Spider's Web

By Kurt Hafner

Intrigue, Greed and Murder culminate in a dramatic Conclusion to this International Web of Mystery and Deceit

Rolf and Sabine Brenners company and its USA subsidiary are flourishing as the Millennium approaches but their holiday on the Gulf Coast of Florida is marred by a terrible accident. - At the same time an ambitious and ruthless social climber is developing his predatory plans in England in order to acquire wealth and power in a vicious game of removing anything that may stand in his way.

A mysterious suspect is being tracked on his way to Miami by a young woman who is already an expert in fighting organised crime but unaware of the danger that she will meet after her arrival in the United States. A highly respected Aristocrat and powerful business investor travels by Concorde to New York in order to protect Brenner Inc. from collapse where he teams up with his celebrated and glamorous lawyer to face the subversive elements at large.

A brilliant police graduate with roots in the Bronx mounts a major campaign to identify, hunt down and eliminate the gang that has invaded Manhattan and caused major problems in Chicago. - A Harvard Professor and his family become embroiled in the fall out of intrigue and duplicity until their daughter Fiona decides to fight back and to confront the dark forces involved.

The action moves from an idyllic island off the West Coast of Florida to the English countryside until an attack takes place in Switzerland. New York, Miami and Chicago provide the background to an increasing number of sinister incidents until their dramatic conclusion is reached and the different pieces of the puzzle finally fall into place - But is the Spiders Web complete?

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse UK
• Release date: Jun 20, 2012
• ISBN: 9781477214619

Kurt Hafner

Kurt Hafner Kurt was born, educated and trained in his native Switzerland where he demonstrated creativity and imagination from an early age - His first romanticised novel of ‘Two School Boys Stalking Wildlife’ was published shortly after his 16th birthday. His career as a Senior Manager with global responsibilities for one of UK’s premier companies flourished including the Chairmanship of a Europe wide trade association. He became recognized as an authority in his field of hospitality, contributed to publications and lectured at universities in England, Switzerland and France. Kurt now runs his own business from his home in Surrey where he provides a specialist consultancy service to premium clients - Kurt and his wife Mary have been married for almost fifty years, enjoy the company of their dogs and take great delight in their three daughters and their families who live nearby. This is Kurt’s first dramatic thriller – and the prelude to future novels of intrigue and mystery.

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SPIDER’S WEB

Kurt Hafner

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AuthorHouse™

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© 2012 by Kurt Hafner. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 06/05/2013

ISBN: 978-1-4678-8578-2 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4772-1461-9 (e)

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

Acknowledgement

Chapter 1: Disruption

Chapter 2: Ruthless Ambition

Chapter 3: The Big Apple

Chapter 4: Reflections

Chapter 5: Early Morning

Chapter 6: Anticipation

Chapter 7: Encounters

Chapter 8: Growing Concerns

Chapter 9: Rendez Vous

Chapter 10: Sinister Deeds

Chapter 11: Vanished

Chapter 12: The Search

Chapter 13: Shockwave

Chapter 14: Double Entendre

Chapter 15: Discovery

Chapter 16: Into the Void

Chapter 17: Aftermath

Chapter 18: The Trail

Chapter 19: Long Island

Chapter 20: Oblivion

Chapter 21: Jigsaw

Chapter 22: Dungeon

Chapter 23: Judgement

Chapter 24: Danger

Chapter 25: Attack

Chapter 26: Bulls Eye

Chapter 27: Impetus

Chapter 28: Revelations

Chapter 29: The Web

Chapter 30: Breaking News

About the Author

All the many personalities and characters featured in this book are completely fictional and bear no relationship to any living persons or those previously alive either in the United Kingdom or abroad.

Whilst genuine countries, towns, residential areas and organisations are featured in this novel, any respective activities, geographical illustrations and reference, including their people in whatever capacity are complete inventions, pure creations and a figment of the author’s imagination.

