Quinn Asked, “How’re you going to explain when she finds out about my stupid little escapade this afternoon—as she surely will find out?”
“I’ll worry about that when the time comes,” Piper said. “Right now I’m going home. If Miss Haupmann gets any word from her father she’s promised to ring me and I wouldn’t want to——”
“Don’t lose any sleep waiting up for the call.” Quinn’s voice matched the bleak look in his eyes. “I did some heavy thinking while you were on the phone.”
“And your conclusions are …?”
“If Fritz Haupmann had intended getting in touch with his family he’d have done so before now. That’s what knocks holes in our theory.”
“Why?”
“Well, look at it this way. We say he decided to scarper so that the family wouldn’t be exposed to any further danger. Right?”
“Yes.”
“Because of what nearly happened, or might’ve happened to his daughter last night, he realised there was no time to waste. If he wanted to save his women-folk he had to leave at once. Right?”
“Yes … but we’ve been over all this before and I don’t see——”
“You’ll see in a moment. This is what I’m driving at. If what I said to Haupmann this afternoon forced his hand, if he decided, more or less there and then, that the only way out was for him to disappear, why didn’t he phone his wife and tell her he was buzzing off … even if he couldn’t explain his reasons?”
With a nicotined forefinger held up to stop Piper answering, Quinn added, “At least, he could’ve said good-bye … couldn’t he?”
Piper said, “If she knew he’d gone away because he had no choice, because he was in serious trouble and this was the only way out, she wouldn’t notify the police that he was missing. And everything depends on that.”
“But——”
“There are no buts. The people who represent this menace to his family must learn quickly that he’s given up his home, his friends, his business … everything that makes his life worth living.”
Quinn finished his beer and put the glass down. For a moment he stood as if listening to the chatter behind him, his face very solemn, his eyes upturned to the smoky light above the bar.
Then he asked, “Do you think that’ll satisfy them?”
“No, I don’t. I think they’ll do their damnedest to hunt him down again.”
“And next time”—Quinn ran his fingers through his lank hair and drew in his mouth—“they won’t play cat-and-mouse.”
Piper said, “If there ever is a next time—they’ll kill him.”
He sat up until long past his usual bedtime, listening to the radio and glancing through the evening paper, his thoughts always returning to the look that had been on Fritz Haupmann’s face as he stood in the doorway that first Saturday afternoon. Haupmann had known then that time was on the side of his enemies.
For him there could be no escape except at the sacrifice of all that he valued in life. He had either to be prepared to die, or to live as a hunted fugitive for the rest of his days.
Now it seemed he had made his choice. Once again he would be a man on the run. That was how he had started … if Quinn was right.
… Maybe Superintendent Mullett could find out what had happened in Austria during the last months of the war. It might still be possible to trace people who had known Fritz Haupmann as a member of the underground. …
There a new thought entered Piper’s mind. He remembered Quinn’s words: “Might be that Fritz Haupmann forgot which side he was on… eh?”
How would Mrs. Haupmann feel if she discovered that she had lived all those years with a traitor? Her first husband had died at the hands of the Gestapo because he had been betrayed: she could hardly forgive a man who had practised treachery.
Perhaps that had been Haupmann’s greatest fear. Perhaps he had preferred to surrender everything rather than face his wife and daughter when they learned the kind of man he had once been. Perhaps …
Beyond that thought there was another one just out of Piper’s reach—one that tantalised him on and off for an hour until he decided it was time to go to bed. He had not yet got rid of it when he set his alarm clock and switched off the light.
For a long time he lay watching a cluster of stars framed in the pale rectangle of his window against a luminous sky. They looked as cold as chips of ice.
More than once he dozed off, only to be aroused by an imaginary ringing of the phone at his bedside. He knew it was futile to lie awake: there would be no phone call from Gizelle.
Her father had gone away because that was the only thing he could do … the only thing … the only thing….
Where the stars had been there was a growing haze that seemed to spread across the sky. Gradually it brightened and took shape until at last it became Gizelle’s lovely face.
She was smiling as she had smiled that day when she had asked: “Tou aren’t by any chance one of the policemen who booked me for speeding?” Her voice had been almost as provocative as the look in her deep blue eyes.
Why did he have to believe that life with her would have to be lived on her terms? That might be so … if she married Leonard Cusack. …
Now the haze was everywhere. Now, instead of Gizelle, it was Haupmann’s face that Piper could see—Haupmann asking with his strange air of simplicity: “… How would you like to marry my daughter?”
Somewhere a clock struck twice. The echo of the second stroke went on and on, entwined with the voice of Mrs. McAllister. She was saying: “… The evil is there… I only hope it isn’t meant for you… without faith you can defend neither him nor yourself…”
His last waking thought was of Ann.
When the alarm clock roused him at seven-thirty, fine snow was being driven before the wind across a sullen sky. His radio said the forecast was that it would continue to be very cold, with snow or sleet showers. Day-time temperatures were not expected to rise much above freezing-point.
