[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
that was never wrong, not even in the twenty-first case. . . .
However, it was nothing to brag about. He recalled how he
had once found a rapist by locking himself up in his office and
playing patience for half an hour. That wasn t something to
include in lectures addressed to new recruits.
He sipped his beer slowly, and waited. Sat like an imper-
turbable godfather in the dirty yellow light shining down onto
the table. Baldy had been to light a candle in order to indicate
that this booth had been claimed, but apart from that it
remained in the shadows, waiting, like Van Veeteren, for
Ulrike deMaas.
She arrived shortly after three, exactly as she had promised. A
slim, dark woman in a duffel coat and a rust-red shawl. She
had finished work at the museum at three o clock; it was
located on the other side of the square, and it didn t take long
to turn off the lights and lock up. Van Veeteren assumed that
the number of visitors was similar to that at Poseidon; it was
Sunday, and the first Sunday in Advent, at that: people no
doubt had better things to do than visiting local museums and
restaurants.
Chief Inspector Veeteren?
Van Veeteren. Please sit down. You are Ulrike deMaas, I
take it?
2 2 9
She nodded, took off her duffel coat, and hung it over her
chair.
Please excuse me for suggesting that we should meet here
rather than in my home, but things are a bit hectic just at the
moment, and you said you wanted to talk in peace and quiet. . . .
She smiled timidly.
I couldn t imagine a better place than this, said Van
Veeteren. What would you like?
Baldy had slunk out from the shadows.
To eat? she wondered.
Of course, said Van Veeteren. I ve been driving for two
hours, and will have to spend another two hours driving back
home. A stew in the autumnal darkness is the very least I
require. Choose whatever you like. The state is paying.
She smiled again, a little more sure of herself now.
Removed a band from her hair and released a shower of chest-
nut. Van Veeteren reminded himself that he was an ancient
cop with only ten years left before retirement.
She lit a cigarette.
You know, Chief Inspector, when I read about her death,
it was as if . . . well, not quite as if I d expected it, but I wasn t
shocked or dismayed, or whatever it is one ought to have been.
Isn t that strange?
Perhaps. Could you explain in more detail?
She hesitated.
Eva was . . . she was that sort of person, in a way she
lived a high-risk life. Well, maybe that s overstating it, but
there was something . . . something dramatic about her.
Did you know her well?
As well as anybody, I think. In those days, I mean. We
never met later. We were in the same class for six years the
m i n d s e y e
last three years at our junior school in Leuwen, and three
years at high school in Mühlboden. We saw quite a lot of each
other at high school; there were four or five of us in the same
group. We used to call it our gang.
Girls?
Yes, a gang of girls. There was generally only two or three
of us when we did something together. The others would be
preoccupied with boys at the time, but who was doing what
kept changing.
I m with you. Did Eva have many boyfriends in those
days?
No, she was probably the most careful of all of us. Yes, I d
say that was beyond doubt, but . . .
But what?
In some strange way she had more reason than the rest of
us to be careful. That sounds odd, but she always used to jump
into things with both feet, as it were, and she had to keep her-
self on a tight rein to make sure she wasn t injured . . . or hurt,
perhaps I should say. She was strong and fragile at the same
time, if you see what I mean.
Not really, no, Van Veeteren admitted.
She changed quite a lot when we were at high school as
well. I barely knew her when we were at school in Leuwen.
She and her brother Rolf they were twins were more or
less inseparable. Their father died at some point around that
time. I think that was good from her point of view. He was a
heavy drinker. I wouldn t be surprised if he beat them her
mother as well, I suspect.
How did Eva change at high school?
She became more open, sort of. Made some good friends.
Started to live, you might say.
Thanks to her father s death?
Yes, I think so. The close link with Rolf seemed to become
2 3 1
looser as well. I think they d probably needed each other
mostly as a sort of protection against their father.
Rolf moved away later on, is that right?
Yes, he also went to high school, in a parallel class, but he
soon left. Went to sea instead . . . Eventually settled down in
America, I seem to recall.
Van Veeteren nodded.
Do you remember the names of any boys Eva went
with?
Hmm, I ve been thinking about that since you called, but
the only two I can remember, ones she had a close relationship
with, if you see what I mean, were Rickard Antoni, who was
in the same class as us that was right at the end, just before
we left school. I think it only lasted for a few weeks; in any
case, she d left him when she started at university in the fall. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
zanotowane.pl doc.pisz.pl pdf.pisz.pl exclamation.htw.pl
that was never wrong, not even in the twenty-first case. . . .
