The commissaris nodded. 'Yes. He wants me to go slow, but I'll ignore that advice, I think.' He rubbed his hands. 'To work.'
So they worked. The bank came down and was closed behind sealed doors. Warrants for the arrests of Fernandus and the baron were issued, based on statements provided by the Society's manager and waiters, and several employees of the Banque du Credit, but Fernandus could not be located. De la Faille's trail led as far as the Belgian border.
'Now what?' Grijpstra asked when he saw the commissaris later that week.
'Wait,' the commissaris said.
'Any news yet from Calcutta?' Cardozo asked. The commissaris read a Teletype message. 'Supply from Nepal due soon. Courier ready. Will inform you of flight number and date.'
'We're ready too,' the commissaris said. 'This is from our narcotics commissioner out there. Where's de Gier?'
'Gone,' Grijpstra said solemnly.
The telephone rang. 'I'm not here,' the commissaris said. He placed his elbows on his desk and dropped his chin on his clasped hands. 'Gone?'
'It's the chief of the Tax Inspection Office, sir,' Miss Antoinette said, covering the receiver with her hand.
The commissaris waved impatiently. 'This is more urgent, dear. I'm out to everybody.' He looked straight ahead. 'Gone?'
Grijpstra harrumphed.
'Harrumph?' Cardozo asked. 'What sort of answer is that? Where is the sergeant?'
'No sergeant,' Grijpstra said placidly. 'I don't think de Gier cares for his title anymore. He said he wouldn't come down. He's suspended in thin air.'
'Adjutant,' the commissaris said, 'de Gier's been reinstated. I had an envelope placed on his desk. His salary will be paid in full with apologies and all. What more does he want?'
'More.' Grijpstra flicked dust off his knee. 'The white knight didn't open his envelope.'
'The white knight?' Cardozo asked. 'But that's silly. He wasn't serious, was he? The sergeant likes to hold on to a joke.'
'Nojoke.'
'So where is he?' the commissaris asked. 'You're closer to de Gier than anyone else. Did he leave the city? Where is his cat?'
'At my house,' Grijpstra said. 'He brought it last night, in a Ferrari. I've got his furniture too, it came in a truck. I don't want de Gier's furniture. And he didn't just leave the city, he left the country.'
'So why did you take his furniture? Or did you leave it in the street?'
'I took it, sir.'
'And what about de Gier's apartment?'
'I don't know. For rent, I suppose.'
'Evidently he isn't planning to come back,' the commissaris said. 'He could always get a job here. De Gier's always offered jobs. Has he got money, Adjutant?'
'Savings.'
'Savings?' the commissaris repeated. 'He always complains about his overdraft.'
'Not for the last year, sir.' Grijpstra smiled grimly. 'He hasn't bought any new clothes for a year. He stayed home for his holidays. Refused to pay for my coffee. Hardly went out.'
'The stock market,' Cardozo said. 'I've seen him looking at the Financial Times in the canteen.'
'And at maps,' Grijpstra said.
'What maps?'
'Maps of New Guinea, sir.'
'No,' the commissaris said. 'That fantasy too? But that goes back years. When that Papuan suspect got away, he sent a postcard later, I believe.'
'What Papuan?' Cardozo asked.
'A good man,' the commissaris said, 'who managed to get away. Grijpstra can tell you. This is serious.' He picked up a pencil and tapped it on his desk.
'Well, de Gier was suspended, sir,' Grijpstra said. 'And he's free anyway. If he goes, he goes.'
'Surely.' The commissaris let the pencil slide from his hand. 'But do we want him to kill the baron? That's not a good start. He might get hurt, too, his ribs haven't healed.'
'He's in pain,' Cardozo said. 'It hurts him when he breathes deeply. I could see that. De Gier was very careful how he moved.'
'You don't want him to duel with the baron, sir?' Grijpstra asked.
The commissaris played with his pencil. 'No.'
The telephone rang again. Miss Antoinette answered. 'State Police, sir, about the accident on the Vinker Lakes.'
'Good luck to them,' the commissaris said.
'He isn't here,' Miss Antoinette said into the telephone.
Cardozo flattened his hair with both hands. 'The baron's probably in Spain, at Ten Haaf's estate in Marbella, where Guldemeester is working now.'
'Are we sure?' the commissaris asked. 'We know by now that Ten Haaf was financially interested in the Banque du Credit and the Society; he must have dropped some money in the crash. And Fernandus and the baron probably own part of the estate in Marbella. If the baron went to cash in his share, he may not be received very well.'
'Ten Haaf is a helpless junkie now,' Grijpstra said. 'He used to be big in local crime, but since his retirement, he's changed into a slob. He's happy to have any of his cronies visit. He runs some sort of recreation center for what he calls the Mob. I think the baron would be welcome in Marbella.'
'Another godfather, eh?' the commissaris asked. 'A nest of crime up in the mountains? Weary warriors are given a rest. Do I see it all now? Is de Gier going to fight the bad guys in their lair? Racing up in Ryder's Ferrari? In style?'
'In style,' Cardozo said. 'That's what he kept saying. I see it too, sir. He has spelled it all out to me, many a time. Police work is too limited; he stayed on only because of you; you were teaching him and so forth, but eventually he would break away and continue his quest on his own.'
'De Gier's forty-two,' Grijpstra said. 'Quite a difficult age. I was wondering, when I got into my forties, whether I shouldn't make a change.'
'Coffee, everyone?' Miss Antoinette asked. 'Here you are. De Gier is a romantic, Constable Jane is always saying that.'
'What's a romantic, dear?' The commissaris sipped his coffee. 'You mean he's a bit crazy?'
'Like Carl.' Miss Antoinette smiled. 'Carl says you've got to do things differently. Figure out how everybody does it and then do it otherwise. De Gier is like that too, but he isn't as courageous as Carl. Carl doesn't want an example. De Gier has you.'
'Me,' the commissaris said. 'How could he imitate me? I live a perfectly ordinary life.'
'Your mind,' Grijpstra said.
'What about my mind?'
'Well,' Grijpstra said. 'Perhaps I could explain, but I'll probably annoy you. I've been annoying you lately. Never mind, sir.'
'Go on,' Cardozo said. 'Annoy the commissaris. You always annoy everybody else.'
'Please annoy me,' the commissaris said. 'You'll have to, I'm afraid. I have to understand de Gier's motivation before I do anything.'
'What can you do?' Cardozo asked. 'If de Gier hasn't opened his envelope, he's on perpetual unpaid leave. If he doesn't come back, he's not under your orders.'
The telephone rang. 'The mayor, sir,' Miss Antoinette said. The commissaris waved a limp hand. 'He's not here,' said Miss Antoinette.
Grijpstra stripped a cigar out of its plastic cover, bit off its end, spat, and missed the ashtray. 'Yagh,' said
