Melander was famous for his memory, his ten hours' sleep a night and a singular capacity for constantly being in the W. C.
'Are you in on the Matsson case?'
'Yeah.'
'Find out what he did the night before he left. In detail. How he behaved, what he said, what he was wearing.'
'Tonight?'
'Tomorrow will do.'
'Uh-huh.'
'Bye, then.'
'Bye.'
Martin Beck had finished with the telephone. He took pen and paper and went downstairs.
Alf Matsson's luggage was still standing in the room behind the reception desk.
He took the cover off the typewriter, placed it on the table, inserted a piece of paper in the machine and typed:
Portable typewriter, Erika, with case
Yellowish-brown pigskin suitcase with strap, fairly new
He opened the case and set its contents out on the table. He then went on typing.
Gray-and-black checked shirt
Sport shirt, brown
White poplin shirt, fresh-laundered, Metro Laundry, Stockholm
Light-gray gabardine trousers, well-pressed
Three handkerchiefs, white
Four pairs socks, brown, dark-blue, light-gray, wine-red
Two pairs colored undershorts, green-and-white check
One fishnet undershirt
One pair light-brown suede shoes
He looked gloomily at the cardigan-like garment, picked it up and went out to the girl at the reception desk. She was very pretty, in a sweet, ordinary way. Rather small, well built, long fingers, pretty calves, fine ankles, a few dark hairs on her shins, long thighs under her skirt. No rings. He stared at her with his thoughts far away.
'What's this kind of thing called?' he said.
'A jersey blazer,' she said.
He remained standing there, thinking about something. The girl blushed. She moved to the other end of the reception desk, adjusting her skirt and pulling at her bra and girdle. He could not understand why. He went back, sat down at the table and typed:
Dark blue jersey blazer
58 sheets typing paper, legal size
One typewriter eraser
Electric shaver, Remington
Shaving kit
Shaving lotion, Tabac
Tube of toothpaste, Squibb, opened
Toothbrush
Mouthwash, Vademecum
Aspirin with codeine, box unopened
Dark-blue plastic wallet
$1500 in $20 bills
Skr 600 in hundred-kronor notes, new type
Typed on Alf Matsson's typewriter
He repacked all the things, folded the list and left. The girl at the reception desk looked at him in confusion. Now she appeared prettier than ever.
Martin Beck went into the dining room and ate a late dinner, with an absent-minded expression still on his face.
The waiter put a Swedish flag in front of him. The maestro came up to his table and played a patriotic Swedish melody in his left ear. He did not seem to notice it.
He drank his coffee in one gulp, put a red hundred-forint note on the table without even waiting for the bill and went upstairs to bed.
22
It was just a few minutes past nine o'clock when the young man from the Embassy telephoned.
'You're in luck,' he said. 'I've managed to get a seat on the plane that leaves Budapest at twelve o'clock. You get to Prague at ten to two and you have five minutes to wait before the SAS plane to Copenhagen leaves.'
'Thanks,' said Martin Beck.
'It wasn't easy to arrange at such short notice. Can you pick up the tickets yourself at Malev's? I've arranged for the payment of them, so they can just be collected.'
'Naturally,' said Martin Beck. 'Thanks very much indeed.'
'Have a nice flight then, Mr. Beck. It's been very pleasant having you here.'
'Thank you,' said Martin Beck. 'Good-bye.'
As predicted the tickets were waiting for him, with the dark curly-haired beauty he had spoken to three days earlier.
He returned to his hotel room, packed his bag and sat at the window for a while, smoking and looking out over the river. Then he left the room (in which he had stayed for five days and Alf Matsson had stayed for half an hour), went down to reception and ordered a taxi. As he came outside onto the steps, he saw a blue-and-white police car approaching at great speed. It braked in front of the hotel, and a uniformed policeman whom he had not seen before leaped out and hurried through the revolving doors. Martin had time to see that he had an envelope in
