up.”

“You disappeared, but I know where you were.”

“That’s good, because I don’t have any idea.” I thought he meant the jazz club, or maybe even the place the music had taken me.

“You were chasing a delicious piece of Turkish taffy named Dilara.”

“I don’t know anything about Turkish taffy.”

“Delicious Dilara, that’s what people say. That sort of thing can get you in a lot of trouble.”

“You are blocking my view, which is beginning to irritate me.”

“Is that so? I don’t want to irritate you. I want to grill your kidneys and feed them to the fish. Do you actually think you are walking around this city on your own, Inspector? There is a caravan behind you, everywhere you move. Swiss, Americans, South Koreans, even Chinese.”

“And you. Don’t forget about you.”

“No, I don’t follow people anymore. I just wait for them to break circuits.”

I thought it over. “Is that what the trigger was, an electric eye? It could just as easily have been me that night.”

“Could have been, but wasn’t. I wouldn’t have left you lying there.”

“Maybe not. We’ll never know, will we? And you’re still blocking my view.”

“That disappearing trick the other night was unwise. It has some people thinking you are getting ready to jump ship. It’s what your brother said—that you are planning a defection. And the word is out that ship-jumpers should be stopped ahead of time, in any way necessary. Everyone’s nervous because of what happened in Beijing. The Center doesn’t want any more incidents.”

“I seem to remember they considered the man in Beijing a traitor and his leaving good riddance. That’s what they said on the radio, isn’t it?”

“They don’t want the garbage to blow away. They want to bury it first.”

“Bury?” I moved to stand up, but he put a hand on my arm and held me in place. He might have lost a couple of fingers, but he was still plenty strong. Starting a fight on the shores of Lake Geneva had drawbacks, so I gave him a long stare.

“You seem agitated, Inspector. Something the matter?”

“Maybe it’s just me, but I’m averse to being threatened. It bothers me somehow. Makes my blood boil, causes me to see white streaks and hear nasty voices. That sort of thing.”

“Then don’t consider anything I say as a threat.”

“Friendly advice, I suppose.”

“Here’s the problem, Inspector. You’re in someone’s way, and you refuse to get out of the way. So naturally that someone thinks the only thing to do is to move you.”

“That’s where stories of defection come in? And deep mountain lakes?”

The Man with Three Fingers didn’t answer. He stared at something behind me for a moment, then turned abruptly and walked away in the direction of town. As he passed by the last bench before the path turned away from the lake, a nondescript man in a brown coat stood up and followed him from a comfortable distance. It was so obvious it could only have been intentional. That seemed to be the Swiss style. No sense being subtle when you have so much of other people’s money in your vaults.

“You must think us painfully obvious, Inspector, but your friend is way too cocky in someone else’s city. I’ve got to do something about all these bees, don’t I?” M. Beret was standing about a meter behind me, addressing the back of my head. The Man with Three Fingers must have seen him striding across the lawn.

“Is it always necessary to come up from behind? Is there a rule against approaching someone in normal fashion?”

“Well, I suppose I might emerge next time from the lake in a frogman’s suit, but then we will startle the swans, don’t you think?”

His hand was on my shoulder. “Still sore? I can get you a nice Indonesian masseuse if you like.” He moved around the bench and sat down beside me.

The Portuguese must be fully employed. “You seem obsessed with Indonesian girls.”

“No, but I was hoping you might be.”

“These days my only obsession is for some time to think. Can’t a man ruminate in peace? I suppose I would also like a few answers, but that is probably too much to ask. Just time to speculate will do.”

“An airplane ride will give you the opportunity to sit and think, Inspector. Why don’t we drive you to the airport and put you on a plane? Anywhere you want to go, just tell me, as long as it’s away from here. Your ambassador also wants you to leave, I hear. Maybe I should