Rath and his men made for Pastor Warszawski’s shed along the middle path, where Wilhelm Böhm awaited them, a bastion of calm. In his hand he held a megaphone.
‘Rath and Tornow, you stay out here,’ he barked. ‘Goldstein has already given you the slip once. Let’s not make it a second time. He knows your faces.’ The Bulldog pointed towards Gräf. ‘He knows you from the hotel, too.’
The rest of the CID officers were allowed past. Rath was familiar with the plan of action thanks to the briefing Gennat had held before they set off. First anti-riot police would surround the area, taking cover behind the hedgerow. To the right and left of the plot gate, two officers would be stationed with firearms at the ready. Buddha had warned them to make use of their weapons only in case of emergency. He and Böhm were the only CID officers on the front line; those left over would be deployed to help Uniform keep overly curious gardeners away from the operation.
Rath, Gräf and Tornow were the only officers stationed outside who weren’t in uniform, and held themselves apart. They had even less to do than the uniform cops monitoring the entrances to the allotments. Most used the lull for a cigarette break, Rath likewise.
‘If all we’re doing is standing around, then why are we here at all?’ Gräf said in irritation, returning to the Opel in which they had arrived. Rath was about to follow when Tornow addressed him. ‘Nervous?’ he asked.
‘Do I look it?’
‘Yes.’
‘It’s because I’d like to know when you’re going to release her.’
‘As soon as I’m certain that Abraham Goldstein is actually in there, and we lay our hands on him.’
‘You don’t trust me?’
‘All this happened pretty fast.’ Tornow smiled. ‘Either you knew where Goldstein was hiding and decided to keep it to yourself, or this is just a massive ruse and the only things we’ll be digging up here are molehills.’
‘Just wait,’ said Rath, who was still thinking of socking Tornow one. Instead he threw his cigarette on the asphalt and trod it out, as if it were a poisonous spider. Or Tornow’s smile. ‘You still haven’t told me why,’ he said. ‘Why did Lenz and Höller have to die?’
Tornow’s smiled vanished. ‘Best you don’t know too much about that. Not that they’ll be missed. They were career criminals. The whole world knew it, yet no one was willing to take them to court.’
‘Kuschke wasn’t a career criminal. He was a cop.’
‘Perhaps he made other mistakes.’
‘Like leaving a witness behind?’
‘Like I said, there are certain things it’s better you don’t know.’
Böhm’s voice was distorted and amplified by the megaphone.
‘Attention! This is the police! Abraham Goldstein, we know where you are hiding. Come out with your hands up. Resistance is futile; the site is surrounded on all sides.’
For what felt like half an age they heard nothing, and Rath prayed it would all go according to plan. He couldn’t help thinking about Charly; her life depended on the scheme he had hatched together with Gennat.
114
At times she couldn’t remember where she was, or who was questioning her. She just knew that someone was always questioning her, that they hadn’t granted her a single break. There was always at least one man asking questions, sometimes more. She found it harder and harder to concentrate. Sometimes she saw men who weren’t there at all, more and more often something flashed at the edge of her vision: a familiar face, a man in a red pullover. On one occasion she thought she saw Gereon. Fatigue dragged her down like a dead weight, but still they wouldn’t let her sink to the floor. Again and again she was forced to struggle against the burden of her exhaustion. She could no longer say how long this had been going on. Hours, days, weeks might have passed.
Her cheeks stuck to her gums because they weren’t giving her enough to drink. Only when she was no longer capable of speech did they allow her a sip of water. In the meantime she got the hang of simulating a dry mouth, since not all the guards were so strict. Some were a little quicker to show compassion, and one had even let her nod off for a moment before waking her. Others shouted at her constantly, beating their fists against the table to intimidate her.
Though they didn’t let her sleep and seldom gave her anything to eat or drink, they didn’t lay a finger on her. No one would believe what these men had visited upon her, indeed that they had visited anything upon her at all. It was a kind of violence that left no trace.
115
Arresting Goldstein proved easier than anticipated. The anti-riot police had expected a Chicago style shoot-out, something with machine guns, or at the very least smoking Colts, but nothing of the sort had occurred. Not a single shot had been fired in anger.
Böhm repeated his instructions, Rath heard a clink (it later transpired that one of the uniform cops in the adjacent plot had knocked over a garden gnome in his nervousness) and Goldstein had emerged.
‘Keep your hands where we can see them, Herr Goldstein,’ Böhm bellowed through the megaphone.
‘Gold-sstiehn,’ the Yank said, and Rath almost let out a yelp of joy. It had worked. ‘My name is Gold-sstiehn,’ he continued. ‘I’m an American citizen and I think there has been a misunderstanding.’
‘Herr… Gold-sstiehn, I am arresting you on suspicion of the murders of Jochen Kuschke, Gerhard Kubicki, Hugo Lenz, Rudolf Höller and Eberhard Kallweit.’
‘Then tell your men to come out and cuff me. My arms are going to sleep here.’
‘That’s all you have to say?’ The surprise in Böhm’s voice was plain.
‘And that I’m innocent, of course.’
Tornow and Rath listened spellbound to the exchange.
It took a while to escort the gangster out of the allotments and for calm to be restored. First came CID and the uniform cops who had made sure that no innocent gardeners ventured into the line of fire, then the officers who surrounded Goldstein’s hideout. Lastly, the pair shepherding the Yank between them.
Goldstein had his hands cuffed behind his back and seemed more or less unperturbed until he saw Rath, and possibly Tornow, although he ignored the latter. At the sight of Rath, his expression darkened, displaying first anger then outright contempt. He didn’t say anything but, as he was led past, he spat onto the asphalt in front of the inspector. The two anti-riot policemen he was sandwiched between pulled him away and bundled him into the murder wagon. Clearly, Gennat wanted to speak with him on the journey back. Then came the man himself, Ernst Gennat, together with Böhm, who held the megaphone like a Teuton emerging victorious from battle.
‘Good work,’ Buddha said and clapped Rath on the shoulder. ‘That goes for you too.’
He was referring to Tornow, whom Gennat now accorded a paternal glance.
The cadet looked a little confused.
‘And now?’ Rath when they were alone again, strolling towards the Opel.
‘And now what?’
‘We had an agreement. Goldstein has been arrested on five counts of murder. Now it’s your turn.’
‘Just be patient a little longer. First we need to go to Alex, then I’ll head home where I can use the telephone, and set things in motion.’
‘Where can I pick her up?’
‘How stupid do you think we are?’ Tornow shook his head. ‘All that’s left is to wait.’