A Necessary Action Read Free Page B

But earlier, you received money regularly from somewhere. A number of things were different before. As far as the money is concerned, you didn’t bring it with you into the country when you came. It wasn’t registered, anyhow.’
    Pause.
    ‘No, you didn’t get it from outside either. Not in a letter either, illegally. You don’t get any post, anyhow no post with money in it. And you’ve not had any foreign currency. You haven’t changed any.’
    Pause.
    ‘No, nor have you changed any illegally either. You received Spanish money. And not in letters.’
    Willi Mohr felt his temples growing hot. But outwardly he was calm, stubbornly, sullenly calm. He had fled into truculence, the eternal defence. He said nothing.
    ‘Well, you see, one sits here and wonders. It’s one’s duty, one’s eternal duty. One wonders and puts two and two together.’
    He passed the packet of cigarettes across and lit his lighter.
    ‘I hope you’ll get some money soon,’ he said in a friendly way. ‘To be without money in a foreign country can be a handicap. If things get too difficult, you can come here. There are perhaps certain possibilities.’
    Willi Mohr made a discovery. The man opposite him did not smoke. And yet there had been some cigarette-ends in the ash-tray from the start and someone had certainly been smoking in the room earlier. But that was foolish reasoning, due to fatigue. Naturally someone else had been in here before him.
    It was silent for a very long time.
    Sergeant Tornilla leafed absently through the passport.
    ‘Where did you serve during the war?’
    ‘I wasn’t in time.’
    ‘No, of course, you were too young.’
    ‘Not that young.’
    ‘No, that’s right, not that young. You were eighteen when the war ended. Many of your contemporaries had already been killed then.’
    ‘I wasn’t in time.’
    ‘Where were you when the war actually ended?’
    ‘In Flensburg.’
    ‘And where had you been before that?’
    ‘In Gotenhafen.’
    ‘For training?’
    ‘Yes.’
    ‘What type of training?’
    ‘Submarine training.’
    ‘In … Gotenhafen?’
    ‘Yes.’
    ‘It’s called Gdynia, isn’t it?’
    ‘Yes.’
    ‘You never got a commission?’
    ‘No.’
    ‘And then, after the war. What did you do then?’
    ‘Went home.’
    ‘Where to. To which place?’
    ‘Dornburg.’
    ‘In which part of Germany does that lie?’
    ‘Thüringen.’
    ‘Isn’t that on the wrong side of the border?’
    The question threw Willi Mohr off his balance. He did not answer it.
    ‘How long is it since you last saw Ramon Alemany?’
    ‘May I have a little water?’
    ‘Soon. How long is it since you last saw Ramon Alemany?’
    ‘Four months.’
    ‘Do you know where he is now?’
    ‘No.’
    ‘Where did you last see him?’
    ‘In a French port.’
    ‘Do you remember what it was called?’
    ‘Ajaccio.’
    ‘Quite right, Ajaccio in Corsica. But you’ve seen him since?’
    ‘No.’
    ‘Do you know what his brother’s name is?’
    ‘Santiago.’
    ‘When did you last speak to Santiago?’
    ‘Don’t know. In the summer perhaps.’
    ‘Didn’t you meet him three days ago?’
    ‘Yes.’
    ‘So you were wrong when you said you hadn’t spoken to him since the summer?’
    ‘No.’
    ‘But you met him three days ago?’
    ‘Yes.’
    ‘Can you explain yourself a bit?’
    ‘We met, but we didn’t speak to each other.’
    ‘Where did you meet him?’
    ‘Here.’
    ‘Here? At the guard-post?’
    ‘At home.’
    ‘In the house in Barrio Son Jofre?’
    ‘Yes.’
    ‘Repeat: I met him in the house in B-a-r-r-i-o S-o-n J-o-f-r-e.’
    ‘I met him in the house in Barrio Son Jofre.’
    ‘Good. Your Spanish is getting better and better. Well, had you asked Santiago Alemany to come to see you?’
    ‘No.’
    ‘Why did he come then?’
    ‘Don’t know.’
    ‘Did he just come to meet you?’
    ‘He was on his way into town with some fish.’
    ‘Quite right. He was on his way to the provincial capital with fish. What did