Rose - Its shades of grey E-Book

Stephan Wellnitz

• Herausgeber: tredition
• Kategorie: Abenteuer, Thriller, Horror
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 172

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2022

Beschreibung

Is it just a coincidence that the murder weapon in a mysterious murder case is identical to the name of the main suspect's lover? Karl Dreher has been on the run in his motorhome for days, fleeing from Dortmund to the south, across France and the Pyrenees. His goal: Madrid, where his mistress Rosa is waiting for him, the woman who changed his life from the ground up. But what about her enigmatic messages? And what is behind the blackmail attempt of an anonymous perpetrator who demands payment in Bitcoin? A dark as well as exciting thriller in the area of tension between love, revenge, justice and cryptocurrencies.

Leseprobe

Rose - Its shades of grey

Also by Stephan Wellnitz

Rose – Die dunkle Seite

Rose – Il lato oscuro

Rose - Its shades of grey

Stephan Wellnitz

© 2022 Stephan Wellnitz

ISBN Softcover: 978-3-347-56256-1ISBN Hardcover: 978-3-347-56258-5ISBN E-Book: 978-3-347-56259-2

Druck und Distribution im Auftrag des Autors: tredition GmbH, Halenreie 40-44, 22359 Hamburg, Germany.

Das Werk, einschließlich seiner Teile, ist urheberrechtlich geschützt. Für die Inhalte ist der Autor verantwortlich. Jede Verwertung ist ohne seine Zustimmung unzulässig.

Die Publikation und Verbreitung erfolgen im Auftrag des Autors, zu erreichen unter: tredition GmbH, Abteilung Impressumservice, Halenreie 40-44, 22359 Hamburg, Deutschland.

Bibliografische Information der Deutschen Nationalbibliothek: Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek verzeichnet diese Publikation in der Deutschen Nationalbibliografie; detaillierte bibliografische Daten sind im Internet über http://dnb.dnb. de abrufbar.

1st Chapter

Frankfurt am Main, February 2020

Sometimes our greatest talents are hidden in our darkest depths.

The beer bottle made a quiet hiss when Karl opened it. It was only after four in the afternoon, but it was a Sunday and the daylight outside was already clouded with fine threads of twilight. At this time of year, it was sometimes hardly really bright, especially on cloudy days like today.

Only the huge picture painted in intense red colors brightened the room. The canvas was much too big for the small room, dominated it, but that did not bother Karl. The house was too small for this picture, not the picture too big for this house.

“Karl? Can you bring me one of the big salad bowls from the cellar?” Claudia’s voice penetrated through the staircase from the kitchen to his study.

Karl sighed and took a deep sip from his beer bottle. The beer tasted tart and cold, pleasantly refreshing, but the alcohol missed its effect.

“Yes, I’ll do it right away!” he called and turned back to his laptop, which was standing on the desk in front of him.

Actually, he had never been the type to take homework or read his emails on a Sunday. For 21 years he worked at the same bank, had first learned to be a bank clerk after school, and then later put his master of business administration on top of it, a solid career without significant detours or leaps.

He liked to deal with numbers. Numbers were reliable, predictable, and followed a logic very different from people in all their inconsistencies.

But about a year and a half ago, his boss had approached him and informed him that his department would be closed. There was talk of austerity measures, of working more efficiently now, of lean workforce and outsourcing and other new German expressions to which Karl was not listening to properly. He knew what that meant. A lot of people suddenly got rid of their jobs so that „those up there” and especially the shareholders could earn even more money.

But he was lucky. Someone, perhaps his team leader or the department head, had recognized his ‘potential’ in the handling of numbers, as it was always called now so beautifully, and stimulated his transfer to the new subsidiary FinTech, where one dealt with products such as cryptocurrencies and NFTs for the customers.

Karl didn’t know much about cryptocurrencies before. He had picked up terms like blockchain or bitcoin once or twice, but on his first day at his new job, he realized that he had finally found his true calling here.

It was so wonderfully simple and logical. He would like to do nothing else than talk shop all day about NFT and the blockchain, which meant that he was now also available for his colleagues via e-mail at night and on weekends, much to his wife’s annoyance.

“Karl! The salad bowl!” Claudia just called again.

The smell of pot roast was in the air, along with steamed vegetables, Claudia’s specialty.

Karl rolled his eyes, took another sip from his bottle, and reluctantly got up.

