––––––––
When the doorbell rang Udo remained in his chair and Jimmy went to see who it was. It was a new rule. When Jimmy was in, he always answered the door.
‘You never know who it will be,’ Udo had told him, ‘some down-and-out who wants a cup of coffee and a sandwich, someone suicidal, someone asking the times of Mass, a baptism, a funeral or the postman. You just never know. Always be ready for anything.’
The ‘anything’ Jimmy found at the door was a man who said he was a police officer although he wore no uniform and showed no police identification.
‘Is Fr Mundt in?’ Jimmy was about to answer but he never got the chance. ‘Good. Is this the way?’ The man was past him before the question was finished. Jimmy suppressed his natural instinct to grab him and throw him out. He followed him to the living room. If he’d made a mistake, Udo could tell him afterwards. Besides, the man had all the earmarks of officialdom. If he was a loony, he was a very official-looking one. Udo looked up at the visitor from his chair. ‘Good morning, Fr Mundt.’ The loony didn’t wait to be asked, he sat down then made a slight gesture towards a chair. ‘Please sit down, Mr Costello.’ Jimmy looked at Udo, who said nothing, so he sat down. ‘I won’t have anything to drink, thank you, Father.’ Udo hadn’t asked him, but that didn’t seem to matter, he was making himself right at home. ‘If one drank something on every visit one makes, well, you understand, Father, I’m sure. One doesn’t want to drown in a sea of coffee and good manners, does one?’
Jimmy and Udo exchanged glances. Who the hell was this and what was he up to? It was Udo who asked the question.
‘Who are you and what do you want?’
‘I am a police officer and I want information.’
‘May I see some identification?’
‘But of course.’
The man produced a warrant card and passed it to Udo who looked at it and passed it back.’
‘You both visited Mrs Bronski in hospital two days ago?’
Udo nodded. ‘Yes.’
‘I understand it was your second visit?’
‘That is correct. We visited her on the day she was admitted.’
‘What was the reason for your second visit?’
‘I was asked to take her a message from her husband. He had had to go away unexpectedly and asked me to let his wife know.’
‘I see. Why do you think he didn’t he tell her himself?’
‘It was a trip to Germany, a business trip, but he’d wanted to surprise her and make a break of it for them both. She was in hospital so that was not possible. He wanted me to tell her that he had gone and would be back the following day. He felt that if he went himself he might not get away, she might not want him to go. He told me to tell her not to worry.’
‘And was she worried when you told her?’
Udo thought about it. ‘Yes, now you mention it, I think she was. At the time I put it down to something left over from the accident but, now I think about it, it could have been telling her that her husband had gone away suddenly that worried her.’
‘Was that your impression as well, Mr Costello?’
Jimmy had been studying the floor, trying to be invisible.
He surfaced.
‘Yes. She took it badly but tried to hide it. Considering what she’d been through she didn’t do too badly. But it definitely shook her.’
Udo turned to him. ‘You didn’t say anything at the time.’
‘What was there to say? Her husband had suddenly gone to Germany without telling her. He sent a message, didn’t come himself even though she was in hospital and it was the day after their car got blown up. It’s not exactly normal behaviour, is it?’
‘But he explained that.’
‘He told you an obvious lie. He wanted his wife to know he had gone to Germany but he wouldn’t go and tell her himself.’ Jimmy turned his attention back to their visitor. ‘When he left us it was just after eleven, about quarter past or half past, but wherever he was going he said he would be back the next day so he wasn’t going far.’
The policeman smiled and nodded as if congratulating Jimmy on his contribution.
‘Good. Tell me, when he visited did he have any luggage, a bag of any sort?’
Udo answered. ‘No, no bag.’
‘The Bronskis live in Nyborg, so if he had gone home to get things he wouldn’t have been able to set out for wherever he was going for over three hours, if he was leaving from Copenhagen that is. I wonder why he didn’t take anything with him.’ He paused but neither Udo nor Jimmy offered any suggestion, so he went on, ‘And if he was going to Germany, as he said he was, then I think he must have left from Copenhagen, the station or the airport, don’t you?’
Udo was studying the floor now so Jimmy responded. ‘If you say so.’
‘And did neither of you think it odd, travelling with no luggage?’
Udo looked up and shrugged. ‘I just didn’t notice.’
‘And you, Mr Costello. Did you not notice?’
‘It was none of my business one way or the other.’
‘But if it had been your business, Mr Costello, what then?’ Jimmy didn’t want to get into it, whatever it was. But this man was trouble. No ordinary copper would behave as he had done. He was making some sort of point by his behaviour and his questions. What point? Jimmy decided he would need to go very carefully. The visitor gave him a big smile as if to encourage him. ‘In your own time, Mr Costello, I’m not in any hurry and I do want to hear what you make of it all.’
Why not, thought Jimmy. Bronski’s up to something so why not give the police any bit of help he could. If this guy was the police.
‘My guess is that he wanted to get going as soon as he’d left us. He asked the day before about Mass times, that meant he planned to come to Copenhagen at a time when he knew he could talk to Fr Mundt and me. I think he set up some other contact or meeting before Mass which he knew would result in him having to travel to Germany at short notice. I think he intended to leave for wherever he was headed as soon as he’d finished here and got Fr Mundt to deliver his message to his wife.’
‘And why do you think all that, Mr Costello?’
