Chapter 1

"No. I said no and I meant no!"

Ed held his breath. The Chief had said "no" all right, and it sounded very decided.
But then – Madame Dupont was just as determined not to accept it. And Madame Dupont was used to getting her will.
She was an early-widowed, beautiful lady in her mid forties and the CEO of the famous Swiss chocolate factory "Charme d'Or", a family enterprise with a long tradition. She was also a cousin of the politician who had organized the meeting between the Schweizer Bundesrat and Ironside, where he had explained to the Swiss government the requirements for people with a handicap in the labor market. She had taken part in the extended buffet lunch after the meeting. Ed had accompanied his boss because he knew some German.

"Madam, may I remind you that we have a flight to catch?"
Ironside's restricted tone betrayed to his friend that he was just a second away from exploding.

If they missed this flight, Commissioner Randall would blow up about the over-the-top bill of expenses, reasoned Ed.

The loudspeaker called for boarding of their flight.

"Sir, my mother-in-law is 86," said Mrs. Dupont in a suddenly very quiet voice.

This time she got directly to the Chief's heart. He could not let an old lady in trouble, could he?

And as if she had read Ed's mind she added, "Of course, your expenses will be largely covered."

The last call went by unnoticed.

Ironside turned his wheelchair around and threw his head back in his unique way. "Ed, let's go back. Madame – tell us about your problem."

"I have a van outside. Let's go to my place. There you will get the details."

It was difficult to conduct a private conversation at a crowded, noisy airport. It was understandable that she didn't want to shout. But patience wasn't quite one of Robert T. Ironside's most striking features. What in blazes did an 86-year-old have to do with crime?

The Duponts' villa was even more splendid than the Whitfields' and much older.

"Take a seat, please," Madame Dupont invited them. She ordered Bourbon for Ironside and herself and coffee for the Sergeant. A waitress clad in an authentic outfit from the 19th century served the beverages. Ed was mildly amused. Did Dupont try to impress the Chief? All this would have no effect on him. Thus, the Chief's impatient intervention didn't come as a surprise to him.

"We're not here for a party. I want the facts now!"

"All right, Mr. Ironside."

She was used to talking to important business men. Now she looked as if she were about to do exactly that.

"You know that Switzerland is not only infamous because of the banking secrecy and famous for its cuckoo clocks, but also extremely famous for its mountains, cheese and, most importantly for me personally, for its fine chocolate. We have several world-renowned chocolatiers: Cailler, Suchard, Tobler, Lindt&Sprüngli, and of course ours, Charme d'Or. There is a passionate, but friendly competition between us to develop new and excellent chocolate specialties. A few years ago – for Christmas 1967, to be exact – Lindt&Sprüngli landed a coup. They started to produce the so-called 'Lindor balls'. They were an immediate success and among connoisseurs they are considered to be among the best chocolates of the world, if not the best."

Ironside had remained remarkably calm during this lecture in history. Now the patience left him for good. "And what's that got to do with our problem at hand?"

"Please, Sir, hear me out! For this year, our inventors and creative minds have developed something on a par - what am I telling you? Something superior: the 'Charme d'Or disc'."

She pulled out a picture of her new creation.

"It's an infinitely soft-melting chocolate candy in the form of a disc to distinguish it from the 'Lindor ball', and it is the ultimate joy of chocolate."

Probably she wrote the advertising slogans for her chocolate herself, or she had learned this one by heart.

"We produced 7.5 tons of them for the Christmas trade – and the entire stock has been stolen."

Ed felt amused again. Now that was an original kind of theft for once. Real sweet. But anticipating the Chief's reaction to this he remained serious.

"Madame Dupont! You didn't keep us from flying back to the States because of a simple theft, did you?!"

For the first time Mrs. Dupont looked a tiny bit uneasy. "This is no 'simple theft', as you put it! We are talking about a value of 250,000 Swiss francs, research and development expenses not included!"

"And what about that talk of your old mother-in-law needing me?"

"It is true that she is 86! Actually she doesn't have much to do with the problem. I needed a reason to convince you to stay."

Ironside snorted. He felt bamboozled, but he could not let this on. Angrily he glanced at Ed who obviously had a hard time not to laugh.
If you think that I will allow you an extended holiday in a pretty country, then you are dead wrong!
No words were necessary. The Sergeant got the message.

But now it was too late to catch that plane anyway, and to be honest... this unusual setting was teasing him quite a bit. There was just one thing irritating him. "Why in flaming blazes do you want us? You have a very capable police force in Switzerland, and lots of private detectives who know your country far better than we do."

"Because you are absolutely the best. We want to produce the best chocolate, and you are the best detective I have ever heard of. It's as simple as that. And no police. This isn't the USA. We must not introduce a new product with a scandal; it would be considered a cheap advertising stunt. We offer quality. That's something else entirely."

Ironside understood her way of thinking. Old-fashioned by American standards maybe, but not completely out of place.

"Where was that chocolate last seen?"

"In our factory."

"Who had access to it?"

"The factory workers of course, and the night watchman. But they could not have smuggled away 7.5 tons of chocolate in one night, could they?"

"Then who could?"

"That's what I want you to find out."