Sunday was reserved for the family, even after the children were long gone. Tobias studied law in Marburg and was about to take his second state examination, but now he had moved to Frankfurt. Annika had taken her teacher training course in Heidelberg in the summer semester but was doing a traineeship here in Frankfurt.

Claudia insisted that the children came home for dinner on Sundays, at least most of the time. Tobias and Annika did her the favor of showing up, at least mostly.

Karl left the study, put his beer bottle on the sideboard in the hallway. He went down into the basement, where it smelled of heating oil, detergent, and the past. Somewhere between the Christmas decoration and the camping equipment, Claudia kept the part of her kitchen utensils had no place in her kitchen, although Karl occasionally wondered what was hidden in the seven kitchen cupboards. She had insisted on the cupboards in fitted kitchen at the time.

25 years ago, shortly after Tobias' birth, they had bought the semidetached house in the north of Frankfurt. It was still affordable then, however today it would probably not be because the property prices in the region had exploded. Actually, it was too big for him and Claudia, but at least it offered enough space for them to avoid each other.

He reached for one of the salad bowls which stood neatly lined up in one of the shelves, between the raclette and the fondue, and went up to the ground floor.

Claudia stood leaning over the steaming pots with reddened cheeks, while Annika diligently shredded salad at the sideboard. Karl put down the salad bowl and went into the living room to see Tobias, who was zapping through the sports channels.

Karl sat down next to him. For a while, father and son sat silently next to each other and stared at the flickering screen, while the two women in the kitchen chatted excitedly.

Annika just told her mother in an excited voice about the new boyfriend she had met at the beginning of her traineeship. Markus was already in the last semester and was a research assistant, a good catch obviously.

“He’s so smart, Mama, you have to hear him talk about history,“ Annika just raved.

Tobias snapped his tongue and the corners of his mouth twitched, knowing his sister’s mind all too well. Annika fell in love quickly and often and it was always ‘the right one’, of which Karl could also sing a song.

“So, my boy, how are things at university?” Karl asked to break the silence between them.

Almost imperceptibly Tobias shrugged and tightened.

“Um, good, good, I’m studying for the second state exam. The library has become my second home.“

Karl nodded. He, himself, had never studied at a university, but had studied courses at a private university while working. It filled him with pride that his son would become a lawyer or even a judge.

“So, what are your plans for the time after that?” Karl avoided looking at his son. He remembered all too well how unpleasant conversations of this kind had once been with his own father. Why did some things never change?

“Well, you know, I was thinking about specializing in environmental law.“ Tobias said, his eyes fixed firmly on the TV.

Karl raised an eyebrow. “Environmental law? I thought you wanted to do corporate law.“

Tobias nodded slowly. “Yes, of course, that was a consideration because of the money and so on. But you know, I realized that I don’t want to do something all my life just for the money. I need more in my life. A vocation or something alike.“

“Understand,“ Karl grumbled, even though he wasn’t sure whether he really understood. The young people today were somehow very different from him and Claudia back then.

They had longed to have a driver’s license, a car, just to get away from home, stand on their own feet.

Tobias, on the other hand, had traveled through South America with his backpack after graduation. Claudia had almost gone mad at that time. Now he was a good student, but he did not have a driver’s license until today.

Karl clapped him on his knee. “You’ll know what you’re doing,“ he said. It was supposed to sound encouraging, but somehow, he missed the right tone.

“Karl!“ Claudia’s voice sounded clearly reproachful.

Karl turned around to face Claudia.

Claudia stood in the passage to the kitchen with his open beer bottle in her hand and shook her head.

“Now I have a beer wreath on the sideboard in the hallway.“

Karl pulled a face. Crap, he had forgotten the beer when he came back from the hallway.

“I’m sorry,“ he grumbled, stood up, and took the bottle out of her hand.

“We can eat now,“ Claudia said, and it still sounded reproachful.

The family sat down at the dining table. The food smelled delicious and tasted even better which lifted Karl’s mood. Claudia’s cooking skills were second to none, a trait he still cherished after all these years. Maybe it was also the beer, which now, after the third bottle, finally had a small effect.

Karl joked and laughed, the mood was relaxed and laid back. Family Sunday was not only a mandatory event and the Sunday lunches had something for themselves.

His cell phone beeped and told him that he had received an e-mail.

Karl frowned. “I have to go to the study for a moment.“ he muttered.

Claudia frowned regretfully. “On Sunday?” she asked.

