Chapter 1 FIRE DRILL? âCan you believe this mayhem?â Dr. Julia Fairchild forged her way through the Frankfurt am Main Airport toward the baggage claim area, trailed by her younger sister, Carly Pedersen. âCome on, relax,â Carly replied as she brushed her honey blonde curls out of her eyes. âWe made it to Germany in time for Oktoberfest, and itâs a beautiful day. We donât need to be in such a hurry. This is supposed to be a fun vacation!â Julia paused to take a deep breath. Carly was rightâthough she hated to admit it. Despite having slept on the plane, she still felt a little wound up after making a frantic drive from her Washington State medical clinic to Portland International Airport the afternoon before. In her typical fashion, she had decided to work until the last possible minute, seeing to a critically ill patient. Luckily, she hadnât triggered any highway patrol radars. 2 3 REMBRANDT RIDES A BIKE FIRE DRILL? âJulia! Carly! Over here!â Julia spotted two members of their tour groupâfriends from their hometownâcalling to them from the next carousel. âHi, Lindy! Hey, Mary Jo,â she said, waving. She and Carly retrieved their luggage and joined their friends. âToo bad we had to take different flights, but here we are!â âIâm so glad you both decided to come,â said Lindy, a blonde-haired woman in her forties with a trim figure and a beautiful smile. âCarly is always the most animated and sparkly dancer on the stage.â Carly grinned broadly at Lindyâs comment. âI do love my sparkles! Plus, I couldnât let my sister come alone. I had to convince Rob that itâs my duty to keep her out of trouble.â She winked at Julia. The sisters had come to Europe on a ten-day dancing tour with fellow tap and jazz dancers. They would have masterlevel dance classes twice a day and would rehearse and give an evening performance on the second day in each of the four cities on the tour. After Frankfurt, the group would move to two other cities in Germany, then end their travels in Amsterdam. Julia didnât consider herself a great tap dancer. She and Carly had only started tapping a few years ago. They put a lot of energy into it, however, and enjoyed the fun and exercise. Most of the women in their group back home, including Lindy and Mary Jo, were around their own ageâearly thirties to fortiesâwith a few who were older, though no less energetic. The tour schedule would also leave ample time for sightseeing, and Julia planned to visit museums in each city. She was determined to become more knowledgeable about art and art history. Sheâd come armed with a list of key paintings to see that had been recommended by her dear friend Paula, who taught art history. âOver here, ladies.â Mary Jo led their caravan to a waiting bus, and within the hour they had registered at Hotel Concorde. The dancers on the tour would be meeting the instructors and each other that evening, but their dance classes wouldnât begin until the next morning, so Julia and Carly had time to settle into their room, which they found to be nicely furnished and comfortable. âWeâve got all afternoon free,â Julia told her sister once their belongings were squared away. âIâm ready to kick off our tour. The Städel Museum is nearby, and itâs the first one on Paulaâs list. Want to join me?â She held out the list for her sister to see, Carly scowled at the detailed art history assignment. âWe have to see all those paintings? What about lunch?â âWe ate on the plane, silly,â Julia answered. âAnd weâll have a big dinner here at the hotel with the group tonight. So letâs go!â A short taxi ride took them over a bridge across the Rhine River to the Städel, a stately building that housed one of Germanyâs most prestigious art collections. They were happy to find the museum still open and not very crowded. Julia picked up a guidebook and identified the rooms that contained 4 5 REMBRANDT RIDES A BIKE FIRE DRILL? works by the designated artists on the list. They had enough time to meander through several rooms. Art history wasnât a course of study either of them had taken in high school or college, so they read the descriptions carefully to learn more about what they were seeing. They decided to see the paintings from the earlier years first, starting with Botticelli. His âIdealized Portrait of a Ladyâ caught their attention with its simple beauty. This painting was noted to be one of the highlights of Renaissance artistry. Julia was a little saddened to learn that this âladyâ had been married at the age of sixteen, not uncommon for the day. She reflected that her own father had insisted that his four daughters wait until they were at least twenty-one before marrying, preferably after also completing college. In fact, all four girls had complied with his wishes. Julia smirked at the memory of her short but passionate marriage to Denny right after college and wondered if waiting till she had her degree had made her any wiser in the area of romance. Next, they admired a beautifully detailed âMadonna and Childâ by Guercinoâan excellent example of Italian Baroque, Paula had said. Julia was mesmerized by the intricacy of the faces and their illumination from an invisible light source. The Madonnaâs expression, she thought, radiated the pure love of a mother for her child. Then Rembrandtâs âThe Blinding of Samsonâ was in front of them. The painting seemed brutal yet magnificent at the same time. Julia tried to remember Paulaâs comments about detail and how every figure in the scene seemed to be interacting with the observer. An amazing skill, she thought to herself. No wonder generations of artists and viewers remained awed by Rembrandtâs artistry. After a few more minutes, with only half an hour left for viewing, they found Monetâs âThe Luncheon.