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Back The One from the Other Save as PDF
Chapters (50)
  1. Praise
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright Page
  4. Dedication
  5. Epigraph
  6. ONE
  7. TWO
  8. THREE
  9. FOUR
  10. FIVE
  11. SIX
  12. SEVEN
  13. EIGHT
  14. NINE
  15. TEN
  16. ELEVEN
  17. TWELVE
  18. THIRTEEN
  19. FOURTEEN
  20. FIFTEEN
  21. SIXTEEN
  22. SEVENTEEN
  23. EIGHTEEN
  24. NINETEEN
  25. TWENTY
  26. TWENTY-ONE
  27. TWENTY-TWO
  28. TWENTY-THREE
  29. TWENTY-FOUR
  30. TWENTY-FIVE
  31. TWENTY-SIX
  32. TWENTY-SEVEN
  33. TWENTY-EIGHT
  34. TWENTY-NINE
  35. THIRTY
  36. THIRTY-ONE
  37. THIRTY-TWO
  38. THIRTY-THREE
  39. THIRTY-FOUR
  40. THIRTY-FIVE
  41. THIRTY-SIX
  42. THIRTY-SEVEN
  43. THIRTY-EIGHT
  44. THIRTY-NINE
  45. FORTY
  46. FORTY-ONE
  47. FORTY-TWO
  48. EPILOGUE
  49. AUTHOR’S NOTE
  50. Teaser chapter

The baron smiled weakly as if perceiving the absurdity of such an idea. “No, no,” he said. “She was in her car. Leaving the Glyptothek, the Sculpture Gallery. She was at a traffic light and she looked up and saw him at the window of a tram. She’s quite certain of it.”

“The Glyptothek,” I said. “That’s in the Museum Quarter, isn’t it? Let’s see now. A number eight from Karlsplatz to Schwabing. A number three and a number six, also to Schwabing. And a number thirty-seven from the Hohenzollernstrasse to the Max Monument. I don’t suppose she remembers which number it was?” The baron shook his head, and I did the same. “No matter. I’ll find him.”

“I’ll pay you a thousand marks if you do,” he said.

“Fine, fine, but after I find him it’s down to you and your lawyers, Baron. I won’t play advocate for your son. It’s better that way. Better for your son but, more importantly, better for me. I’m finding it hard enough to sleep at night as it is without speaking up for a mass murderer.”

“People don’t talk to me that way, Herr Gunther,” he said stiffly.

“You’d better get used to it, Baron,” I said. “This is a republic now. Or did you forget? Besides, I’m the fellow who knows exactly how to find your son’s ace in the hole.” That was just a bluff, to stop his fine nostrils from looking any more pinched than they already were. I had gone too far, waving my conscience in front of him like a matador’s cape. Now I had to convince him that being blunt was just an idiosyncrasy of mine and that I was more than equal to the job. “I’m glad you offered that bonus because this won’t take more than a few days, and at ten marks a day, plus expenses, it might be hardly worth my while otherwise.”

“But how? I’ve already made a few inquiries of my own.”

“I could tell you. But then I’d be out of a job. Of course, I’ll need to speak to your daughter.”

“Of course, of course. I’ll tell her to expect you.”

The truth was that I had no idea where I was going to start. There were 821,000 people in Munich. Most of them were Roman Catholics and were pretty tight-lipped about everything, even in the confessional.

“Is there anything else you need?” he asked. By now my insolence was quite forgotten.

“You could pay me something in advance,” I said. “For thirty marks, you get the rest of my week and the comfort of knowing that the petition for your son’s release is as good as on the train to Landsberg.”

FIVE

FIVE