sees, everyone who thinks lascivious thoughts when they watch her walk away.”
“I was only going to dance with her.” I suppressed any thoughts Ahmet might pick up on the airwaves.
“What would you know about nightclub dancing, Inspector?”
“How hard can it be?”
“Forget about her. She’ll only get you in trouble. Besides, the music in there is so loud, it could make your knees ache. Come on, we’ll go get a drink someplace quiet, where we can actually hold a conversation. We need to talk.”
A car pulled around the corner. The driver climbed out, and Jenö slid in behind the wheel. “Hop in, Inspector, we may have to put on a little speed to lose M. Beret’s hordes.” Before I had closed the door, the car jumped ahead. “Put on the seat belt, I don’t want to get cited for ignoring safety regulations.” We were already going 60 kph in a narrow street that seemed to be taking us rapidly out of the city. Jenö still hadn’t turned on the headlamps. “Hang on for a few more minutes.” He looked quickly in the rearview mirror and laughed. “Damn, they’re good.” The road curved sharply and the car accelerated. I thought for a moment we had left the ground. “Relax, Inspector. Enjoy the side.” Jenö took both hands off the steering wheel. “You see? The road is straight from here for the next five kilometers, and M. Beret’s friends are stuck behind a garbage truck. I’m taking you to a nice place near Chamonix. You have your papers, I hope.”
“No.”
“Well, that’s a problem. But we’ll deal with it.”
5
There were no other cars in the parking lot, and the inn was completely dark. Jenö pulled around back under a covered shed. “Nice and cozy,” he said. “They’ll figure out which road we took, but it will take them a while to find us.” We walked to the back door. “I hope you like lamb, Inspector, because that’s what they serve here. Lamb this and lamb that. It’s a specialty of the house.” Jenö opened the door with a key, waited for me to step inside, then locked the dead bolt. “The stairs to the basement are off the hall,” he said. “Careful not to trip. I’ll be down in a second.”
Ahmet was waiting for me in the hall. It was hard to see much in the dark, but it didn’t look like he was smiling. “Downstairs,” was all he said, and so I went, my head suddenly full of images of ribbons. It seemed like a lot of trouble to go to over an unsuccessful effort to dance with his daughter, but you never know with some people. When I got to the bottom of the stairs, I turned to Ahmet to ask where I should go next.
6
When I regained consciousness, I was sitting in a dimly lit room, at the head of a large table. The other people were eating. “Forgive us, Inspector, but if lamb gets cold, it loses its flavor,” said the man nearest me after taking a sip of wine. “We decided not to wait. Ahmet has been keeping yours warm.”
“Actually, I’m not hungry.” I had drooled on the tablecloth and had a slight headache.
“Have a bite, Inspector. Don’t worry, we won’t start dessert until you’ve caught up. Perhaps you’d better clean your palate first. Try some wine.” He didn’t offer to pour for me.
“Is this some sort of joke? You take me here”—I looked around for Jenö, but he was nowhere to be seen—“and then you knock me out. When I finally come to, you pretend I’m a welcome dinner guest.” I put the napkin to my lip, which had stopped bleeding but still hurt. Pain annoys me, especially my own. “Someone has a lot of explaining to do. I don’t even know who you are.”
At that, the five people around the table put down their silverware. Ahmet appeared and cleared the plates, including mine.
The man nearest me sighed. “You wouldn’t care for a brandy, would you?” I shook my head, which I instantly regretted. “No,” he said, “I didn’t suppose you would. Well, to business.”
Just then there was a lot of ringing of bells from upstairs. Ahmet moved quickly to close what appeared to be a heavy wooden door—oak, probably, but I didn’t think they would be happy if I went over to check. No one spoke. It occurred to me to shout to whoever was upstairs that I needed help, but on second thought it seemed hopeless,