The Astrologer - a downright untruthful affair (eBook)

Thrilling crime experiences in the world of celestial arts

Jürgen G. H. Hoppmann (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2023 | 1. Auflage
436 Seiten
tredition (Verlag)
9783347915152 (ISBN)

Infos

Great European planetary festival in Dresden: a serial killer sends out poison horoscopes. Police student Max, severely disturbed by combat missions in Afghanistan, and his Evi, a petty criminal bakery clerk from Upper Lusatia, go in search of clues. While she hunts poisoners in the pulsating Florence on the Elbe, he accompanies the star astrologer Scultetus as a bodyguard to the end of the world. Art Nouveau palace in Prague, Chinese pagoda on the Canary Islands, heavenly priests of the Sahara, Istanbul horoscope scholars, alpine castle with scary witch, planetary avenues on the Atlantic, Scottish druid circles, star hall in Øresund, secret studies in Warsaw, examination by granite-headed lodge brothers and odyssey through the Zittau mountains, escape and return to Dresden. Showdown on the roof of the European Central Bank in Frankfurt am Main. And on, on and on, to the city of dawn in distant India.

DIE WELT BESCHREIBEN Jürgen G. H. Hoppmann lebt »in the middle of nowhere« an der Schwelle zwischen Old Europe und New Europe. Es kommt auf den Blickwinkel an, wie man in diesen Ort hinein bzw. aus ihm herausschaut. Eines steht auf jeden Fall fest: Der schönste Platz in Görlitz ist Zgorzelec. Wer's nicht glaubt, soll sich auf die Reise machen! Seit 1991 diverse Fachartikel in Zeitschriften, regelmäßige Radio- und einige Fernsehsendungen, u.a. zwei Jahrzehnte für den MDR, als Software zahlreiche Interpretationstexte und Portierungen namhafter Autoren wie Alexander von Pronay, Akron C.F. Frey und Dr. Baldur Ebertin unter anderem für die Softwareplattformen PCA Argus von Electric Ephemeris, Hermes, Sunlight Through Windows, Galiastro und AstroGlobe, Filmdrehbücher »Iatromathematik«, »Kairos«, »Urban Tantra Yogini« und »AstroEuros«, Synchrondrehbücher-Übersetzung Englisch-Deutsch für EDD-Holding, Drehbuchübersetzungen für Studio Miniatur w Wasrzawe, wöchentliche Buch-, Hörspiel- und Filmrezensionen, Künstlerportraits für Oberlausitzer Kunstverein, Kongressdokumentationen für Bert Hellinge, Regionalentwicklung u.a. für Bündnis Zukunft Oberlausitz. insgesamt 158 Lehrfilme und Sketsche für die Sophia-Lernwerkstatt für Philosophe und Ethik.

Textauszug

GREAT RADIANCE

29.12.2019 Sun

UPPER LUSATIA

05:58 Rothenburg

Snow blows over the display, settling like icing sugar on freshly baked cinnamon stars, on the soft crusty rolls, the wholemeal bread and rock-hard salt particles. Thick clouds of condensation drift out of the nostrils of the girl behind the counter. She flattens her scarf tighter around her slender neck, buttons her cardigan over her flowery apron. A few little spots, not so visible in the winter air, gleam on her forehead and cheeks.

A face without freckles is like the moon without stars, says her lover. Her eyes are resembling suns and her naked fingertips are like curious mice as they peek out of the cut-off woollen socks she wears as gloves.

The emergency lighting comes on at the front of the Saxony Police College. Max brings out a fresh cappuccino from the academy, because a proper coffee machine in the bakery van is still in the planning stage.

"Careful, Evi, it's hot!"

"Thank you. Here's a bag of pastries for today's duties. The Great European Planet Festival. Bodyguard for the night."

"Nope. Escorting a celebrity from Berlin to Dresden. You can come too. A voucher for the hotel, bed and breakfast included and a f ticket with access to the VIP lounge."

"You're nuts, Max!"

"Yep."

"The tickets are in your name!"

"No problem. In the evening we can go to the party, then afterwards …"

"Me with my pimples among all those celebrities?"

"A face without …"

"Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Three hundred years since the dream wedding of 1719. Did you know how many children that Saxon prince made for his princess?"

"Fifteen."

"We need to talk."

"About what?"

Evi's face gets red. All her freckles seem to fade away.