He had slept heavily. Sleep still fogged his mind as he shaved and dressed and made his usual cup of coffee. He found it difficult to concentrate, to decide what he would do if Mrs. Haupmann refused to inform the police that her husband had failed to return home.
At eight-thirty as he was putting on his coat the phone rang and he had a fleeting hope that his problem might have solved itself. Perhaps Fritz Haupmann had been in touch with his wife and this was Gizelle to say. …
It was Superintendent Mullett. He asked, “Did I get you out of bed?”
Piper said, “No, I was just leaving to go to the office. You’ve made an early start this morning, haven’t you?”
“Well, they say it’s the early bird that catches the worm. But I don’t want you to think I’d have started work yet in the ordinary way of things. I agree with Hamlet when he says you shouldn’t ‘… assume a virtue if you have it not.’ To be honest, I’m speaking from home. I wanted to catch you before you left.”
“What’s so urgent? You’d have got me at the office in half an hour.”
“I thought I’d save you making two journeys instead of one. I’ll be at the Yard just after nine and I’d appreciate it if you’d meet me there.”
Piper’s mind cleared. He asked, “Something to do with Fritz Haupmann?”
“You’re a thought-reader.”
“Not really. I’ve done nothing but think about him since I had a phone conversation with his wife and daughter last night. Have they spoken to you?”
Mullett said, “I’ll tell you all about it at the Yard.”
His room looked out on the black waters of the Thames surging under Westminster Bridge. Scurrying snow veiled the outlines of a tramp steamer berthed across the river and the naked plane trees on the Embankment were limned in white.
With a glance out of the window, Mullett remarked, “They say a policeman’s lot isn’t a happy one and I don’t envy the lad on the beat this weather. But, as I’m fond of telling those who complain, nothing’s so bad it couldn’t be worse. They might be at sea in a fishing trawler off Iceland.”
Piper said, “It’s too early in the day for me to appreciate philosophy. I’d rather stick to practical matters. What’s happened to Fritz Haupmann?”
“Nothing—so far as I know. But I’ve got only the scantiest information. That’s why I wanted to have a talk with you.”
“Talking to me won’t get you very far. I only know he didn’t go home last night … but I suppose his wife’s already told you that.”
“No, I haven’t spoken to her yet. One of our boys out Acton way called at the house early this morning to have a word with Mr. Haupmann.”
“And..?”
“He was told that Mr. H. was away from home. Mrs. H. had no idea when he’d be back. Tried to make out he was on a business trip.”
“If she doesn’t report him missing there isn’t very much you can do,” Piper said. “But one thing I don’t understand. …”
Mullett said, “You’re lucky. There’s a score of things I don’t understand. I’ve got a lot of questions and singularly few answers.”
“Well, you must know the answer to this one: why did a police officer call at the house?”
Superintendent Mullett tilted his chair back on its hind legs, propped his knees against the edge of the desk, and began to see-saw lazily. He was a powerfully-built man with big hands, a melancholy face, and fuzzy eyebrows streaked with grey. In three or four years he was due to retire.
He said, “The explanation’s quite simple. One of our fellows on motor cycle patrol had his wits about him at six o’clock this morning. Most praiseworthy—in view of weather conditions.”
“I think your policemen are wonderful,” Piper said. “What’s this got to do with Haupmann?”
“Quite a lot. The copper spotted someone getting into a car parked without lights in an alleyway off Brick Lane. Nothing very peculiar in that even at six o’clock in the morning … but the bright lad thought he recognised this someone.”
“So.¨?”
“So he got off his machine and hung around to see what would happen next.”
Mullett gave Piper a slow smile and asked, “Ever hear of a character by the name of McKeown?”
“No. Should I have heard of him?”
“Only if you mix in the wrong sort of company. Terry McKeown’s got a regrettable hobby: you could almost call it a compulsion neurosis. He can’t resist motor cars… especially those that are left unlocked.”
Piper said, “I’m beginning to get the point of your story. The car belonged to Fritz Haupmann.”
“It did, indeed. The officer surprised McKeown in the act of joining the ignition wires so he could get the thing started. After the usual formalities, Terry was lugged to the station and booked. Then they checked the registration files and asked our people at Acton to get in touch with the owner.”
Superintendent Mullett tilted farther back and smiled again. He said, “Now you know all I know. Any idea why Haupmann abandoned his car in that alleyway?”
“None at all. Maybe it wasn’t abandoned—-just parked. Brick Lane isn’t very far from the premises of the Falcon Shoe Manufacturing Company.”
“As you say, not very far. But why did he park it there—and when?”
“And where did he go afterwards? He left his office about a quarter past five yesterday evening and nothing’s been heard of him since. His daughter told me on the phone last night that she’d been in touch with every likely place where he might’ve gone but she’d drawn a blank at all of them.”
“How do you know what time he left his office? Did she tell you?”
Piper knew the question had been bound to come. It was only the first of many that the superintendent would ask and go on asking until eventually he learned the truth.
