The Stronger Sex (22 page)

“Yes, thank you.”

He acted as if to reach for the coffee pot standing on the table, but I got in first and poured coffee into the clean cup he had obviously had brought up for me.

He waited until I had drunk a little, and then asked, “How are you?”

It seemed to me that he also spoke with a little difficulty. “Me personally, you mean?” I asked.

“Yes, of course. That's what matters, don't you think?”

“Personally I'm fine, thank you.”

He did not reply, but looked at me, obviously waiting for me to go on. Finally he said, “But otherwise you're not fine, is that it?”

“Yes, correct. I also have a professional life.”

“Ah. And that's causing you trouble?”

The frozen smile that he seemed determined to maintain,
like the rigid way he held his head, was beginning to get on my nerves. I said, “I assume you read Dr Gladke's missive.”

“Of course. It says exactly what I told you it would.”

I raised my eyebrows. “I don't seem to remember you telling me that our position is just about hopeless.”

“What do you mean by
that
?” He suddenly made the sucking noise that I had heard once before, when he fell asleep during my visit. It sounded as if he had to collect the saliva in his mouth to keep it in. And indeed I saw a watery drop that had escaped the corner of his lips and was running down to his chin. He quickly put his hand into his trouser pocket, brought out a large handkerchief and mopped his mouth and lips with it.

I waited until he had put the handkerchief away again, and then said, “All those certifications of the treatments that Frau Fuchs had at that hotel, showing that they were successful… you seem to have overlooked all that.”

“Oh, well!” He made a dismissive gesture. “We've already discussed them! Surely you don't seriously believe that hocus-pocus? Minting money, that's what they do, there's nothing else to it!”

I said, “My dear Herr Klofft, the question is not what
I
believe. And certainly not what
you
believe. I for one am convinced that a judge who has that bill of complaint before him, and is then confronted with such a wealth of expert opinions, will hardly doubt for a moment that Frau Fuchs was unfit to work and had good reasons for going to that hotel. And that's our problem.”

He was glaring at me. “Anyone would think you weren't listening when Herr Manderscheidt told you what he knew! Maybe you were snoozing off at the time, deep in happy dreams? Let me just remind you that Herr Manderscheidt is the detective whom I am paying to supply you with facts that you'd never discover on your own!”

“Yes, and if you go on sending him off to do research without telling me about it then – you know the saying about letting sleeping dogs lie? He'll be waking them up.”

He narrowed his eyes slightly, smiled. “And who might you mean by sleeping dogs, for instance?”

“Me, for instance,” I said. “Or are you trying to provoke me into declining to act for you?”

He raised his hands. “Hey, hey, take it easy!”

“Never mind the hey, hey – I can tell you another sleeping dog who'd be better left that way, if you want to know!”

“Who would that be?”

“Dr Wehling. For instance. GP and very personal physician, as you like to put it, of Frau Fuchs. If he finds out that we're snooping about after him to show that he made out a medical certificate in return for favours received, you are going to get the surprise of your life. In those circumstances we'll have not just Dr Wehling but the entire medical profession after our blood.”

He raised his hands again. “OK, OK! Right.” After a short pause he asked, “What now, then? I mean… when will you be replying to the bill of complaint?”

I hesitated, and then said, “I probably won't, not until the case comes to court. For now I'll just reply that I am representing you. And if I do that, I do not also have to answer the charges in writing, you see. Among other things it could mean I was jumping the gun. I'd rather keep my powder dry.”

I saw another drop of saliva trickle out of his mouth, but this time he didn't seem to notice. I said, “I'll discuss it with Herr Hochkeppel.”

“Oh, for God's sake!”

I stared at him and asked, in my turn, “What does that mean?”

“Nothing special.” He smiled. “Just that I know Hochkeppel. Know him pretty well. Longer than you've known him, anyway.”

I said nothing for a moment, and then remarked, “He is a very good, highly experienced lawyer. A successful one, too.”

“Yes, yes, of course! OK.” He gave me a nasty smile. “Well, you have plenty of time to discuss it with him. Why are they putting the case off until the month after next?”

I shrugged my shoulders. “Four to six weeks, that's normal.”

“Good heavens above. Shockingly overworked, are they?”

“I've no idea. They're over-occupied, anyway.”

“Well, fabulous!” He shook his head, smiled sarcastically. “So I have to be kept waiting all that time for a decision?”

I said, “You'd better not be under any illusion. It'll take a good deal longer than that before there's a decision.”

He stared at me, opening his mouth slightly. “What?”

“Well, surely you know that. I assume this isn't the first time you've been involved in a case before the employment tribunal.”

He seemed really offended. “What do you mean by that?”

I passed over this question. “Look, during the hearing of the case there is a single judge who, after hearing the lawyers for both sides, will propose a settlement. If you reject the idea, or Frau Fuchs rejects it, or you both do, the case goes to the next court up, which will then set its own date for a hearing, four or five months later, anyway after the forthcoming hearing in the local employment tribunal here. At that second hearing there will be a ruling, unless more evidence is required, for instance by questioning witnesses. And another date would be set for that, again a few months later. It all takes time.”

He raised one hand, but then put it down on the table and laid his other hand on top of it. With a clear undertone of indignation, he asked, “Can these quibbling lawyers and their courts do what they like with you, then?”

I shrugged my shoulders. “More or less, yes. But
you
will certainly be spending the interim period in more comfort than Frau Fuchs.”

He appeared to be surprised. “What do you mean?”

I said, “As you'll recollect, she was dismissed without notice. In such cases the Federal employment agency doesn't pay a red cent for the first three months of unemployment.”

