The Sixth Key(24)

‘Listen, you know I would love to come with you, like old times,’ he said. ‘But all this business sounds, well, a tad on the risky side. In your absence I’ve discovered something rather perturbing about myself. I’ve found, to my great astonishment, that I’m quite fond of my boring little life. Don’t look like that – it does have its advantages, you know! I am a valued member of the faculty and so I don’t have to work too hard; being a professor of scientific methodology is not as boring as you might imagine; I get to pick and choose from an assortment of gorgeous young ladies working in the campus . . . and there are even one or two students nowadays. I have steady pay and an apartment not far from the Arc de Triomphe; I eat at Le Bouillon at least once a month; and last but certainly not least, I can afford to smoke Cuban cigars and drink a brandy that is better than passable. All these things please me. Pitiful I know, shocking I’ll admit, but there it is: I’m a boring coward!’

‘What happened to living in Morocco and travelling on a slow boat to South America?’

‘Yes, but unfortunately there are realities that one must take into account sooner or later – I abhor the heat and have an aversion to water, and if that weren’t enough, my morbid fear of snakes would not be well served in South America where, I’m told, one very often finds snakes in one’s bed!’ He sighed a defeated sigh. ‘Besides, I have my children to think of. How could I desert them?’

‘You don’t have children, La Dame.’

‘Not that I know of, of course, but one can never be certain!’ The smile was wide behind that beard.

Rahn nodded. ‘Don’t worry. I’ve involved you in this as far as I want to. I’ll call you if I need you to find out anything else. You can be my man on the ground.’

‘So be it! I’m at your beck and call. Bravura at a distance, that’s my style. But I’ll see you off at the station, at least.’

‘Only because you’re curious, La Dame!’

‘Yes, it’s a miracle, isn’t it, that curiosity can survive a formal education.’

Rahn paid the bill and before they left the café, he took a glance around for the man with the forgettable face. His table was empty, a half-full glass and a cigarette paper the only evidence that he had been there at all.





8


A Bird in the Hand

‘Never look for birds of this year in the nests of the last.’ Miguel de Cervantes, Don Quixote


That night the desk clerk interrupted Rahn’s dinner. There was a phone call for him and he decided to take it in his room.

He wondered if the call was from Weisthor and how he could possibly know where he was staying, since he hadn’t called him yet. Walking up the stairs, he considered what he would say to the man. Was Weisthor part of that inner circle, one of Hitler’s ritters? There was no way of knowing and so he decided to listen and say little.

In his room, Rahn picked up the receiver, expecting to hear Weisthor’s rumbustious voice. Instead, the voice that greeted him was French, polished and courteous.

‘Monsieur Rahn?’

Rahn paused. ‘I am he.’

‘I hope you are enjoying your stay in Paris?’

‘To whom am I speaking?’

‘This is just a courtesy call. We have a mutual friend whom you met on the train.’

Rahn swallowed. ‘Yes, I remember him.’

‘He asked me to call and see how you are getting on.’

‘Just fine, thank you.’

‘We know you have to . . . tie a few loose ends before your journey to the south and we just wanted to wish you well. Will you be keeping your appointment with Plantard tomorrow?’

Rahn hesitated. ‘I expect so.’

‘That is for the better, we think. It is important to have the right information, you know, to understand the lay of the land. Now, it may have occurred to you that you might just lose yourself in the south. I would advise you to think again. You are not travelling light. Running is quite difficult when you have a ball and chain attached to your legs.’

A ball and chain?

‘Soon you will be hearing from us again. In the meantime we rely on you to follow your plans and to do what you do best. Just one word of warning: keep a lookout for wolves.’

‘Who are you working for?’ Rahn asked.

There was a long silence, then: ‘The name is on the card. I bid you a good night and a safe journey.’

Rahn put the phone down, his limbs drained of blood. He had been followed, after all! He took out the card and read the name – Serinus. Whoever these people were, they weren’t going to make it easy for him to disappear. A ball and chain! Yes indeed, he was shown, once again, that he was not free and he would have to make a decision. He sat on the bed and loosened his tie, and wished that he had a brandy.