DeKok shook his head.
"I never really did let go of it, but the killer had to satisfy one important condition."
"What condition?"
"He had to know where Robert Achterberg was staying. . .it was the pertinent part of the puzzle."
"In what way?"
DeKok raised a forefinger in the air.
"The meeting between Robert Achterberg and Antoinette was entirely accidental. Nobody could have foreseen they would meet. It was equally unlikely anyone would have foreseen Antoinette's precipitous decision to take him home. Nevertheless, her Beuning Street apartment is where Robert was murdered."
"Is that the guy who was chained to the radiator?" asked Buis, who had only the sketchiest details of what happened before he became involved.
"Yes," said Vledder impatiently. Then, pointing at DeKok, he said, "Go on."
DeKok resumed. "One question that kept bothering me from the beginning: How did the killer know where to find Robert? Keep in mind Antoinette guarded Robert so closely he had no chance to tell anybody where he was. It is likely Robert wasn't too sure himself where, exactly, he was."
DeKok picked up his glass and savored another long sip. He took a look at the level of liquid in the snifter and decided there was at least one long swallow left. He held the glass in his hand as he continued.
"The only one who knew Robert's whereabouts was Antoinette. She convinced me of her innocence. She was, and is, an innocent, caring person. She grew to love Robert. The troubled young man awakened her motherly instincts."
He paused and took the last swallow from his glass. He looked ruefully at the empty snifter and then placed it on the side table.
"Of course," he went on, "Therese could have followed Antoinette after the latter visited Emperor's Canal. I kept that in mind. Therefore, I kept Matthias Heusden in mind as a possible perpetrator. There was a third possibility..."
He paused, stood up, and picked up the bottle from the sideboard. He offered the bottle to his guests, and Vledder had his glass refilled. Buis and Fred Prins declined.
"It's very good," said Prins, "but I have to go on duty tonight. I better take it easy."
Buis raised his still half-full snifter with a shake of the head.
DeKok poured himself a generous measure and, leaving the bottle on the table between them, sat down again in his own chair.
"Where was I?" he asked as he leaned back in his chair.
"You mentioned a third possibility," prompted Buis.
"Oh, yes. Robert's murderer could also have followed him from the moment he fled from Therese's house. The possibility it was Matthias seemed remote to me. Heusden didn't have to agree to let Robert stay in the house. It would have taken only one mistake, an inadvertent word for Robert to realize who was persecuting him. Robert never once mentioned Matthias Heusden in any conversations with Antoinette. Besides, the story Heusden told me about the night Robert fled seemed believable."
"But that is a third possibility that you have just eliminated," protested Vledder.
"Indeed," admitted DeKok. "The central question is why did Robert panic? It leads to another question: How did the murderer know Robert fled? In other words, how could the murderer know when Robert would leave? I concluded the murderer caused Robert to panic. Someone put him under that much pressure."
"That's why you wanted to know if Robert had a telephone in his room," said Vledder smugly.
DeKok nodded.
"Not just that, I wanted to see the room. I wanted to know if there were signs of a struggle. The sheets and the covers of the bed were thrown back in a normal way, nothing spectacular. It strengthened the idea that the panic attack had been caused by an outside source. The telephone could have been the means. That's why I wanted to know whether Robert could be reached on a direct line. It didn't seem the killer would want to talk to anyone else in the house."
Vledder sighed.
"Robert's room had its own phone number."
"In any case I had theories but couldn't follow my instincts. Henri Tombs confirmed a lot of what I could neither explain nor pursue."
"Such as?" asked Prins.
"The night of Robert's murder, Henri Tombs kept an eye on Robert's room with his telescope. While he watched, he called Robert on the direct line. He pre tended to be a good friend of Therese. He advised Robert to leave the house at once or he would be killed."
"How cruel," Mrs. DeKok observed.
"Yes. His phone call had the desired result. Robert left soon after the conversation ended. Tombs picked up his revolver and followed Robert. He shot at the boy almost immediately, but missed. He kept following Robert and tried a few more shots. Henri Tombs would almost certainly have killed him that night on Nassau Quay had Antoinette not happened by. He wanted no witnesses, but was not prepared to silence an innocent bystander. He followed the couple, so he knew where Antoinette took her foundling. He kept the house under observation until he knew when Antoinette was not at home."
Harold Buis shook his head.
"A maniac," he said. A hint of admiration came into his voice as he continued. "Still, it was rather clever of you to figure it out. I hope you will forget my remark about playing with other people's emotions. I understand the man had to be apprehended. Who knows how many more murders he would have committed."
DeKok raised his glass.
"To dead lovers," he toasted. It sounded macabre.
Mrs. DeKok looked at her husband with disapproval.
"We salute life," she chastised, "not death."
She stood up and went to the kitchen. After a few minutes she returned with a platter of delicacies. She placed it on the table. Vledder jumped up and followed her to the kitchen. He knew there was more food to come. There was a chafing dish and a dish to warm on a hot plate. Vledder, assisted by Fred Prins, arranged the additional platters on the sideboard.
The guests crowded around the platters and filled their plates with choice morsels. Mrs. DeKok selected a few favorites to hand to her husband. As she did so, she asked a question.
"What will happen to Therese? Is she going to stay with her mother from now on?"
DeKok gave a weak smile.
"I don't think it would be smart," he said sadly. "But it looks like she will. Therese refuses to go back to the house on Emperor's Canal. Once Nettelhorst finds out about her affair with DeBeau, he will probably no longer consider her to be unblemished."
