“You ought to know that I’m. . er, we all are, of course. .
very upset about what has happened. Some have taken it harder than others, and it’s obvious that everybody on the staff has been on edge. But even so, we have managed to carry on working. I’d like you to bear that in mind. It has been. . and still is. . a very difficult time for all of us at this school. However, I think we’ve succeeded in showing the pupils that we don’t let them down even when we’re under this kind of pressure.”
“I understand, Headmaster. I’m very well aware of what you must have been going through. When do you think I’ll be able to meet my witnesses?”
“When would suit you? You must give me a little time, and obviously it must take place after school is finished for the day.
We must not disrupt teaching any more than has happened already.”
“The trial starts on Thursday. Witnesses for the defense are unlikely to be called before Tuesday or Wednesday next week.”
“I shall make appropriate arrangements, Mr. Ruger. Tomorrow afternoon, perhaps?”
“Excellent.”
“I’ll be in touch.”
He slid back his desk chair. Ruger handed him his business card and started wriggling his way up from the armchair.
“Edwin Ruger. . Yes, I do believe I recall him. A promising young man. What’s he doing now?”
“Unemployed.”
“Ah, I see. . So, good-bye, Mr. Ruger. Is there anything else I can do for you?”
Hardly, Ruger thought. He shook his head and wiped his nose. Headmaster Suurna leaned over his intercom and summoned the mauve woman.
“Haven’t you got an umbrella?” she asked as she guided him through the corridors.
“No,” said Ruger, “but I’ve been thinking about buying one.”
He couldn’t be bothered to explain that in fact, he owned two: one was at home, the other was in his car. As he hastened across the wet schoolyard, he wondered who on earth it was the headmaster reminded him of. Some politician or other involved in a scandal many years ago, he suspected. Surely they couldn’t be one and the same person?
For Mitter’s sake he hoped that Suurna would not change his mind and volunteer to be a witness himself. Nobody but the opposition would relish the prospect of evidence given by a witness like that, so much was obvious. And he doubted if he would have the courage to put a muzzle on the man.
Speaking of which, how many witnesses had the prosecution managed to winkle out of these walls? He had the distinct impression that there were two or three to be found, if anybody made the effort.
But as he sat in his car again and watched the gloomy outline of the Bunge High School fade away in his rearview mirror, what filled his mind above all else was a hot bath and an extra-large and well-deserved cognac.
It was true that his wife maintained that nobody cured a cold with hot baths and cognac nowadays, but he had decided to pay no more attention to her. For three whole days his breakfast had comprised a nasty-tasting little vitamin pill, and that had failed to shift him even an inch closer to good health.
8
Why didn’t they come?
That question cropped up the day after, but not until nearly evening. The day had passed, hour after hour, in a sort of glassy trance, a state of utter confusion; but as soon as thoughts had succeeded in breaking through, that was the question that registered first.
Why had he heard nothing from them?
Another night passed. And another day.
Nothing happened. He went to work, did what he had to do, went back home in the evening. His strength was returning fast and problem-free, and he knew that a confrontation wouldn’t cause him any bother at all.
But nothing happened.
After a week the ridiculous question was still nagging him. He thought there must be some kind of mistake- perhaps they had come looking for him but failed to find him.
Neither at home nor at work.
This was just as ridiculous, of course, but nevertheless he stayed at home for a few days during the second week. Told his employers that he had a stomach upset, and stayed in all the time.
To make certain that they could find him.
In any case, he needed the rest. He sat in his apartment day after day, and let all the circumstances tick over in his mind.
And suddenly, everything fell into place. He realized how the whole of his life had been leading up to exactly this. Realized that he ought to have caught on much sooner. It would have saved him a lot of trouble. He realized that this was his escape route, and that there was no other possibility. It was now so obvious that he was forced to give his head a good shaking to make up for his blindness.
She was dead. Now he could live.
And nothing happened.
No unknown voice telephoned and asked him to answer some questions. No stern-looking men in damp trench coats knocked on his door. Nothing.
What were they waiting for?
He occasionally stood behind the curtains and peered down at the street, looking for mysterious parked cars. He listened for the telltale little click confirming that his phone was being tapped. He read all the newspapers he could get hold of, but nowhere. . nowhere could he find even a hint of an explanation.
It was incomprehensible.
After three weeks it was still just as incomprehensible, but he had grown used to it. The situation wasn’t entirely unpleasant.
The uncertainty brought with it a little tingling feeling.
That tingling.
The morning the trial was due to start he got up early.
Stood for ages in front of the bathroom mirror, smiling at his own reflection. Toyed with the idea of going there. Sitting in the public gallery, gaping at all the goings-on.
But he knew that would be going too far. Tempting fate.
Why tempt something that had treated him so favorably?
In the car, on the way to work, he suddenly found himself singing.
It wasn’t yesterday. He looked at his eyes in the rearview mirror. There was a sparkle in them.
And as he waited at a red light, he saw out of the corner of his eye the woman in the Volvo alongside him turning her head to smile at him.
He swallowed, and felt his passions rising.
9
The dream came in the early hours of the morning; when the first gray light slowly started to squeeze out the darkness in his cell. The breakfast carts might even have started to rattle in the corridors.
And he remembered it in detail; it might have happened just as he was waking up, and perhaps a lot of things might have been explained if only he’d been granted a few more minutes’ sleep. Even a few more seconds might have been enough.
