"Kurt, how are you doing today? I hear only good things from your students. Will you be lunching?"

 He was never invited to lunch there, was this now an invitation? He immediately thought, no, it could not be and he wasn't fine either.

 " Oh, no, not today Frau Doktor Fussan, I am actually just on my way out. I have an early afternoon appointment at my office at the university. I will see you again tomorrow. Auf Wiedersehen."

 He managed to leave the building without speaking to anyone else. Sari had actually not been the only person missing, it was such a tiny school it was easy to spot the students missing. A few other students were out, and wondered if they were all together somewhere. He actually doubted that Sari would be with them, she did not seem to keep company with the others that much. Jack and Jim were probably hung over. Anna, now, that was a mystery; she did hang out with them so she could be missing for the same reason. Why did it even matter? He was stalling for time in his brain, pretending that Sari was unique, different and very far from doing anything to keep herself from his class.

 He was focused when he got into his red Citroen. Driving down the street he decided to just grab some late lunch at the Augustiner Brau. Lots of people headed there for a late afternoon of drinking and eating. You could go up to the stalls and grab something to eat while drinking at the long tables with others. It was a good distraction, a good place to think in the midst of great activity and he might just run into some students he could casually ask about Sari. On his way he stopped at a Tabak and got himself another pack of cigarettes. He was ramping up his smoking again. It just felt right, under the circumstances. 

Augustiner Brau - Wiki Image 

In the Tabak shop he saw that bus driver, Hans. He didn't really look too good, kind of pale and it appeared that he was arguing with someone. Such a tiny shop and not the place to be doing something like that. Kurt picked up what he wanted, paid and made his way out of there, glad for the distraction that Hans was experiencing. He was starting not to like him for some reason and it would be well not to engage with him now. He was too distracted. Heading back to the car, he lit up a cigarette and made his way to Augusteiner Brau.

 Just as he pulled up to park, he noticed a police car at the drive through of the hospital across and down the street a bit. Normally people could catch a cab there in the circle drive parking, and often did when the beer hall was closing. As he was leaving his car, he saw what looked like Sari getting into the back seat of the police car. No, that could not be. He was seeing things, imagining it. He turned to walk away, and suddenly he thought, no, it could not be, and he looked again. He decided to cross the street to get a better look.

 "Sari", he gasped. The police officer shutting her door looked up. Kurt immediately began to walk toward him.  The officer seemed calm and professional and he kept walking toward him.

"What is going on here?" he asked. The officer appeared a bit taken aback, it might have been the tone of the voice or something, but he listened and answered. His badge said Helmut Gerber.

 "Sir, do you know this woman?" Helmut asked.

 "Yes, she is a student of mine at the University." He did not know why he said that except that the small college was relatively young and he did not think he should say its name to the officer. He would hardly question University, and he would not have to say he was not a full professor or anything and it was, well, it could be considered a mistake if probed. He was after all doing some teaching on and off at the University as part of his training there too.

 Sari sat beet red in the car, recognizing Kurt and wondering what he could be thinking and really wondering what she could be thinking. She knew that somehow Hans was mixed up in this with Anna, she had seen them together. She was about to tell all of that to the police and she did not want Kurt clouding her mind just now.

 Kurt said to the policeman that Sari was an American, the policeman said he already knew that. The officer seemed to be impatient. He finally told Kurt," Sir, we have an important matter here and we are must get to the station for a statement. I regret the abruptness, Herr Professor, however, we must leave at once. This girl is not in any trouble that we know of, but an incident has occurred."

 Kurt stood there and looked at Sari and said to the officer, "Could I be of assistance, I could meet you at the station?"

"No, let me have your name and number and if you are needed we will get in touch with you." Helmut said.

 Kurt did as he was asked, stepped closer to the car and put his hand on the window. He did not know what this was about or what else to do, but when his eyes met Sari, he realized she was upset and had been crying so he was even more disturbed. He stood back as the car left and decided he would follow them to the police station anyway. Why not? She might need him.