He said nothing for a while, just stared at me, and I saw a flush rising to his face. Finally he said, “Tell me, Dr Zabel, are you sure you are representing
me
in this case? And not that refractory woman who's only out for her own advantage?”

I said, “As
your
lawyer, Herr Klofft, I have to keep you informed on every aspect of your case. And also, so far as possible, on the interests of the other party. And the consequences our proceedings will or can have for her.”

“Did Hochkeppel tell you to say that?” he asked.

“It's more or less to be taken for granted, you know,” I told him.

He looked through the open balcony door at the trees. His breathing suddenly seemed to be heavier than before.

I said, “But of course you can make good use of the time.”

“How?”

“Thinking it all over again. And making sure you don't after all have anything else of importance to our case to tell me. Anything I ought to know before I get up to present it in court.”

He looked at me. “What kind of thing?”

“That's what I'm asking you.”

He said nothing for a while, but he never took his eyes off me. In the end he said, “Let's drop this little game! You're getting at something in particular. So what do you mean?”

I did as he had done, looked out at the green treetops and said nothing. Then I looked at him. “Is it impossible that in the conversation you had with Frau Fuchs, I mean
the discussion of the time off she suddenly wanted – is it out of the question that she threatened you?”

He narrowed his eyes slightly. “Threatened me? What with?”

I tilted my head a little way back. “Well… you see, it does happen that in such discussions an employee may have a fit of temper. And threaten his or her employer. For instance, if the boss refuses a request from the employee.”

He laughed. “A fine thing it would be if my staff went about threatening me!”

“Don't put it like that. I mean, suppose the boss says, for instance: no, you can't have time off, just now we need all hands on deck – well, a threat could slip out quite quickly. Something along the lines of: right, then I'm going to be off sick! Or: OK, just wait and see what happens!”

I saw that his forehead was beginning to glisten with a thin film of sweat. It seemed he was trying to bite his lower lip, but he couldn't catch it between his teeth. After a while he said, abruptly, “No. Frau Fuchs didn't threaten me.” He straightened up a little. “Was that what you wanted to know?”

I sighed. “I'd rather you thought about it a little more thoroughly. A threat might have been veiled.”

He reacted by impatiently waving that idea away.

I said, “I don't know if you are aware that jurisdiction is very rigorous in such cases. If an employee threatens his or her boss, that's a reason for dismissal without notice. According to the prevalent opinion, anyway.”

He was obviously annoyed. “I've told you already, she didn't threaten me. Anyone might think you never listened to anyone!” His breath was coming faster. “Is that it, then?”

I wondered whether I could press him further without causing him physical distress. But if I let this opportunity pass, I might never find out how he would react. I said, “Not entirely. I apologize.”

“You can leave out the apologies. You're not my nursemaid.”

“OK.” I looked at him. “You had a… a relationship, an intimate relationship, with Frau Fuchs over a long period. Is that so?”

“Yes, it is.” He laughed. “My God, did you have inhibitions about asking me that?”

“No, I didn't. I still haven't finished. That relationship came to an end a little while ago, didn't it?”

“Yes, that's right.” I sensed that he was taking notice now. He glared at me.

I returned his glance. “You see, it's not unimaginable that in that last discussion, the one in which she asked for a week's leave, I mean, you suddenly felt you would like another experience of what you…”

He wasn't taking his eyes off me, and as I was still wondering how to conclude that sentence without hurting him, he said, “Would I have liked to fuck her again? Is that what you wanted to know?”

“I wouldn't have phrased it like that, but in principle, yes.”

“Bingo!” He laughed. “You guessed it. Yes, I would have liked to fuck the woman once more. Are you surprised?”

I cleared my throat. “That's not the question. As I said, such a thing is not unimaginable.”

“Yes, all right, all right! I didn't want to shock you.” He didn't seem to be feeling very well, but apparently in spite of that he was trying to confuse me.

I said, “It comes down to a very simple point. I mean, did you express that wish? Out loud? Did you… express it
emphatically
, do you understand?”

Narrowing his eyes again, he slightly broadened the frozen smile. After a moment's pause he said, “You're asking if I raped her?”

“It doesn't have to have been a rape. It would be enough if you had coerced her to agree to such a thing.”

He said nothing for a while. I almost said: And kindly take that silly grin off your face!

Finally he said, “Enough for what? Also for firing her without notice?”

“Listen, Herr Klofft, this is no time for joking. I can tell you what it would be enough for. If you coerced Frau Fuchs into having sex, or tried to coerce her, and if she comes out with that in court, it will be enough to lose your case for you. In spades, believe me!”

He kept quiet again for a while, and then suddenly said, “I need to take a pee! At once!” He stood up with a violent movement, knocked into the table, reached for the wheeled walker standing behind him. The crutches that had been leaning against it clattered to the floor.

I jumped up to retrieve them, but he already had both hands on the handles of the walker. He turned it and wheeled it over my toes. “The bell!” he said. “Ring for Olga! And quick!”

He pointed to the corner table. I looked for the little box with the bell and found it. When I pressed the button – three times, in my alarm – its shrill tone sounded right through the house.

I followed him and caught up just in time to open the door for him. I heard Olga's voice on the stairs. “Coming! Hold on!” She came hurrying up, took him under one armpit. “Call sooner! Not always wait for pee to come!” She disappeared with him. I went back to his room, leaving the door open.

I was about to sit down again, but I didn't like to hang around within reaching distance of his papers on my own. Heaven only knows what he would think I was doing if he found me there. So I went out on the balcony and stood by the balustrade.

The deckchair that had been out on the terrace in front of the ground floor had disappeared. Had Cilly stopped sunbathing? For a moment I wondered whether Tippi Hedren was as brown all over as on her face.