'I agree that he does rather give that impression. He's quite approachable really. No secret about his departure - he left to get married. Marianne. Loveliest girl in Amsterdam, even although I do say it about my own niece.'

'She's your niece?'

'Was.' De Graaf's voice was sombre. 'Even in those days Peter was the best, most able cop in the city; far better than I am but for G.o.d's sake don't tell him so. He broke up a particularly vicious gang of people who specialized in a nice mixture of blackmail and torture. Four brothers, they were, the Annecys. G.o.d knows where they got their name from. Peter put two of them away for fifteen years. The other two just vanished. Shortly after the conviction of the two brothers, someone, almost certainly one or both of the two brothers that had not been brought to justice, placed in Peter's weekend ca.n.a.l boat a huge bomb wired up to the ignition switch - same technique as was used by the murderers who a.s.sa.s.sinated Lord Mountbatten. As it happened, Peter wasn't aboard his boat that weekend. But Marianne and their two children were.' 'Dear G.o.d' The girl's hands were clenched. 'How awful. How - how dreadful!'

'And every three months or so since that time he receives a postcard from one of the two surviving Annecy brothers. Never any message. just a drawing of a noose and a coffin, a reminder that he's living on borrowed time. Charming, isn't it?'

'Horrible! just horrible! He must be worried to death. I know I would. Wondering every night when I go to sleep - if I could sleep - whether I would wake up in the morning.'

'I don't think he worries much - if he did he'd never show it -and I know he sleeps very well. But that's the reason - although he never mentions it - why he doesn't return to live with Julie.

He doesn't want her to be around when the bomb comes through his window.' 'What a way to five! Why doesn't he emigrate somewhere, live under an a.s.sumed name?'

'If you ever get to know Peter van Effen -- really know him, I mean - you'll wonder why you ever asked that question. Anne, you have an enchanting smile. Let me see it again.'

She gave a puzzled half-smile. 'I don't understand.' 'He's coming back. Let me see how good an actress you are.' And, indeed, when van Effen returned to the table she was smiling, a person at ease with the world. When she looked up and saw the expression - more accurately, the total lack of expression - on his face she stopped smiling.

'About to ruin our dinner, are you, Peter?'de Graaf shook his head. 'And such a splendid meal we've ordered.'

'Not quite.' Van Effen smiled faintly. 'Alright put us off our third bottle of Bordeaux or Burgundy or whatever. Perhaps even the second bottle? First, let me put you briefly in the picture as to what happened earlier today. Yes, sir, I'll have some wine, I feel I could do with a mild restorative. I've been offered a. job - at, I'm sure, a far higher salary plus than I'm ever likely to get in this police force - to blow something up. What, I don't know. Could be the Amsterdam-Rotterdam bank for all I know. Maybe a boat, bridge, barge, barracks, maybe anything. Haven't been told yet. 'As you know, Vasco had brought those two characters to the Hunter's Horn this afternoon. Prosperous and respectable citizens, but, then, no successful criminal ever looks like one. We were all very cagey and crafty, toing-and-froing, sparring and giving nothing away for most of the time. Then they made me this definite offer of a job and I accepted. They said they would have to report back to their superiors but would definitely contact me tomorrow and give me details of the job to be done and what my rewards would be for this. Vasco was to be the courier. So we shook hands like gentlemen and parted with expressions of goodwill and mutual trust. 'I had two sets of tails waiting at a discreet distance from the Hunter's Horn. I've had a report

'Goodwill and mutual trust?' Annemarie said.

De Graaf waved a hand. 'We tend to use figurative terms in our profession. Proceed, Peter.'

'I've had news of both sets of tails. The first say that they lost Agnelli and Paderiwski - that's what they called themselves -, 'Good G.o.d!' de Graaf said. 'Agnelli and Paderiwski. A famous industrialist and a famous pianist. Aren't they original?'

'That's what I thought. Lost them in a traffic jam, they say. Claimed that they hadn't been sported. Pure accident. The report about the other two makes me wonder, to say the least.'

' "About" the other two?'de Graaf said. 'Not "from"?' 'About. They were found in a darkened alley. Barely able to call for help, barely conscious. Unable to move and both in agony. Both men had had both kneecaps smashed. A sign used in Sicily and certain American cities that some people don't like being followed and that those who were doing the following won't be doing it again for same time to come. They won't on those knee-capped - no guns. Iron bars. They're under surgery. Neither man will he able to walk for months, neither will ever be able to walk properly again. Nice, isn't it, sir. And a new development in our fair city. Another instance, one supposes, of the steady advance of American culture.'

'Crippled?' Annemarie's voice was low, barely above a whisper. 'Crippled for life. How can you - how can you joke about such things.' 'I'm sorry.' Van Effen looked at her, saw that some colour had gone from her face, and pushed her gla.s.s closer to her. 'Take some. I'll join you. joking? I can a.s.sure you I never felt less funny in my life. And it's not just an American practice, sir: it's become a very popular pastime in Northern Ireland in the past two or three years.'