Headlights flash. A heavy, chrome-plated luxury car draws up. The lady behind the wheel has put on blood-red lipstick. Provocative makeup encircles her eyes. She gets out, smiles and waves the car keys. Beneath her opulent Persian lamb coat lurks an elegant black business dress, unusually for this time of year. She cuts an amazing figure.

Max reaches for the pastry bag without looking at Evi.

"Wow! A VW Phaeton GP4 from the Transparent Factory in Dresden. Fuel injected. 6 litres displacement. 12 cylinders, 450 hp at 6050 revs. See you later!"

The fair lady clocks the kiss Evi blows after him. She slides in on the passenger side. Her skirt rides up, revealing suspender stockings and tanned thighs fresh from the solarium.

The police student revs up the engine and sets off on his assignment. Rolling grit splatters against the rusty bakery truck. Wide-walled tread tyres knead the black asphalt. The red tail lights speed away into the bushy pine forests.

BERLIN 07:42

City Motorway, Sonnenallee Exit

The festival director, Aurora Celestico, is leafing through her correspondence. Every now and then, she leans over to the central console and changes station on the radio. As she does, her suit jacket flies opens and Max can't resist lowering his gaze towards her lush décolletage. She acknowledges with a frivolous smile, raises her arm and brushes her wild hair behind her ear. The scent of perfume spreads, mixed with the smell of armpit sweat.

She signs her papers with a gold-coloured pen. Pink painted fingernails. Well-kept hands, no wedding ring. A quiet whoop as a purple banknote falls out of a transshipment.

"500 Euros from the European Central Bank. The covering letter, a stamped-addressed envelope - oh, how it smells! - and this." The lady holds out a drawing to her bodyguard: symbols connected by colourful strokes, characters and numbers. "Do you have a clue what this is, young man?"

"Shure. A horoscope. Got one too."

She caresses with her fingertips over the lines. Sucks on the gold cap of her pen. Looks deeply into Max's eyes.

"Original from India?"

"Yeah. But …"

The festival manager smiles mischievously.

"This one shows the cash introduction of the Euro: January 1st 2002, Frankfurt (Main). Venus at the celestial limb and Priapos hidden in the twelfth house. The cover letter says 'Do interpret according to the Gorbachev method.' Do you want to? Then it's your money."

"Nope. I …"

"You will learn how to soon. The internship just has begun."

"Sorry, but Evi is coming to Dresden. Short-term’ll be over."

"The little salesgirl in the vintage car? How cute!"

Aurora Celestico shines a thousand times brighter than the tired winter sun. She sucks at her gold pencil in thoughtfulness. Here and there she leaves comments on the page with elegant handwriting, folds it and slides it into the almond-scented envelope. The banknote disappears in die warm hollow of her neckline.

"Look, copper boy! A letterbox out there. Do you see it? Fine. Just stop for a moment and I'll be right back. Then it's off to Alexanderplatz. Eight o’clock sharp we're going to pick up Scultetus, our star guest. At the World Time Clock, I'm so excited!" The festival boss grabs the letter, gets out and turns around once more. "You’ll get along wonderfully. I'm sure of it."

With swaying hips, she saunters to the letterbox. She looks perkily over her shoulder and catches Max admiring her bum. She licks the rubber lining of the envelope. Tapes it shut and pushes it through the slit. Prances off lightly. Makes teasing motions. Winks frivolously. Waves the golden pen like crazy. Grimaces, sticking out her tongue.

Spits foam.

Collapses.

"Fuck!"

The police student on his short-term practical training tears off her seatbelt and rushes out of the car. She convulses. Spits bloody foam. Clutches him. Pushes up his jumper sleeve. Writes numbers and digits in a jumbled sequence on his arm with a gold pen. Turns pale. Can hardly move her lips. Begs Max in a breaking voice to protect Scultetus.

Her pupils tilt back.

With hazard lights on and a fist on the horn, it's off through the city traffic, the high-rise block of Charity-University Medicine Berlin in view. Jam, road works. Mounting the kerb. A hubcap pops off. The oval roof of the emergency room.

Max carries Aurora Celestico in his arms. Shouts at the reception staff. “Colleagues will come soon", they say. Phones ring and no one answers. Finally the paramedics. Pushing him aside. Press a defibrillator to Aurora’s beautiful breasts, heavy as an iron. Her limp body rears up – then collapses. Cardiac massage. Breathing mask. Ms. Aurora Piacellis make-up smudges into a clown's grimace. Whistling in the shock generator. Charging for next electric shock. Seizing again. More oxygen! Again heart massage – until the ribs crack.

