few seconds later Miss Lydgate became extremely agitated.'
'In what way?'
'Distracted – unable to concentrate. She might even have suffered an absence. Apparently she started mumbling something or other in English. I don't know what exactly, I wasn't there. I heard this from Sabina.'
Liebermann looked puzzled.
'Nurse Rupius,' continued Kanner. 'You know, the pretty one with the big brown eyes. Surely you must have —'
'Stefan!'
'Sorry, Max.' Kanner tried to recover some of his professional credibility before continuing. 'Perhaps you should have a word with Nurse Rupius – before you see Miss Lydgate next.'
'Yes, I'll do that.'
Liebermann looked at his wristwatch and stood up.
'I've really got to go, Stefan – and thank you.'
'Not at all.'
Liebermann opened the door to let Kanner out.
'Max?' Kanner looked uncomfortable.
'Yes.'
'Miss Lydgate is supposed to be receiving a course of electrotherapy.'
'Yes, I know.'
'What are you going to say to Professor Gruner when he demands an explanation?'
Liebermann sighed: 'I haven't really thought about it.'
'In which case,' said Kanner, resting a solicitous hand on Liebermann's shoulder, 'I think you'd better start.'
29
EVERYTHING IN THE concert hall seemed to have been cast from gold: the baroque ceiling, the carved friezes, and the elegant, gilded caryatids – the housing for the pipe organ – its tympanum and entablature. The effect was dazzling. A blaze of bullion.
Above the audience, massive crystal chandeliers sparkled with a restless light, and each starburst was answered by waves of coruscation below. Amid the sea of faces in the stalls an abundance of diamond brooches flashed and shimmered. The Grosser Saal was like an Aladdin's cave – scintillating with the tokens of bourgeois prosperity.
'Ah, there you are.'
Liebermann turned to see Rheinhardt negotiating – with some difficulty – the narrow aisle. 'What a rush,' he grumbled. 'I barely had time to change.' He slumped down in the seat beside Liebermann, caught his breath and, puffing a little, said, 'I've been completing my report on the second autopsy.'
Liebermann peered over the balcony.
'I was very lucky to get these seats, you know, particularly at such late notice. As far as I'm concerned, when Mahler's conducting it's not worth sitting anywhere else. You have to see his face – such humanity.'
Ignoring Liebermann's unconventional and somewhat inappropriate welcome, Rheinhardt lowered his voice and leaned closer to his friend: 'You know, I had to record that the second autopsy was initiated after seeking medical advice – that is,
However, you still haven't told me how you did it. How did you work it out?'
A group of violinists and a few members of the woodwind section emerged from the wings and wandered onto the stage.
'Oh, it really wasn't that difficult, Oskar,' said Liebermann, seemingly more interested in the musicians. 'Rosa Sucher had described changes in Fraulein Lowenstein's eating habits. Fraulein Lowenstein was also drinking less coffee and had started taking peppermint tea. Now, surely, as a father of two, you must appreciate the significance of these facts.'
Rheinhardt scratched his head.
'Cravings? Yes. When Else was carrying Mitzi I had to get up at the crack of dawn to get strawberries from the Naschmarkt. She wouldn't eat anything else for weeks! But I'm afraid the significance of the coffee and peppermint tea escapes me entirely.'
Liebermann continued to monitor the arrival of the orchestra.
'Most women find coffee less palatable in the early stages of pregnancy.'
'Do they? I can't remember Else—'
'Would you have noticed?'
'Perhaps not.'
'And as for peppermint tea – it's an old cure for morning sickness. Quite effective, too.'
Rheinhardt grunted approvingly.
'Once this information was in my possession,' continued Liebermann, 'I wondered whether Natalie Heck, being a seamstress, and therefore perhaps more observant of Fraulein Lowenstein's wardrobe, might have noticed any changes in Charlotte Lowenstein's dress. Had she, for example, purchased any new and more generously proportioned garments? Clearly, Fraulein Heck exceeded all expectations when she confessed to having altered Fraulein Lowenstein's blue silk dress herself. Subsequently, I was minded to review my earlier interpretation of that tantalising error in Fraulein Lowenstein's death-note. The meaning of
'This also explains something else,' said Rheinhardt. 'Something I thought inconsequential at the first autopsy. Fraulein Lowenstein was not wearing a corset.'
'Indeed, to do so would have involved considerable discomfort.'
Representatives from each section of the orchestra had now made their way onto the stage, and the horn players had begun to warm their instruments with a few muted scales.
'Well,' said Rheinhardt, 'once again, I am indebted to you, Herr Doctor.'
'That remains to be seen,' said Liebermann. 'Fraulein Lowenstein's pregnancy certainly introduces a new element into our mystery. But as to its significance, who can say?'
'True. But we've made some progress. And I have a hunch that Fraulein Lowenstein's pregnancy will play some part in the unravelling of a motive for her murder.'
'Possibly,' said Liebermann. But before he could elaborate, he was distracted by a group of finely dressed men who were processing in a halting fashion up the furthest aisle of the stalls. Several were dressed in a kind of uniform – green tailcoat, black velvet cuffs, and yellow buttons. Their slow advance created a swell of agitation in the audience: the familiar impassive drone became an excited susurration. Heads turned, and some people even pointed. Every few rows, a distinguished Viennese burgher or lady would rise to greet the company.
'Oskar?' Liebermann nodded towards the back of the Grosser Saal. 'What's going on down there? Do you recognise any of those men?'
Rheinhardt rested his hands on the balcony and shifted forward.
At the centre of the group a well-groomed gentleman wearing a dark grey suit was kissing the hand of an aristocratic-looking dowager.
'Good heavens – it's the Mayor.'
'What's he doing here?' exclaimed Liebermann. 'Damned hypocrite.'
A few years earlier the Mayor had affronted Mahler by inviting a different conductor to perform at a special Philharmonic charity concert. Knowing the Mayor's politics, Liebermann realised that his motive had been quite clear. The Mayor's supporters in the anti-Semitic Reform Union would have been delighted. The orchestra's members, however, had been furious and had complained bitterly.
'Not so loud, Max.'
Liebermann snorted and folded his arms.
'And . . .' Rheinhardt's eyes narrowed. 'I don't believe it – there's Bruckmuller.'
'Who?'
'Hans Bruckmuller – remember? He attended Fraulein Lowenstein's meetings. You see that man there?'