'So your other tails were almost certainly given the slip and nothing accidental about it.' De Graaf sampled his Bordeaux and the distressing news didn't appear to have upset him unduly for he smacked his lips appreciatively. 'Excellent. Our friends seem to have a considerable expertise in both evasive and direct action. Professionals. And gone to ground. Ah. All is not lost. The Chateaubriand. You said you would share this with me, my dear.' She appeared to give a tiny shudder. 'I know it's trite, silly, but I don't think I could eat a thing.'

'Maybe the moles will come out of their burrows tomorrow,' van Effen said. 'I'm still hoping that they will keep their promise and make contact with me.'

Annemarie stared at him, almost blankly. 'You must be mad,' she said in a low voice. She seemed genuinely puzzled. 'Either they'll come and give you the same treatment, perhaps worse, perhaps dispose of you permanently, or they won't come at all. After they carried out that savage attack on those poor men they could have examined them and found out that they were policemen. They must have been carrying something that would identify them as policemen, even guns. Were they carrying guns?' Van Effen nodded. 'Then they'll know you are a policeman because they'll know you,must have had them followed since they left the Hunter's Horn. You like the idea of suicide?' She reached out and touched de Graaf's wrist. 'You mustn't let him do it, sir. He'll be killed.' 'Your concern does you credit.' It was van Effen who answered and he seemed quite unmoved by her plea. 'But quite uncalled for. The villains don't necessarily know that I set the tails on their tracks. They might not even have noticed them until long after they'd left the Hunter's Horn and would have no reason to connect me with them. That's one thing. The other thing is the fact that though the Colonel is your father's friend that doesn't give the father's daughter the right to advise the Colonel. A fledgling policewoman. A Chief of Police. It would be laughable if it weren't so presumptuous.'

She looked at Win, her eyes hurt as if she had been struck, then lowered her gaze to the tablecloth. De Graaf looked at van Effen, shook his head slightly, then took the girl's hand.

'Your concern does do you credit. It does. But it doesn't give me much credit in your eyes. None. Look at me.' She looked at him, the hazel eyes at once solemn and apprehensive. 'Van Effen is absolutely correct. The foxes have to be flushed from their covers and this, at the moment, seems the only way to do it. So Peter will go - I would never order him to go - and with my consent. Good heavens, girl, do you think I would use him as live bait, a lamb to the slaughter, a Daniel in the lion's den, a tethered goat for the tiger? My word, I do have a way with metaphors. I guarantee, my girl, that, when and if the meeting does take place, both the Hunter's Horn and the surrounding area will be alive with invisible armed men. Invisible to the unG.o.dly. Peter will be as safe as a man in a church.'

'I know. I'm silly. I'm sorry.'

'Pay no attention to the Colonel's comforting words,' van Effen said. 'I shall probably be riddled with bullets. Police bullets. Unless it's pointed out to them that I'm in disguise. Ironic if they shot the wrong man. Same outfit as before. Just let them concentrate on the black glove. That's me.'

A waiter approached their table. 'Sorry, Lieutenant. There's another call for you.'

Van Effen was back inside two minutes. 'Well, no surprise, surprise. The FFF, again, mysterious message, no doubt stepping up their demoralizing campaign. They say there could be some havoc wreaked along the North Holland Ca.n.a.l tomorrow at Alkmaar at 9 a.m., but they have made no guarantee that there will be. All they have promised is that there will be some quite considerable activity.'

De Graaf said: 'That was all?'

'All. I see. Seems utterly pointless and meaningless. What the devil do you think they're up to now?'

'It's not pointless. That's just the point - to make us wonder and worry about just what the devil they are up to now. They want to create uncertainty, confusion and demoralization and it would seem to me that they're going the right way about it. Speaking of the FFF, sir, how was your pleasure trip to Texel this afternoon?'

'Complete waste of time. I was accompanied, as you more or less predicted, by a bunch of old women.'

'You don't intend to be at Alkmaar at 9 a.m. tomorrow?' 'I intend to be in Amsterdam at 9 a.m. tomorrow. What am I supposed to do? Lurk around and nab anyone who looks as if he is acting suspiciously, such as gloating over the scene of the crime?' 'An unpromising course of action. You've got friends in the University, sir. Specifically, in the linguistics department?' De Graaf said to Annemarie: 'I'm supposed to look startled at this sudden switch and ask "why on earth do you ask that?" ' He looked at van Effen. 'Well, why on earth do you ask that?'

'I listened to the FFF's tapes in the Tekgraph's office earlier on this evening. A woman's voice. A young woman, I would say. And not Dutch, I'm sure.'

'Interesting. Very. Back to our mysterious foreigners again. Any educated guesses as to the country of origin of the caller?' 'That's the trouble, sir. I speak the odd language, sure, but I'm not what you might call an educated linguist. Regional accents, nuances, p.r.o.nunciation- that is quite definitely not my field.' 'And you think the university could help?'

