A Shroud for Jesso

by Peter Rabe

  Then Jesso waited. The guy in the car hadn’t come around yet and the butcher was slowly rolling himself over the sandy ground. He had dropped his gun on the way, but only his shoulder interested him. Each time he rolled over he cringed with pain, but he kept rolling back and forth just the same. He was stupid, all right.

  It had been close quarters in the bumping ambulance, so Jesso straightened his new shirt, new tie, new suit, and draped the big trench coat so it wouldn’t bunch up in the back. He hadn’t bothered with the beret. Then Jesso lit a cigarette and waited.

  After a while the guy with the shot-up shoulder stopped rolling around and sat up. There was a big red stain on his orderly’s uniform and it looked medical as hell. Jesso walked over to him and said, “How’s the arm?” But the guy didn’t understand, so Jesso waited for the other one.

  When he came around he sat up with a start, but right away he lay down again. He lay that way for a while. Then Jesso didn’t want to wait any longer.

  “Hey, you.” He prodded the man’s foot. “Understand English?”

  The man got up and raked his long hair back over his head.

  “Come on out.”

  He did understand English, because he crawled out of the ambulance. He had also seen a lot of American movies, because he raised his hands over his head and waited to be shot in the belly.

  “Put your hands down. Your underwear don’t scare me.”

  The man lowered his hands and plucked at his shorts.

  “What’s your name?”

  “Fritz.”

  “I should have known. And the thinker over there? What’s his name?”

  “Hans.”

  “Of course, what else? Now tell Hans to sit over there by the tree.”

  Fritz told Hans and then they waited for Jesso’s next word.

  There was a long, webbed strap on the bed in the ambulance. Jesso took it off, threw it at Fritz, and told him to tie up Hans. After that was done he waved for Fritz to come back.

  “Now I want some answers. Where is Kator?”

  “Ich versteche nicht”

  “Where’s Kator?”

  “I understand not.”

  “Look Fritz, you’re getting me mad.” He was going to say more when Fritz kicked up his foot and a spray of sand hit Jesso in the face. Fritz didn’t follow it up because Jesso was still holding the gun, but there was no shot. Jesso couldn’t see well enough to put his shot where he wanted. For a man in his underwear, Fritz certainly had guts. He rushed to the side of the ambulance, and while Jesso blinked blindly the shovel came into view and slammed down at Jesso. It missed the head but glanced across Jesso’s hand so that the gun flew down. Fritz stooped to reach for it, which was fine with Jesso. The sand trick could work both ways, and the cloud hit Fritz straight in the face. But Fritz fired just the same. With his eyes burning blind he shot way off the mark, so that nothing happened except that Jesso got mad. A flying tackle took him under the firing line into Fritz’s middle. One hand tore at the gun and then the two men rolled on the ground. There was one more shot, which tore through Fritz’s own foot, and then Jesso let fly. Fritz was never going to look the same. He was screaming and burbling now, and when Jesso jumped up he was out of breath.

  “Enough?”

  “Genug! Genug!”

  “All right, Schmeling. Sit up.”

  While Fritz sat up, Jesso found the gun in the sand. He also found the one that Hans had dropped. One was an automatic; the other was a revolver. The sand interfered with the action of both of them, but Jesso was able to work the revolver free. The automatic was useless. He took the clip out, ejected the shell in the chamber, then tossed the gun far into the brush. There were shells for the revolver in the trench-coat pocket and Jesso reloaded.

  All this had taken time, and Jesso figured that Fritz was ready now.

  “Fritz, can you see me?”

  “Yes.”

  “Can you hear me?”

  “Yes.”

  “Where’s Kator?”

  “Ich verstehe — “ He didn’t get any farther because Jesso’s fist caught him where it hurt. The broken nose started to bleed again.

  “Where’s Kator?”

  “He goes home. Home.”

  “Where’s home?”

  “He lives in Hannover.”

  “Fritz boy, this is like pulling teeth. Give me all of it, and all at once.”

  “Hannover on the Leine. You drive the same road we came on and go south. Perhaps six hours’ driving. In Hannover he lives in the von Lohe villa. The house is on the Herrenhauser Allee.”

