Zugzwang Read Online Free PDF Page A

you. At least as far as I can tell. Since she began her studies at the university I see very little of her.’
    â€˜She’s a very remarkable girl. I only wish she didn’t dislike me so.’
    â€˜She doesn’t dislike you in the least.’
    Anna smiled knowingly. She said, ‘Have you ever thought of remarrying?’
    â€˜No,’ I answered at once, the question taking me by surprise.
    â€˜Because of Catherine?’
    â€˜Not just Catherine,’ I said.
    â€˜Then why?’
    â€˜I seldom go out,’ I said, ‘and with little opportunity to meet anyone …’ I smiled helplessly and shrugged.
    â€˜That sounds to me like an excuse,’ she said.
    â€˜Perhaps,’ I conceded.
    â€˜Are you afraid?’
    â€˜Afraid?’
    â€˜Of meeting someone? Of falling in love again?’
    I do not know why but the question upset me. I got up and went to the window.
    â€˜Otto, I am so terribly sorry,’ she said. ‘What a stupid thing to say.’
    I stared down at the street below, dark now and almost deserted. She came up behind me and touched my elbow.
    â€˜Will you forgive me?’ she said quietly.
    I turned round to face her. She was so close we were almost touching. We stared at each other in silence for somemoments. Had I been Kopelzon, I would have kissed her. Instead, I moved past her to the safety of the chess table, and the kiss that wasn’t was left in the air between us.
    â€˜You seem preoccupied,’ she said after a moment.
    â€˜I’m sorry.’
    â€˜Can’t you tell me why?’
    I should never have told her: it was unprofessional and almost certainly unethical. She listened, at first incredulous, then indignant.
    â€˜What right has this Lychev to demand your attendance at police headquarters? You’ve done nothing wrong. It’s an outrage.’
    â€˜I’m not afraid of going,’ I said. ‘But I am afraid for Catherine.’
    â€˜You must get someone to intercede on your behalf. A person of influence. Someone who will put Lychev in his place. And you must do it before you go to police headquarters tomorrow. Once the police process starts, it will be impossible to stop.’
    â€˜I don’t know anyone with that kind of influence,’ I said.
    She fell silent for a moment, as though debating something with herself. She asked if she might use the telephone in the outer office.
    A minute or two later she returned. ‘I’ve just spoken to my father,’ she said.
    The Mountain. My heart skipped a beat.
    â€˜I explained the situation,’ she went on. ‘He would like to see you tonight to talk it over.’
    â€˜I should never have told you.’
    â€˜Don’t be silly, Otto. It’s the least I can do. Go and see my father. If anyone can help you, he can.’
    I knew from what she had told me in our earliest sessions that the close bond between Zinnurov and his daughter had not endured, but she had never revealed the reasons for their estrangement.
    â€˜He will expect you at midnight at the Imperial Yacht Club,’ she said.
    Grateful and embarrassed, I helped her on with her coat. I let my hands rest lightly on her shoulders. She was perfectly still. Without thinking, I moved my right thumb a fraction to touch a curl of her thick black hair where it fell on her pale neck. She turned her head a fraction; I could not tell whether it was to encourage me or warn me off.
    I took my hands from her shoulders.
    We walked together from the office to the wide marble landing where I summoned the elevator. She got into the car and the uniformed attendant pulled the gate to.
    From behind the crisscross of bars she said, ‘Telephone me when you’ve seen my father.’
    I stood listening to the electric whine and the clicks and jolts of the descending car, then turned back to my office. I had just reached the door when I heard someone on the stairs. Slow, heavy footsteps