Kurt Hafner—2012

This first novel is dedicated to my lovely wife Mary, whose patience and sparkling personality is a continuous inspiration, by allowing me to enter my world of fantasy.

Kurt Hafner—2012

Acknowledgement

A special thank you to my three daughters. Their contribution enabled me to create, refine and complete this novel.

Emma focused with great energy on editing the technical aspects of the book.

Mary-Anne’s superb creative perceptions added subtlety and detail to the story.

And Clare as ever encouraged, supported and promoted our progress

Spin, spin, spin a web

Round and round we go

Up and down and all around

Weaving to and fro!

Round and round the spider goes

Cunningly weaving its web

Left and right and up and down

Until his foe is dead… .

Mary Hafner—2012

Chapter 1

Disruption

South West Florida

The night was dark, like velvet, peaceful and almost silent except for the rhythm of the waves that lapped the beach just beyond the last buildings of the resort. A gentle breeze fanned the shards of palm trees in the neat and tidy grounds. An occasional raccoon scurried amongst the bushes and investigated the vicinity of the barbecue areas which had been used the previous evening.

All of the apartments were in blissful silence and darkness except for 7c where the window was partially lit and enlivened by the flickering of the television which illuminated the surroundings with the various colours, shades of darkness and light of the transmission. Rolf Brenner was awake and had been for hours, unable to sleep, unable to concentrate, restless and oblivious of any details of the programmes being screened at this time of the night.

His emotions were volatile and his mind in turmoil, switching from excitement to doubt, from determination to concern, from confidence to guilt and yet were full of anticipation and pleasure of what this challenging day might bring. Sabine and the children were blissfully unaware that he was wide awake and they were undoubtedly dreaming of another magical day on the island.

The family had enjoyed a wonderful week of leisure, swimming, bike rides, excursions and boat trips since their arrival just over a week ago. The beach was just perfect and they appreciated an opportunity to read and to reflect after a really busy summer. Their home in Hampshire now seemed much further away than the actual mileage between South West Florida and England, because they had quite simply switched into island mode as they did every year with only occasional thoughts about their business, their home, the schools and the many details of everyday life.

It was the call that Rolf had intercepted quite late last night, that might now change their lives forever, a life that had been shaped by his privileged background and enhanced by so many positive elements that only the brightest and most perfect future seemed destined for him and his family. That was until a few hours ago!

As he poured himself and quietly sipped another glass of Californian Merlot, he felt slightly more mellow, comfortably reflective and his mind wandered back to how it all started and to the many important stages in his life which had brought him and his family such happiness and success.

His German parents had arrived in England just shortly after the second World War and developed a prosperous jewellery business in Farnham, Surrey’s charming old town situated on the Hampshire border. Growing up as part of a close family with loving parents and his two younger sisters was a perfect start and his progress through school, college and university where he was well liked and popular, proved to be an exciting adventure. He achieved excellent grades and ultimately a degree in electronics.

Most of all he cherished the memories of his early relationship with Sabine, a fellow Student whom he had met during his period of post graduate placement in Germany. His thoughts flowed back to the cold and windy October day eighteen years ago, when he had got to know her by pure accident on the bridge that crossed the moat of the ancient town of Waldshut in Southern Germany, not far away from the Swiss Border.

Sabine carried a tray of confectionary that she had purchased in the specialist bakery and pastry shop where an enticing display of gateaux, chocolate creations, specialties and pastries offered delicious temptations which were impossible to resist, just round the corner from the mighty tower which dominated the entrance into the town. As she walked through the portal of the ancient building she was caught by a gust of wind which blew her scarf across her face and momentarily blinded, made her collide with an oncoming pedestrian who just managed to steady her and to secure the delicious goods whilst allowing her to recover and regain her composure.

Rolf was immediately attracted to this lively, fresh faced, blond girl with such an unspoilt complexion, dark violet eyes and her fair hair worn in a neat single plait. Her profuse apologies were met with a smile and a suggestion that a cup of coffee or hot chocolate might be just the perfect remedy, prior to venturing out into the inclement weather once more.

