There was no more then from any of the receivers. After a few seconds, Yves switched both them and our own recording tapes to voice-actuated operation.
‘An observant man,’ he commented.
‘Describing you or describing me?’
‘Both, I thought. And the woman is even more dangerous, Patron. I think we are doing now what you have always said we should never do.’
‘I’ve said that we shouldn’t do many things.’ His gloom was beginning to depress me.
‘But, in particular, you have said that we should never step out into the street without looking up first to see if the woman on the floor above is about to empty a chamber pot.’
‘I have never said anything so crude. I did once say that one should always look carefully where one is walking on certain streets.’
‘Same thing, Patron. If you don’t look, you’re in the shit either way. I think that is where we may be now, and I would like to understand why.’
‘Later, Yves,’ I said. ‘Later, perhaps.’
There was no point in confirming his fears before it became necessary to do so.
We dined on the terrace.
Personally, I dislike eating in the open air at any time, even when there are no insects to plague one; but it was a very warm night and, as Melanie had said, with six at table and the cook’s sister-in-law in from the village to help the husband serve, a few moths fluttering around would be a preferable discomfort to that of the staff body-odour in a confined space.
All three of our guests, advised by Melanie that the most casual clothing would be de rigueur, had decided to take her at her word. The white-haired Krom in faded blue slacks with a pink linen sports shirt looked positively elegant.
I gave them a white Provençal wine before dinner. None of them refused it, and the large round table at which we could all sit comfortably made for general conversation. At least we looked relaxed though, of course, there had been no real lessening of tension. Their suspicion of me, only slightly modified by increasing curiosity, still hung over us; but their readiness to be physically comfortable declared at least a kind of armistice.
It did not last long. Refreshed by his shower and change of clothing, Connell had soon forgotten his decision to watch and wait. He was ready for action again.
It took the form of hitching his chair closer to mine and telling me in a confidential undertone that he had been trying to place my accent. ‘I know it’s British, of course,’ he added quickly, ‘but British from whereabouts? I know it’s not Australian or South African. I suppose it could be … ‘
He got no farther, Krom was half out of his seat and leaning across the table with teeth bared.
‘No, Dr Connell, no!’ He swallowed a couple of times trying to get rid of some of his anger before it choked him. ‘No, I shall not need that sort of assistance from you in questioning Mr Firman about his origins and background.’
He had begun in his vehemence to spray saliva, and Dr Henson hastily moved her wine glass out of the line of fire.
Connell was looking utterly astounded. It was a facial expression of which he made much use I was to find. ‘Of course, Professor, of course, of course. I was simply making an idle enquiry.’
Krom was neither deceived nor appeased. ‘It was agreed between us, let me remind you,’ he grated on, ‘that all enquiries of whatever kind will be made by me. Here, everything will be conducted throughout in the way that I decide and only in the way that I decide. That was positively agreed.’
‘Sure, Professor, sure it was agreed.’
‘But not,’ I remarked distinctly, ‘by me.’
They all stared at me except Yves, who poured himself some more wine. I continued: ‘I will be the one who decides which questions are answered and which are not. I will also decide the areas of business activity concerning which information may be given. No, Professor, it’s no good you huffing and puffing. Since our meeting in Brussels I have had plenty of time for reflection and decision. After Dr Henson’s demonstration of her disregard for her agreement about confidentiality, to say nothing of Dr Connell’s less covert breach of his, my conviction that none of you is to be trusted has been further strengthened.’
Krom made a gargling sound of disgust and sat back in his chair. ‘No, Mr Firman, no. No more wriggling, please. Will you not even now accept the fact that you are hooked?’
‘When you accept the fact that the fish on the end of the line is not after all the one you thought you had, yes.’ I did not wait for him to answer but turned to Henson. ‘Why did they give you ninhydrin to bring here, Doctor? Do you know?’
‘Oh, not that again!’ from Connell.
Krom did some more gargling.
She took no notice of either of them. ‘Apparently,’ she said ‘quite a lot of people still don’t know that one can raise fingerprints from matt-surfaced papers if one knows how. They didn’t think it would be prudent for me to try stealing something else you’d handled and start dusting it in the old fashioned way. Besides, the results wouldn’t have been as good.’
‘Supposing I hadn’t handled the papers while you were here?’
‘They said you would. As long as your hands were warm, a book, a newspaper or even a paper napkin would work. As a last resort I was to ask you to read the typescript of a book review I have just written and get your opinion on it as well as your prints.’
‘I’ll gladly read it, Doctor.’
‘Unbelievable!’ blared Krom.
‘Rubbish!’ I said irritably. ‘What about you and your friends in West German intelligence, Professor? When they ask you confidentially for the precise details of your adventures in the quest of Mr X, are you going to remain, after all the kindness they have done you with their files, resolutely silent? Of course you aren’t. None of you is going to keep his mouth shut. He won’t be able to. So, what you are going to be given is not all the truth, if there is such an entity, but bits of it. And you, Professor, can take your choice. Leak what you know and you get nothing more. Play it my way and you get something.’
He thought about it, then glowered at me suspiciously. ‘How much?’
‘Some days in the life of Herr Oberholzer?’
‘I have one already.’
‘No, you haven’t. You can’t begin to know what happened that day. You don’t even know what crimes you might accuse him of.’
‘Extorting money by threats. Blackmail. There are more, but those will do to begin with.’