The End of the World in Breslau Read Online Free PDF Page A

drank the last drops with relief and experienced a faint dizziness. He tossed some small change to the sympathetic bulldog who was drying tankards behind the bar, and shut himself in the telephone booth. It took him a while to remember his own number. Adalbert picked up after the first ring.
“Good day, is the mistress at home?” Mock enounced the syllables slowly.
“Unfortunately, Counsellor, Mrs Sophie left an hour ago,” Adalbert spoke quickly; he knew his master would want to be told everything without having to ask. “She went shopping with Miss Pflüger shortly after some roses were delivered to her. She took the basket with her.”
Mock hung up the receiver and left the bar. His men were back in the Adler, filling the car with cigarette smoke. He joined them.
“Gelfrert had a fiancée once, a large blonde of about thirty. She used to visit him with a two-year-old boy,” Smolorz recounted his questioning of the caretaker. “An unmarried woman with a child. The caretaker hasn’t seen her for quite some time. Gelfrert worked in some orchestra and visited pupils. Gave piano lessons. He had been in a bad way recently. He drank. Nobody visited him. Neighbours complained he left shit in the crapper after he used it. Nothing more from the caretaker.”
“We found a request form from the Municipal Library.” Ehlers held a piece of printed paper under Mock’s nose. “September 10th, Gelfrertreturned a book entitled Antiquitates Silesiacae . The library gave him a receipt confirming the book’s return.”
“So he was still alive on September 10th. Taking Doctor Lasarius’ reckonings into account, our musician was walled in at the shoemaker’s workshop in the Griffins yard between 10th and 30th September.”
“Someone lured him there, or dragged him when he was unconscious,” Smolorz opened the window to let in a breath of air.
“Then he was gagged and tied to the hook on the far wall of the recess, so that he wouldn’t thrash around and knock down the newly erected wall,” added Mock. “One thing interests me: wasn’t our Bluebeard afraid that the following day a new tenant might move in and discover a wall had just been built or, worse still, hear inarticulate sounds uttered by the victim, despite the gag?”
The men did not say anything. Mock thought about another tankard of beer, then spread himself out on the passenger seat and turned to the policemen in the back. His hat, tipped back to the crown of his head, gave him a rakish appearance.
“Smolorz, you’re to drag that drunken caretaker of the Griffins from his underground lair and question him. Then check for the deceased in our files, as well as all the acquaintances in his notebook. You, Ehlers, are to research Gelfrert’s past. Where he was born, his religion and so on. Then question those acquaintances of his who live in Breslau. I want a report the day after tomorrow at noon sharp.”
“And what am I to do?” Meinerer asked. Mock thought for a moment. Meinerer was ambitious and vindictive. Once, he had confided to Ehlers over a schnapps that he did not understand why Mock favoured a dunder-head like Smolorz. Meinerer had not realized that to criticize good-natured Smolorz was an offence difficult to wipe out in Mock’s eyes. From that moment onwards, Meinerer had encountered numerous obstacles on his career path.
“You, Meinerer, I want to assign you an entirely different task. I suspect my nephew has fallen in with some bad company. You’re to follow him for two weeks, every day. Erwin Mock, nineteen years old, lives at Nicolaistrasse 20, attends Matthiasgymnasium.” Pretending not to see the disappointment on Meinerer’s face, Mock climbed out of the car. “I’ll go on foot – there’s something important I have to do.”
He strode briskly in the direction of Grengel’s Inn.
“Counsellor sir, Counsellor, please wait,” he heard Meinerer’s voice behind him. He turned to wait for his subordinate with an indifferent