?? Ben asked. ?Here, on the estate. He has his own villa within the compound.?
    ?What about Otto?s parents??
    ?Sadly deceased,? Dorenkamp answered. ?It was a long time ago. A car accident. Please don?t mention it to Herr Steiner. He was extremely attached to his brother Karl.?
    ?I won?t say a thing. Now tell me about Mrs Steiner.?
    As he said it, Ben could hear the sound of someone playing the piano from a room somewhere nearby. Someone very good. The piece they were playing was fast and intricate, the kind of thing only a real virtuoso would attempt. It might have been Rachmaninov or Chopin ? Ben wasn?t sure.
    ?You are listening to her,? Dorenkamp said with a smile. ?She was once a concert pianist, before Herr Steiner and she were married.?
    ?What does she do now??
    Dorenkamp shrugged. ?She has her music, and he has his work. They spend each day largely in their separate worlds, and they dine together in the evenings when he is not working late or away on business. It is a simple and unobtrusive life they lead, despite their wealth. There isn?t much to say. Frau Steiner tends to remain here on the estate. She has everything she needs.?
    It seemed like a lonely life, Ben thought as they walked on and left the sound of the piano behind them. He followed Dorenkamp up two sweeping flights of stairs to the second floor. The PA stopped outside a grand double doorway. ?Here we