Off Kilter by Glen Robins Read Free Book Online Page A

since forsaken. The conversation flowed naturally and without interruption. By the end of their twenty minute exchange, the two ladies had arranged a lunch date for Saturday.
    Sarah was anxious. With the clock ticking, she needed help and was happy to enlist Emily in her cause.

Chapter Five
     
    Munich, Germany
    May 2
     
    Collin shook off the grog that customarily enveloped him in the mornings, trying to remember where he was.  The brochure he left on the nightstand served as a reminder that he was in Munich, Germany. He fumbled for the remote and turned the TV to CNN. He watched the news for half an hour to be sure there was nothing relevant. He flipped through the local channels, too, before going to the door to pick up the newspapers he had requested with his breakfast, which arrived at 8:00 a.m.
    He ate his eggs and toast while scouring the pages of the newspapers. Nothing. Nothing about him, his family, or the episode in London. Not even a mention of the violence in Hamburg. Nothing about his supposed connection with the assault on the computer systems of the Royal Bank of Scotland. That was good, he thought. A quick check on the Internet produced the same results. Perfect .
    After showering and dressing, it was time to take to the streets and subways. Lukas had confirmed that he had not been followed to Munich, so he was free to venture forth from his hotel and explore the city. He wore clothes to help him blend into any crowd. A dark, hooded sweatshirt, black running shoes, and jeans.
    He spent the day walking the streets, trying to look like everyone else. Only, he just pretended to have somewhere to go and something important to do. With nothing more than a quick glance, he would study faces as they went by, being careful not to make eye contact. He had learned to discern expressions and body language. He looked for anyone who appeared to be looking at or watching him. But no one paid attention to him. Not today.  The suits from London and Hamburg were nowhere to be seen.
    That was good.
    During lunch, Collin managed to read a local newspaper in German and pull out a few more vocabulary words and sentence structures to keep building his language skills, although he rarely used more than the typical phrases needed to order food, a hotel room, or to buy tickets for transportation. There was a sense of accomplishment that came with recognizing words and phrases. He also listened carefully to conversations in the subway, cafes, and at street corners. He almost never spoke to anyone, but it was comforting to know that he could have a conversation about the weather, current events, or the economy and sound pretty good doing it.
    The small street-side café grew more crowded as he ate. Collin’s seat was against a wall, under an umbrella, in the far corner of the outside patio. Like many of the young people at that café, he had his laptop out on the table and was browsing the Internet. He was busy planning his stay in Munich, deciding what attractions and areas of the city Amy would most like to have seen. Being a fan of old European architecture, especially cathedrals, he knew his wife would enjoy this city, its ambience, and the wealth of sightseeing attractions.
    After lunch, Collin walked through the streets of the shopping district, taking pictures of the quaint buildings and streets, like so many of the other tourists he saw. He headed to the famous Englischer Garten, created in the eighteenth century to preserve the natural wonders of Bavaria. Miles of walking trails and wide open green space made this a place worth seeing. Collin strolled along its paths, knowing Amy would have loved this area, fighting back his emotions as he thought about her. Maybe it was a mistake to come here. His break down on the plane to Hamburg left him feeling more mentally feeble than he had in months. He pressed on for Amy’s sake, pushing aside the rising tide of feelings and focused on photographing the scenery for her.
    His