'An interesting ideological situation,' he said 'I cannot think of a clearer example of social polarization. On the one hand we have Mrs Wilt and on the other...'
'A headless Kraut by the look of things.' said the Major enthusiastically as Eva, having hauled Gudrun Schautz into the air, shoved her over the balcony railing 'I don't know what the proper drop for a hanging is but I should have thought forty feet was a bit excessive.'
'Excessive?' squeaked Mr Symper. 'It's positively monstrous. And what's more I take exception to your use of the word 'kraut' I shall protest most vehemently to the authorities.'
'Odd bod.' said the Major as the secretary of the League of Personal Liberties rushed from the room 'Anyone would think Mrs Wilt was the terrorist instead of a devoted mother.'
It was more or less the attitude adopted by Inspector Flint. 'Listen, mate,' he told the distraught Symper, 'you can lead as many protest marches as you fucking well like but don't come yelling at me that Mrs Bloody Wilt is a murderess. You brought her here...'
'I didn't know she was going to hang people. I refuse to be party to a private execution.'
'No, well you won't be that. You're an accessory. The bastards on the ground floor have bumped off Wilt and the children by the sound of things. How's that for loss of personal liberties?'
'But they wouldn't have if you had let them go. They...'
Flint had heard enough. Much as he had disliked Wilt the thought that this hysterical do-gooder was blaming the police for refusing to give way to the demands of a group of bloodthirsty foreigners was too much for him. He rose from his chair and grabbed Mr Symper by the lapels 'All right, if that's the way you feel about it I'm sending you next door to persuade the Widow Wilt to come downstairs and let herself be shot by...'
'I won't go,' gibbered Mr Symper. 'You've no right.'
Flint tightened his grip and was frogmarching him backwards down the hall when Mr Gosdyke interrupted.
'Inspector, something has got to be done immediately. Mrs Wilt is taking the law into her own hands!'
'Good for her,' said Flint. 'This little shit has just volunteered to act as an emissary to our friendly neighbourhood freedom fighters...'
'I have done nothing of the sort,' squeaked Mr Symper. 'Mr Gosdyke, I appeal to you to...'
The solicitor ignored him. 'Inspector Flint, if you are prepared to give an undertaking that my client will not be held responsible, questioned, taken into custody, charged or placed on remand or in any way proceeded against for what she is evidently about to do...'
Flint released the egregious Mr Symper. Years of courtroom procedure told him when he was beaten. He followed Mr Gosdyke into the Conference Room and studied Eva Wilt's astonishing posterior with amazement. Gosdyke's remark about taking the law into her own hands seemed totally inappropriate. She was flattening the damned thing. Flint looked to Dr Felden.
'Mrs Wilt is obviously in an extremely disturbed mental state, Inspector. We must try to reassure her. I suggest you use the telephone...'
'No,' said Professor Maerlis 'Mrs Wilt may appear from this angle to have the proportions of an attenuated gorilla, but even so I doubt if she could reach the telephone without getting off the chair.'
'And what's so wrong with that?' demanded the Major aggressively. 'The Schautz bitch has it coming to her.'
'Perhaps, but we don't want to make a martyr of her. She already has a very considerable political charisma...'
'Bugger her charisma,' said Flint, 'she's had the rest of the Wilt family martyred and we can always claim that her death was accidental.'
The Professor looked at him sceptically. 'You could try, I suppose, but I think you'd have some difficulty persuading the media that a woman who has been suspended from a balcony on the
