Prague, the last days of spring, midnight
Once I’d got back to my room, I placed the bottle, spoon and sugar on the table, took off my jacket and prepared to study the notes from the bag. But the phone rang and I was forced into an immediate change of plan. It was more or less midnight.
“Call for you, sir.”
“Thank you.”
“Mr Aragona? This is Inspector Lisáček of the Prague police murder squad. I’m sorry to bother you so late.”
The policeman spoke English with a strong Czech accent. His voice was flat, with no particular intonation.
“No problem, Inspector, I wasn’t asleep yet. What’s happened?”
“Would you mind joining me in the lobby? I’m here, at your hotel.”
The day seemed as though it would never end and with each passing minute it became increasingly confusing. And grotesque. Now the police were involved – although given Hašek’s death, I couldn’t say I was all that surprised.
I sighed to dispel the tension. “Give me two minutes.”
I went down to the lobby, but not before I’d stashed the bag and its contents in the room’s safe. Hašek’s email had set my alarm bells ringing and it would be best not to ignore them.
Two men were waiting in one of the hotel lounges. They were dressed in plain clothes, but you could tell they were policemen from a mile off. They were an extremely odd couple: one fat and bald, the other tall and thin, but both had a keen stare which immediately marked them out as acute observers.
“Lorenzo Aragona,” I said, holding my hand out.
“Inspector Lisáček,” said the thin one in English, before indicating his colleague, or rather his superior. “And this is Commissioner Bublan.”
We sat on chairs around a small table.
“Mr Aragona, at some point between this afternoon and this evening, two crimes were committed that I think concern you. Firstly, an exhibit was stolen from the alchemy exhibition which opened in town today. Secondly, and more seriously, someone was murdered,” Lisáček said in the same flat voice.
“Was the exhibit one of those I’d lent the exhibition?”
“No, it’s the so-called alchemical watch.”
“Oh no!” I cried.
“The reason we’re here, however, is the murder,” Lisáček continued, in a dramatic tone. “Around eight o’clock this evening, the owner of a shop selling esoteric curios near the castle was found dead.”
I decided it was best to lay out my cards straightaway and tell the truth. Or at least some of it. “I saw the news on TV. It’s incredible. I’d met him just a few hours earlier.”
Lisáček stared at me for a moment, then nodded. “The two crimes, the murder and theft, could be connected, but we’re here because a note containing your details and the name of your hotel was found in Vladislav Hašek’s shop. Also because Mr Folin, the exhibition’s curator, who’s already been informed of everything, said that you might be able to help us shed some light on this tragedy. Given your esoteric expertise. Tell us about your meeting with Hašek. Where were you around eight o’clock this evening?”
I shook my head, confused. “I was on the Charles Bridge, waiting for Hašek. I met him this morning at the exhibition, immediately after the press conference. He told me to meet him at his shop this afternoon. I went there and we exchanged a few words about his collection of alchemical odds and ends. Then some customers arrived and we stopped. At that point, he told me to meet him on the bridge at 8 p.m, but he never came.”
“Is that all?” asked Lisáček.
“Yes, I’d say so.”
“Why do you think Hašek wanted to meet you in his shop, and why did he arrange to meet you again a few hours later?”
From the look on Lisáček’s face I realised he was sniffing for something – it was as if he could read my mind and wasn’t convinced of my version of events. I’d have to use all my talents as an actor to ensure I let nothing slip about the bag.
“I don’t know. Maybe he wanted to meet me in his shop to show off his collection – he looked very proud of it – and he probably wanted to meet in the evening to continue our conversation about alchemy. He was a mysterious sort.”
Lisáček nodded slightly, whilst continuing to stare at me. “Did you notice anything strange in the shop? Something that made you suspicious?”
“Just a big mess, a lot of stuff, but there was little of any real interest.”
“For example?”
I had to give him something, otherwise he would catch on. He was digging around to try and trip me up. I shot a quick look at Commissioner Bublan who was sitting impassive and silent, his face difficult to read. However, I was in no doubt that he was carefully evaluating both my words and my behaviour.
“I saw some minerals and tools that are used in alchemy, stuff of a certain value. I’d say that if you looked around that bazaar well enough, you’d unearth some interesting and valuable things.”
“I understand,” Lisáček said, nodding slowly several times.
Before the policeman could start again, I decided to counter. “Look, what is this? An interrogation? Am I under investigation?”
Maintaining an icy calm, Lisáček shook his head. “No. You’ve no need to worry. You’re not under investigation. At least not yet.”
“Right, because if I were, I’d like to contact the Italian consulate and get a lawyer.”
“Don’t worry, there’s no need. Of course, if you had an alibi for the time of death…”
“You said he was killed around eight o’clock, right?”
“More or less yes. The shop closes at seven thirty, so Hašek was killed a few minutes before your appointment on the Charles Bridge. But it’s too early for any precise details.”
I began to hesitate, because that was the time I’d been with Riccardo and those two shady characters had started chasing me to the fast food joint.
“I don’t know what to tell you. I was on the bridge at that time. Maybe someone saw me and could testify to it.”
“We’ll see,” Lisáček said. “In the meantime, I’d like to take advantage of your help for just a little longer. If I’m not mistaken, you’re one of the exhibition organisers and an expert on alchemy?”
“I’d hardly say an expert. I’m an antiquarian and enthusiast of the hermetic sciences.”
“That’s right, and that’s why I’d like to ask you to come with us to Hašek’s shop, to show you the scene of the crime. Maybe you could spot something we missed, as Mr Folin suggested.”
I hesitated a second and then nodded. “No problem, let’s go then.”