the notes he had made. After about an hour he heard the sound of a vehicle engine, rose and went to the window.
A small jeep with a canvas top turned in through the gateway. It parked so close to the wall that Jensen could not see who was getting out.
CHAPTER 17
Inspector Jensen sat at his office desk, listening.
Whoever had got out of the jeep made no effort to move cautiously or conceal what they were doing. Footsteps echoed across the ground-floor reception area and then up the spiral staircase. The visitor was already in the corridor, passing Jensen’s room. To judge by the steps and the breathing, the person in question was carrying something heavy. A door opened and shut. As far as Jensen could tell, the person had gone into the radio control room.
He left it a couple of minutes. In the meantime, he thought he could make out faint, mechanical sounds.
Jensen stood up, left the room and walked the few steps to the radio control room. Knocked lightly on the door before he opened it.
There was a man bending over the radio control console. Beside him on the floor were two accumulators in wooden boxes. They looked like extra-large car batteries. The man turned and stared towards the door. Jensen recognised him at once. The red-haired police doctor.
The man was wearing a boiler suit of green khaki and rubber boots and had a sub-machine gun on a strap over his left shoulder, its muzzle pointing down at the floor.
‘Ah,’ he said slowly. ‘Jensen. I was just wondering where the car in the yard had come from. It wasn’t there yesterday. You pulled through, then?’
‘Yes. What are you doing?’
‘I thought I’d try to get this contraption going,’ the doctor said, unconcerned. ‘What are you up to yourself?’
‘I’m trying to find out what really happened.’
‘That’s not easy.’
The police doctor shook his head thoughtfully and turned back to the radio equipment.
‘So you pulled through,’ he said again. ‘I didn’t expect you to. When did you get back?’
Jensen checked the time.
‘An hour ago.’
‘And now you’re trying to find out what’s happened?’
‘Yes. And what’s still happening.’
The doctor shook his head again.
‘It won’t be easy,’ he said. ‘How did you get into the country?’
‘By helicopter.’
‘Sent by the government?’
‘More or less.’
After a pause, Jensen asked:
‘Do you know what’s happened?’
‘Parts of it.’
‘What, then?’
‘Something terrible.’
‘I’ve already worked out that much.’
‘Unfortunately also something that’s a completely logical consequence. It’s a long story. Very long.’
‘Tell me.’
‘I haven’t got time right now. And anyway, you know almost as much as I do. If you give yourself time to think it through.’
‘I’ve been away for over three months.’
‘True enough. Quite a bit has happened in that time. But all the essentials happened before you left. Long before.’
He busied himself with his flexes and contacts for a while. Looked up and said:
‘Do you know your way around this stuff?’
‘No.’
‘We’ll just have to do the best we can, then.’
There was a crackle from the equipment. A voice crystallised out of the rush of the ether.
‘Vehicle twenty-seven here. Can you hear us?’
‘Of course I can. What is it?’
Jensen recognised both the voice and the lazy drawl. The woman who had been speaking to the men in the white coats.
‘The main hospital is in contact with an ambulance,’ he said.
‘You should have shot them.’
‘I’m not armed. And anyway, they showed their ID.’
‘You should still have killed them.’
The police doctor turned down the radio conversation. Looked quizzically at Jensen.
‘How much do you actually know?’ he said at length.
‘Very little.’
‘I don’t know everything either. I didn’t get back until yesterday. To the city, I mean. There are things I don’t understand any more than you do.’
‘Where were you before
A small jeep with a canvas top turned in through the gateway. It parked so close to the wall that Jensen could not see who was getting out.
CHAPTER 17
Inspector Jensen sat at his office desk, listening.
Whoever had got out of the jeep made no effort to move cautiously or conceal what they were doing. Footsteps echoed across the ground-floor reception area and then up the spiral staircase. The visitor was already in the corridor, passing Jensen’s room. To judge by the steps and the breathing, the person in question was carrying something heavy. A door opened and shut. As far as Jensen could tell, the person had gone into the radio control room.
He left it a couple of minutes. In the meantime, he thought he could make out faint, mechanical sounds.
Jensen stood up, left the room and walked the few steps to the radio control room. Knocked lightly on the door before he opened it.
There was a man bending over the radio control console. Beside him on the floor were two accumulators in wooden boxes. They looked like extra-large car batteries. The man turned and stared towards the door. Jensen recognised him at once. The red-haired police doctor.
The man was wearing a boiler suit of green khaki and rubber boots and had a sub-machine gun on a strap over his left shoulder, its muzzle pointing down at the floor.
‘Ah,’ he said slowly. ‘Jensen. I was just wondering where the car in the yard had come from. It wasn’t there yesterday. You pulled through, then?’
‘Yes. What are you doing?’
‘I thought I’d try to get this contraption going,’ the doctor said, unconcerned. ‘What are you up to yourself?’
‘I’m trying to find out what really happened.’
‘That’s not easy.’
The police doctor shook his head thoughtfully and turned back to the radio equipment.
‘So you pulled through,’ he said again. ‘I didn’t expect you to. When did you get back?’
Jensen checked the time.
‘An hour ago.’
‘And now you’re trying to find out what’s happened?’
‘Yes. And what’s still happening.’
The doctor shook his head again.
‘It won’t be easy,’ he said. ‘How did you get into the country?’
‘By helicopter.’
‘Sent by the government?’
‘More or less.’
After a pause, Jensen asked:
‘Do you know what’s happened?’
‘Parts of it.’
‘What, then?’
‘Something terrible.’
‘I’ve already worked out that much.’
‘Unfortunately also something that’s a completely logical consequence. It’s a long story. Very long.’
‘Tell me.’
‘I haven’t got time right now. And anyway, you know almost as much as I do. If you give yourself time to think it through.’
‘I’ve been away for over three months.’
‘True enough. Quite a bit has happened in that time. But all the essentials happened before you left. Long before.’
He busied himself with his flexes and contacts for a while. Looked up and said:
‘Do you know your way around this stuff?’
‘No.’
‘We’ll just have to do the best we can, then.’
There was a crackle from the equipment. A voice crystallised out of the rush of the ether.
‘Vehicle twenty-seven here. Can you hear us?’
‘Of course I can. What is it?’
Jensen recognised both the voice and the lazy drawl. The woman who had been speaking to the men in the white coats.
‘The main hospital is in contact with an ambulance,’ he said.
‘You should have shot them.’
‘I’m not armed. And anyway, they showed their ID.’
‘You should still have killed them.’
The police doctor turned down the radio conversation. Looked quizzically at Jensen.
‘How much do you actually know?’ he said at length.
‘Very little.’
‘I don’t know everything either. I didn’t get back until yesterday. To the city, I mean. There are things I don’t understand any more than you do.’
‘Where were you before
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