Read Online HS04 - Unholy Awakening by Michael Gregorio - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Michael Gregorio
Tags: Historical, Mystery
Ads: Link
fight.
I was relieved to see that there was no-one else outside the cemetery.
I raised my arm and waved.
Merson waved back and said something to Knutzen, who turned towards the cemetery gate. My heart jumped into my mouth when I saw four French soldiers step into the lane. An officer in a leather shako and a tight-fitting frock-coat came striding out behind them. He stood, watching my approach, his baton jammed under his arm.
Major Glatigny.
During the epidemic, he had been in charge of the transportation of corpses to the fever cemetery which the French had hastily organised on the far side of the River Nogat. Evidently, they had still found nothing new for Major Glatigny to do. Death, and its registration, was still his business. My intention to keep the matter of the death of Angela Enke as quiet as possible was in danger of foundering on the sharp rock of French bureaucracy.
My first impulse was to slow down, if only to avoid his questions.
Instead, I strode on to meet my fate, knowing that it was better to get it over with.
The Frenchman stepped forward, touching the peak of his cap, slapping the seam of his riding-breeches with his baton. ‘Procurator Stiffeniis,’ he said, ‘I have been waiting here for you for over an hour.’
‘I had to…start my investigation,’ I apologised, short of breath after the long walk. I had been about to mention Krupeken – the fear of the inhabitants, the preparations they were making for the night – but I bit down hard on my tongue. I was as loath to send the French to the village as the inhabitants were to let Angela Enke enter it.
‘Your secretary says that you have found a corpse, monsieur.’ He looked at me sternly. ‘You know where that corpse should be, according to the law. Do you not?’
Claude Glatigny pressed his narrow lips together and let out a loud sigh. His face was the colour of seasoned ivory, and equally inexpressive. His eyes were dark, bristling with rising impatience. ‘Every death must be registered immediately with the French authorities, as you are aware. The sanitation men reported the finding of a woman’s body, but they…well, they seemed to be confused about the manner of her death. As those men are Prussians, Colonel Claudet suspected, obviously, that the body had been…’
He paused, searching for a word.
‘Stolen?’ I suggested. I held up my hands in a gesture of surrender. ‘That is exactly what I have done with the corpse of Angela Enke, Major Glatigny. I have stolen it.’
A frown furrowed Glatigny’s brow. ‘That corpse should be in my office. It is a question of French jurisdiction. She may have died as—’
‘I held it back for a good reason,’ I interrupted him.
He shifted his head towards his left shoulder, narrowing his eyes. ‘Is that so?’
I took a step towards him. ‘The girl had been murdered, and that is a fact. But how she died, that is, the nature of her wounds…If the news got out, I do believe that you’d have difficulty controlling the panic of the people in Lotingen.’
He stared thoughtfully at me for some moments.
‘There was a small crowd here a short time ago,’ he said. ‘The people knew that a corpse had been found, and that it had not been taken into town. They tried to break into the cemetery, monsieur. My men had to chase them off with bayonets. I was obliged to report the facts to Colonel Claudet, of course. Is this the sort of panic that you are speaking of? In the colonel’s opinion, this disorder suggests a fresh outbreak of the recent deadly fever.’
‘He is not so far from the truth,’ I replied with half a smile. ‘Unless this fever is nipped in the bud, it will be far more dangerous than the last one, I assure you. We are not talking of a physical disease…When Colonel Claudet knows all of the facts, he will approve of my decision. However, this is a criminal case; I am investigating the murder of a Prussian girl. This is my responsibility. I will decide where the
I was relieved to see that there was no-one else outside the cemetery.
I raised my arm and waved.
Merson waved back and said something to Knutzen, who turned towards the cemetery gate. My heart jumped into my mouth when I saw four French soldiers step into the lane. An officer in a leather shako and a tight-fitting frock-coat came striding out behind them. He stood, watching my approach, his baton jammed under his arm.
Major Glatigny.
During the epidemic, he had been in charge of the transportation of corpses to the fever cemetery which the French had hastily organised on the far side of the River Nogat. Evidently, they had still found nothing new for Major Glatigny to do. Death, and its registration, was still his business. My intention to keep the matter of the death of Angela Enke as quiet as possible was in danger of foundering on the sharp rock of French bureaucracy.
My first impulse was to slow down, if only to avoid his questions.
Instead, I strode on to meet my fate, knowing that it was better to get it over with.
The Frenchman stepped forward, touching the peak of his cap, slapping the seam of his riding-breeches with his baton. ‘Procurator Stiffeniis,’ he said, ‘I have been waiting here for you for over an hour.’
‘I had to…start my investigation,’ I apologised, short of breath after the long walk. I had been about to mention Krupeken – the fear of the inhabitants, the preparations they were making for the night – but I bit down hard on my tongue. I was as loath to send the French to the village as the inhabitants were to let Angela Enke enter it.
‘Your secretary says that you have found a corpse, monsieur.’ He looked at me sternly. ‘You know where that corpse should be, according to the law. Do you not?’
Claude Glatigny pressed his narrow lips together and let out a loud sigh. His face was the colour of seasoned ivory, and equally inexpressive. His eyes were dark, bristling with rising impatience. ‘Every death must be registered immediately with the French authorities, as you are aware. The sanitation men reported the finding of a woman’s body, but they…well, they seemed to be confused about the manner of her death. As those men are Prussians, Colonel Claudet suspected, obviously, that the body had been…’
He paused, searching for a word.
‘Stolen?’ I suggested. I held up my hands in a gesture of surrender. ‘That is exactly what I have done with the corpse of Angela Enke, Major Glatigny. I have stolen it.’
A frown furrowed Glatigny’s brow. ‘That corpse should be in my office. It is a question of French jurisdiction. She may have died as—’
‘I held it back for a good reason,’ I interrupted him.
He shifted his head towards his left shoulder, narrowing his eyes. ‘Is that so?’
I took a step towards him. ‘The girl had been murdered, and that is a fact. But how she died, that is, the nature of her wounds…If the news got out, I do believe that you’d have difficulty controlling the panic of the people in Lotingen.’
He stared thoughtfully at me for some moments.
‘There was a small crowd here a short time ago,’ he said. ‘The people knew that a corpse had been found, and that it had not been taken into town. They tried to break into the cemetery, monsieur. My men had to chase them off with bayonets. I was obliged to report the facts to Colonel Claudet, of course. Is this the sort of panic that you are speaking of? In the colonel’s opinion, this disorder suggests a fresh outbreak of the recent deadly fever.’
‘He is not so far from the truth,’ I replied with half a smile. ‘Unless this fever is nipped in the bud, it will be far more dangerous than the last one, I assure you. We are not talking of a physical disease…When Colonel Claudet knows all of the facts, he will approve of my decision. However, this is a criminal case; I am investigating the murder of a Prussian girl. This is my responsibility. I will decide where the
Similar Books
