The Rocket Man Read Online Free PDF Page B

drive. She opened a compartment and pulled out a bottle of champagne, then took out a little gold box which she opened carefully, which contained fresh cherries dipped in chocolate. Liliana laughed with delight, like a small child. ‘Look how he spoils me,’ she said. ‘When I met Wolf, I decided, this was it. I was always going to marry money, you know. I don’t care what anybody says, it is the only thing that matters.’
    Katie had thought, what am I doing here. She drank some more champagne and looked out of the window. ‘Did you marry for love?’ asked Liliana. Katie looked at her, startled, because she didn’t know the answer. No-one had ever asked her this before and it struck her now that to have said ‘Yes’ would have sounded false. Katie was not romantic; she thought you married for much more pragmatic reasons. ‘I don’t know,’ she replied, ‘Perhaps I married because I wanted a child.’
    Liliana told her her life story. Her father, Luiz Carneiro de Amaral, had been a wealthy man in Brazil, a coffee baron, living in a huge colonial style house in the very centre of São Paulo. But her father had divorced her mother and they had lived quite modestly. Later, she had regained favour with her father, but before this happened she had resolved to become wealthy in her own right. She had gone to New York; she had been a Penthouse model. This was when she had met Bob. Katie had been somewhat shocked by this, wondering what other hidden aspects of his life there were. Liliana explained that from the moment she had met Wolf, she had been determined to marry him. She hadn’t thought she would succeed in this so easily.
    They had gone back to the flat. Then they all went out to dinner in an expensive restaurant and later to a nightclub. Katie danced with Bob and then with Wolf himself till she felt absolutely ill and dizzy with exhaustion. They had not returned to their hotel till nearly six in the morning, and slept till midday, both of them waking with terrible headaches. She remembered asking Bob where on earth he had met them and where Richter’s money came from. He hadn’t seemed to know. She had been miserable; Bob had accused her of never knowing how to enjoy herself. The evening had been the cause of one of their rare and memorable rows.
    The tram stopped at the bottom of the Obkirchergasse and they walked up the street together. Gavrilov suddenly asked: ‘Was Lieselotte happy with the verdict?’
    â€˜No, not really, I don’t think… she’s still not convinced it was suicide, but it’s so hard for her to accept…’
    Gavrilov stopped suddenly. ‘This is where I live. Do you want to come in for a coffee?’
    She stopped too, and stared at him. She knew she ought to say no, but instead she nodded. The flat was in a small modern building, and he took her up to the second floor. She walked into a sparsely furnished room, with just a table and chairs, a bookshelf, and a black leather sofa. On the table were the remains of his breakfast, a pile of papers, and a photograph in a frame. He hurried about, clearing the plate from the table, taking her coat, going into the kitchen and putting on the kettle. Katie didn’t know what to say to him.
    She walked over to the table. She looked at the photograph, of a woman with two children. He came up behind her. ‘My sister, Olga, and my two nephews, Kolya and Volodya,’ he said. Katie picked it up and studied it more closely. His sister had the same eyes and mouth as he did; she was a striking looking woman. The boys looked rather solemn. Katie said, pointing to the youngest, ‘This one looks like you,’ and Dmitry immediately looked pleased. ‘Do you think so?’ he said. ‘Everybody says so… fortunately neither of them really take after their father.’
    She put the photograph back. He was standing right behind her; he was far too