"But I understand the house is hers?" protested Vledder. "Why doesn't she insist her stepfather leave?"
"Maybe she will," said DeKok. "Who knows?"
"But what about that nasty man Nettelhorst?" asked Mrs. DeKok.
"I have turned him in to the Bunko Squad. At the very least they have him on attempted insurance fraud. Once they start digging, they will probably discover more. They have the talent and manpower."
Vledder wrinkled his nose in distaste.
"The commissaris should be more careful in selecting his friends."
DeKok laughed heartily.
"I think it would be a good idea for you to tell him yourself. I'm getting tired of being sent from the room."
"I've been thinking," said Buis suddenly. "When you heard my double had a relationship with Therese, did you already know the perpetrator?"
DeKok nodded.
"It was one more indication of who the killer could be. Neither Matthias Heusden nor Manfred Nettelhorst knew how to find Therese. When Henri Tombs visited the villa to check on Therese, he saw DeBeau through the window. He immediately withdrew. Meanwhile he had made an instantaneous decision. The man had to be killed."
"A strange bird."
DeKok stared pensively at his glass.
"If I had known sooner about the relationship between Therese and DeBeau, I might possibly have prevented the murder. I could have talked to DeBeau, could have told him about the danger. I might have convinced him to act as bait."
Harold Buis looked disappointed.
"But then you w
ouldn't have needed me." He gestured around the room. "And I would have missed all this."
"There's that," said DeKok with a wink.
The conversation became more general. DeKok poured again from his precious bottle. Mrs. DeKok had resigned herself to the fact the bottle would be emptied that night. She offered coffee to those who wanted it.
Prins left to go on duty. Vledder accompanied him to the door. When he returned to the living room, he sat down and looked at DeKok.
"We still have to recover that suitcase full of money from Robert's room at Emperor's Canal."
The grey sleuth looked at him evenly.
"The suitcase is no longer there."
"What?"
DeKok shook his head.
"After Robert's funeral, I had a few words with his mother. She's a nice lady. It was evident she had no idea of the existence of the suitcase. I also surmised from our conversation that Mother Achterberg is well set. She has ample financial resources."
"So?"
DeKok made a shy, embarrassed gesture.
"So, I quietly took the suitcase to Beuning Street."
"To Antoinette?"
"Yes."
Vledder looked at him in surprise for several seconds. Then he shook his head and smiled.
"DeKok," he said, "you take the cake."
"That's why I love him," said Mrs. lleKok.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
A. C. Baantjer is the most widely read author in the Netherlands. A former detective inspector of the Amsterdam police, his fictional characters reflect the depth and personality of individuals encountered during his near forty-year career in law enforcement.
Baantjer was honored with the first-ever Master Prize of the Society of Dutch-language Crime Writers. He has also been knighted by the Dutch monarchy for his lifetime achievements.
The sixty crime novels featuring Inspector DeKok written by Baantjer have achieved a large following among readers in the Netherlands. A television series based on these novels reaches an even wider Dutch audience. Launched nearly a decade ago, the 100th episode of the "Baantjer" series recently aired on Dutch channel RTL4.
In large part due to the popularity of the televised "Baantjer" series, sales of Baantjer's novels have increased significantly over the past several years. In 2001, the 5 millionth copy of his books was sold-a number never before reached by a Dutch author.
Known as the "Dutch Conan Doyle," Baantjer's following continues to grow and conquer new territory.
The DeKok series has been published in China, Russia, Korea, and throughout Europe. Speck Press is pleased to bring you clear and invigorating translations to the English language.
DEKOK AND THE GEESE OF DEATH
Renowned Amsterdam mystery author Baantjer brings to life Inspector DeKok in another stirring potboiler full of suspenseful twists and unusual conclusions.
ISBN-13: 978-0-9725776-6-3
DEKOK AND MURDER BY MELODY
"Death is entitled to our respect," says Inspector DeKok, who finds himself once again amidst dark dealings. A triple murder in the Amsterdam Concert Gebouw has him unveiling the truth behind two dead ex junkies and their housekeeper.
ISBN-13: 978-0-9725776-9-4
DEKOK AND THE DEATH OF A CLOWN
A high-stakes jewel theft and a dead clown blend into a single riddle for Inspector DeKok to solve. The connection of the crimes at first eludes him.
ISBN-13: 978-1-933108-03-2
DEKOK AND VARIATIONS ON MURDER
During one of her nightly rounds, housekeeper Mrs. van Hasbergen finds a company president dead in his boardroom. She rushes up to her apartment to call someone, but who? Deciding it better to return to the boardroom, she finds the dead man gone.
ISBN-13: 978-1-933108-04-9
DEKOK AND MURDER BY INSTALLMENT
Although at first it seemed to be a case for the narcotics division, this latest investigation soon evolves into a series of sinister murders involving drug smuggling and child prostitution.
ISBN-13: 978-1-933108-07-0
DEKOK AND MURDER ON BLOOD MOUNTAIN
The trail of a recent crime leads Inspector DeKok to Bloedberg (Blood Mountain), Belgium, a neighborhood in Antwerp. Seems a man was fished from the Scheldt River, and DeKok has been summoned to help with the investigation.
ISBN-13:978-1-933108-13-1
DEKOK AND THE SOMBER NUDE
This latest installment of the internationally popular detective series finds the grey sleuth dealing with a most gruesome murder.
ISBN-13: 978-1-933108-16-2
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DeKok and the Dead Lovers (Inspector DeKok Investigates) Page 14