by Graham Brack
‘May I have a word?’ he said.
‘Can it wait?’
‘I don’t think so. It’s about a car. It’s illegally parked.’
‘That’s not a Crime matter,’ Peiperová replied.
‘No, but it’s registered to the police in Prague.’
Peiperová could not think whose it could be. The officer produced a digital camera and found the image.
‘It’s been there over three hours with no sign of the officer.’
The unmarked police cars did not differ much from each other, so Peiperová was no wiser until an idea came to her.
‘Lieutenant Doležal!’
‘Sorry?’
‘He drives a car like that. He’s on secondment to Pardubice, but he isn’t picking up his phone. I wonder if something has happened to him?’
‘No accident has been reported.’
‘You don’t know Doležal like I do. He wouldn’t park illegally by choice. He follows the rules meticulously. Where is this?’
‘Near the café.’
It all fell into place. Doležal had discovered that someone in the police knew Navrátil’s identity. He had rung Slonský to warn him to get Navrátil out, then he must have driven over to Holice to see if he could find Navrátil himself. But if something had happened to Doležal perhaps it had happened to Navrátil too?
Peiperová wanted to vomit. She loved her work and she had braved some tough times since coming to Prague but right at that moment she wanted to drop to the floor and empty her guts. This was too much to cope with.
The young officer put his arm around her shoulders. ‘Are you okay?’ he asked.
Peiperová nodded, gritted her teeth and fanned her face to compose herself. ‘Please come with me. I need you to repeat this to Captain Slonský.’
Slonský listened intently. ‘So you think Doležal may be with Navrátil?’
‘I think Lieutenant Doležal may be in trouble, wherever he is, sir,’ Peiperová answered, though she could not disguise her concern about her fiancé’s welfare.
Slonský handed his phone to Peiperová. ‘I can’t work that thing. Find me Poznar’s number and dial it for me.’
Peiperová did as she was bidden and handed the phone back.
‘Poznar, have you heard anything about Navrátil yet?’
‘Yes, he’s in a place of safety. I won’t tell you where it is in case anyone is listening in, but I’m on my way now to collect him.’
‘Good. He didn’t mention Lieutenant Doležal being with him?’
‘Doležal? No, not a word. Should he be?’
‘Nobody has seen him since he rang this morning to say Navrátil’s cover was blown. And his empty car has been found. I’m concerned.’
‘I would be too. When I’ve collected Navrátil shall I come and find you?’
‘Only if it’s safe for him, otherwise get him out of here. We’ll manage — but thanks for the offer.’
Slonský had divided the party between the two cars. Forman was in his car, whilst Nerad and the hobbling man were placed in the other to be taken to the cells in Pardubice where the Holice police would guard them until Slonský had them replaced.
‘I hate not knowing who can be trusted,’ Slonský muttered. His phone rang again. ‘Not now, Mucha!’ he snapped.
‘Yes, now! I’ve got a phone number for you to ring, and you will ring it as soon as I put the phone down. Have you got a pen?’
‘Yes, but no paper.’
Forman helpfully handed him his notebook.
‘Fire away.’ Slonský copied down the number. ‘Who is it and why am I ringing them?’
‘It’s some guy called Staněk and he says he knows where Doležal is, but he won’t tell anyone but you.’
‘Right. Get off the line, Mucha, this is important.’ Slonský dialled the number as instructed.
‘Staněk.’
‘Lieutenant, this is Slonský speaking.’
‘I’m glad you’ve called. I’ve got your man to the hospital in Pardubice but there’s only me here and I daren’t leave him unguarded. Can you get me some help?’
‘How is he?’
‘Not good. It’s touch and go. They gave him a terrific beating.’
‘You’ve done well, Staněk. I won’t forget this. We’ll get there as fast as we can.’
Slonský rang off, instructed Peiperová to head for the hospital in Pardubice, and then asked her for simple instructions to find Poznar in his contacts list. He dialled and explained what had happened.
‘Leave it with me,’ said Poznar. ‘Help within the hour.’