However, it was nothing to brag about. He recalled how he
had once found a rapist by locking himself up in his office and
playing patience for half an hour. That wasn t something to
include in lectures addressed to new recruits.
He sipped his beer slowly, and waited. Sat like an imper-
turbable godfather in the dirty yellow light shining down onto
the table. Baldy had been to light a candle in order to indicate
that this booth had been claimed, but apart from that it
remained in the shadows, waiting, like Van Veeteren, for
Ulrike deMaas.
She arrived shortly after three, exactly as she had promised. A
slim, dark woman in a duffel coat and a rust-red shawl. She
had finished work at the museum at three o clock; it was
located on the other side of the square, and it didn t take long
to turn off the lights and lock up. Van Veeteren assumed that
the number of visitors was similar to that at Poseidon; it was
Sunday, and the first Sunday in Advent, at that: people no
doubt had better things to do than visiting local museums and
restaurants.
Chief Inspector Veeteren?
Van Veeteren. Please sit down. You are Ulrike deMaas, I
take it?
2 2 9
She nodded, took off her duffel coat, and hung it over her
chair.
Please excuse me for suggesting that we should meet here
rather than in my home, but things are a bit hectic just at the
moment, and you said you wanted to talk in peace and quiet. . . .
She smiled timidly.
I couldn t imagine a better place than this, said Van
Veeteren. What would you like?
Baldy had slunk out from the shadows.
To eat? she wondered.
Of course, said Van Veeteren. I ve been driving for two
hours, and will have to spend another two hours driving back
home. A stew in the autumnal darkness is the very least I
require. Choose whatever you like. The state is paying.
She smiled again, a little more sure of herself now.
Removed a band from her hair and released a shower of chest-
nut. Van Veeteren reminded himself that he was an ancient
cop with only ten years left before retirement.
She lit a cigarette.
You know, Chief Inspector, when I read about her death,
it was as if . . . well, not quite as if I d expected it, but I wasn t
shocked or dismayed, or whatever it is one ought to have been.
Isn t that strange?
Perhaps. Could you explain in more detail?
She hesitated.
Eva was . . . she was that sort of person, in a way she
lived a high-risk life. Well, maybe that s overstating it, but
there was something . . . something dramatic about her.
Did you know her well?
As well as anybody, I think. In those days, I mean. We
never met later. We were in the same class for six years the
m i n d s e y e
last three years at our junior school in Leuwen, and three
years at high school in Mühlboden. We saw quite a lot of each
other at high school; there were four or five of us in the same
group. We used to call it our gang.
Girls?
Yes, a gang of girls. There was generally only two or three
of us when we did something together. The others would be
preoccupied with boys at the time, but who was doing what
kept changing.
I m with you. Did Eva have many boyfriends in those
days?
No, she was probably the most careful of all of us. Yes, I d
say that was beyond doubt, but . . .
But what?
In some strange way she had more reason than the rest of
us to be careful. That sounds odd, but she always used to jump
into things with both feet, as it were, and she had to keep her-
self on a tight rein to make sure she wasn t injured . . . or hurt,
perhaps I should say. She was strong and fragile at the same
time, if you see what I mean.
Not really, no, Van Veeteren admitted.
She changed quite a lot when we were at high school as
well. I barely knew her when we were at school in Leuwen.
She and her brother Rolf they were twins were more or
less inseparable. Their father died at some point around that
time. I think that was good from her point of view. He was a
heavy drinker. I wouldn t be surprised if he beat them her
mother as well, I suspect.
How did Eva change at high school?
She became more open, sort of. Made some good friends.
Started to live, you might say.
Thanks to her father s death?
Yes, I think so. The close link with Rolf seemed to become
2 3 1
looser as well. I think they d probably needed each other
mostly as a sort of protection against their father.
Rolf moved away later on, is that right?
Yes, he also went to high school, in a parallel class, but he
soon left. Went to sea instead . . . Eventually settled down in
America, I seem to recall.
Van Veeteren nodded.
Do you remember the names of any boys Eva went
with?
Hmm, I ve been thinking about that since you called, but
the only two I can remember, ones she had a close relationship
with, if you see what I mean, were Rickard Antoni, who was
in the same class as us that was right at the end, just before
we left school. I think it only lasted for a few weeks; in any
case, she d left him when she started at university in the fall. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]