Nikola Musulin is a careful man – power attracts envy, rivals for the throne – and has inculcated a similar caution in his wife, his two children, and his mistress, but even the most circumspect of individuals will inevitably fall victim to routines. While Musulin varies the days and times of his sojourns at Tri Lovca, his fondness for the restaurant has, nevertheless, been noted.

There is also the matter of the impending return to Serbia of Musulin’s uncles. Musulin has made clear the Vuksans’ desire to retire to lakeside lodges, there to pass in tranquility whatever years may remain to them. Whatever might be said about Radovan, few of those at the highest levels of Belgrade’s political, legal, and criminal communities believe that Spiridon Vuksan is conditioned for peace. What is more likely to occur, they feel, is that his voice will begin to whisper in his nephew’s ear. It will speak to Nikola of wealth and ambition. It will warn him of enemies, actual and potential.

It will talk to him of war.

If Nikola Musulin is familiar with these concerns, he has given no indication of it. He is aware of the pretenders, and the strength of his enemies, but he does not see these men – and they are all men – as a significant threat. Musulin has friends in the police, the military, and the government. Some of these allies are loyal to him because of his uncles, and their experiences with them in the wars of the 1990s, although Musulin also ensures that their wallets are kept well filled. Others are indebted to him for their success in life, because Nikola has arranged promotions and transfers, and funded election campaigns. The rest cooperate with him out of fear or greed. In other words, Nikola Musulin has bought all his friends, and therefore has no friends at all.

On this particular morning, Ivan Jelić walks with him to his table and makes jokes about Partizan, Nikola’s soccer team of choice, Jelić being a supporter of their bitter rivals Red Star. It is the mark of civilized men that they can disagree without being disagreeable, but Musulin’s fondness for Jelić runs deep, and he both tolerates and encourages opinions from him that others would fear to voice. This may be a consequence of the absence of a paternal figure in Musulin’s daily life, his father being long dead and his uncles distant – although that, as we have seen, is about to change. Ivan Jelić, long-lived and long-married, has provided good advice to Nikola Musulin about family and relationships. He has listened sympathetically over the years, and has asked for nothing in return beyond the purpose and income afforded him by Tri Lovca – although just because a man does not ask doesn’t mean he does not want.