 Sari was losing her composure. She wanted someone she knew around her, but did not want to get off track with her thoughts. Kurt was a distraction in a way, but she wanted him to hold her, right now. This was getting so complicated and strange.  They brought her into a small office with several desks and turned her over to a detective to take her statement. Her only connection to this so far was her proximity to the victim on the street, the fact that she could identify her, and that she indicated she would like to make a statement.

 "So, Fraulein, my English is good, but I would like to have a department interpreter here for your statement. We will wait just a few minutes for Herr Burger to come into this office from the main building. It should not take too long, may I get you a glass of water?" Detective Grun said.

 Sari was feeling calmer and more organized. She knew something that they needed to know. There would be nothing she would not do for Anna, she was a student who was very kind, intelligent and well liked. She could not say the same for every student, there were those who were spoiled and obnoxious, but Anna, well, she seemed like a very nice young woman. She had appeared worldly in a way and that also made Sari like her. She felt she could understand her.

 Detective Grun stood up as a man approached. "Sir, there is a gentleman in the waiting area who claims to know this woman. He would like to speak to her." Detective Grun, shrugged his shoulders and said, "Well, he is going to have to wait a few minutes. Tell him this will not take long and he will be able to see her in time. Get his name and contact information, just for the record. See to it."

 Sari, knew who it would be, Kurt, no doubt. But he would have to wait. Nothing to worry about. She just had to make a statement. She did not remember, if she ever knew; Han's last name. Oh, it might be easy enough for the authorities to get, but Kurt was right here, he might even know.

 "Detective Grun, the man asking about me, I think I might know who he is. He might be able to help with some information regarding what I am about to tell you." Sari said hurriedly. 

 "That is all well and good, but I do not want to bring him in her now until we take your statement. He can be asked to wait.  Ah, here is Herr Burger now. We can go ahead and begin."

 "Detective Grun, Fraulein, er Miss, you are Sari Martin?" Sari nodded affirmation. "Well Miss Martin, what would you like to tell us?" asked Herr Burger, while taking a seat near here at another desk and preparing to take notes. 

"I wanted you to know that I go to school with Anna at the little college her in town for the American students, run by Frau Doktor Fussan. It is called Berna College. Anna and I are students there. We know of each other, but are not close. I think that Anna must have been gone overnight somewhere. She was wearing the very same clothes today that she had on yesterday afternoon.  I recognized her socks and her sweater, the coat, and, well, her skirt from class and also when I saw her in the afternoon yesterday. The last time I saw her, she did not see me. She was entering Cafe Tomeselli with an older man, a middle-aged man, I know of him too. His name is Hans, and just before he walked in there with her, he had been trying to invite me for a coffee in there with him. I mean, before she got there, I turned him down."

 "Miss, miss, who is this Hans? How do you know him?" asked Detective Grun.

 "Well, I don't really know him, but he was a bus driver for our school on a trip through Germany when we arrived, and later when we took some weekend trips. I have seen him around. I cannot remember his last name, try as I might. I think the gentleman waiting in the other room might know. The thing is, I have been in close proximity to this man on several innocent encounters. He has something about him that has always, well, somehow bothered me. My guard went up. It has been getting a little more uncomfortable every time I have seen him. Yesterday when I was at the post office, just after I had refused to have coffee with him, I turned coming out and glanced back at the cafe. He was ushering Anna inside."

 She told them everything that she remembered Anna wearing, even in her hair, the time of day, and what she did after she noticed them going in together. She told them how she had odd feelings when she was around Hans, feelings that she could not put her finger on. She described him in a way like this, " I could feel my skin crawl. I felt like he was looking sometimes a little too long, a little too hungry, like, we would say in the U.S., like a dirty old man."

 The expression probably conjured up some laughter, deep in their insides, for Detective Grun and Herr Burger, yet they made no change in their expression. They thanked her for her statement, read it back to her for accuracy and then called in a policeman to fetch Kurt.