â This was a painting of his own kitchen, created once the archetypal âpoor, starving artistâ was able, after many years of work, to afford his first house. Finally, with Carly getting restless, they happened upon a much more modern painting: âTwo Women with Wash Basinâ by Ernst Kirchner. They giggled at the description of the ladies, who were sisters like themselves, and who worked as dancers at a nightclub. Julia and Carly had done a few shows in lounges for fundraisers but didnât consider themselves ânightclubâ dancers. A loud âAhemâ caused them to turn toward the sound. An older man was frowning in their direction. He was elegantly dressed, while his wife wore an expensive-looking but rather crassâin Juliaâs opinionâleopard print jacket. Julia quickly said, âIâm so sorry. We were giggling because weâre dancers too, but not that kind of dancers.â She offered her hand as she continued. âMy name is Julia Fairchild and this is my sister, Carly Pedersen.â She noticed the distinguished, gray-haired gentleman wore a rather incongruous diamond stud in his right earlobe. He reluctantly took her hand. âCharles. Gilbert. This is my wife, Sue Anne.â He nodded toward the woman to his left. âOh, youâre Americans,â said Julia. âAre you here on a tour like we are?â 6 7 REMBRANDT RIDES A BIKE FIRE DRILL? âWeâre from near Denver, but we know this area quite well from when we lived here in my Air Force years,â the gentleman explained. âWe are traveling on our own itinerary this time.â âThose were wonderful years,â Sue Anne gushed loudly. âCharles was a dentist here, and we had great parties. And we got to visit a lot of cities and countries. Charles, do you remember when our travel trailer broke down in France and we had the kids and had so much trouble getting it fixed?â Charles patted his wifeâs hand. âIâm quite sure these ladies donât care about our misadventures.â To the sisters he said, âWhat kind of tour are you on?â âWeâll be traveling with a group of about twenty dancers from all over the United States,â said Julia. âWeâll take tap and jazz classes from a couple of experienced teachers and even get to do a few performances along the way. Theyâve arranged for us to stay in several cities along the Rhine.â âWell, weâre very pleased to meet you,â said Charles. âI hope you enjoy your dancing and touring. Now we must be getting back to the hotel to meet our friends.â âWhat friends are we meeting?â Sue Anne asked with a puzzled frown. âIâll explain in the taxi,â he replied softlyâ. He smiled politely to the sisters and led his wife to the next room, gripping her elbow. âThey were an interesting couple,â Julia remarked to Carly as she watched Sue Anne extract herself from Charlesâs grasp. âI got funny vibes from him. Did you notice anything?â âNot really.â Carly gave a tired sigh. âBut I do agree with him that itâs time to be heading back to the hotel.â Julia nodded. The museum was closing anyway, and they had just enough time to get back and change for the group dinner at the hotel, where they would meet the rest of the dancers on the tour. They glanced around the room to find the exit. A pretty, dark-haired woman with a badge identifying her as a tour guide was ushering a small group out. She pointed them in the right direction. Relieved, Julia blew her a âthank youâ kiss as they scurried for the main door. At that moment, a loud alarm pierced the air. Security people emerged from nowhere and yelled, âHalt!â Startled, Julia and Carly held their places, glued to the floor. A flurry of activity erupted in the hallway just outside the room in which they were currently imprisoned. Julia whispered to Carly, âI hope itâs a false alarm.â âYeah, or we could miss dinner,â Carly whispered back. A long fifteen minutes passed before the museum security staff allowed the visitors to leave the room, walking in single file, silently. They were escorted directly to the main door, which was being guarded both inside and out by German Polizei. Once outside, Carly spoke first. âWow! What a fast lesson in Art History 101! I hope thereâs not going to be a quiz on those artists. And I donât think that alarm was for a fire drill.â Julia shook her head as she replied, âDefinitely not a fire drill. I see an ambulance parked in the fire lane just beyond that side door.â Julia pointed to the vehicle that was parked just outside the entrance. âDo you see it? Thereâs an old orange cargo truck parked right behind it.â 8 9 REMBRANDT RIDES A BIKE FIRE DRILL? Carly peeked back to her right as they walked down the sidewalk. âNow I see it. Nice truck.â âHmmph. If you like orange, I suppose.â Julia continued, âMaybe there was a medical emergency and someone pulled the alarm for that, instead of for a fire. As for art history, Iâll keep the museum guide so I can show Paula what we saw when we get together next month. I, for one, am certainly not wellversed yet in art.â She glanced up and down the street. âLetâs see. Which way back to the hotel?