‘Erich!’ she said sternly. ‘How could you do this to your parents? Begging from passers-by! You should be ashamed.’
‘But Auntie!’
She grabbed hold of an earlobe and wrenched him away from Kirie. ‘You deserve a good hiding!’
‘But I had no money for the train.’
‘Did you run away again?’ She pulled on the boy’s ear so that he stood on tiptoes with his head tilted to one side. ‘I’ll see to the little rascal. Thank you, Officer.’
The cop looked satisfied, likewise the SA auxiliary officer. ‘Don’t be too strict on the lad, and give him his fare. You can certainly afford it.’ He gestured towards the brass doorbell as if that explained everything. ‘Then he won’t have to beg from strangers. Bad enough with all these street urchins. If there’s one less out there…’
‘Will do,’ she said.
‘Sorry again for the disruption, ma’am. In future tell your sister to keep a closer eye on the little devil.’ He turned to the boy and wagged his finger. ‘Just make sure I don’t catch you begging again. Do we understand each other?’
The boy nodded as best he could given he was still being held by the ear.
‘Else we’ll lock you up and your parents can come fetch you from jail. Or your aunt!’ He winked at Charly and gestured discreetly towards his companion. The two of them marched down the stairs.
Only when the door clicked shut did Charly finally let the boy go. He rubbed his ear while Kirie sniffed at him and wagged her tail.
‘Good boy, Fido,’ the boy began, but Charly interrupted him.
‘Fido’s name is Kirie,’ she said, ‘and what are you doing here!’
‘Still had your address, didn’t I?
‘All these lies… it’s nothing to be proud of.’
‘They’d have sent me back into care.’
‘And what am I supposed to do? It’s not like you’re actually a baker’s apprentice.’
‘Just don’t send me back. I’ll jump out of the window.’ He looked serious.
‘Don’t say that.’
‘I know you’re a cop but I thought I could talk to you.’
The boy’s instincts were good. Gereon always said she was too soft, especially when it came to the weak and vulnerable. ‘Don’t worry, I’m not going to send you back. Do you have somewhere to go?’
‘I’ll find something.’
She led him into the kitchen and made him a cup of cocoa. ‘Hungry?’ He nodded. She prepared a few sandwiches and fetched Hannah’s file from the living room. When she laid the photo on the table he stopped eating, staring reluctantly at the ED portrait of Hannah Singer.
‘This girl,’ Charly said. ‘The one I showed you before. I’m looking for her.’
‘Haven’t seen her, sorry. It’s a long time since I’ve been at Bahnhof Zoo.’
‘But you’ve seen her before? Her name is Hannah Singer.’
‘I don’t know her.’
‘Yes, you do! I save you from the cops, play along with the whole auntie charade, give you food and drink, and you won’t even tell me your name! You won’t tell me anything!’
Kirie’s gaze flitted between them.
‘I just told you my name.’
‘So it’s Erwin, is it?’
‘If I say it is.’
‘Ten minutes ago, it was Erich.’
He looked perplexed, then defiant. ‘It’s none of your goddamn business.’
‘I think it is, and not because I want to send you back. I just want to know who I’m dealing with.’
‘Fritze,’ the boy said. ‘Friedrich.’
‘OK, Fritze. Believe me when I say that I want to protect Hannah. I’ve no intention of harming her. She’s in danger, and I have to find her.’
‘But I’m looking for her too.’ Fritze sounded almost desperate. ‘One day she was just gone. There was this man at Bahnhof Zoo who shouted: Stop that mad girl! or something, then he spoke with the cops.’
‘You saw him?’
‘From a distance. I wasn’t sure if he meant Hannah. Back then I didn’t know she’d bust out of Dalldorf. Was it a warder?’
‘I think it was the man who’s after her.’ She showed him the pre-war photo of Benjamin Engel. ‘Could it have been this man?’
‘It could have been anyone. His face looked as if it had been through a meat grinder.’
‘You didn’t notice anything else about him?’
‘He had a limp, and a bowler hat.’
‘You have to help me, Fritze. If you see this man anywhere, I want you to head straight for the nearest telephone booth and call me. And if you see Hannah, bring her to me.’
‘She won’t come.’
‘It’s more important you tell me where she is.’
‘If I knew that…’ He looked at her helplessly. ‘I’ve been at Bahnhof Zoo for days on end, but there’s no sign.’
‘I’ll make a suggestion. You can sleep on the sofa, warm up a little and take a bath. I’ll give you food, and in return you help me look for Hannah. How about it?’
‘What if I don’t find her? Will you stick me back in care?’
‘Never, I promise.’ The boy oozed suspicion. ‘How about it? We’ll go together and you can show me all the places you’ve been with Hannah. The dog needs walking anyway.’
65
Rath had seen it coming after the weekend’s headlines. Despite the official line that close cooperation with the press was to be avoided, the public image of the Berlin Police was not to be taken lightly and so, this Monday morning, in light of his continued failure to deliver the Jewish mass murderer dead or alive, despite express orders to the contrary, Magnus von Levetzow had summoned him, once more, to report.
‘Inspector Rath,’ the commissioner said icily, ‘how kind of you to join me. I wonder if I could trouble you for a little information.’
‘Very good, Sir.’
‘How many dead bodies,’ he said, voice growing louder with each word, ‘will it take before you find our killer?’
‘With respect, Sir, it isn’t that simple. My team doesn’t have the resources.’
‘Enough of your excuses!’ When he wanted to, Magnus von Levetzow could really shout, and beat his fist on the table. ‘Half of Warrants is out looking for Benjamin Engel. The sketch you had made has been sent to all police stations in Prussia, together with a profile of the suspect. Talk about resources!’
‘Why am I sitting here,’ Rath asked, ‘if Warrants are to blame?’
‘You are here because of your own failures, and because you have exploited the powers invested in you as a police officer in a manner I refuse to tolerate.’
‘I don’t know what you mean, Sir.’ Rath knew what Levetzow meant all right. Roddeck had squealed.
‘Do I really have to explain? You treated a Prussian lieutenant, a former soldier whose life is under threat from the very man you are supposed to be apprehending, as a suspect.’
‘Convention dictates that all persons connected to a fatality are required to present their alibi. Since we were dealing with a new victim I felt compelled to ask Lieutenant von Roddeck for his.’
‘Just so there are no misunderstandings, Inspector. There’s nothing I like more than my officers getting in touch with their inner Rottweiler, but make sure you snap at the right people! The ones who can tell you where Benjamin Engel is hiding.’
‘With respect, Sir, that’s precisely what I’m doing. I’ve already grilled his supposed widow, we’re still looking for his driver, and above all we have the sketch with the description of the Magdeburg…’
‘Then don’t stop! I want you to question anyone who’s had anything to do with Benjamin Engel’s life, starting with his childhood friends and Rabbi. The murdering Jew has to be somewhere, and someone knows where. They’re the ones you grill, not poor Roddeck, a decorated war veteran.’