Sabine Herrberger accepted without hesitation, was intrigued by this handsome young English man, consumed several cups of coffee in addition to two giant portions of delicious gateau and chatted non stop until the clock on the old town hall struck five and reminded her how very late and overdue she was to return home and to prepare dinner for her family.

Rolf was simply smitten, arranged to meet Sabine the following Wednesday and as he drove back to his apartment just outside Koblenz on Lake Constance he was unable to concentrate on anything other than his new acquaintance. What a lovely, lively girl and so natural and animated with happy, sparkling eyes he thought and a most enthusiastic way of chatting and telling him about her background that was quite different to his own but full of exciting challenges and characterized by the young woman’s determination to succeed despite the early difficulties that she had encountered.

Rolf recalled every detail of what he had learnt about Sabine’s childhood as the oldest of seven children which was quite different to Rolf’s safe and comfortable background. She led a demanding life because of her mother’s serious illness and early death when she was still in her teens. Her father’s modest income as a farm labourer made it difficult for the family to survive but Sabine was determined to succeed and in order to improve the fortunes of their meagre existence, she embarked on an ambitious plan to create a better future for them all.

She completed her schooling with distinction and a part time job at the local hotel provided additional funds for household expenses and savings for her future education. Her brothers and sisters shared her goals with enthusiasm and followed her progress and example with energy and commitment.

It was quite obvious, right from the start, that the children had inherited a combination of their mother’s intellect and their father’s stamina and energy, which helped all of them to advance and to successfully progress through school with excellent results and commendable grades. Meanwhile their father had also moved on to a better job as a coach driver for a local company, where he progressed to a more senior position in due course and it was thus, that the Herrberger family’s fortunes were getting better by the day.

Sabine’s personal progress was also remarkable and when she gained a sponsorship from her college and embarked on her studies at the local university her future looked bright and her progress towards an International marketing qualification were well advanced by the time of the fateful day, when she met Rolf and their future changed for ever.

Rolf kept thinking about this fascinating young girl and her remarkable progress during the next few days and the two of them met as arranged on the following Wednesday, enjoyed a delicious lunch at the famous old Krone Hotel and instantly knew, that this was not just a casual meeting but might well be the start of a wonderful future. They spent many hours during this autumn, visiting the little villages, the lakes and the mountainous regions of the Black Forest, traveling to Switzerland and enjoying the rich variety of the surrounding areas.

It proved to be a perfect arrangement and also enabled Rolf to continue his research and studies into the latest advances in electronics at the small, but progressive company, which was just about to pioneer developments that might alter the course of history. How fortunate that he had been posted to this prestigious environment for a year, by his employers in England!

The following months saw both of them engaged in frantic activity, combining Sabine’s studies and his research with as much leisure time together as they could possibly manage considering the complexity of the goals that they both had planned to achieve. Sabine was tireless, managed to complete her studies on schedule and graduated by the end of the following semester. Rolf, in the meantime finalized his project on behalf of his UK employers and although he was tempted to accept a senior position which was offered to him by the directors of the German company, he decided to decline this opportunity and to return to England, having encouraged Sabine to join him a few weeks after his departure.

Once Rolf had settled back into the environment of his employers in the UK and presented the results of his assignment in Germany he was earmarked for fast track advancement and soon appointed as deputy Vice President of research and development and to a senior position with substantial potential for the future.

Sabine arrived in early spring, when they both enjoyed three weeks in Hampshire, where Rolf’s parents welcomed his vibrant, intelligent girlfriend with open arms. The two of them toured the South West of England, went further North past Edinburgh and enjoyed a few days in the Scottish Highlands where they started to formulate their plans to get married and thereafter to develop a unique and specialized electronics business.

