Zdravko knocked on the door that said \u2018Principal.\u2019 The rest of the doors were less direct and said things like \u2018Compost\u2019 or \u2018Room 55.\u2019 Everything was in code.
\nMrs Brenner was a middle-aged woman with tousled brown hair and dressed in clothes that seemed to have come from a bygone era. A vegetarian if you could tell by the odourless tone of her skin.
\n\u201cThis is detective Pavlov,\u201d said Zdravko introducing Rusim.
\nAt the principal\u2019s invitation, everyone sat down.
\nThe principal\u2019s office was a disconcerting pink. But her desk said \u2018practical.\u2019 On the wall were photographic portraits of ancient Russian novelists.
\n\u201cThank you for seeing us,\u201d said Zdravko.
\n\u201cWhat can I do for you two gentlemen?\u201d
\n\u201cWe\u2019re here about the dance.\u201d
\n\u201cOf course. The dance.\u201d
\n\u201cIt was a long time ago.\u201d
\n\u201cYou\u2019re meaning the dance of midsummer, two years ago? I remember it perfectly.\u201d
\n\u201cThere was a man who attended, as I mentioned on the phone. A Robert Gjoeb.\u201d Zdravko handed over a photo.
\nMrs Brenner briefly studied the photograph and handed it back. \u201cYes. I know him well.\u201d
\n\u201cKnow him?\u201d
\n\u201cYes, of course. He\u2019s been away.\u201d
\n\u201cAh yes. Gone away, in more senses than one. I’m sure he will have informed you he was going away?”
\n“Yes, he did. He said he was going to prison.”
\nZdravko raised his eyebrows. \u201cDid he say why?\u201d
\n\u201cHe said he\u2019d mistakenly sent someone\u2019s very expensive horse to the meatworks.\u201d
\n\u201cAnd why would he go and do a thing like that?”
\n“I’m sure I have no idea.”
\n“Were you surprised when you heard he’d escaped from prison?”
\n“To be frank with you, no.”
\n“Why not, if I may ask?”
\n“As far as I’m concerned, Robert Gjoeb can do whatever he wants. That may seem strange to a person like you.”
\nZdravko looked around the desk. There was a small pile of papers to the principal’s left. And a tiny hammer, the sort a picture framer might own. On the other side was a Mac computer.
\n“But you have no knowledge of his current whereabouts?”
\n“Not at all.”
\n“And what was his connection to your school? I mean, why was he there at that dance?\u201d
\n\u201cWell of course, he was the benefactor.\u201d
\n\u201cA benefactor of what exactly?\u201d
\n\u201cOf course, the dance. Many dances, in fact.\u201d
\n\u201cYou mean he paid for theses dances.\u201d
\n\u201cOh yes. The folk dances at least. About one every so many months, according to the season.\u201d
\n“What do you mean by season?”
\n“I mean spring, autumn, winter, summer. That’s when we have our folk dances.”
\n\u201cHow did he pay?\u201d
\n\u201cBank transfer, I\u2019m sure.\u201d
\n\u201cSome kind of guy,\u201d said Rusim without looking up from his pad.
\n\u201cDo you have any idea why he would sponsor a dance?\u201d Zdravko went on.
\n\u201cChildren, detectives. Some people still believe in children. And culture. And small things like that.\u201d
\n\u201cWould you have a record of the donations?\u201d asked Zdravko.
\n\u201cI\u2019m sure we would. I\u2019ll arrange to have them sent to you.\u201d
\n\u201cDo you remember when he first began sponsoring your dances? How did he get in touch in the first instance.\u201d
\n\u201cBy telephone, if I understand you. It was some few years ago. He said he would like to help our school. I mentioned to him that there was a dance coming up.\u201d
\n“How many years ago?”
\n“Four or five. Just before he sponsored that first dance of his.”
\n\u201cHad you ever met him before that first telephone call?\u201d
\n\u201cNo, I had not.\u201d
\n“Again, have you had any contact with Robert Gjoeb since he went to prison?”
\n“None.”
\n“Or since he escaped?”
\n“No.”
\n“What else did you talk about when he told you he was going to prison?”
\n“I thanked him. I thanked him for what he’d done. Maybe it seemed to him like a small thing. But small things count a lot.”
\n“You thanked him.”
\n“I wished him well.”
\n“You may have wished to visit him?”
\n“I told him specifically that I would not be visiting.”
\n“Why not?”
\n“Because I did not wish to.”
\n\u201cDid he ever discuss his circumstances with you? What he did for a living, for example? Where he lived?”
