I am a member of a highly organized team. But, as you must well know, the
best-laid plans etc. An unfortunate accident. I can explain to your
satisfaction. But not just at this moment. Will you accept our offer?’
‘You haven’t made one yet.’
‘Will you accept an offer of a job in our organization, on, if you wish, a
permanent basis, on what I think you’ll find a very satisfactory salary
plus commission basis, your special rcsponsibility being the demolition of
certain structures, those structures to be specified at a later date.’
‘Sounds very businesslike. And I like the idea of commissions, whatever
they may be. I agree. When do I start and what do I start on?’
‘You’ll have to bear with me a little, Mr Danilov. My brief for this
afternoon is only of a limited nature – to find out, if, in principle, you
are prepared to work with us, which I’m glad to say you seem to be. I have
to report back. You will be contacted very shortly, sometime tomorrow, I’m
sure.’
‘You are not the leader of this organization?’
‘No.’
‘You surprise me. A man like you acting as a licutenant -well, this leader
I must meet.’
‘You shall, I promise.’
‘How will you contact me? No phones, please.’
‘Certainly not. You will be our courier, Vasco?’
‘My pleasure, Mr Agnelli. You know where to reach me any time.’
‘Thank you.’ Agnelli stood up and gave his hand to van Effcn. ‘A pleasure,
Mr Danilov. I look forward to meeting you
64
tomorrow.’ Helmut Paderiwski didn’t offer to shake hands.
As the door closed behind them, Sergeant Westenbrink said: ‘I need
another beer, Lieutenant.’
‘Peter. Always Peter.’
‘Sorry. Thatwas pretty close. The ice was very thin at times.’
‘Not for a practised liar. I rather gather that you’ve given them the
impression that I’m a desperate and wanted criminal?’
‘I did mention that there was the odd extradition warrant out for you.
But I didn’t forget to emphasize your generally upright and honest
nature. When dealing with your fellow crLminals, of course.’
‘Of course. Before you get the beer, I have a phone call to make. Well,
get it anyway.’
Van Effen went to the bar and said to the man behind it, ‘Henri, a
private call, if I may.’
Henri, the proprietor, was a tali’, gaunt man, sallow of countenance and
lugubrious of expression. ‘You in trouble again, Peter?’
‘No. I hope someone else will be, soon.’
Van Effen went into the office and dialled a number. ‘Trianon? The
manager, please. I don’t care if he is in conference, call him. It’s
Lieutenant van Effen.’ He hung on for a few moments. ‘Charles? Do me a
favour. Book me in as from a fortnight ago. Enter it in the book, will
you, in the name of Stephan Danilov. And would you notify the
receptionist and doorman. Yes, I expect people to be enquiring. just tell
them. Many thanks. I’ll explain when I see you.’
He returned to the booth. ‘Just booked myself – Stephan Danilov, that is
– into an hotel. Agnelli pointedly did not mention anything about where
I might be staying but you can be sure that he’ll have one of his men on
the phone for the next couple of hours if need be, trying to locate me
in every hotel or pension in the city.’
‘So he’ll know where you are – or where you’re supposed to be.’Vasco
sighed. ‘It would help if we knew where they were.’
‘Should know soon enough. There’s been two separate tails on them ever
since they left the Hunter’s Horn.’
F. -C 65
Van Effen, appearance returned to normal, asked the girl at the
Telegraph’s reception desk for the sub-editor who had taken the FFF’s
first telephone message. This turned out to be a freshfaced and very eager
young man.
‘Mr Morelis?’ van Effen said. ‘Police.’
‘Yes, sir. Lieutenant van Effen, isn’t it? I’ve been expecting you.
You’ll be wanting to hear the tapes? Maybe I should tell you first that
we’ve just had another message from the FFF, as they call themselves.’
‘Have you now? I suppose I should say “The devil you have” but I’m not
surprised. It was inevitable. Happy tidings, of course.’