Now, here in South West Florida, all this seemed to be such a long time ago and for a few moments Rolf forgot his troubled thoughts and smiled at the way he and Sabine had moved forward. He fondly remembered their glittering wedding and later on their early days as young entrepreneurs as they consolidated their position as proud owners of a flourishing business. Their home was situated in the English countryside, not far away from the factory and as time went on they had become a happy family of five.

Surely this would go on forever and their world would continue to develop and prosper, without any interruption to their well organised lifestyle. Their ambitious plans for the business were so well defined that no obstacle could possibly jeopardize progress and slow down their carefully laid programme that they had put in place to achieve the most spectacular growth that the company had ever seen.

And yet all these pleasant thoughts receded into the background, as Rolf vividly remembered last night’s fateful call on his mobile phone from a panicking financial Director who seemed to be beside himself, predicted major difficulties, an uncontrollable situation at their company and in fact a serious threat to the business as a whole. He also seemed to sidestep any detailed questions and as much as Rolf tried to calm him down, to identify the cause of the problem, his colleague was unable to provide him with any coherent and credible answers.

Well, it had promised to be a day full of excitement, of challenges and real progress for Brenner Limited and now, having considered his options during the early hours of the morning, Rolf had made up his mind, took a decision and was ready to proceed in the only way that was now open to him by using the methods that had always worked and brought him success.

He would tackle the problem head on, take the bull by the horn and aim for an early and effective conclusion to this mysterious business. He checked a number of options on the internet, considered the best way to travel, made two telephone calls, packed his overnight case, collected his laptop and documents, wrote a brief note to Sabine and finally silently tiptoed out of the apartment.

Shortly afterwards his rented Buick Le-Sabre pulled quietly out of the resort, then accelerated and crossed the long cause-way to the main land, prior to traveling towards Interstate 75. Thereafter it was a straight forward journey which took Rolf through Naples, past the Marco Island turnoff, then through the road toll check point and onto the direct route in the direction of Miami, locally known as Alligator Alley.

He was now progressing at speed, passing the junction with Interstate 29 to Immokallee and cruising onwards on a lonely and almost deserted road with just the first glimmer of dawn appearing on the far horizon. This was precisely the moment when the accident happened.

Chapter 2

Ruthless Ambition

Hampshire, England

Kevin Taylor had always been determined to shake off the background of his early days on a council estate in the East End of London. He had worked hard at school, was intelligent, enterprising and easily progressed to achieve some credible A levels. He did so whilst amassing a small fortune, he started as a boy doing a paper round for the local newsagent, then developed his skills as a pickpocket in the West End of London. Later, he progressed to handling a variety of drugs, advancing swiftly to become a distributor and then an organizer. Finally, he was a force to be reckoned with, on account of his strong arm methods supported by the regular team of thugs surrounding him.

Despite this rather unsavory start he knew from the beginning that his ambitions were elsewhere and far removed from the criminal environment that had become second nature to him. In fact at the age of 17 when he had already acquired a degree of notoriety he decided to switch to plan B. This involved becoming a gentleman scholar and enrolling in the university of Norwich. He was to put all his observations of the wealthy and powerful population that he had watched so very carefully over the years into practice. He would mimic, copy and reinvent himself as a privileged member of society. His first priority was therefore to change his name by deed poll to Julian Tarrant, a much better sounding introduction, he felt.

His mother Ilene had always endeavored to guide him in the right direction, despite the fact that she also had to care for his younger sisters and a baby brother. Nobody knew who his father was but there was little doubt that he had been someone of substance. When prompted his mother would describe his suave good looks, his generosity, his superior style and demeanor. Then of course there were the few gifts that Ilene had received that she still treasured and kept hidden away in her cash box under the floor boards.

There was little doubt that Julian, as he was now called had inherited some genes from the mystery man who was his biological father, because learning was not only fun but also easy for him. Adopting the vocabulary and pronunciations of the wealthy seemed to come naturally. Combined with his shrewd, sharp and cunning mind he was soon established as a promising candidate for substantive positions on completion of his studies and after graduation.