\n\u201cHe did say he had received some money from an inheritance. He was single. He wanted to do something useful for children. I believe he lived in the country near Bojana, in the mountains. It seems odd but I don\u2019t really know much more about him that that, to tell the truth, but that he drove a very nice car. And that he was always well dressed and polite. He had a slight accent. He was from Hungary, did you know?\u201d
\n\u201cWhat kind of car?\u201d
\n\u201cThe latest kind. A grey sports car the last time I saw him. It was brand new. I\u2019m sorry. I\u2019m not really a car person.\u201d
\n“You’re saying, over the years, he changed cars?”
\n“Yes he did.”
\nZdravko took a breath. \u201cAnd so I imagine he turned up to all these folk dances he was sponsoring?\u201d
\n\u201cNot all, no. Some.\u201d
\n\u201cAnd what kind of expenses are involved in such a dance?\u201d
\n\u201cNothing huge. Prizes. Food and drinks. Help with the costumes. I think that\u2019s about it. Sometimes transport. Oh, and musicians. But not always.\u201d
\n\u201cPrizes,\u201d said Zdravko in a whisper.
\nThe headmistress seemed satisfied.
\n\u201cPrizes,\u201d Rusim said gazing at a notebook. He looked up, as though waiting for the next line.
\n\u201cWhat kind of prizes?\u201d continued Zdravko.
\n\u201cWhat kind of prizes?\u201d Mrs Brenner repeated. \u201cWell, the first would be flowers. Or a bouquet of leaves from the forest. A handkerchief. A book even.\u201d
\n\u201cDo you remember the prizes of that night?\u201d
\n\u201cI\u2019m not sure. We have a dance of some kind every so many\u2026 we have a lot of dances.\u201d
\n\u201cTry to think back.\u201d
\n\u201cI think it was flowers. After that\u2026 there were always a lot of prizes. Something for everyone. It could have been anything. A pot of honey.\u201d
\n\u201cDo you have a record of those who won prizes?\u201d
\n\u201cI believe not. Gentlemen. Jars of honey. Books. Handkerchiefs. Is there something more you wish to know?\u201d
\n\u201cThese dances were always held here at the school?\u201d said Zdravko as if rounding things off.
\n\u201cYes. No. Sometimes we held them in the country.\u201d
\n\u201cThe country,\u201d Zdravko repeated.
\n\u201cYes, this one, detective. In the country.\u201d
\n“As in a camping trip?”
\n“You’ve got it in one.”
\n\u201cWhere exactly?\u201d
\n\u201cIt\u2019s different. It’s not often. We have a good number of people and parents who direct us here and there. There is a rigorous process as to where we might take a camping trip. But usually we need a small hall of some kind. And preferably a river.\u201d
\n\u201cNot up in the mountains near Bojana, by any chance?\u201d
\n\u201cNo, detective, if I take your meaning.\u201d
\n\u201cAnd how old are the children attending, usually?\u201d
\n\u201cYou know that yourself, detective.\u201d
\n\u201cPrincipal Brenner. You have been of great help.\u201d
\n\u201cMr Gjoeb was\u2026 Robert Gjoeb is a good man,” said Mrs Brenner standing. “You are looking for the wrong\u2026 I don\u2019t know how to say it. Good luck, gentlemen. Better to find a good man if a ratbag is who you\u2019re looking for.\u201d
\n\u201cGood men don\u2019t usually go to jail,\u201d said Zdravko, himself standing. \u201cJust one last thing, Principal Brenner. Did Robert Gjoeb have any friends or acquaintances that you were aware of? I mean, someone not from the school? Anyone at all?\u201d
\n\u201cNo one I\u2019ve ever met.\u201d
\n\u201cHave you ever met Gjoeb any place outside the school functions?\u201d
\n\u201cNo. Never. Only on the telephone.\u201d
\n\u201cThe telephone,\u201d Zdravko repeated. “Did he ever give you to know where he was calling from?”
\n“I assume from his home or office.”
\n“But he never said?”
\n“No.”
\n“Principal Brenner, I realise this may be going a little too far but I have to be sure. Were there background noises of any kind that you could hear when you were on the phone to Mr. Gjoeb?\u201d
\n“I don’t think so, no. I couldn’t say I remember anything like that.”
\nPrincipal Brenner showed Zdravko and Rusim to the door and the two detectives walked back the way they\u2019d come through the coded corridors.
\n“You forgot to ask about the photographs on the wall,” said Rusim.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Zdravko knocked on the door that said \u2018Principal.\u2019 The rest of the doors were less direct and said things like \u2018Compost\u2019 or \u2018Room 55.\u2019 Everything was in code. Mrs Brenner was a middle-aged woman with tousled brown hair and dressed … Continue reading