Фолькер Кучер - The Silent Death

He didn’t want to have to go through anything like that again, but Charly made him feel like a different man. Not the man from that night, but the Gereon Rath currently strolling across Küstriner Platz with a beautiful woman at his side.

As they entered the foyer he gazed round instinctively. Marlow probably wasn’t here, but was almost certainly having him watched. Rath didn’t see any familiar faces, but then he didn’t know all of Marlow’s people. Not by a long shot.

‘Are you looking for someone?’ Charly asked.

‘Just the box office. Ah, there it is.’

They took their places at the back of the queue. Rath was a trifle nervous, but when he gave his name to the cashier it transpired that Marlow had set aside two box tickets for him.

Charly was astonished, but Rath behaved as if acquiring box seats for Charlotte Ritter was the least he could do. Hopefully, the programme would be better than last year. In truth, he was no fan of variety theatre but Charly seemed to like the idea. In the cloakroom queue, she recounted how she had once been at the Wintergarten with her family to celebrate the end of her school exams. ‘The first student in the family.’

Although Plaza wasn’t quite as glamorous as the Wintergarten, box seats weren’t exactly cheap. Gradually they advanced towards the cloakroom attendant. Rath wanted to take Charly’s coat, but she refused. ‘If you want to play the gentleman I can think of better ways.’

‘Such as?’

‘All in good time.’

‘Very well. A gentleman never tells.’

‘We’ll see about that.’ At last it came to their turn. ‘What’s the latest news at the Castle?’ she asked.

Rath told her about Krempin’s death, neglecting to mention that he had been an eyewitness.

‘You think he couldn’t cope with the pressure? A murder on his conscience, the whole city looking for him?’

‘I was in Wilmersdorf almost all day working on the Vivian Franck case. Let’s see what Böhm says at briefing tomorrow morning.’

‘I do miss it sometimes,’ she said. ‘I’ll be glad when I have these stupid finals behind me.’

‘Will you come back to Alex?’

‘Even if I didn’t enjoy the work, I’d still come back. Out of necessity. A girl’s got to live.’

‘And it’s that easy? You can come back whenever it suits you?’

‘That’s what Böhm promised, and he’s a man you can rely on.’

Rath said nothing. There’d have only been trouble otherwise. There was always trouble when they discussed Böhm.

Both of the other seats in their box remained empty. Marlow really had pulled out all the stops. Even if he didn’t actually own the theatre he obviously held considerable sway. The view from up here was outstanding.

‘Strange,’ Charly said as she peeped over the balustrade, watching the stalls fill. ‘Looks like it’ll just be the two of us. Tell me you didn’t arrange this? Book a whole box to seduce a defenceless girl!’

‘Certainly did,’ he said and laughed. ‘You know me.’

‘Quite.’

She looked at him with her dark eyes. He couldn’t avert his gaze, but she didn’t look away either.

Oh God, he thought, drawing gradually closer to her suddenly ever-so-serious face. He felt her breath and closed his eyes, tasting her soft lips as she surrendered to him open-mouthed and he took off and flew and flew, before landing, after what seemed like half an eternity, back in the box.

They gazed at each other as if they had awoken from a dream. ‘God, I’ve missed you!’ he said, stroking her cheek.

‘I don’t know if this is a good idea, Gereon,’ she said.

‘You mustn’t think I wanted this – that is, of course I wanted it, I mean, you mustn’t think I planned it… that I’m only going out with you to…’

She pressed a finger to his lips with a soft ‘shhhhhhhh’ and smiled, revealing her dimple.

‘Don’t talk so much,’ she said, kissing him again. It took them some time to realise the bill had long since begun.

‘This is all wrong,’ Rath said. ‘Normally you watch the show together, eat and drink something, maybe go dancing, and only then do you kiss. On the way home, just before you decide who’s sleeping where.’

‘Then we need to rearrange ourselves,’ she said. ‘The tickets must have cost a fortune and we’ve barely seen half the show.’

‘What do you mean, barely half? I haven’t seen anything at all.’

‘That’s even worse.’

‘So where do we go from here?’

‘How about we watch and applaud? Then we’ll see.’

‘Rearrange ourselves it is.’

She looked on at the show, and he looked on at her looking on at the show, which was better than last year’s. Less glamour, perhaps, but more to laugh about, and people who lived in this part of town needed that. Rath didn’t get a single one of the punchlines but laughed along with Charly and the rest in all the right places. How he loved seeing her laugh.

The closer the interval came, the more he found himself thinking about Marlow. He still didn’t know how he would steal himself away without Charly noticing.

At length the curtain fell for the interval and she linked arms with him as they went downstairs to the foyer. Rath could see neither Marlow nor Liang anywhere in the crowd but knew that Dr M. would keep his appointment. He wouldn’t have taken care of the tickets otherwise.

‘What are you looking for this time?’ Charly asked.

‘I’m just wondering if we can still get a seat at the bar.’

But it was hopeless. They were all taken.

‘That ought to answer your question,’ Charly said. ‘Now what?’

‘I’ll get us something to drink all the same.’

‘Then do your gentlemanly duty. I need to go to the little girls’ room anyway.’

She started towards the toilets. When she had gone a few steps, however, she turned around.

‘Food as well,’ she called to him. ‘I could eat a horse.’

Once she was out of sight Rath looked again for Marlow, but he was at neither the bar nor one of the little tables, and Rath could scarcely imagine him standing in line for sticky champagne.

‘Inspector Rath?’

It was a slim man in a fitted suit. He wore no dinner jacket and looked more like a businessman than a theatregoer.

‘That’s me,’ Rath said.

‘Herr Marlow sends his apologies. He’s running a little late.’

Rath couldn’t remember having seen the man in Marlow’s entourage before. ‘But he still wants to meet?’

‘Of course.’

‘Listen, I’ve got company here. There’s no need for the lady to know I have a meeting, or who it’s with. I’m sure that’s in accordance with Herr Marlow’s wishes too.’

‘Herr Marlow sets great store by discretion.’

‘Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to order food, as well as something to drink.’

‘It would be Herr Marlow’s honour. I’ll have something sent up.’

The man disappeared before Rath could say anything. He was about to call after him when he saw Charly’s green dress. It seemed the queue for the Ladies was shorter than that for the bar.

‘Who was that?’ she asked.

‘The man just then? Someone from the house.’

‘He didn’t look like a waiter.’

‘He wasn’t. It’s taking far too long to get a drink, so I complained.’

Rath took his place at the back of the queue for the bar but when he finally got hold of two glasses of champagne the interval was almost over. He raised his shoulders as he handed Charly a glass, and she smiled at him.

‘Let’s go then,’ he said. They clinked glasses and drank, before making their way hurriedly back to their seats, losing some of the champagne in the process.

‘What a shame,’ she said. ‘We won’t get anything else for over an hour.’