“Your terms are acceptable. Bring the
papers to the office tomorrow, and we can finalize. Yes...yes, good
day.”
Helen Kruger hung up the phone, marking
the end of another successful deal. Three new Kruger hotels would be
built in this city alone by the end of next year, and the first
Kruger east of the Rocky Mountains would be ready the year after
that. Since she took over from her father, Kruger Hotels had become
the fastest-growing chain in the industry. Still, Helen had never
been one to linger on past successes. Mere moments after closing the
last deal, she checked her calendar so that she could work on the
next one.
It was then that Helen heard a low,
soft whistle of three notes. “What?” she said aloud, and looked
around...but didn't see anyone in the room. “Hmm. Ears are playing
tricks on me.”
Moments later, she heard the same three
notes again. The tune seemed very familiar, but Helen couldn't quite
place it. She was having a hard time focusing in general, in fact.
She knew she should take another look, but couldn't quite muster the
energy.
“Can't afford distractions,” she
muttered to herself, and sipped coffee from the plain blue mug on her
desk.
The
whistling started again—the same volume and tempo, but this time
with different notes. Helen could remember hearing her grandmother
sing it at nights, in the original German.
“Morgen
früh, wenn Gott will...” she followed along, but she had to stop
and yawn. Her eyelids felt very heavy...
Maybe
I have been pushing myself too hard lately, she
thought. She made a note to book a vacation next month—maybe a tour
of Europe?--and turned back to her work.
The
song started up again. Helen had even more trouble keeping her eyes
open. “Maybe just a quick nap,” she said. “Something to
recharge my batteries.”
As
the song continued, Helen Kruger slowly nodded off. Within a few
minutes, she was sleeping soundly at her desk...so she never saw the
long-haired woman drop from the ceiling.
And
she never felt the sword plunge into her back.
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