Voort sneered. 'Lack of sympathy when I do turn something up might mean a dishonorable discharge.'
'Very well,' the commissaris said. 'All right, do a good job, you two. No mercy. Let's have a good game. What if I win?'
The chief constable stood in front of the door. His lips trembled and his eyes bulged. 'You won't, I swear you won't. Not after this.'
The commissaris turned his back to Voort. 'The Porsche?' he whispered loudly. 'The blonde photo model? My insinuations didn't upset you, I hope?' The commissaris stepped closer, smiling up at his much taller opponent. 'Don't get nervous this early in the game.'
The chief constable stepped aside. 'Get out.'
' 'Bye,' the commissaris said. He didn't look around when the door banged behind him.
'Well?' Miss Antoinette asked when he came back to his room.
'I'm off duty.' He switched on the faucet of a small basin in the corner of the room, and beckoned her close.
'Oh, no,' Miss Antoinette quavered. 'I don't want to lose you.'
'Just for a little while.' He nodded. 'So far, so good. Look after Halba for me.'
'That miserable man?'
'Only a little,' the commissaris said. 'Keep an eye on the chief constable too, and on Paul Voort, my colleague from State Detection.' He pocketed the case of cigars that she had picked up from his desk. 'Thank you, dear.' He took his gun from the drawer of his desk and locked it away in the safe hidden by the gold-framed portrait of the antique constabulary officer. 'Won't need that, I think. Wouldn't do to shoot anyone when I'm off duty. Now, dear, you might have some time off every now and then, with me not here. We could meet.' He pointed at a map of Amsterdam. 'Here, I'll show you. Over there.'
'On the-'
He put his hand to his lips. 'Right. Do you know how to get there?'
'Yes.'
He held her by the hand and walked back to the running faucet.
'Every morning at ten? If you can't make that, at four in the afternoon will be fine. You might be followed. Can't have that. Put on a bright raincoat, then take it off somewhere. Change trams.'
'Yes.' She smiled. 'Yes, sir.'
'You can trust Grijpstra, de Gier, and Cardozo,' the commissaris said. 'No one else. If you're followed too much you can reach me by letter at the cafe on the island, or you can talk to my wife. She goes shopping after lunch. Meet her in the grocery store around the corner from my house.'
'How exciting,' Miss Antoinette said. 'I love it.'
'It won't be at ten times your regular pay,' the commissaris said sadly.
'But can I wear a split skirt?'
The commissaris took his time washing his hands.
'Please? I'd like to be a vamp for a good cause.'
'We'll see.'
'Please?'
'All right, all right.' The commissaris looked around the room, nodding at the begonias and the potted palm next to his desk.
'You will be back here?'
He sighed. 'Yes, dear. I think I will, but this will test my talents. I may be a babbling wreck when I come back. My habits are strong by now.' He shook his head. 'To reverse them…'
She kissed his cheek. 'Be ruthless. We'll all help.'
'Yes.' He opened the door. 'See you, Miss Antoinette.'
\\ 13 /////
'This is Mrs. Jongs,' the Commissaris's wife said. 'She'll be staying with us for a while. Remember? Adjutant Grijpstra phoned late last night, saying that he might bring a guest?'
'I heard all about your predicament, Mrs. Jongs,' the commissaris said, shaking the old woman's hand gently. 'I hope you'll be comfortable here.'
Mrs. Jongs rattled her dentures. 'I don't bother you?'
'Not at all.' He touched her stooped shoulder. 'Our pleasure entirely.' He smiled at the worried look on Mrs. Jongs's crinkled face. 'We'll soon have you home again. In the meantime, please enjoy your stay with us.'
'I cooks,' Mrs. Jongs said, 'and I cleans.'
'We're cooking now,' the commissaris's wife said. 'Your favorite lunch. Veal ragout and rice. Mrs. Jongs is tossing the salad. She has been talking to Turtle in the garden.'
'Good turtle,' Mrs. Jongs said. She picked up an object from the hat rack in the hallway. 'I brought Mouse.'
'Isn't he wonderful?' the commissaris's wife asked. 'Mouse is Mrs. Jongs's pet. Ds Gier thought she might be lonely without him. He and Grijpstra are waiting for you in your study.'
'He ain't real,' Mrs. Jongs said. 'Real Mouse squashes under a truck. Cahcarl copies Mouse. Good, ain't he now?'
The commissaris admired the wooden dog. 'Excellent animal, Mrs. Jongs. Cahcarl, eh? Friend of yours?'
'Oh, yes,' Mrs. Jongs said, 'oh, yes.'
The commissaris climbed the stairs, impatiently pulling his right leg along. 'The pain isn't worse, is it?' his wife asked. 'Please, Jan, don't strain yourself now. You were so relaxed after Bad Gastein.'
'Bah,' the commissaris said from halfway up the stairs. 'I feel better now.'
Grijpstra and de Gier stood up as he entered his study. 'Sorry, sir,' Grijpstra said, 'but Huip Fernandus and Heul have been released already, due to shortage of cells, and we can't have them harming the old dame.'
'Your wife said it's all right,' de Gier said. 'I thought of taking Mrs. Jongs to my apartment, but, as subject is rather nervous and may need care…'
'Yes. Yes, Sergeant.' The commissaris checked his watch. 'Twelve o'clock seems slow coming today. I would like my first cigar of the day now. So tell me more. I'm sorry I was so abrupt on the phone last night, but I'm almost sure my line is tapped. Let's have a full report.'
De Gier spoke for a while.
'I see,' the commissaris said. 'That's good. A full frontal attack on Fernandus's fortress, resulting in the arrest of his son and confiscation of valuable instruments and a fair quantity of soft drugs. The initiative is ours this time. Isn't it pleasant to go all out? Do sit down, Sergeant. No, Grijpstra, that's my seat. Try the rocking chair, it's comfortable too. What's our gain so far?'
'Harassment of a helpless old lady,' Grijpstra said. 'That's about all the charge boils down to, but the prosecutor was impressed. It was the details in our report that got to him. Loudspeakers screwed against Mrs. Jongs's floor, the broken antique plates, the suspects mentioning their important fathers. I had a photo crew over this morning; the pictures they came up with are nice and sharp. We even have the shards of the plates. Mrs. Jongs had been trying to glue them together.'
'The hashish won't stick,' de Gier said. 'It was found in a building belonging to the Society, with free access to all members. Suspects claim they didn't know they had two and a half kilos under the floor. The bribery attempt is no good either. They're both first offenders.'
'Did you get Heul's father to Headquarters?' the commissaris asked. 'Heul Senior is a prominent member of the Socialist Party.'
Grijpstra grinned. 'Yes, sir, and he was interviewed by a reporter. Kowsky of the Courier, best man we could find.'
'That'll be front-page news, then.' The commissaris nodded. 'Heul Senior has helped to subsidize the Society. Thanks to him, we have all these canteens in town that sell drugs to the young.' He shook his head. 'Silliest system I've ever heard about. We drug our own youth at a tax-free profit that supposedly goes to the needy