Julian moved in good circles, had invested a great deal of his capital in a splendid apartment located in a modern, gated development in fashionable Richmond. He had also acquired many of the trappings that simply were part of everyday life of the wealthy and he continued his education with language courses and studies about the arts. He listened to the right type of music and put himself on course for a bright future, which he would pursue with a single minded ambition of ruthlessly achieving his objective of reaching the very top.

Although he had distanced himself from his criminal past, he maintained regular contact with those from that era who might in due course be of assistance in helping him to achieve his goals.

In the under world he was still remembered as The Squirrel a nickname given to him during his West End pick pocketing days and later when he started to push drugs they called him The Weasel. As his notoriety grew as a distributor of hard drugs he was known as The Organizer and finally during the days as a controller of a major drug ring which he later handed over to one of his Lieutenants he was simply recognized as the The Boss.

No one would have thought, that this smart, promising up and coming business man was anything else but a member of a fine and wealthy family. At the same time however, it was no coincidence that some of his contacts and acquaintances suffered various types of misfortune. Businesses would all of a sudden decline and eventually go bust and some of the wealthiest homes suffered repeated burglaries.

He was also a master of disguise and there were several cases throughout the UK where personal moneys lent to a mysterious Count, Professor or President of a large American conglomerate simply disappeared. They vanished without any trace of either the borrower or the funds in question.

There was the occasional girlfriend of course, but none of these relationships ever lasted longer than a few weeks. His aim as in everything in his life was to maximize every opportunity that came along and to focus only on those contacts that would benefit his master plan and to support him in achieving his burning ambition.

Lady Penelope de Frey was a very lovely girl indeed. She was stylish, classy, beautifully spoken and wealthy beyond his dreams. But a few weeks in her company and enjoying the lifestyle of the rich, skiing in Gstaad, yachting off St Tropez and fashion shows in Milan soon bored him to tears and he was in dire need of a way out. Yes, he would need a complete break but this would have to be engineered in such a way that he remained close friends with the family and maintained the benefits of this valuable connection.

Not a major problem for Julian of course, with his proven background of manipulation. It was on that dull and windy autumn afternoon that he set his plan into action with his usual attention to detail. Penny was in her element and after arriving at his normal time for the weekend on Friday, just right for tea, they had spent the evening at a raunchy disco at the local golf club, then went for midnight supper with the Peddertons. They stayed until the early hours of the morning and finally called for Penny’s chauffeur, Baker to drive them back to Penelope’s home, Radfield Hall.

They were in the highest of spirits by that time and as they nestled in the luxurious leather upholstery in the back of the Rolls Royce Silver Cloud, Julian opened the bottle of Bollinger that he had acquired during the evening in addition to two fine crystal glasses. He popped the cork, narrowly missing the chauffeur’s head and poured two generous measures of champagne.

He also opened a small tin of Beluga caviar that had somehow found it’s way into his pocket including two mother of pearl spoons that were the perfect way of enjoying the precious texture and flavour of the Sturgeon eggs.

Julian and Penelope’s antics then became progressively more animated, and as the two young people became more passionate, Colin Baker raised his eyebrows, shook his head. He was not surprised, when they asked him to operate the dividing screen between the passenger compartment and the driver, in order to provide them with privacy. He was also instructed to slow down and to casually cruise along the country lanes until such times when the two of them felt ready to proceed, and to return to Radfield Hall.

Penny took a perverse delight in this new experience in the back of a car, just like the B grade movies that she and her sisters occasionally watched on one of the TV channels. She abandoned herself to an enjoyable feeling of warmth and excitement and a wonderful sensation of wellbeing. Later on, as she progressively relaxed and contentedly stroked her boyfriend’s back she asked him, sleepily now to tell Baker to drive them home.