  “He lives there, or it’s his place of business?”

  “He lives there and also has his business. He has his business all over.”

  “Fine. Get up and turn around.”

  He did and Jesso stepped close. The gun butt came down hard and Jesso caught the man before he hit the ground. He dragged him to the tree where Hans was, tied him up with the same webbed belt, and went back to the ambulance. After he’d slammed the back doors shut he picked up the shovel and turned to the men.

  “While you’re waiting for me to come back, Fritz, dig yourself something,” and he tossed the shovel toward the tree.

  It landed close to Hans’s leg and he moved his foot over, dragging the shovel along. Jesso saw it. He was grinning when he walked over to the tree. Hans wasn’t so stupid, after all. The shovel had a sharp edge and with a few gymnastics the blade could be worked against the strap. Jesso picked up the shovel and tossed it far into the brush.

  “Dig this,” he said to Hans, but Hans didn’t.

  Jesso figured that Hannover was probably a fair-sized town. There were road markers after every little village he passed. Except for the villages, there wasn’t much variety on the drive. The land was flat and wet-looking, with wide potato fields and pastures where fat Holsteins were grazing. And along the road the eternal apple trees. By Jesso’s habits, it was a slow drive. The highway was narrow and there were a lot of potholes. When he met a car or one of the slow teams of horses that dragged heavy wooden wagons, it helped to be driving an ambulance. Jesso cut loose with the siren and the road was his.

  Still it was nighttime before he was even close to Hannover. There had been money in Fritz’s pants, so Jesso stopped at a bakery in one of the towns and bought a square loaf of dark bread. He couldn’t find a place that sold milk. He finally bought a bottle of beer where a sign said, “Gasthof,” and took it into the cab. He drove into the country and parked behind a barn in the middle of nowhere. After beer and bread he got into the back, let the ambulance bed down, and went to sleep.

  It was maybe nine in the morning when Jesso hit the town. The sun had come up cold and white, never quite making it through the wet haze in the air. He drove through empty streets with bombed-out shells of houses on both sides, neat straight ruins, because the Germans were such tidy people. After a while it got busier. The streets got narrower, traffic was a mess of bicycles and tiny cars, and after several crazy corners and intersections Jesso figured he was in the heart of town. He pulled the ambulance to a curb and left it there. Let Kator worry about the ticket.

  Jesso walked around the corner and found a restaurant. He would have liked a place with a counter and grill, but there didn’t seem to be such a thing. The place had tables, waiters, and a sign that said “English Spoken.”

  The breakfast was good. There was no orange juice, but the rest was good. He had fried eggs with sausages, some thick, soft bread, a dish of cottage cheese, and coffee afterward. While he had his second cup of coffee he told the waiter to call a taxi. When it came he paid and left.

  He told the hackie, “Herrenhauser Allee, von Lohe Villa.” He had to pronounce it several times. Then the cabbie tried different versions. Finally they recognized each other and the taxi took off. The ambulance was right around the corner and Jesso saw there was a ticket on the windshield.

  Traffic got less hectic after a while. The Allee was a broad, dark road, an open i
ron gate at the entrance and the branches of double rows of ancient trees forming a dim green arch over-head. It was a show place, left over from the time when the King’s carriage came this way, traveling the miles to the other end, where his summerhouse was hidden in a walled park.

  The taxi swung left, then followed the quiet street that paralleled the boulevard. At intervals there were large villas. They stopped at the largest.

  When the taxi had left and Jesso walked through the iron gate, he thought for a moment that nobody was living there. The empty drive curved around a high-grown lawn and the rows of tall windows in the building were heavily draped. The house was as big as it was ugly. Two Atlases grew out of palm fronds to hold the porte-cochere, the house was dripping with stone ornaments.