‘Because he came into the church late. He knew the time of Mass but he got there only a few minutes before it was all over. If you’ve planned to come to Mass, why be so late unless you’d had other things to see to first?’
‘Yes, I see. Did he make a point of asking to see you both?’
Udo nodded.
‘And why did he say he wanted to see you both?’
Udo didn’t answer so Jimmy filled in. ‘He told us he needed advice about how he should deal with the police.’
‘A very silly story.’
‘A weak lie just like his other story – could Fr Mundt tell his wife he’d gone to Germany to see a publisher because he had to meet a deadline? Who leaves a wife in hospital after they both nearly get killed to see a publisher, deadline or no deadline?’
‘Who indeed?’
‘He probably went to the station as soon as he left here.’
The policeman sat back, smiled and raised his hands. Jimmy thought for a second he was going to clap.
‘Very good, very good indeed.’ The hands went back down and he put a serious look on his face. ‘But tell me, you seem very sure of what you are saying. Would that be because you have more information about Mr Bronski or his visit?’
‘I have no information about him or his visit. I have my own opinion on what happened. If I seem sure, it’s because I used to be a police detective in London and I got to hear lots of stories that were lies, although you wouldn’t have to be a detective to see through the ones Bronski told.’
‘Fr Mundt believed it.’
‘If you say so.’
‘But do you say so, Mr Costello? That’s the point.’
Jimmy looked at Udo who said nothing. It wasn’t his conversation.
‘Fr Mundt gets told lots of stories. He doesn’t have to believe them. Bronski asked him to tell his wife something, so he went and told her. Why not? He’s a priest, he tries to help people and it wasn’t much to ask, even if part of it was a lie.’
The visitor switched from Jimmy to Udo. ‘Did you believe the story, Fr Mundt?’
‘I suppose not, but, whatever I believed, he was going away and his wife needed telling. She had been in a bad way when I saw her the previous evening. Her husband suddenly going away wasn’t going help her condition. I thought it best that I was the one who told her, not the hospital, so I went.’
‘Do you agree with Mr Costello that he probably caught the train after his visit here?’
‘I’ve no idea. I didn’t give it any thought.’
The visitor switched back to Jimmy. ‘But you, Mr Costello, you think he went to the station?’
Jimmy nodded. ‘If he had a meeting in Germany he would have needed to get going whether he went by train or air.’
‘Let us say, for the sake of argument, he did indeed go to the station as you think. Where would you say Mr Bronski might have been headed?’
‘If he went by train I’d say Hamburg. There’s a direct connection that leaves around the right time. If he went to the airport he could have been going to quite a few places that are close enough to get to, have a meeting and get back, Berlin for instance. But I think it was the train.’
‘Ah, now why do you think that?’
‘He’s near the station, a short walk, he had probably checked the train times. If he’d already got his ticket, waited until the last minute and hopped on the train it would be difficult to see how anyone would be able to follow him.’
‘Why do you think he was being followed?’
‘I didn’t say I thought he was followed. I said it would be difficult for anyone ...’
‘Can we stop there?’ They both stopped and looked at Udo. ‘As you see, we are both quite happy to answer your questions, but I think that before we go any further you should give us some idea of why you are asking them. Is Mr Bronski suspected of anything?’
‘Mr Bronski is involved in a very serious crime. Attempted murder at the very least.’
‘His car?’ The visitor nodded. ‘Not a gas cylinder like the papers said?’ The visitor shook his head. ‘A bomb?’
‘Oh, yes, Father, it was a bomb and you’ll forgive me, I’m sure, if I say that I cannot believe that either you or Mr Costello put any credence in the gas cylinder story.’
‘So you think he is involved in whatever caused his car to be blown up? Is that it?’
‘We are following every possible line of investigation.’
‘I see.’
‘I’m sure you do, so please tell me in your own words, Father, about his visit here.’
‘Well, he came to Mass at ten and when it was over he asked to talk to us ...’
‘Both of you?’
‘Yes, he particularly asked Mr Costello to be there while we talked. He said he wanted a favour and some advice. The favour was to visit his wife and tell her he was going to see a publisher and would be away overnight.’
‘And the advice?’
‘How should he deal with the police.’
‘Deal with the police, in what way?’
‘He said he felt the police suspected him of something but that he knew nothing. He wanted to know what he should do. He said he wanted to talk to someone who could advise him.’
The policeman registered surprise and turned to Jimmy. ‘So he came here because he knew you had been a policeman, Mr Costello?’
‘No, I told him that when he asked us how he should deal with the police.’
‘Are you saying he came here to ask for help with the police without knowing you had been a detective?’
‘He was lucky, I guess.’
The policeman nodded slowly, as if considering it.
‘Yes, I’m sure you’re right. Mr Bronski strikes me as a man who would be lucky. What happened then?’
‘I told him to cooperate.’
‘That’s all, nothing else?’
‘Yes. Wasn’t that the right thing to say?’
‘Yes, Mr Costello, that was the right thing to say. A good citizen always cooperates with the police and Mr Bronski strikes me as a good citizen.’ He got up and beamed a false smile. ‘Thank you both for your cooperation. I can see that you are also good citizens.’ Jimmy stood up but the visitor held up a hand. ‘Please don’t bother. I’ll see myself out. Good day, Fr Mundt.’
No one shook hands when he left. Jimmy waited until he heard the front door close then sat down again. It needed talking about.