with. Maybe we won’t have to see each other again.”

It was a quiet street, but then again, they were all quiet. The bench sat by itself in a small park, about thirty meters from the nearest house. The paving stones were uneven in places, but mostly the place was tidy and well kept; but then, so was almost everything in Geneva.

The night mist was just settling through the trees when I heard a car stop; the engine wheezed before it died. My brother appeared and sat down, frowning. “We don’t have five minutes after all. We have two minutes. Check your watch.”

“I’m listening.”

“You have been sent here by people who no longer enjoy the confidence of the Center. Your mission is terminated.”

“I’m still listening.”

“Don’t think you can ignore me on this. The talks will be broken off by the end of this week. You should return home before that. Am I clear?”

“As always.”

A car door creaked. It was hard to tell how far away it was.

“My advice is that you leave immediately. Take a train tomorrow to Berlin. The embassy there will have further instructions for your return. If the Swiss ask any questions, tell them one of your relatives died.”

“Of what?”

He paused and then stood up. “Don’t forget what I said. You’re not bamboo. You’ll bleed.”

“If I don’t starve first, you mean.”

“No, first you’ll bleed. Someone is out here in this city to make sure of that. I don’t know who, exactly. I can only guess why.” As footsteps came up the hill, my brother crossed the street and disappeared.

5

M. Beret looked disappointed when he came close enough for me to see his face. “A pity, I wanted a picture of the two of you together.” He pointed a small flashlight down the street and clicked it on and off once. “Family portraits are always precious when we get older, don’t you think, Inspector?”

“I’m sorry, but I don’t feel like chatting. I’m soaked to the skin from this damp air. It’s the second time today I’ve been soaked, and there isn’t a lot of heat in my hotel room. Not much soap, either. Do you know they gave me one little bar and want it to last the entire week? I thought the West was supposed to be overflowing with creature comforts.”

M. Beret’s laughter bounced across the paving stones. A light went on in the closest house; someone opened the window and shouted. M. Beret stood up and shouted back.

“That sounded rude,” I said.

“The old man told me to be quiet or he would call the police.”

“What did you say?”

“I told him I was the police.” M. Beret reached in his pocket and pulled out a roll. “Hungry?”

“Yes, actually. I haven’t eaten all day. But then why tell you that? You already know.”

“Annoying, isn’t it, Inspector? I should think you’d be used to it, where you come from.”

“Hunger?”

“No, being watched.”

“Believe me, we’d never approach anything like what you’re doing. Much too much trouble. Eats up manpower. Not really necessary, anyway. No one could actually get lost for very long where I come from, at least, that’s how it used to be.”

“Now?”

“Changing circumstances, you might say. New winds blowing.”

“True enough, following someone is a lot of work. Easier just to bring them in, I suppose.” He was thoughtful. Then he remembered the roll in his hand; he tore it in half. “Don’t ever let it be said we Swiss are not hospitable, soap notwithstanding. I don’t want you to have a bad impression of my country, Inspector. I just don’t want you ever to come back.” He took a small bite. “I could order you out, but that would cause a diplomatic incident. Besides, then I’d be forced to order the whole pack out. We’d have to rent a bus or something.” He reached into another pocket and pulled out my watch. He thumped the face once, held it up to his ear, and then handed it to me. “You forgot this. It’s waterproof, but it isn’t Swiss. It’s counterfeit.”

“Surprise,” I said.

“Why don’t you go across the border into France? Or Italy? Then we could deny you reentry.”

“I don’t think I want to do that.”

“No, I didn’t suppose you would. Incidentally, your mission is looking for you.” He watched me put the half of the roll in my pocket. “Saving that for later?”

“Since when does the mission use you to pass phone messages?”

“If they don’t start paying their phone bill, they’ll have to use semaphores.” He unzipped a small bag