Bamboo and blood

6

The delegation leader stood up to greet us when we walked in the door. He looked very much at home. "Surprised to see me, Inspector?"

I was. "Not really," I said. We were in Coppet, which set my teeth on edge. "Shouldn't you be somewhere nibbling cookies?"

Jeno gestured to a chair. "Good, we all seem to know each other. That saves time. There's no assigned seating here. Very informal." Informal maybe, but not without foresight. My chair put me between the two of them, so I couldn't speak to both at the same time, or watch them. I had to turn my head from one to the other.

The delegation leader picked up a menu. "Shall we order? If we don't do that right away, they'll think we aren't here to eat. That can change the atmosphere. The waiters get aloof, and the service goes downhill from there." Atmosphere-he must have been born with an extra sensory organ that measured "atmosphere" like other people felt hot or cold. Apparently, he'd been to this place before. Obviously not on his ministry's tab, so I had to wonder who had paid the bill.

Jeno ordered. We ate in silence, and I didn't think it was a comfortable one, either. The delegation leader made annoying, exaggerated gestures with his fork as he lifted the food to his mouth. He ate slowly and occasionally closed his eyes. At one point he moaned in pleasure. That ruined what little appetite I had. It was doubly annoying because Jeno had ordered the perch for all of us. At last, with a final smack of his lips, the delegation sat back. "Quite good," he said to Jeno. He looked at my plate. "Something the matter, Inspector? This fish was excellent."

"Yes," I said. "You seemed to enjoy it."

"More wine?" Jeno looked at my glass. "You're not drinking?" How to explain to the man that I wouldn't touch anything on the table until I figured out what was going on?

"Who is doing what to whom? Isn't that the question of the hour?" I looked from Jeno to the delegation leader, and then back to Jeno. The napkin was heavy linen. I didn't think it could be folded into a rabbit. Maybe it could be made into a blunt object.

"Why don't we move out to those chairs on the patio. We can have coffee and smoke cigars." Jeno signaled the waiter. "Don't worry, Inspector, we'll find time to talk, as well. Whatever questions you have will be answered, as far as possible."

"Sure, let's talk outside, if we can hear each other over the din of cameras clicking and recorders squealing." I looked under the table. "Did you bring your black bag?"

Jeno laughed. "Remember what I told you not so long ago, Inspector? About seeing Cossacks everywhere? Don't be so jumpy. This place is perfectly clear and clean. We won't be disturbed. It's covered, believe me. It's covered."

I shrugged. "If you say so." I turned to the delegation leader. "You realize you almost didn't make it here."

"Oh?"

"The other day, when you disappeared in the white car, the one whose mechanic hates women."

"No, I knew you were behind me the whole time."

"I'm not talking about me." I watched him tighten his lips. Jeno?s eyebrows did a quizzical two-step. "I don't know this for sure, but I'd say you're marked. And I don't mean for promotion."

The delegation leader twisted his napkin into a knot and put it on the table. "You're not telling me anything I didn't already know, Inspector. In fact, that's why you're here."

"Dessert, anyone?" Jeno stood up and led the way out to the patio.