burgomaster and did not worry.
Little in the police reports he did not know by now. Zomerlustâs time was accounted for to the minute. All agreed that he was conscientious and loyal. No women in his life, no queer behaviour, no debts or eccentricities â almost depressingly virtuous, this man. Liked a beer and a joke and a session with the boys. Sociable and popular, a bit over-familiar with subordinates. But sound, dependable â and an excellent craftsman.
Zero from the Van Lennepweg. Neighbours, shops, bars â nobody had much to say about Esther Zomerlust. Calling her âMevrouw Marxâ was a faintly spiteful way of underlining Ruthâs name. Polite, but never forthcoming. Never noisy. No gossip. Rarely smiled. Low, fatigued-sounding, hoarse voice. Smoked a lot, drank a good deal, but never showed it. Several people had wondered whether she were Jewish, but she didnât look it, and certainly didnât say it. No stranger or intruder even hinted at. And no one believed that Sergeant Zomerlust had anything to do with her death. A quiet model couple. What everybody did say was âOf course, she was a foreignerâ.
At Ruthâs school they said much the same. Quiet well-behaved little girl. Solitary â âa foreignerâ. Low-spoken, unaggressive. Average pupil, quite bright, sometimes careless and lacking in concentration. No close friendships. A âpoor mixerâ but an easy docile child enough. Van der Valk resolved to change her school, if the decision got left to him. He had not known Esther Marx, and this made him the more resolved to know Ruth Marx.
Last on the list was the hospital autopsy, which had taken the whole evening and the report of which had only just arrived. He knew it would be thorough and unpedestrian â he knew the doctor, and had been wondering whether Estherâs mutilated torn body would prove talkative. But like every other line of inquiry it was disappointing.
Robust health. Muscles firm and well-developed. All organs present and in good condition. Small scar of healed tuberculosis on one lung. No recent sexual intercourse, no sign of assault or struggle. No broken bones, no surgical interventions,no apparent lesions. Death due, predictably, to grouped perforated wounds in vital organs including pericardium, spleen and liver: decease irremediable and virtually instantaneous. Teeth all her own and nearly all present. Blah blah â Haversma had written into the typescript above his signature â âNever saw a healthier physical specimen in my life.â
âTell Joe that I wonât be needing the car, but Iâd like him to go out to the camp and ask Zomerlust to come in for a talk. No obligation of course, but I should think the military will be agreeable about co-operation.â
And now for half an hour he had to think about his administration; murder or no murder, the little trot of police business went on.
âWhere are you getting on the hit-and-run?â
âAll we know is the car had an American look. Opel maybe? Not a real American he says, not a Great Big Long one. Weâre showing him photos â he thinks heâd know it if he saw it.â
âThought of that thing Renault make for the Americans?â
âA Rambler? â an idea that. Garages all negative to any suspect paint or panel jobs, so far.â
âAnd the pay-packet fiddle?â
âBart got it â she was cooking the books, she said, to pay her doctor whom the social security refuse to reimburse.â
âGood ⦠Van der Valk ⦠right, shoot him up ⦠Right, thatâs Zomerlust â I want you to take what steps you see fit about that factory where the pilferingâs going on ⦠Come in: sit down and make yourself at home ⦠Bear in mind, Jack, I may take off suddenly and leave you landed with current affairs, mm? Handle that last thing on your own ⦠Well, Sergeant. I canât
Mark Russinovich, Howard Schmidt