Chapter 10
A
t five o’clock, like an alarm clock, came Filcher’s call. His smooth voice prepared the ground by asking if the doctor was feeling better. Kreeger was in fact feeling much better—the cool air-conditioned room, an hour’s nap, and a quick shower had refreshed him beyond measure—and he had made up his mind. But he failed to answer Filcher’s opening question:‘Listen, Maynard, you have been extremely nice to me out here. In fact, I do not know how I would have coped if it had not been for you and your help . . . but . . .’
‘Wait a moment, Doctor,’ Filcher interrupted, ‘Since we last spoke I have found out a little more about the victim. It seems that he was the son of somebody in the diplomatic corps, somebody high up, important. I can’t give you all of the details right now, but I can tell you that the Ambassador is very concerned; he’s taking this personally.’ He paused. ‘If you want, I could have the Ambassador call you?’
Kreeger had met the Ambassador once, at the beginning of his stay out here. The function was supposed to have been an informal cocktail party at the embassy. Professors from the top universities in the capital and officials from the Bureau of Civil Order had been invited to meet the esteemed Doctor Kreeger and other American academics and professionals who were on their way home from an international conference on forensics in a neighbouring country. The Ambassador was everything Kreeger had expected an ambassador to be: stiff, formal, and verbose. But not at all windy, as politicians tend to be. He had greeted Kreeger with a firm handshake and a deft toss of his oiled grey hair, which had fallen over his brow. He had impressed Kreeger by getting his name and position right and by even remembering the name of his wife—he was sorry that she had been unable to accompany her husband.
‘No, no,’ Kreeger replied with a sigh, ‘no need to have the old man call me. I . . . I suppose I could pop down there and have a quick look at the body for you. Should only take a day or two.’ He was already making excuses for his swift capitulation.
Filcher’s exultant gratitude took a few seconds to die down. ‘I will get working on the details right away,’ he said at last, back in his smooth voice, ‘I’m sure we can get you there and back in no time at all.’
Kreeger thought that he had heard the squeal of a young woman’s voice mixed in with Filcher’s own cries of joy and he remembered Filcher’s comments on the Asian female. ‘They are the only damn reason I stay here,’ he had revealed during a late-night, boozy conversation. ‘If you find the right ones, they can make all the rest of it go away.’
He rang off and threw his phone on the bed. ‘What on earth have I agreed to?’ he said out loud.