A Man Lies Dreaming Read Free Page A

was genuine but cautious. I didn’t blame him.
‘Wolf,’ he said. For a moment, I thought he might try to hug me. I rose from the chair and shook his hand, formally.
‘It is good to see you again,’ he said.
‘You, too,’ I said. I looked at him. He bore up well. London had been good to Hess. His hair looked luxurious and shiny. His jacket was styled in black with the lightning bolt of the Blackshirts on the lapels. It looked tailor-made. He wore riding boots and a paunch. Hess had grown fat in this foreign city, after the Fall.
‘You are doing well,’ I said.
He patted his belly. ‘I get by,’ he said.
I gestured at the chair opposite and sat down again. He followed. ‘Can I get you anything?’ he said. I shook my head. ‘You never come to the Hofgarten,’ Hess complained. ‘Never come to see me. I wish you’d let me help you, at least. Money—’
‘I do not want your money.’
He sighed. ‘I know,’ he said. He signalled to the barman. The lad brought over a small brandy and placed it at Hess’s elbow. Hess swirled it around, sniffed it appreciatively, and sipped.
‘Good?’ I said.
‘Wonderful.’
I slapped the glass out of his hand and it smashed to the floor, the brandy spilling on Hess’s hand. I heard chairs scraping back, saw three men rise and marked them. Hess shook his limp hand then sucked on his fingers. He stared at me mournfully. ‘Bring me a napkin, please, Emil,’ he said. He gestured at his men and they sat down again. ‘You have an escort, these days,’ I said.
‘These are dangerous times,’ Hess said. ‘A man needs must take precautions.’
The big barman brought over a silk handkerchief. It was embroidered with RH. Hess wiped his hand clean fastidiously and gave it back. ‘Thank you, Emil,’ he said.
I stared at him across the table. ‘I meant no disrespect,’ he said.
‘I’m sure that you didn’t.’
‘What is it?’ he said.
‘I need information.’
He nodded. ‘I heard you were working as a private investigator,’ he said.
‘You heard correctly.’
His eyes grew as soft as his face. ‘They called you the Drummer,’ he said.
‘I have always fought,’ I said. ‘But I have always fought for order.’ I took a sip of my cold tea. ‘There must be order in all things.’
‘Yes,’ he said. ‘Of course.’ He loosened his tie. ‘What do you need to know?’
‘I am looking for a girl. She would have been coming from Germany, to London.’
‘I see. Without papers, naturally.’
‘Yes.’
‘Such a thing is not impossible, for a price,’ he said.
‘Tell me, Rudolf,’ I said. ‘Do many people disappear, en route from Germany?’
‘Disappear how?’
I said, softly, ‘She was a Jewess.’
He stared into my eyes. ‘Wolf …’ he said.
‘Don’t.’
‘For the sake of my love for you,’ he said. ‘Don’t ask me.’
‘I need to know.’
‘There are doors which are best left closed,’ he said. He pushed his chair back and stood up. ‘For the sake of our friendship.’ He looked at me curiously. ‘What do you care what happens to a Jew?’
‘I don’t.’
‘Come and work for me,’ he said, impulsively. He saw my face. ‘With me, I mean. There is money to be made, power. I am someone here, Wolf. I am a man of influence.’
‘Hess,’ I said, ‘you are a pimp and a thief. You have traded your honour for cash.’
‘Don’t use those words.’
‘What words would you have me use?’
He laughed at that. ‘Perhaps I’ve merely outgrown you,’ he said.
‘You have been reduced,’ I said. ‘While I remain the same. My integrity cannot be purchased so cheaply.’
‘You are a shadow of what you once were. A ghost.’ He laughed again, a sad, bitter sound. ‘You died in the Fall; what is left of you makes a mockery of what you once were.’
I stood up too. He was taller than me, but he had always been the smaller man. ‘Please,’ he said, again. ‘Do not go asking such questions, mein freund.’
‘Give me a name,’ I said.
Hess sighed. He