Ilil Arbel: Madame Koska and the Imperial Brooch

“Well?” said Madame Golitsyn, bringing a heavily loaded tea tray to the table. “Clearly something is upsetting you. What happened? Not another attempt to break in, I hope?”

“No… it is something Mr. Korolenko told me. Annushka, I promised him I would not repeat it, but I must consult you. It’s a complicated matter and you must never tell anyone. According to Mr. Korolenko, Gretchen Van der Hoven’s father may not have been in an accident at all, and possibly he is alive.”

“What? How can that be? Her relatives told me…”

“I know… but Mr. Korolenko said that Meneer Van der Hoven was involved with a crime ring in the tropics, and disappeared without trace.”

“A bit dramatic, isn’t it? People don’t just vanish,” said Madame Golitsyn, setting up the table with two cups, saucers, and matching cake plates of fragile china patterned with roses and a touch of gold around the rims. She arranged the utensils carefully. To the best of Madame Koska’s knowledge, even when entertaining close friends and relatives, Madame Golitsyn never used anything but her good silver. “Annushka,” she said suddenly, “do you ever use utensils that are not made of silver? I mean when you are alone?”

“Never,” said Madame Golitsyn. “Why should I use anything but silver? But this is a ridiculous non-sequitur, so how does Mr. Korolenko know about Meneer Van der Hoven’s disappearance?”

Madame Koska shrugged eloquently. “He seems to know many things, some of which I would rather not know myself… but anyway, this is supposed to be a very dangerous crime ring, with operations involving such things as opium and bank robberies and jewel thefts and what not. However, Mr. Korolenko does not know the level of Meneer Van der Hoven’s involvement.”

“That is not very good… I wonder if Gretchen and her relatives lied to me or were simply ignorant of the facts,” said Madame Golitsyn.

“I may have an opportunity to find out,” said Madame Koska. “That is what I really wanted to discuss with you. Gretchen’s aunt came to the atelier yesterday, just to visit and see the place her niece told her so much about, or at least that was what she said. Since you know her, I am sure you are aware that Mrs. Howard is a particularly charming woman, truly elegant, and I liked her. We had some tea, and she invited me to stay with them at the country house in Christmas.”

“That was rather sudden, wasn’t it?” said Madame Golitsyn. “But since you employ Gretchen, I can understand that.”

“Yes, that is what I thought,” said Madame Koska. “And it presented itself to me as an opportunity to look for certain facts.”

“But what exactly will you search for, if you go? I mean, what facts?”

“It’s a bit muddled… you see, Mr. Korolenko apparently knew Gretchen’s family when she was very young. He remembers her as a studious, highly intelligent child always involved with her studies or reading books. This does not sound like today’s Gretchen.”

“No… but people change, she might have lost her interest in books as she grew up to be a pretty young woman,” said Madame Golitsyn. “Girls go through phases.”

“Gretchen could have never been like that, Annushka; she could not be so thoroughly transformed. Our Gretchen is a sweet little thing, but she does not have a single serious thought in her head.”

Madame Golitsyn’s hand stopped in mid-air as she was about to pour a cup of tea for her friend. A sudden understanding appeared on her face, followed by concern. “You don’t mean this is not the real Gretchen?” she said.

Madame Koska clasped her hands together in a nervous gesture “No… it crossed my mind, but if I pursued this idea, it really would be too theatrical… such a situation would merit a police investigation as to what happened to the real Gretchen… someone would know all about it.”

“Well, then, what do you think?” asked Madame Golitsyn, and finished pouring the tea.

Madame Koska reached for the milk, but did not put it into her cup, and kept holding it. “I am not exactly sure. For the moment I think this is indeed Gretchen, but she is pretending to be a scatterbrained little thing, Annushka. In short, I suspect her of being involved in the break-in.”

“Are you serious? Whatever for?”

“I don’t know that or even why I suspect her, but too many things point at her being different from the kind of person she presents herself as. She was a little bit too good to be true from the start… always helping around, staying in the atelier even when she had no reason to be there, just for fun, as she says, doesn’t care about the wages…”

“But Vera, think! Put yourself in her place. She is not suffering for money, so the wages were not terribly important. The atelier offers the haute couture, the promise of parading in beautiful costumes, and companionship with the other girls. Such a situation can be enticing to a girl, particularly if she is a silly little thing who thinks of nothing but fun and clothes.”

“Ah, but is she really all that silly? When I asked her to sit at the telephones, she immediately managed to greet customers, make appointments, and generally run the front desk as well as a professional vendeuse. She took to it with the kind of skilled smoothness I certainly did not expect. And speaking of that, she was at the desk all afternoon before the robbery.”

“Except for those ten minutes when Natalya sat at the front desk. Both girls reported that Gretchen went to freshen up… but how do we know she did? She might have been anywhere, and do anything, while at the desk or away from it.”

“Exactly. That is why I suspect she is not telling the truth.”

“So you think you may find out something over Christmas if you stay there… well, yes, in her natural surroundings, she might behave differently. But be careful.”

“Careful of what?” said Madame Koska.

“I am not sure, but if Gretchen is not what she seems to be, what do we know about the aunt and uncle? Perhaps they are part of this crime ring? Remember, I only know Mr. and Mrs. Howard socially. We are not close friends.”

“Yes… it could be a family affair,” said Madame Koska thoughtfully. She put a lump of sugar in her tea and picked up a spoon, but did not use it. “But why would Mrs. Howard invite me, then? They have no idea Mr. Korolenko said anything to me about Gretchen, why would they? Gretchen did not even remember him.”

“You might want to stir your tea, Vera, before you drink it,” said Madame Golitsyn. “Did you accept the invitation?”

Madame Koska stirred her tea obediently. “Yes, I did. At least I don’t have to miss our usual Christmas dinner together, Annushka, since we celebrate on January 7, in our way.”

“True, that is good. And this year Natalya and Vasily will join us, of course.”

“That will be lovely, but we have one small problem, Annushka. They will expect me to speak Russian.”

“I did not think of it,” said Madame Golitsyn. “But it is not a problem since Vasily will most likely bring his new, very English lady friend. We will speak English for her. But Vera, I am a little worried… please promise me to be very careful.”

“I promise to do nothing foolish,” said Madame Koska. “Just observe, look around, and try to see how they interact. There will be other guests there, it’s a real house party for three whole days, so I am sure I will be safe.”

“I’ll tell you what bothers me,” said Madame Golitsyn. “It is possible that they invited you so the atelier will be empty for three days. They may want to break in again, and with you gone, it would be easier.”

“I did not think of that,” said Madame Koska. “Perhaps I should mention my plan to the police officer?”