â Carly spotted a taxi just up the block. âWe donât have to know, because that taxi driver will. Letâs go. Iâm starving!â Julia and Carly found their name badges on a table in the hotelâs elegant dining room where the tour organizers, dance instructors Sally and Barbara, greeted each of them in turn and indicated the table at which they would be sitting. Lindy and Mary Jo had saved places for them at a table for four. The sisters mingled with some of the other dancers until it was time to sit and eat. Sally Mack was well known in dance circles. One of her sons had been a professional dancer on stage in Las Vegas. Her fellow instructor, Barbara France, had taught tap dancing for many years in her own studio, then judged competitions around the country for another fifteen years or so. Her daughter and granddaughter were exquisite dancers in their own right. Both master instructors were vibrant and seemed much younger than their years. During dinner, Sally and Barbara explained the format for each of the cities on the tour. Except for traveling, there would be daily morning classes, free time in the afternoons, and, on the second night in each city, an evening workshop and rehearsal for the performance at the hotel, as had been described in the promotional material. This would be an opportunity for the dancers to demonstrate their new skills as they entertained the guests at each hotel on the tour. âSounds like fun,â Lindy said with her usual smile. Lindy Mason taught adult tap-dancing back home where the four friends lived. She had taken lessons herself from Sally Mack as a child. In recent years, she had created a dance troupe called âTAPestry,â which performed for local events such as anniversaries, class reunions, and even the county fair, when invited. She had asked Julia, Carly, and Mary Jo, who were three of her students from her advanced class and performing team, to join her on the tour. They all simply loved to dance and had jumped at this opportunity to go on the tour and learn new dances as well. They enjoyed dressing up in glitzy costumes, putting on stage makeup, and performing for an audience. And then there was the applause! Sometimes Lindy came across as a stereotypical ditsy blonde, but she was adept at juggling her flight attendant schedule and teaching dance. âI wonder how many routines weâll have to learn,â remarked Mary Jo Kelly, who had danced as many as eight or nine numbers on dance cruises in the past. She had taken classes from Sally as a youngster as well, in addition to many years of dance experience. Her main concern about this tour was 10 11 REMBRANDT RIDES A BIKE FIRE DRILL? the need to be kind to her trick knee. She was active in many organizations and had told Julia that she was putting off any kind of surgical intervention until she could find the time. It seemed there was never a good time to take that step, as the post-op recovery period seriously interfered with any kind of dance schedule. She lived up to her Irish heritage with auburn hair and green eyes, and a mischievous laugh. âI hope I brought enough moleskin for blisters,â Carly piped up, laughing. She always seemed to have multiple squares of it on her feet. Julia and Carly had grown up on a small farm in the country. Being from a family of eight with a grandmother who didnât believe in dancing, they hadnât had an opportunity to dance as kids. Julia had talked Carly into trying it a few years before, when Lindy had needed additional dancers for a production. Although Carly had been skeptical, she discovered that she enjoyed it, and continued to dance for fun and the camaraderie of her fellow dancers. âIâm not even going to think about patients and pagers and being on call for the next ten days,â exclaimed Julia. A young internist with a busy clinic practice in a medium-sized town in Washington State, she squeezed in as many tap classes with Lindy as her schedule would allow. Dancing was a lot more fun than doing calisthenics at the gym, in her opinion. She also loved to travel and especially enjoyed the architecture and history of Europe. This was a great way to combine dance, travel, and sister time. There was no mistaking that she and Carly were sisters, with their striking high cheekbones from their Finnish ancestry. Taller Julia was a brunette with blue eyes, like their dad, while Carly had inherited their momâs blonde hair and had hazel eyes. And their momâs silly gene, according to Julia. âOne thing for sure,â Carly added, âwe wonât be finding any dead scuba divers on this trip.â âWhat are you talking about?â asked Lindy. âYou and Mary Jo probably donât know about Julia playing amateur detective when she was in St. Maarten last year,â Carly explained. âIt didnât make the local newspapers, but she helped shut down a drug-smuggling ring. She even got a free week of vacation there as a âthank you.ââ Julia felt her face redden. âIt was nothing, really. Being a doctor is a lot like being a detective. I just followed the clues.â âIn that case,â said Mary Jo, âI hope this will be all vacation and no âdetecting.ââ âSame here,â echoed Carly, as they all laughed. The group made plans to meet for breakfast in the morning, and Julia headed to the room she was sharing with Carly. The next day would be a long one of dancing, sightseeing, and fighting jet lag. âAhh,â sighed Julia as she slid between the crisp white sheets. âTen days of utter bliss. No worries. No dead bodies.â