The prodigal spy

“To see Prague,” Zimmerman said. “Again.” He put down the passports. “So you cannot tell me when Mr Warren left this morning.”

“Sometime after six. He was still in bed then. I saw the clock.” Had she?

“He left around six?”

“Later. I don’t know when exactly. I fell back to sleep. Why?”

“It’s useful to know these things. Chief Novotny will want it for his report.” Novotny looked up at his name. “Or perhaps not. Perhaps he has his own idea. Don’t be alarmed, Miss Chisholm. If you were under suspicion, we would have questioned you separately, before you could talk to Mr Warren here. That’s the usual procedure. Of course, Chief Novotny may not know that. He is new.” Zimmerman sighed. “But it’s useful, these details. For instance, you have not yet packed for your trip?” The disheveled room, noticed.

“Molly leaves everything to the last minute,” Nick said.

Zimmerman looked at him. “Now she will have more time.”

“But she has to leave today,” Nick said evenly, facing her.

“I think Chief Novotny would prefer her to stay,” Zimmerman said easily, “until we finish. Don’t worry, the tickets will still be good. Unless, of course, your car is fixed in time.”

Molly raised her eyebrows, finally thrown, but before Nick could say anything there was a knock and another policeman handed Novotny a folder. He pulled out a report sheet and grunted as he read, only handing it to Zimmerman when he had finished. Zimmerman went through it quickly, nodding and speaking to Novotny as he read. A small explosion of Czech back, then more talk, not quite an argument, Novotny bristling, clearly irritated by an inconvenience. Nick watched them, then looked over at Molly and saw that she was frightened. When he placed his hand on hers, it was cool to the touch.

“There was no blood in the flat,” Zimmerman said, not a question. “Tell me again about the blood.” He nodded to Nick’s pants.

“When I was checking. To see if he was alive.”

“Is that why you went back to the flat? To wash it off?”

Nick looked at him. “I didn’t go back. I’d never been there. I found him and then I went in to call you.”

“But not right away. First you went through his desk.” He glanced down again at the report. “Pani Havlicek-that’s the neighbor-said she saw you holding his head.” Molly took her hand away as if the blood were there, drawing her in. But her eyes were soft, upset now, the death real, not a story. “Is that usually the way you check a pulse?”

Someone watching, even then. “I don’t know. I didn’t know what I was doing. You know, I didn’t expect-”

“What, Mr Warren?”

“To see a body there.”

“Pani Havlicek didn’t expect to see you there either. She said you stayed for some time. Holding him.” He glanced over at Novotny, who, bored, was now stretching his tight collar and looking out the window. “Of course, it might have seemed long to her. It’s often the case. She also said she heard noises in the apartment. Just before dawn. Another light sleeper.” He glanced at Molly. “A little commotion. Of course, it may have seemed louder to her than it was. It’s possible, at that hour.” He was walking around the table, talking to himself. “A noise when you don’t expect it. Pan Kotlar himself, perhaps. There was alcohol in his blood. If he was unsteady- It’s difficult to be precise about these things.”

Nick looked up at him. “What time is dawn?”

Zimmerman paused, a sliding look toward Novorny. “Before six,” he said to Nick. “There were pills,” he continued, walking again. “For illness. No marks on the balcony. Of course, these may have been missed, if no one was looking for them.”

“They were there.”

“So you said. What caused them, do you think?”

“I don’t know. A belt buckle, buttons-something metal.”

“And what could that mean?” Zimmerman said, almost playing.

“That someone scraped against it when he pushed him over,” Nick said flatly.

For a minute no one said anything. Zimmerman looked down at the folder as if he were thinking it over, not just playing for effect. It was when Nick saw him glance at the window that he realized Zimmerman was just waiting to see if Novotny had understood.

“I see,” he said finally. “That is your idea?”

“Yes.”

“Oh, God,” Molly said quietly.

“I don’t know if Chief Novotny would agree with you. As I said, he has his own idea. And you know, sometimes the obvious solution is the right one. I’ve seen this many times.”

“He didn’t kill himself.”

“You’re sure? If I may say so, Mr Warren, the obvious solution would be more convenient for you.” Directly to Nick, almost an instruction. “An older man, sick, it’s a common thing. Even the method. It’s a disease with us Czechs, you know. I’m not sure why. All through our history. Defenestration. So many have chosen it.”

A courtyard in the Czernin Palace. What had Masaryk said?

“The housemaid’s way out,” Nick said.

Zimmerman’s eyes widened in appreciation. “I see you know our history.”

“He wouldn’t have taken it either.”

“You know that, after so little acquaintance?”

Nick lowered his head, quiet.