Read Online The Defeated Aristocrat by Katherine John - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Katherine John
Ads: Link
The city lay still and peculiarly quiet around them. It was as though all sound had been muffled by the snow that fell ever thicker.
‘Have you been in the police long?’ Lilli asked the boy.
‘I commenced training in September and finished last month, madam.’
‘Your first night duty?’
‘No, madam, this is my sixth night duty and the fifth in the station.’
‘You’ve been warned to be careful what you say to me lest it end up in the newspaper?’
‘No, madam.’
His hesitant reply suggested she wasn’t the only one lying.
The air was unexpectedly warm, the light ethereal, almost hallowed, reminding Lilli of the cathedral on Holy Days when all the candles were lit. Lamps shone in the castle windows, and Lilli recalled her grandfather’s account of the coronation of the King of Prussia in 1861. He’d been so honoured at receiving an invitation he’d framed it. It still hung on the wall of her father’s sitting room.
They left the castle behind them and the River Pregel loomed into view. Lamps glowed gold and silver in a sprinkling of the windows of the houses and warehouses that lined its banks.
An officer moved in front of their sleigh when they turned into Koggen Strasse. He held up his hand. The driver reined in his horses. On their right, the Hundgatt, the sliver of river that bordered the east side of Kneiphof Island, flowed sluggishly, heavy with ice.
Blau left the sleigh, snapped to attention and saluted the officer. ‘This lady has important business with the kriminaldirektor, sir.’
‘Does she now?’ The officer smiled at Lilli. ‘Good morning, Fraulein Richter.’
‘Good morning, Officer Klein.’
‘The kriminaldirektor is inside.’ He indicated a building.
Lilli checked the number, 4, remembered the events of three days ago and her blood ran colder than the air. Klein offered her his hand and led her past the police barriers. A crowd had gathered behind them in the hope of seeing something interesting – or gruesome. Most were rubbing their arms and stamping their feet against the cold. Three nuns, whom Lilli recognised as Sister Ignatius, the senior nun who arranged the rota for the care of her father, Sister Bernadotte, and Sister Marie, were handing out tea, blankets, mufflers, and religious tracts. She waved to them.
A short, plump, middle-aged man called out. ‘Did the kriminaldirektor send for you, Lilli?’
Lilli knew Max Meyer. A reporter for the Konigsberg Sun , he could be relied on to depict anything unsavoury in an even worse light.
‘No comment, Max.’
‘Come on, Lilli, one hack to another, was this murdered police officer a friend of your husband’s like the last? Did he have the same taste in low women?’
‘May I ask exactly who told you a second police officer had been killed, Herr Meyer?’ The splendidly uniformed man who’d just arrived was well built with hawk-like, hooded eyes and a long nose. When he left his sleigh a murmur rose from the crowd.
Kriminalrat Colonel Adelbert Dorfman ignored those who shrank from him. The head of the Konigsberg police, he was accustomed to instilling fear. He turned to Klein.
‘Detain Herr Meyer for questioning.’
CHAPTER SEVEN
Koggen Strasse, Konigsberg, Early hours of Saturday January 11th 1919
Klein thrust Lilli towards Blau. ‘Look after Fraulein Richter.’ He moved in on Max but his colleagues, mindful of the kriminalrat’s orders were ahead of him.
‘Lilli … Lilli … tell them who I am,’ Max shouted as two kriminalassistents, lifted him by his elbows and half carried, half dragged him inside the hotel.
‘We know who you are, Max.’ Klein entered the building behind Kriminalrat Dorfman, his colleagues, and Max. ‘How did you know there’d been a murder and the victim was a police officer, Herr Meyer?’
‘I asked the maid before you lot arrived.’ Max appealed to Lilli. ‘Tell them. You know what’s it’s like to work on a story. You get information where you can. A good
‘Have you been in the police long?’ Lilli asked the boy.
‘I commenced training in September and finished last month, madam.’
‘Your first night duty?’
‘No, madam, this is my sixth night duty and the fifth in the station.’
‘You’ve been warned to be careful what you say to me lest it end up in the newspaper?’
‘No, madam.’
His hesitant reply suggested she wasn’t the only one lying.
The air was unexpectedly warm, the light ethereal, almost hallowed, reminding Lilli of the cathedral on Holy Days when all the candles were lit. Lamps shone in the castle windows, and Lilli recalled her grandfather’s account of the coronation of the King of Prussia in 1861. He’d been so honoured at receiving an invitation he’d framed it. It still hung on the wall of her father’s sitting room.
They left the castle behind them and the River Pregel loomed into view. Lamps glowed gold and silver in a sprinkling of the windows of the houses and warehouses that lined its banks.
An officer moved in front of their sleigh when they turned into Koggen Strasse. He held up his hand. The driver reined in his horses. On their right, the Hundgatt, the sliver of river that bordered the east side of Kneiphof Island, flowed sluggishly, heavy with ice.
Blau left the sleigh, snapped to attention and saluted the officer. ‘This lady has important business with the kriminaldirektor, sir.’
‘Does she now?’ The officer smiled at Lilli. ‘Good morning, Fraulein Richter.’
‘Good morning, Officer Klein.’
‘The kriminaldirektor is inside.’ He indicated a building.
Lilli checked the number, 4, remembered the events of three days ago and her blood ran colder than the air. Klein offered her his hand and led her past the police barriers. A crowd had gathered behind them in the hope of seeing something interesting – or gruesome. Most were rubbing their arms and stamping their feet against the cold. Three nuns, whom Lilli recognised as Sister Ignatius, the senior nun who arranged the rota for the care of her father, Sister Bernadotte, and Sister Marie, were handing out tea, blankets, mufflers, and religious tracts. She waved to them.
A short, plump, middle-aged man called out. ‘Did the kriminaldirektor send for you, Lilli?’
Lilli knew Max Meyer. A reporter for the Konigsberg Sun , he could be relied on to depict anything unsavoury in an even worse light.
‘No comment, Max.’
‘Come on, Lilli, one hack to another, was this murdered police officer a friend of your husband’s like the last? Did he have the same taste in low women?’
‘May I ask exactly who told you a second police officer had been killed, Herr Meyer?’ The splendidly uniformed man who’d just arrived was well built with hawk-like, hooded eyes and a long nose. When he left his sleigh a murmur rose from the crowd.
Kriminalrat Colonel Adelbert Dorfman ignored those who shrank from him. The head of the Konigsberg police, he was accustomed to instilling fear. He turned to Klein.
‘Detain Herr Meyer for questioning.’
CHAPTER SEVEN
Koggen Strasse, Konigsberg, Early hours of Saturday January 11th 1919
Klein thrust Lilli towards Blau. ‘Look after Fraulein Richter.’ He moved in on Max but his colleagues, mindful of the kriminalrat’s orders were ahead of him.
‘Lilli … Lilli … tell them who I am,’ Max shouted as two kriminalassistents, lifted him by his elbows and half carried, half dragged him inside the hotel.
‘We know who you are, Max.’ Klein entered the building behind Kriminalrat Dorfman, his colleagues, and Max. ‘How did you know there’d been a murder and the victim was a police officer, Herr Meyer?’
‘I asked the maid before you lot arrived.’ Max appealed to Lilli. ‘Tell them. You know what’s it’s like to work on a story. You get information where you can. A good
Similar Books
