The Gooseberry Fool (27 page)

The mortuary sergeant, Van Rensburg, who had no doubt been doing a bit of eavesdropping himself, emerged from his office, harumphed, and stepped forward with due solemnity.

“This way, please, miss. It won’t take a second.”

When Samantha reappeared, it was without her glasses. The eyes were bright again, bright and gleaming and horrible to look at.

Scott approached her, his manner very formal.

“Was that the man you saw in the library while you were in the company of Mark Clive Wallace?” he asked.

“Yes.”

“You are certain of that, Miss Simon?”

“Yes.”

“You would swear to it in a court of law?”

“Oh, God!” she choked. “Yes, yes, yes! It’s him! The bastard who played gooseberry on us! Do you want it in blood?”

Then she fled between them before anyone had a chance to explain how necessary it was to be sure of things. The screen door clattered open and banged shut.

“Of course, there are still a few details—”

Scott spun on Du Plessis.

“Don’t talk crap, man! If Swart was around, we’d have more than enough for a conviction!”

Du Plessis scowled peevishly.

“Well, I thought at least someone would thank me. After all, if I hadn’t made the coincidence happen, then—”

“Coincidence? Is that what you call it? This morning it was a different story. Wallace’s death was a consequence, you bloody idiot. The only coincidence was there wasn’t another violent death that night—get it?”

Hurt deeply, Du Plessis slunk away to his proper place in bureaucratic obscurity. Muller tactfully led Van Rensburg into the office and closed the door, leaving Scott alone in the hallway with a very happy man.

“Ta,” said Kramer, grinning.

“Tromp, it’s me that should do the thanking, hey?” Scott replied. “My department is in your debt.”

“Boss?”

Scott gave an almost imperceptible shake of the head. Kramer knew then he had asked enough questions for one day. So, with a brief shake of hands, they parted.

And some minutes later, Zondi came in from the car park to find Kramer lost in thought.

“Go all right, boss?”

“Perfect.”

“That is good.”

“Oh, Colonel Scott asked me to thank you.”

“What for, boss?”

“Put it this way,” said Kramer, pushing him aside on his way out. “If it wasn’t for you, Zondi, old son, then quis pus custard et?”

O
THER
T
ITLES IN THE
S
OHO
C
RIME
S
ERIES

Quentin Bates

(Iceland)

Frozen Assets

Cold Comfort

Cheryl Benard

(Pakistan)

Moghul Buffet

James R. Benn

(World War II Europe)

Billy Boyle

The First Wave

Blood Alone

Evil for Evil

Rag & Bone

A Mortal Terror

Cara Black

(Paris, France)

Murder in the Marais

Murder in Belleville

Murder in the Sentier

Murder in the Bastille

Murder in Clichy

Murder in Montmarte

Murder on the Ile Saint-Louis

Murder in the Rue de Paradis

Murder in the Latin Quarter

Murder in the Palais Royale

Murder in Passy

Murder at the Lantern Rouge

Grace Brophy

(Italy)

The Last Enemy

A Deadly Paradise

Henry Chang

(Chinatown)

Chinatown Beat

Year of the Dog

Red Jade

Colin Cotterill

(Laos)

The Coroner’s Lunch

Thirty-Three Teeth

Disco for the Departed

Anarchy and Old Dogs

Curse of the Pogo Stick

The Merry Misogynist

Love Songs from a Shallow Grave

Garry Disher

(Australia)

The Dragon Man

Kittyhawk Down

Snapshot

Chain of Evidence

Blood Moon

Wyatt

David Downing

(World War II Germany)

Zoo Station

Silesian Station

Stettin Station

Potsdam Station

Lehrter Station

Leighton Gage

(Brazil)

Blood of the Wicked

Buried Strangers

Dying Gasp

Every Bitter Thing

A Vine in the Blood

Michael Genelin

(Slovakia)

Siren of the Waters

Dark Dreams

The Magician’s Accomplice

Requiem for a Gypsy

Adrian Hyland

(Australia)

Moonlight Downs

Gunshot Road

Stan Jones

(Alaska)

White Sky, Black Ice

Shaman Pass

Village of the Ghost Bears

Lene KaaberbØl & Agnete Friis

(Denmark)

The Boy in the Suitcase

Graeme Kent

(Solomon Islands)

Devil-Devil

Time Before

Martin Limón

(South Korea)

Jade Lady Burning

Slicky Boys

Buddha’s Money

The Door to Bitterness

The Wandering Ghost

G.I. Bones

Mr. Kill

Peter Lovesey

(Bath, England)

The Last Detective

The Vault

On the Edge

The Reaper

Rough Cider

The False Inspector Dew

Diamond Dust

Diamond Solitaire

The House Sitter

The Summons

Bloodhounds

Upon a Dark Night

The Circle

The Secret Hangman

The Headhunters

Skeleton Hill

Stagestruck

Jassy Mackenzie

(South Africa)

Random Violence

Stolen Lives

Seich
Matsumoto

(Japan)

Inspector Imanishi Investigates

James McClure

(South Africa)

The Steam Pig

The Caterpillar Cop

The Gooseberry Fool

Snake

Jan Merete Weiss

(Italy)

These Dark Things

Magdalen Nabb

(Italy)

Death of an Englishman

Death of a Dutchman

Death in Springtime

Death in Autumn

The Marshal and the Madwoman

The Marshal and the Murderer

The Marshal’s Own Case

The Marshal Makes His Report

The Marshal at the Villa Torrini

Property of Blood

Some Bitter Taste

The Innocent

Vita Nuova

Stuart Neville

(Northern Ireland)

The Ghosts of Belfast

Collusion

Stolen Souls

Eliot Pattison

(Tibet)

Prayer of the Dragon

The Lord of Death

Rebecca Pawel

(1930s Spain)

Death of a Nationalist

Law of Return

The Watcher in the Pine

The Summer Snow

Qiu Xiaolong

(China)

Death of a Red Heroine

A Loyal Character Dancer

When Red is Black

Matt Beynon Rees

(Palestine)

The Collaborator of Bethlehem

A Grave in Gaza

The Samaritan’s Secret

The Fourth Assassin

John Straley

(Alaska)

The Woman Who Married a Bear

The Curious Eat Themselves

Akimitsu Takagi

(Japan)

The Tattoo Murder Case

Honeymoon to Nowhere

The Informer

Helene Tursten

(Sweden)

Detective Inspector Huss

The Torso

The Glass Devil

Janwillem van de Wetering

(Holland)

Outsider in Amsterdam

Tumbleweed

The Corpse on the Dike

Death of a Hawker

The Japanese Corpse

The Blond Baboon

The Maine Massacre

The Mind-Murders

The Streetbird

The Rattle-Rat

Hard Rain

Just a Corpse at Twilight

Hollow-Eyed Angel

The Perfidious Parrot

Amsterdam Cops: Collected Stories