'It's a chance, sir. As you say, no stone unturned. The tapes are in my office.'

'I'll do what I can. You may as well get to your feet, Peter. A purposeful waiter comes your way.'

Van Effen rose, met the waiter, spoke briefly and moved on. When he took his seat again, he said: 'The opposition is stirring. Whatever opposition that might be. That was my hotel, the Trianon. Message relayed through the office of course.'

De Graaf said patiently:'And how long have you been staying in the Trianon, Lieutenant? You have been evicted from your own apartment?' 'The register book says that I have been there for two weeks. I arranged that about five o'clock this afternoon.'

'Dear, dear. Falsifying register books is a civil offence.' 'I've no time to be arrested at the moment. Romero Agnew or one of his men must have been very busy phoning around and have at last located me as staying at the Trianon. They have posted a watcher in the shadows - in a little old Fiat, actually. I have arranged for another watcher to watch the original. Well, I can't disappoint them. I shall turn up there later on tonight.'

'You lead an active life,' de Graaf said. 'I a.s.sume that you do not intend to spend the night there?'

'You a.s.sume correctly, sir. I shall park my car at the back of the hotel, where I shall be picked up by a police taxi and deposited at the front door. T hen I pa.s.s through the hotel, exit by the rear entrance and drive home. It's a nuisance, no more.' 'And here, again,'de Graaf said,'comes your own private and personal nuisance. My word, you are popular tonight.'

Van Effen looked, sighed, rose, spoke briefly to the waiter again and disappeared towards the telephone booths.

'The same opposition stirs yet again,' he said on his return. 'Ah, a brandy. Thank you, sir. That was Sergeant Westenbrink - Vasco. Message again via the office, of course. Agnelli has been in touch with him. They would, they say, very much like to meet me at ii a.m., tomorrow morning. Same place. This can mean one of two things.'

'I know what it means,'de Graaf said. 'Either they're on to us or they're not on to us. It is quite possible that they had no idea that they were being shadowed ever since leaving the Hunter's Horn this afternoon. On the other hand it's perfectly possible that they did know. If they did, they can have only one purpose in wanting to meet you, to see how much you know, what danger your knowledge offers and how best they can eliminate this danger. It should, I imagine.. be all very discreet. And, if they suspect you and suspect that you in turn suspect them, they're being clever, for in that case one would have expected them to opt for a neutral rendezvous, for if they suspect you're an undercover policeman or working as an agent for the police then they must automatically suspect that the Hunter's Horn is a police hang-out. But, of course, to go elsewhere would be to tip their hand that they know.' De Graaf sighed. 'All very devious and complicated. Designed to spread confusion and doubt on all hands. Maybe they've been taking lessons from the FFF. Or vice versa. Another brandy, Peter? No? In that case I suggest we be on our way. I expect we shall be having a rather long day tomorrow. Do you have any particular plan for this young lady tomorrow?'

'I shall think up some onerous task by and by. As yet, no.'

'Um.' De Graaf pondered. 'You, Anne, are, of course, seen quite often in the company of Sergeant Westenbrink.'

She smiled. 'I find it difficult to think of him other than as Vasco. Yes, of course. We have to talk and it seems the best -and also the easiest - thing to do it openly.'

'Quite. Do you come and go as you like there?'

'Of course. That's the whole point of being us. No hours, no rules, no regulations. You do as you like, you're as free as the air. ) 'It would cause no undue comment if you were not to turn up for a day, even two days?'

'No.' She hesitated. 'Am I supposed to be intelligent and guess what you're getting at, sir?'

'You're intelligent enough. It's just that you lack the training and experience to have a nasty, devious, suspicious mind, such as is possessed by Lieutenant van Effen, and I hope you always will.' Annemarie shook her head, almost imperceptibly, then looked questioningly at van Effen who said: 'The Colonel is right, you know.' 'I don't know. That is, I'm sure he's right, but I don't know what he's right about. If you're having fun with me, I don't think it's very fair.' 'We aren't having fun with you, Annemarie. Teasing or diminishing people is not our idea of having a good time. Look. All this is a matter of connections. It's at least possible - I'd say a fifty-fifty chance - that Agnelli and company are on to us. In that case, Vasco is also under suspicion because he introduced them to me. And because you are known to a.s.sociate with Vasco you, in turn, come under suspicion. 'What the Colonel's suggesting is that you lie low for a day, maybe even two. Depends how things develop. I have the feeling, irrational, perhaps, that the development is going to be very rapid indeed. It's not a pleasant thought for the Colonel or myself that you should fall into those people's hands. Think of those two detectives, the tails who ran out of luck. We already know that those people are ruthless, that the inflicting of pain is a matter of indifference to them. It may even be a downright pleasure. How would you care to be taken by them and tortured? I am not trying to scare you, Annemarie. I'm talking about something that's halfway between a possibility and a probability.'