But there was no necessity for him to learn the part that Quinn had played. … Piper said, “I called at the factory about five-twenty and they told me he’d just gone.”
Mullett rocked to and fro, his straggly eyebrows almost concealing his eyes. In a mild voice, he asked, “So you were just too late to catch him before he went … m-m-m?”
“Yes.”
“What did you want to see him about—that affair with the brakes of his car?”
“Partly that … but my main purpose was to tell him I knew his life had been threatened before he took out a new policy. By not disclosing this information to the insurance company he’d invalidated the contract.”
“I’ll bet that would’ve shaken him somewhat.” In the same tone, Mullett went on, “Correct me if I’m wrong but, when you spoke to me yesterday, you weren’t in a position to have a showdown with Haupmann, were you?”
“No.”
“Then do you mind telling me why you suddenly felt you could give him a piece of straight talk?”
The choice that confronted Piper was now clear: he could lie … or he could betray Quinn. And Quinn had thought he was acting for the best.
Piper said, “After I’d spoken to you yesterday afternoon I phoned Fritz Haupmann—anonymously.”
Slowly and carefully Superintendent Mullett lowered the front legs of his chair to the floor. In an expressionless voice, he said, “Oh, you did, did you? May I ask why you had to be anonymous?”
“Because I pretended I was representing the people he’s afraid of. I told him what had nearly happened to his daughter the previous night and I said that next time the job would be done properly. After that his wife would be dealt with. Then it would be his turn.”
Mullett clasped his muscular hands together and squeezed until the knuckles cracked. His face looked even more melancholy.
He said, “After all my years in this job I thought I’d heard just about everything. But that, Mr. John Piper, is really the limit. What did you hope to achieve?”
“It was necessary to force an admission from him that he’d withheld material information when he took out a fresh insurance policy.”
“And you got that admission?”
“Well, he admitted enough to confirm that he’d been threatened before he asked me to call at his home that Saturday afternoon. I got what I wanted—something to confront him with, something to bring out the final truth.”
With dour disagreement in his voice, Mullett said, “I’ve learned that it rarely pays to accept without question everything a frightened man tells me. If you were to read Congreve’s The Double Dealer, you’d find a couple of lines that fit this kind of situation: ’No mask like open truth to cover lies, As to go naked is the best disguise.’”
Piper said, “That’s all very well. If I hadn’t frightened him I wouldn’t now be in a position to protect the interests of the Cresset Insurance Company.”
“And that comes first … m-m-m?”
“They accepted him on my recommendation. Remember it isn’t just £20,000 insurance on his own life that’s at stake. They’ve also given cover for £75,000 on the Falcon Shoe Manufacturing Company. Haupmann’s enemies could’ve burned the place down at any time and left the Cresset holding the baby.”
“Maybe so. But you’re surely not suggesting that your duty entitled you to utter menaces?”
“I felt that the end justified the means.”
Superintendent Mullett put both hands flat on the desk and hitched up his shoulders aggressively. He said, “That mongrel quotation’s been put forward to excuse every piece of villainy since Cain got rid of Abel. I prefer——”
“From the way Haupmann reacted, what I said wasn’t anything new.”
“Don’t interrupt. I was about to say I prefer what a man called Hutcheson wrote more than two hundred years ago: Wisdom denotes the pursuing of the best ends by the best means. Note how he uses the same adjective twice.”
Mullett shook his head and added, “You weren’t at all wise, you know. If Haupmann lodges an official complaint we’ll have to prosecute … and you won’t have a leg to stand on.”
Piper said, “I’ll have to take that chance.”
“It is a chance, too. How do you know he didn’t recognise your voice?”
“I’m fairly sure he didn’t. Anyway, that isn’t what I’m worried about right now.”
“No? I should’ve thought it was enough to worry any man in your position.”
“My main concern is the effect on Haupmann of what I did.”
“You should’ve considered that before you forced the issue. But that’s your problem. I don’t want to know anything about it.”
His face became longer and sadder. He leaned forward and added very precisely, “That closes the subject. You can forget you told me about your phone call to Haupmann yesterday afternoon. Understand?”
“Yes. I won’t mention it again. Now, what are you going to do about Fritz Haupmann?”
“Find him—if we can.”
“Even although his wife hasn’t reported him missing?”
“Oh, yes. Finding his car in that back alley entitles us to pursue all necessary inquiries. If he doesn’t make himself available shortly, the circumstances justify us in assuming that something more than simple car theft may be involved.”
“Your assumption won’t warrant raising a fuss if he doesn’t make himself available.”
“Won’t it? He’ll be wanted as a witness when Terry McKeown comes up in court.”
“Since I believe Haupmann staged his own disappearance, how do you propose to go about the job of locating him?”
“I’ll ask a few questions here and there,” Mullett said. “At the same time I’ll keep my ears open.”
As he stood up he allowed himself one of his rare smiles. He said, “How else do you think the police ever discover anything? Like to come along and hear what Mrs. Haupmann has to say?”