‘Hardly. The first half of the message was given over to congratulating
themselves on the Texel job, how it had happened precisely as they had
predicted and with no loss of life: the second half said there would be
scenes of considerable activity on the North Holland canal, two
kilometres north of Alkrnaar at nine o’clock tomorrow morning.’
‘T hat, too, was inevitable. Not the location, of course. just the
threat. You’ve taped that, too?’
‘Yes.
-rhat was well done. May I hear them?’
Van Effen heard them, twice over. When they were finished he said to
Morelis: ‘You’ve listened to those, of course?’
‘Too often.’ Morelis smiled. ‘Fancied myself as a detective, thought
maybe you would give me a job but I’ve come to the conclusion that
there’s more to this detecting business than meets the eye.’
‘Nothing struck you as odd about any of the tapes?’
‘They were all made by the same woman. But that’s no help.’
‘Nothing odd about accents, tones? No nuances that struck you as
unusual?’
‘No, sir. But I’m no judge. I’m slightly hard of hearing, nothing
serious, but enough to blunt my judgment, assuming I had any. Mean
anything to you, Lieutenant?’
‘The lady is a foreigner. What country I’ve no idea. Don’t mention that
around.’
‘No, sir. I rather like being a sub-editor.’
66
‘We are not in Moscow, young man. Put those tapes in a bag for me. I’ll
let you have them back in a day or two.’
Back in his office, van Effen asked to see the duty sergeant. When he
arrived van Effen said: ‘A few hours ago I asked for a couple of men to
be put on a Fred Kiassen and Alfred van Rees. Did you know about this, and
if you did, do you know who the two men were?’
‘I knew, sir. Detective Voight and Detective Tindeman.’
‘Good. Either of them called in?’
‘Both. Less than twenty minutes ago. Tindeman says van Rees is at home
and seems to have settled in for the evening. Klassen is still on duty
at the airport or, at least, he’s still at the airport. So, nothing yet,
sir.’
Van Effen looked at his watch. ‘I’m leaving now. If you get any word from
either, a positive not negative report, call me at the Dikker en Thijs.
After nine, call me at horne.’
Colonel van cle Graaf came from a very old, very aristocratic and very
wealthy family and was a great stickler for tradition, so it came as no
surprise to van Effen when he approached their table wearing dinner
jacket, black tie and red carnation. His approach bore all the elements
of a royal progress: he seemed to greet everyone, stopped to speak
occasionally and waved graciously at those tables not directly in his
path. It was said of de Graaf that he knew everybody who was anybody in
the city of Amsterdam: he certainly seemed to know everybody in the Dikker
en Thijs. Four paces away from van Effen’s table he stopped abruptly as
if he had been transfixed: but, in fact, it was his eyes that were doing
the transfixing.
That the girl who had risen from the table with van Effen to greet de
Graaf had this momentarily paralysing effect not only on de Graaf but on
a wide cross-section of the males of Amsterdam and beyond was
understandable. She was of medium height, wore a rather more than
well-filled anklelength grey silk gown and no jewellery whatsoever.
Jewellery would have been superfluous and no one would have paid any
attention to it anyway: what caught and held the attention, as it
67
had caught the riveted attention of the momentarily benumbed Colonel, was
the flawless classical perfection of the features, a perfection only
enhanced, if this were possible, by a slightly crooked eye-tooth which was
visible when she smiled, which seemed to be most of the time. This was no
simpering and empty-headed would-be Miss Universe contender, churned out
with repetitive monotony by a Californian-style production line. The finely
chiselled feattires and delicately formed bone structure served only to
emphasize the character and intelligence they served only to highlight. She
had gleaming auburn hair, great hazel eyes and a bewitching smile. It had,
at any rate, bewitched the Colonel. Van Effen cleared his throat.
‘Colonel van de Graaf. May I introduce Miss Meijer. Miss Anne Meijer.’
‘My pleasure, my pleasure.’ De Graaf grabbed her outstretched hand in both
of his and shook it vigorously. ‘My word, my boy, you are to be
congratulated: where did you find this entrancing creature?’
‘There’s nothing to it really, sir. You just go out into the darkened
streets of Amsterdam, stretch out your hands and