“It’s not work, it’s my stocks,“ Karl said mysteriously and stood up. “That was delicious, honey,“ he said and gave Claudia a kiss on the cheek, which made her slightly blush. It was no longer often that the two were physically close.

Tobias looked at his watch, and thought of his friends. “I don’t have much time, my train is leaving soon.“

“I can give you a lift,“ Annika announced, who never missed an opportunity to tease her older brother with the fact that he did not have a driver’s license.

“This is going to be very quick,“ Karl assured and hurried towards the stairs.

When he arrived at the study, he locked the door and turned on the laptop. He opened his email and read the new mail for the second time.

SUBJECT: BLACK ROSE

MESSAGE: I KNOW ABOUT YOUR BLACK ROSE IN MADRID. TRANSFER 5 BITCOIN TO THE WALLET ADDRESS BELOW BY FRIDAY, OTHERWISE I WILL SEND PHOTOS AND OTHER EVIDENCE TO YOUR WIFE AND COLLEAGUES.

Karl turned pale, suddenly he felt sick. He tasted bitter stomach acid on his tongue and for a moment he feared that he would retch out all the pot roast and side dish.

It had to be a joke, a terrible, tasteless joke, it couldn’t be real, it must not be real. He swallowed, but the disgusting taste simply did not want to disappear.

Again and again, he read the lines in front of him on the screen, but the content did not change.

Panicked, Karl closed the laptop, as if this could make the email and its horrible text disappear. When he got up, he felt the ground swaying under his feet. He took a few steps and then had to hold on to the back of his chair.

Karl gasped, the room around him seemed to be spinning, he was gasping for breath, his heart was racing, he was desperately trying to calm down. Under no circumstances could Claudia or the children see him like this, at least not before he had come up with a good explanation.

He closed his eyes and silently counted to ten. The blood rushed in his ears, but slowly, very slowly, his heartbeat calmed down. He regained control of his mind and body.

He sat up, took a few deep breaths, and went down to the dining room where the others were.

“So – are you a millionaire now?” Tobias joked, who just stood up from his chair and held out his hand to say goodbye to his father.

“Not yet,“ Karl said with a sour smile on his face and grabbed his hand.

Annika was standing in the hallway putting on her jacket.

“We have to go now,“ she said and embraced her mother to say goodbye. “Food was super delicious, Mama, as always. I am looking forward to the next time.“ She kissed her mother on both cheeks, then hugged her father.

The smell of lily-of-the-valley came into Karl’s nose. That’s how she always smelled, innocent and sweet. He took a deep breath. For a moment, he managed to forget the rift that ran through his world.

Through the window, they watched the children climb into the car and drive away. It had long turned dark outside.

Claudia sighed deeply and rubbed her arms. “They grew up so quickly,“ she said, her voice was filled with melancholy. “I’ll go and clean up the kitchen.”

Annika pressed the button on the car key and heard the clicking of the central locking. It had become dark by now and it was raining lightly. It was very cold.

“Hopefully, no ice,“ she thought and went to her small BMW at the street corner. Tobias followed her and checked his WhatsApp messages on his mobile phone. Annika turned around, looked at him, and thought that he looked like a ghost, so in the dark with the light from the cell phone display on his face. Pale and grey in color. She was worried about her brother. Since he had returned from the semester break in Argentina, he did not progress with his studies and hung out more with his friends rather concentrating on his studies.

Annika dropped into the driver’s seat and started the car. You could hear nothing but the quiet whirring of the I3. “The batteries are still almost full, so no problem for the commute in the coming week,“ the opening passenger door tore her out of the thought, Tobias fell into the passenger seat and fastened the seat belt. “This is getting worse.“

Annika did not answer. She focused on the outside world and switched on the windshield wipers. Just over zero degrees she thought and drove behind a truck onto the driveway towards the city. “What do you mean?”

Tobias looked up from his mobile phone display and murmured “So clinical the two, always these questions from dad.“

Annika joined the traffic on the highway and then replied “That’s how they are. Nothing new.“

“No, it is different from before. Ever since Dad started working at the new bank, he’s been acting differently, like he’s got a secret. The cryptocurrency thing is taking him down. Did you notice how different he was when he came back from the study? Crazy, totally crazy.“-

Annika stayed in the right lane and kept her distance. It had become quite dark by now and the ice symbol in the display of the I3 indicated that it could be icy on the road. The windshield wipers went back and forth monotonously and the oncoming traffic blinded her now and then.

Totally crazy, she thought, What’s that supposed to mean?