Julian’s emotions on the other hand whilst passionate, highly charged and thoroughly enjoying this delicious encounter were far more calculating and fully focused on pursuing his master plan of engineering an enforced break with Penelope. It was no coincidence therefore, that he slipped a small sachet of powder which he had procured from one of his more sophisticated contacts in the underworld into her third glass of champagne. She drunk the full amount in one giant gulp, giggled and gently abandoned herself to a slightly drowsy feeling which was quite pleasant after all the excitement of a very long day.

As they arrived at the Hall, Julian helped Penny, who now felt quite distant and slightly unsteady on her feet to mount the steps to the grand entrance. As he turned round he noticed and pointed out a silver Aston-Martin that he had spotted in one of the parking spaces reserved for friends and important visitors. Although his girlfriend took little notice of his comment he looked thoughtful as he turned round once more to look at the number plate on the car.

Do you know Penny, something’s strange about that car and I just can’t for the life of me remember, where I’ve seen it before but I have and not so long ago. Come on, silly, don’t take any notice, all will be revealed in the morning and in any case it might well be Gustaf’s, the new under butler’s car or who knows it might even belong to Evelyn, the pretty new maid whom you keep on ogling you lecherous cad!

Ogling other women, me? Heaven forbid and why on earth would I do this being the guest of the most gorgeous lady on this earth? Never, and now let’s get you into bed for an excellent good night and another exciting day to morrow, with the shooting party and the hunt ball to follow.

Oh no, not more activity when all I want is to sleep for the next twenty four hours and do you know, I feel quite peculiar, not just exhausted but somewhat distant as if I were in another world. "No worries darling, you are just tired and nothing that a good night’s sleep will not cure. As they ascended the stairs she stumbled and was grateful when he swept her up into his arms and gently carried Penelope to her bed.

It proved to be a peaceful night at Radfield Hall and the big house was still in darkness as the dawn chorus of the many song birds gently started to break the silence but soon developed into an exuberant sound. The last few meows of a tawny owl and the calls of the carrion crows that had congregated on the big oak in front of the house and were quarreling in their own inimitable way.

One or two glimmers of light appeared behind the curtains of the servants quarters and within minutes the well organized routine of the stately home started to swing into action with log fires being lit, tables being laid, early morning tea trays being assembled and cook starting to make preparations for a sumptuous breakfast to be served to the many guests that had arrived during the course of the previous evening.

The new under butler Gustaf had risen early, donned his sports kit and enjoyed his customary early morning run through the woods nearby. He was pleased with his recent appointment at Radfield Hall, determined to put on an excellent show for the lady of the house and her guests and the crisp fresh air worked like a tonic in allowing him to clear his mind and to plan the task ahead.

As he proceeded along the rough path he was surprised to spot a cyclist in a striking red and white outfit powering energetically in his direction. As she got closer the young lady slowed down and dismounted with a sparkling smile and he was delighted to recognize young Evelyn, one of the maids. She was slightly out of breath but looked a picture of health and was clearly enjoying the experience of her early morning race through the woods.

Morning bright eyes what a pleasure to see you so early and you do look as if you mean business today.—Well done! Good morning Mr. Herrberger Sir, I just knew you were the sporting type first time I saw you—well, isn’t it a gorgeous morning and did you see the two deer that just run across the path a little while ago?

Yes Evelyn it’s a grand morning and I thought I better keep fit to keep up with all of you youngsters and yes, I did see the deer and also spotted a couple of badgers moving into the undergrowth and presumably returning to their burrow. Well, it’s going to be a busy day and I guess that the formidable Mrs. de Maltaise will already be on the prowl to make sure that all your colleagues are on parade.

Oh heaven forbid, I dare not be late but I’m well on schedule and better practice my mega sprint to get back and change for duty, bye now and see you later. With this she started to speed along the path and soon disappeared round the corner.

Gustaf liked Evelyn with her fresh complexion and her hair in two girlish blond plaits, which she would obviously change into her customary French chignon when she reported for duty. She was a recent arrival at the hall and seemed to have made a favourable impression on Lady Penelope, was well liked by all the staff including