The Bat(88)

Harry breathed in slowly. Down below there was a growling and jerking at the chains. Shit, shit, shit, it was so hot!

‘Yes, that’s right. He probably wears contact lenses now, doesn’t he?’

‘Nope. He claims he works better if he sees the s-stage in a blur. Says he can concentrate on the totality instead of getting hung up on details. He’s a really strange b-bloke.’

‘Strange bloke indeed,’ said Harry.

‘Yes?’

‘Sorry to ring so late, Lebie. This is Harry Holy.’

‘Holy? Christ, what time is it in Norway now?’

‘No idea. Listen, I’m not in Norway. There was some trouble with the plane.’

‘What was that?’

‘It left early, let me put it like that, and it hasn’t been easy to get another seat. I need some help.’

‘Spit it out.’

‘You have to meet me in Otto Rechtnagel’s flat. Bring a crowbar if you’re no good with picklocks.’

‘OK. Right away?’

‘That’d be nice. Appreciate it, mate.’

‘Was sleeping badly anyway.’

‘Hello?’

‘Dr Engelsohn? I have a question about a body. My name’s—’

‘I don’t give a damn who you are, it’s . . . three o’clock in the morning, and you can ask Dr Hansson, who’s on duty. Goodnight.’

‘Are you deaf? I said Goo—’

‘This is Holy. Don’t ring off again, please.’

. . .

‘The Holy?’

‘I’m glad that you seem to have remembered my name at last, Doctor. I’ve discovered something interesting in the flat where Andrew Kensington was found dead. I have to see him – that is, I have to see the clothes he was wearing when he died. You do still have them, don’t you?’

‘Yes, but—’

‘Meet me outside the mortuary in half an hour.’

‘My dear Mr Holy, I really can’t see that—’

‘Don’t make me repeat myself, Doctor. How would you like to be struck off by the Australian Medical Association, sued by relatives, and then there are the newspaper headlines . . . shall I go on?’

‘Well, I can’t get there in half an hour.’

‘There’s very little traffic at this time of night, Doctor. I have a suspicion you’ll make it.’





42


A Visitor


McCORMACK WENT INTO the office, closed the door behind him and took up a stance by the window. Sydney’s summer weather certainly was changeable; it had rained all night. McCormack was over sixty, had passed police retirement age and had, as pensioners are wont to do, started to talk to himself.

Mostly it was minor everyday observations he doubted others apart from himself really knew how to appreciate. Such as: ‘Looks like it’s going to clear up today as well, yep.’ He stood rocking back and forth on his heels looking across his town. Or: ‘First to arrive again today, oh yes.’

Only as he was hanging his jacket in the wardrobe behind the desk did he notice the sounds coming from the sofa. A man was levering himself up into a sitting position.

‘Holy?’ McCormack stared in amazement.

‘Sorry, sir. Hope it was all right to borrow your sofa . . .’

‘How did you get in?’

‘I never had time to return my ID, so the night porter let me in. The door to your office was open, and since it was you I wanted to talk to I had a nap here.’

‘You should be in Norway. Your boss called. You look terrible, Holy.’

‘What did you tell him, sir?’

‘You were staying for Kensington’s funeral. As the Norwegian representative.’

‘But how . . .?’

‘You’d given your phone number here to the airline, so when they rang half an hour before departure because you hadn’t shown up, I got the picture. A call to the Crescent Hotel and a confidential conversation with the hotel manager supplied the rest. We’ve been trying to get hold of you without any luck. I understand how it is, Holy, and I suggest we don’t make any more fuss. Everyone knows there’s a reaction after such events. The important thing is you’ve got yourself together and we put you on a plane.’

‘Thank you, sir.’

‘No worries. I’ll ask my secretary to speak to the airline.’

‘Just a couple of things before you do, sir. We’ve been doing a bit of work overnight, and the final results won’t be known until Forensics turn up and check it. I’m pretty sure about the outcome, though, sir.’

The old fan, despite the lubrication, had finally given up the ghost and been replaced by a new, bigger and quieter one. Harry could confirm the world was continuing, even in his absence.