  There was a cool, watery smell in the air. Jesso looked back at the row of trees, then at the villa again. He didn’t often feel like this, but suddenly it was as if he were out of place. Jesso hunched his shoulders. It sure didn’t feel like home territory. Hell, there was no more home territory There was nothing but Jesso with a two-day beard, his stolen clothes, and a half-crazy scheme that hadn’t even begun to take shape. He rubbed his face and then he made a noise as if he meant to laugh but thought better of it. Christ, a real one-man operation. He always wanted a one-man operation, and now he had it; right in the neck he had it. Or it had him. A free hand and nobody underfoot. It had come true so completely that he didn’t know whether to laugh or to swear. And the right kind of woman would be the next thought. At a time like this, for Christ’s sake, he was going to start thinking about women.

  Jesso jumped off the drive that swung under the villa’s porte-cochere and stumbled over the low curbing. The long car, built like a ballroom, made just the merest hum and then stopped by the door. A chauffeur jumped out, moving as if he too were powered by a Daimler motor, and then it looked as if he were going to throw himself right up those stairs. Jesso too thought he might want to throw himself right up those stairs.

  She wasn’t big or sharp or anything, but she had presence. The heart-shaped face almost spoiled the impression of coolness and grace. The heart-shaped face had a full mouth and wide, light eyes that had a waiting look; and all that with live lights moving on the silk that stretched over her breasts, a blue raw silk, and hips that made a waltz out of the way she walked down those stairs. She stopped halfway down and looked at Jesso. At least, her eyes were turned in his direction. She massaged white gloves over her hands and wrists, and when she was through she got into the car. And that was that.

  He stood a while, thinking about it. There are women like that. That was all that came to him. Or, anyway, there is a woman like that.

  Chapter Ten

  Jesso walked up the stairs. By the big door he rang a bell and waited. Then he rang it again. An old man came to the door, dressed like a butler. He cocked his head and didn’t say hello.

  “I want to see Kator.”

  The old guy cocked his head the other way.

  “Herr Kator.”

  “I understood you the first time,” said the butler. His English was precise.

  There was another door behind the butler, so Jesso couldn’t see very far. He felt like a Fuller Brush man.

  “What is your name, sir?”

  “Jack Jesso. Take my word for it.”

  “Your business?”

  “Kator owes me money and I came to collect. Now open that door wide enough-“

  “Mr. Kator is not in. If you have a private debt to discuss, his personal accounts are handled by the firm of Bohm and Bohm. You can-“

  “This account is handled right here, so open up.”

  The door came shut but didn’t quite make the lock. Jesso wasn’t using any salesman’s foot in the door; he hit it hard with the flat of his sole, making the heavy door fly back. It hit the wall and made a crash.

  Jesso walked in.

  The butler’s face screwed up like a wrinkled prune. He reached for a bell near the doorjamb but thought better of it. Jesso wasn’t looking friendly. “Now open the next door.”

  But before the butler could get there the door opened.

  What Jesso saw was a sight. The man was slim, with silky hair draped artfully across a balding head. His frail face looked like a baby’s and then again like an old man’s. He put his yellow hands into the pockets of his brocaded robe and looked annoyed.

  Jesso didn’t understand a word of what followed. There was a lot of sharp and stilted-sounding talk and every so often “Herr Baron.” That was the butler talking. Jesso started to feel left out.

  “All right, enough of the love talk. I’m-”

  “I know,” said the Baron. He spoke English with a cultivated British accent. “You are Jesso.” He peered closer. “What is Jesso, may I ask?”

  “Let me in or you’ll find out.”

  The Baron had a fine, high laugh and it took a while before he whinnied out of breath.

  “Jesso, so I remembered, is a paste. Something that sculptors use. It hardens into stone. Am I correct?” He put on a sunny smile.

  “Why don’t you try it? Where’s Kator?”

  “Ah, yes, dear Kator. Johannes does pick up the strangest people. Hofer, is my breakfast ready?”

  The butler said yes and got waved away.

  “Johannes isn’t in at the moment. In fact, I understand he went abroad.”

  “He’s back. I came back with him.”

  “Oh, you did? Then he must have been delayed in Hamburg. I’ll ask Hofer about it. Hofer should know.” He paused for a moment, then said, “Forgive me. I am von Lohe. Hofer failed to introduce me. Helmut von Lohe,” and he bowed from the waist.

  “Jack Jesso.”