Max sneaks away. None of it makes sense. Like back in the Afghanistan mission. Friendly fire. Air support with false coordinates. Two comrades got it in the ass and died. Field medic couldn't do anything about it. Shit happens.

UPPER LUSATIA

08:25 Rothenburg

Winter break at the police academy. All students back with their families for Christmas. Except for one doing his short-term internship, out there, somewhere.

The country road stretches out, seemingly deserted. The bread saleswoman watches a limping figure, approaching from the distance in slow motion. It’s takes half an eternity to the old chicken woman to get to the bakery truck.

Silence and yawning emptiness. Almost unbearable for Evi, just coming from European city Frankfurt/Oder, used to nicking bits and pieces there from shops in the course of a day, ending in cool chases with the store detectives, before smuggling her takings over the German-Polish Oder Bridge, keeping a constant lookout for the border guards. What a thrill! You have to be wide awake! But here in this a rural area where they once in WW2 blew up all bridges crossing Lusatian Neisse, you can sleep all day. Nothing going on now. Boring as hell!

"Stale bread for the chickens, madam? Let's see what we have today, dear Lady. A couple of soft crusty to go with it? My greatgrandmother's secret recipe! Baked slowly at low heat. All for one Euro. And, because it's Christmas, three sachets of Brause Plus for the grandchildren. Original East German product from the Good old GDR! Lick it up with your tongue. Tickles nicely. Great fun!"

The old farmer’s wife from the chicken farm points her nibbled index finger at Evi's blotchy cheeks. "Is that from drugs?" She tears open the effervescent sachet and lets the white powder trickle into the snow.

"You're not from round here, don’t you."

Evi turns as white as a sheet. Her pimples stand out even more.

"Frankfurt, not the rich one in the Stat of Hessia, but the poor one at the border to Poland. But my friend, he's from the Golden West!"

"Dark sky, the great one?"

"Yes, yes. The Great Bear and the Little Bear and lots of other signs of the zodiac. All this is on offer at the Great European Planet Festival in Dresden. Look, the voucher for all events. Including hotel accommodation! A present form my lover."

"Dark morning, great car?"

"Oh, you mean the festival director's Phaeton. Great vehicle, isn't it? A friend of mine went of with her, as her bodyguard."

"Something on the police radio, they say. Woman dead. Driver – presume your buddy – on the run."

Hastily, a coin is dropped onto the counter. Evi watches its donor dash way. Chicken walk. Without Max, everything is terribly lonely here. She has only known him for a fortnight.

Suddenly he was there, like falling from heaven. Buying...

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 4.4.2023
• Illustrationen: Lorenzo Gori, Patricia Cooney, Waltraut Geisler, Stefan Müller
• Mitarbeit: Cover Design: ArsAstrologica; Sonstige Mitarbeit: ArsAstrologica, Philip Fairweather
• Verlagsort: Ahrensburg
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Literatur ► Comic / Humor / Manga
• Themenwelt: Literatur ► Fantasy / Science Fiction ► Fantasy
• Themenwelt: Literatur ► Krimi / Thriller / Horror
• Themenwelt: Literatur ► Lyrik / Dramatik ► Dramatik / Theater
• Themenwelt: Literatur ► Romane / Erzählungen
• Themenwelt: Kunst / Musik / Theater ► Film / TV
• Themenwelt: Sachbuch/Ratgeber ► Gesundheit / Leben / Psychologie ► Esoterik / Spiritualität
• Themenwelt: Sachbuch/Ratgeber ► Gesundheit / Leben / Psychologie ► Lebenshilfe / Lebensführung
• Themenwelt: Geisteswissenschaften ► Geschichte ► Regional- / Ländergeschichte
• Themenwelt: Geisteswissenschaften ► Psychologie
• Themenwelt: Sozialwissenschaften ► Politik / Verwaltung
• Themenwelt: Technik ► Architektur
• Themenwelt: Technik ► Bauwesen
• Themenwelt: Wirtschaft
• Schlagworte: Astrology • Magic • Mystery • New Age • Thril • Tour
• ISBN-13: 9783347915152 / 9783347915152