The porter greeted her casually as she passed his lodge, and the lift boy brought her to the third floor without having to be asked. Perhaps it did feel a little like home after all and, after a day like today, there was nothing she needed more than the feeling of coming home.
She rang the bell, inspecting her fingernails as she waited and realising that, although she had rubbed her hands with toothpaste, she had completely forgotten to brush her teeth. She would almost certainly still smell of alcohol. Damn it! There was a crash, and then she heard his steps. The door opened. Gereon was in hat and coat, and Kirie seemed to be elsewhere, otherwise she’d have greeted Charly long ago.
‘You just got home too?’ she asked.
He shook his head. ‘On the contrary.’
She didn’t understand what he meant until she registered a large suitcase in the hallway. ‘What’s going on?’ she asked, trying to locate a smile. ‘Engaged two days, and you’re leaving me already?’
‘Something like that.’ He forced a smile. ‘I’m afraid I have a confession to make…’
27
The scissors are sharp; they need only touch the newsprint and it falls to pieces. Carefully, you cut around the double black border. It should remain intact, you don’t want to destroy it.
O Death where is thy sting? O Hell where is thy victory?
You wonder whether it was the widow who chose Corinthians or the funeral parlour. But what does it matter?
For as much as it has pleased Almighty God in his unfathomable wisdom to take unto Himself my beloved husband, suddenly and unexpectedly departed from his busy life.
Such a death notice reaches many people, but still only those who read the newspaper in which it appears. You, on the other hand, ensure that the right people set eyes on it; people the widow doesn’t know, of whose existence she can barely even conceive.
It appeared in the Kreuz-Zeitung. A Prussian like Lamkau, you ought to have guessed. The man in the kiosk was about to complain at your leafing through so many newspapers one after the other for the third day in a row, but bit his tongue when you produced your wallet, and looked at you strangely as you straightaway purchased two copies. Still, he said nothing. That is the wonderful thing about Berlin. No one is surprised by anything.
You still have one more task to take care of in this city, and then, finally, you will be able to take the long road back. Back into the past.
To the day when your old life ends.
There is nothing you can do. You relive it over and over again. It was a beautiful day, that much you still remember, until the moment it was destroyed and the world shattered like thin glass.
A glorious Sunday morning, the city decked out in bunting and flags. But the peaceful surface is deceptive; underneath is hatred. You meet the hostile glances they cast in your direction with a smile. You smile because you believe in the future; you don’t know that your life is already at an end – the moment you step out into the street and blink in the sunlight.
PART II
Masuria
7th to 13th July 1932
If you ask what people are like here, I have to say: like everywhere! The human race is a monotonous affair. Most people spend the greatest part of their time working in order to live, and what little freedom remains so fills them with fear that they seek out any and every means to be rid of it.
28
The engines roared in Rath’s ear, an infernal noise, but it took an age before the plane started moving. Suddenly, he felt a jolt and soon they were gathering speed. Instinctively he gripped the rests with his hands, until a glance outside told him they were being taxied across the strip.
Charly had told him that flying was different from a tower or scaffolding: he wouldn’t have any problems with his vertigo. Statistically speaking, aeroplanes were actually safer than trains and motorcars. That was all very well, but right now he was scared, scared, goddamn it – and they weren’t even airborne!
Her reassurances had proved in vain as they waited alongside twelve others, mainly businessmen, for the Königsberg night flight to be called. ‘Perhaps you’ll see an elk,’ she said, as if his trip to Masuria was some kind of holiday.
He wasn’t sure if she was being comforting or sarcastic but, whatever, she wasn’t in the best of moods. On the journey to Tempelhof they had barely exchanged a word, and what little they had said had been ill-tempered. No doubt she had pictured their first week of engagement differently. She certainly couldn’t have imagined one of them would be leaving so soon.
The journey passed in silence until they reached the Yorck Bridge and he came clean about Dettmann. What choice did he have? Sooner or later, it would have got out, and, besides, now that they were engaged, he had resolved to be more honest. With Charly, at least.
‘You have to learn to control yourself,’ she said.
‘Maybe, but the arsehole still deserved it.’
Then he saw that, despite her best efforts to look stern, she was stifling a grin, and he knew once and for all that he’d done the right thing. A few days in exile seemed a fair price and Gennat was right, someone had to make the journey east, so why not him? After all, it was his investigation. Perhaps the flying was part of his punishment. Buddha had certainly been keen to scotch any notion that he might drive there himself.
‘Have you any idea how long that will take? You need a transit visa to pass through the Corridor, and the Poles won’t exactly welcome you with open arms, especially not when they see you’re a police officer.’
‘Don’t we have an agreement with the Polish Police?’
‘You’ll be dealing with customs officials, not police officers.’
Buddha had refused to budge, Rath’s ticket was already on the desk, and all other arrangements had been made. Gennat handed him the travel documents. ‘You’re expected first thing tomorrow morning at police headquarters in Königsberg. Report to Superintendent Grunert; he’ll assign you a vehicle.’ First thing tomorrow. Suddenly Rath realised how keen they were to be rid of him. ‘You’re not due at the airport for another six hours. See that you pack something warm. Masuria can be very cold, even in summer.’
Before he could head home to follow Gennat’s advice, Rath visited Deputy Commissioner Weiss for a letter of introduction that called upon all officers of the Prussian Police and Gendarmerie to provide Detective Inspector Gereon Rath of Berlin with any assistance he might require. While Rath skimmed the text, Weiss took the opportunity to launch into one of his political sermons. ‘I want you to appreciate the significance of your presence there as a Prussian officer.’
‘Yes, Sir.’
‘Do you know why the Brüning government stepped aside?’