Instead, she said to Tobias, “Yes, well, since he has been managing the new bank and taking care of the numbers and no longer the customers, he is in his world. I don’t understand why you do something you don’t want to do for a whole professional life. Mom told me he always wanted to work with numbers and went to the bank. But then the two of us came into their lives and he had to make many compromises, she says, so because of the family and so on. But now he can build something completely new, something he enjoys. Numbers, Mathematics and Crypto. All right, blockchain and hashtags, that’s his world now. He’ll be fine there. Mom also likes it; she says he is much more relaxed than before.“

Tobias had put his phone into his pocket and looked into the wet darkness outside. Only a few more minutes to his apartment.

The guys in my shred apartment will laugh at me because I was with my parents on Sunday. They don’t understand it, went through his mind. For more than half a year now he lived in the shared flat. An interesting combination, being two men and a woman, Nara, good that she fancies women, otherwise it would be guaranteed stress, as hot as she looks.

But somehow it worked out well for the three of them, so far there had been only a small about rent money. However, the quarrel at that time had been a short one, they cleared the air after that. All three of them studied in Frankfurt, which worked out only with a part-time job in addition to Uni to cover the cost of living. He liked Nara, she and him had the same thoughts and opinions. Not at all bitchy, her views are more like a man.

He half-listened to Annika, but was thinking of Nara. “Yeah, I thought so, too, but now I think there’s something else. Dad is now travelling more. That has changed him.“

Annika turned into the street on the Main bank and looked for a place to let Tobias get off. Right in front of the house where Tobias lived, she found a gap and stopped the car. In the apartment of Tobias' shared apartment, the light was burning and she could see Nara standing in the kitchen looking out the window, the window stood open and Nara was smoking a cigarette. Annika looked at the window and saw that Nara had recognized her. She waved briefly and Nara waved back. The glow of the cigarette glowed brighter than before.

Tobias opened the door and got out. “Thanks for the lift, and see you Sunday. We’re on the phone. Hasta luego!“

Annika kept looking at Nara and replied shortly “You’re welcome, big brother. We will talk on the phone. Adios!“

Tobias went through the light drizzle to the house and disappeared into the hallway behind the heavy wooden door.

Actually, Annika wanted to leave long ago, but she continued to look at Nara by the window. Nara pulled the cigarette and the light red glow of the embers briefly lit her face. Annika could see that she was looking at her and noticed that the interior lighting had just gone out. She saw Nara slowly exhaling the smoke in her direction. She didn’t seem to look away. The smoke blurred Nara’s face, but Annika did not want to avert her gaze. She had only met Nara once in the summer in the apartment at the welcome party for Tobias and learned that she was South American and studied in Frankfurt.

It was only a few words she had spoken to her at the time, but Nara’s slight accent had captivated her. And this woman’s smile. The flashing in her eyes when her eyes met. And this little tattoo on her shoulder, a little rose, quite inconspicuous but still burnt into Annika’s memory. Several times, she had thought back to this first run-in, but had never found the courage to continue the conversation. She thought back to the encounter and remembered that Nara was not wearing anything under the light tank top at the time, and her firm breasts were clearly visible under the thin fabric. With these thoughts of Nara’s tattoo, her tank top at the party, and Nara’s gaze on her body, a comforting feeling made itself felt in her stomach and slowly rose until she could feel it in her chest. “It would be so easy to get to know her better, after all, my brother lives in the shared flat,” she heard herself say and then let go looking at Nara.

She drove off slowly and then it took only a few minutes to get to her apartment. Annika knew that nobody was waiting for her there, only the small cozy apartment, and the large empty bed. “But maybe there was a message from Markus,“ she muttered on the way to the front door, “Why doesn’t he have a mobile phone? This rejection of technology was very strange, always only landline and answering machine, never a WhatsApp, I’ll ask him.” Annika went up the stairs and opened the door to her empty apartment.

In the suburbs, the rest of the evening passed in silence with another beer and an animal documentary on TV. Later, when Karl lay next to Claudia in bed and listened to her slow, even breaths did he remember the e-mail and he suddenly lay wide awake in the dark.

His thoughts flew back to a day in fall two years ago, the day when everything had started and he had finally begun to live.

Dortmund, September 1990

When he woke up, he immediately felt it had happened another time. Like several times before, he had had these dreams full of fear and had not got up at night, but remained lying down and now the pajamas and the bed linen were completely wetted.