H She offered herself up to him on a plate. He made a mistake. It only happened once.
V So you think his behaviour is defensible, do you?
H Of course I don’t. All I’m saying is that you could hardly call it an affair.
V Were you present in the flat when Maager and Winnie Maas had intercourse?
H No.
V But you know about it?
H Yes.
V Did you know about it before the girl’s death as well?
H Yes.
V How and when did you hear about it?
H Some colleagues talked about it.
V Who?
H Cruickshank and Nielsen.
V Two of those who were present at the party after the disco on the tenth of June?
H Yes.
V And they said that Maager had sexual intercourse with Winnie Maas?
H Yes.
V When was that?
H A few days afterwards. The last week of term. Maager said so himself not long afterwards.
V In what connection?
H We’d gone out for a beer. At the very beginning of the summer holiday — round about the twentieth.
V Where?
H Lippmann’s. And a few other bars.
V And that was when he told you that he’d had intercourse with a pupil?
H He told me a bit about how it had happened — I already knew about the basic facts.
V What did he say?
H That he’d been as pissed as a newt, and regretted what had happened. And he hoped there wouldn’t be any repercussions.
V Repercussions? What did he mean by that?
H That neither he nor the girl would get into trouble as a result, of course.
V I see. But the other pupils must have known what had happened?
H I assume so. Although I didn’t hear anything about it from pupils. But then it was just before the summer holidays, of course.
V So perhaps the main thing was that none of the parents got to hear about it?
H That’s one way of looking at it, yes.
V Anyway, let’s go on. This wasn’t the only time you discussed the Winnie Maas business with Maager, was it?
H No.
V Let’s hear details.
H We met in the middle of July as well.
V When and where?
H We made a trip out to the islands. One Saturday afternoon. It must have been the fifteenth or sixteenth, I think. Arnold rang me and said he’d like to have a chat. I had nothing else on at the time.
V So what was it all about this time?
H Winnie Maas. She was pregnant. Maager had just heard.
V What sort of state did he seem to be in?
H He was worried, of course. More than just worried, in fact. Winnie evidently wanted to have the baby.
V And what about Maager?
H You’d have to ask him about that.
V We already have done. Now we want to hear what you have to say, herr Heller. No doubt Maager made his own views clear during your trip to the islands.
H He wasn’t his normal self.
V I didn’t ask you if he was his normal self. I want to know what he said in connection with the fact that the girl was pregnant.
H He wanted her to have an abortion, of course. That’s understandable, surely. She was too young to be a mother, and he was worried about how his wife would react.
V Really? So he hadn’t told her about his, er, indiscretion?
H No, he hadn’t.
V Was he afraid that Winnie Maas might do so?
H That’s possible. I don’t understand the point of all this. Why are we sitting here, discussing whether-
V It doesn’t matter whether you understand or not. The police have to do their duty, no matter what. Do you think there was anything else that Arnold Maager was afraid of?
H Such as what?
V Think about it. What did you talk about, in fact?
H Everything under the sun.
V How many islands did you visit?
H Doczum and Billsmaar. We just sailed round them. We didn’t go ashore at all.
V Did you come up with a solution to Maager’s problems?
H Solution? What kind of a solution?
V If you spent several hours on the ferry, you must surely have discussed this and that? Toyed with various thoughts?
H I don’t understand what you’re talking about.
V I’m talking about escape routes. Possible escape routes to enable Arnold Maager to wriggle out of the awkward situation he found himself in. I hope you’re not pretending to be more stupid than you really are — I thought you had a university degree.
H /No reply/
V Surely that’s why he wanted to meet you? To get some help.
H He didn’t only want to talk. He was desperate, for God’s sake.
V Desperate? Are you saying that Arnold Maager was desperate when the pair of you made that trip round the islands on Saturday, the sixteenth of July?
/Pause while a new tape is fitted into the recorder/
Vrommel: Did you have any further contact with Arnold Maager during the weeks before Winnie Maas’s death? After July the sixteenth, that is.
Heller: He phoned me a few times. Before it happened, I mean.
V A few telephone conversations. What did you talk about?
H All kinds of things.
V About Winnie Maas as well?
H Yes.
V And what did Maager have to say?
H He was worried.
V Explain.
H What do you mean, explain?