  “Have you had breakfast, Mr. Jesso?”

  Jesso didn’t answer right away because he didn’t know what to call the man. Finally he said, “Look, does Kator live here?”

  “Oh, yes. When Johannes is in town he stays with me.” Helmut von Lohe smiled. “Would you care to wait, Mr. Jesso? Join me in breakfast?” The smile changed from vapid to personal.

  “I’ll wait.”

  Von Lohe led the way, weaving across the large hall of the house with a rustling of his robe, then through a silk and petit-point salon and out to the solarium. There was a little fountain there, making a tinkle, and big plants standing still in the overheated air. Something was blooming with a sweet odor.

  “Be seated, Mr. Jesso.” Helmut swirled himself into a wicker chair. It creaked like an old gate. “You are an American, Mr. Jesso, am I right?”

  “Sure.”

  “Would you like to know how I know?” Jesso didn’t care, but Helmut told him anyway. “Because you didn’t know how to address me.” He whinnied. Then, with his smile, “Just call me Helmut. You’d like that, as an American, wouldn’t you?”

  Jesso was kept from telling him what he’d like when Hofer rolled the breakfast up. There was everything and Baron von Lohe ate like a pig.

  That was at eleven. At eleven-thirty Helmut was full. He rang the bell, waved at the mess on the table, and spoke to the butler in English. Von Lohe had manners. Or maybe he wanted Jesso to understand.

  “Has the Frau Baronin had breakfast, Hofer?”

  “Yes, Herr Baron.”

  “You will tell her I am in the solarium,” said Helmut, and he sat back like a king awaiting his retinue. He also gave Jesso a benign look, but that dropped off fast.

  “The Frau Baronin has left for the city,” said Hofer, and that answer spoiled the Baron’s fun so much that he got nasty when he told Hofer to leave.

  “And send her to me when she returns,” he called after the butler. Then he turned back to Jesso.

  “My wife, Mr. Jesso, keeps irregular hours at times. However,” and he patted the yellow hair where it was draped across the skull, “she is not quite used to her new standing.”

  “Oh,” said Jesso. “Country girl?”

  “You might say so, dear Jack. In many ways, you might say so.”
r />   It sounded mysterious as hell, but Jesso wasn’t much interested.

  “When you meet her,” said the Baron, “you will-”

  “I’ve seen her,” said Jesso. “When I came in.”

  “Well,” said Helmut. He wasn’t all pleased. “It deprives me of the pleasure of introducing her to you.”

  “We haven’t met. I just saw her.”

  The Baron smiled, leaned forward. “A remarkable woman, wouldn’t you say so?” He looked smug. “In my family we have always favored beautiful women.” He said it as if nobody else ever favored beautiful women. The Baron leaned closer. “Her name is Renette.”

  Jesso looked away. Like a lousy pimp, he thought.

  “Not much of a country-girl name,” he said, because he didn’t know what else to say. Jesso felt out of place with the Baron, and he started to wonder what had happened to Kator. He pulled a cigarette out of his pocket, twirled it between his fingers, made it snap.

  “Ask Hofer when Kator is coming back, will you-uh-Helmut?”

  But the Baron didn’t move.

  “Is your business with dear Johannes so urgent you cannot enjoy the comfort of my hospitality? How would you like some liqueur?”

  Liqueur, probably with a stink like a flower perfume. The close warmth of the solarium bothered him, and the Baron, with his careful hair-do, gave him a pain. And that Renette female. He had come for Kator. He had expected Kator, cold and tricky, the kind of man who made it easy for you to act without scruples and who made it impossible to forget what you came for.

  “I said, dear Jack, is your business so important-”

  “Yeah. He owes me five hundred bucks.”

  This amused the Baron.

  “Five hundred dollars!” He whinnied. “You mean you came here from out of town, broke in at an early hour, because he owes you five hundred dollars?”

  “My life savings, Helmut.”

  He leaned forward and put one hand on Jesso’s knee.

  “Johannes can be unreasonable, dear Jack. But let me help you with the money. Really, it means little enough to me, and I’ll speak to Johannes about-“