'Excuse me, sir,' C amp;rdozo said.
'Yes?'
'Just a suggestion, sir. Why don't you let me go and find him. I won't spill anything, just that I was told to take him to Headquarters. Maybe he'll say something to me on the way. He has nothing against me so far and we are about the same age. We even have the same background.'
'Very well, the commissaris said. 'Bring him in by public transport. But make sure someone is following you. And watch him. We don't know under what stress he is laboring. And perhaps you and I should question him. Grijpstra may provoke him into another tirade about the police. On your way, Cardozo. Bring him straight up to my room when you come back.'
'Sir,' Cardozo said, and left.
'That's better,' Grijpstra said. 'You are right, sir. I am ready to wring his neck. And so are you,' he added, looking at de Gier.
'Yes,' de Gier said. 'I've got the dead rat in a carton on my desk. I'll show it to you.'
'Never,' Grijpstra said. 'Put that box in an ashcan. I am not showing you that dogshit, am I?'
'Gentlemen, gentlemen,' the commissaris said. 'I am sure there's something useful to do. Find out what it is and then do it. I'll let you know as soon as I know something.'
19
'Am I under arrest?' Louis Zilver asked. He was sitting in a low leather chair, close to the window of the commissaris' office, and was frantically sucking smoke from a cigarette he had taken out of his own packet, after having refused the small cigar which the commissaris had offered him. Cardozo was in the chair next to him and the commissaris faced the two young men. The commissaris was sitting on his desk. He had had to jump to reach its top and his feet were off the ground.
'No,' the commissaris said.
'So I can go if I want to?'
'Surely.'
Louis jumped up and walked to the door. Cardozo followed him with his eyes, the commissaris looked at his cigar.
Louis waited at the door.
'Why don't you go?' the commissaris asked after a while.
Louis didn't answer.
'If you are going to stay you may as well sit down again.'
'Yes,' Louis said and returned to his chair.
'Well, now. You have upset two of my men this morning and I would like to know why you went to such trouble as you must have gone to. The rat, for instance.'
'The rat?' Louis asked in a high voice.
'The rat,' the commissaris repeated. 'There are a lot of dog droppings in our streets, too many of them in spite of all our efforts to educate dog-owners to train their animals to use the gutters. I can see how you got the dog droppings, but the rat puzzles me.'
'I didn't kill the rat. I found him in the courtyard. Esther's cat brought him in. I think he belonged to the little boy next door. I found him when I came back from the party and I remembered the sergeant's remark about rats. I took Abe's car and went to the sergeant's apartment. The address is in the phone book. I knew I had the right address, for Esther's bicycle was there.'
'Esther Rogge?'
'Yes, the two of them have something going. I think the sergeant is making use of Esther, pumping her for information most probably, while he is putting on the charm. He's a very handsome man, your sergeant.'
Cardozo grinned and the commissaris looked at him. Cardozo stopped grinning.
'Yes,' the commissaris said, 'de Gier has a way with women. But it never seems to get him anywhere. His only real contact is his cat, I think. But why bother the adjutant too? I can understand that you may think that you dislike the sergeant but the adjutant has given you no reason to…'
Zilver laughed. 'It happened during the party. Both of them told me about their fears. I thought that I should finish the job properly.'
'You certainly succeeded.'
Zilver rubbed out his cigarette. 'Are you going to do something about this? If you do I'll gladly pay the fine.'
'No,' the commissaris said and adjusted his watch chain. 'No, I think not. We are investigating two killings. I still think you may help us.'
'You are the police,' Zilver said, and looked at the Persian rug which dominated the center of the large room. 'I see no reason why I should help the police.'
'I see your point. Well, you are free to leave, as I have said before.'
'Where were you during the war?' Zilver asked suddenly, sitting down again after he had half risen from his chair.
'I was in jail for three years.'
'Where?'
'In Scheveningen jail.'
'That's where they put the people from the Resistance, isn't it?'
'That's right, but I wasn't really in the Resistance. I was accused of disorganizing one of their transports to Germany and helping hide deportees.'
'Jews?'
'That's correct.'
'And had you disorganized the transport?'
'Yes. They couldn't prove it but nobody asked for proof in those days.'
'And you were in a cell for three years?'
'Yes.'
'By yourself.'
'For about seven months.'
'Seven months, that's a long time.'
'Fairly, and it wasn't a comfortable cell. There was some water in it. Caused my rheumatism, I think. But that's all over and done with now.'
'No,' Zilver said. 'It isn't and it never will be. You still have your rheuma, don't you? I noticed you were rubbing your legs when you interrogated me before. You must still be in pain.'
'Not today, and when I die the pain will go forever.' 'Possibly,' Zilver said.
'I didn't bring you here to discuss the commissaris' rheuma,' Cardozo said irritably. 'Your friend has been killed and a harmless old lady has been killed, and both by the same killer.'
'Yes?' Zilver asked.
'Yes,' the commissaris said. 'We don't have many killings in the city and these two are linked. You knew Abe well. You knew the people Abe knew. You know the killer.'
'You are only assuming things, you know.'
'We don't know for sure,' the commissaris admitted. 'Would you like some coffee? Human thought is incapable of coming to absolute conclusions. You studied law and you know that. But sometimes we can assume with a certain degree of certitude. Like in this case.'
'I'd like some coffee.'
The commissaris looked at Cardozo who jumped to his feet and grabbed the telephone.
'Three coffees, please,' Cardozo said, 'in the commissaris' room.'
'All right,' Zilver said. 'I know the killer. You know him too. And I know how Abe was killed but I only found out yesterday, by chance.'