Slonský rang off. ‘At last. A policeman I can trust.’
Peiperová shot him a look. ‘A policeperson, I mean. And present company … never mind.’
Slonský knew he and Staněk were going to get along. For a start, Staněk said very little. When Slonský, Forman and Peiperová found the ward they saw Staněk standing guard outside the room. He did not greet them with any more than a cursory nod.
‘Doc’s in there now. There’s some internal bleeding they’ve had to deal with but they think it’s stopped,’ he said.
‘Is he going to be all right?’
‘They won’t predict anything.’
Slonský slapped the wall in annoyance. Keen as he was to get rid of Doležal he did not want it to happen this way. ‘How did you find him?’
‘Got the technical department to trace his phone.’
‘Good to about a fifty metre circle. And then?’
‘Klaberský has a workshop where he works on his motor bikes. It seemed a good place to start.’
‘And no doubt you saw something that justified you breaking in?’
‘It wasn’t locked.’
‘Really? That’ll make life easier when we take them to court. When you say “not locked” do you mean unlocked, or not effectively locked?’
‘The front door was locked. I entered through the side door.’
‘Which they must have overlooked when locking up.’
Staněk did not intend to lie so he just said nothing.
‘Tell me about Vondra and Klaberský,’ Slonský continued.
‘How do you mean?’
‘What are they like?’
Staněk shrugged. ‘Vondra’s a dinosaur. Klaberský’s a raptor.’
‘Have they ever shown extreme political tendencies before?’
‘Vondra harks back to the old days. He’s not political. He just doesn’t want 1968 to happen again. Klaberský’s only cause is Klaberský.’
‘But they’ve frustrated the murder inquiry into what happened to your colleague Sedlák.’
Staněk stood detached, eyes fixed in front, like a sentry. ‘That’s why I’m here now.’
‘If you know anything about the circumstances of Sedlák’s death, this is the time to share it.’
‘I don’t. Except that the two of them were with me.’
‘At six o’clock on Liberation Day?’
‘I can’t swear to the hour. But too late to have made it to Holice anyway. Vondra likes us to put on a bit of a show on Liberation Day. Full uniform. Make the police visible to the public. So we were in Pernštýnské Square that afternoon, all of us.’
‘But not Sedlák?’
‘Sedlák asked whether we were on duty, because if we were, he’d expect to be paid. Vondra said we weren’t, so Sedlák said he was entitled to take the holiday. After all, he didn’t live in Pardubice like the rest of us.’
‘But you look after the east of the region?’
‘I come from Litomysl, about fifty kilometres to the south east, but I got fed up with driving back and forth to hand in reports. Besides, the area idea is just a basic way of dividing work. There’s less crime in my patch so I was spending most of my time here anyway.’
The doors opened and Poznar entered, followed by a little priest. It was doubtful whether Slonský would have recognised him if a nearby policewoman had not run to embrace him. He kissed her in
a way that is not normally associated with priests, causing Staněk’s mouth to drop open.
‘It’s a Prague thing,’ Slonský explained, clapping him on the shoulder, before striding forward to speak to Poznar. ‘Where’s the help?’ he asked.
Poznar looked sheepish. ‘The duty squadron is on an exercise. I’ve called out the standby but they’ll probably be another half hour or so.’
‘Can they land away from the hospital? I’ve got an idea.’
‘You don’t have to have ideas now. You’ve already been promoted,’ Poznar pointed out.
‘We need to flush Vondra and Klaberský out so we know where they are. But they won’t come into the trap if they know the commandos are around.’
Poznar sucked his teeth. ‘Is this a hare-brained idea you’re having, or a completely mad one?’
‘Does it matter?’
‘It’ll matter at my court martial.’
‘It’s only slightly loopy.’ Slonský beckoned Staněk to join them. ‘Staněk, I want you to call Vondra. Tell him you were called by someone reporting an assault. You discovered it was Doležal so you brought him here. Fortunately, Doležal is recovering well and you expect it’ll be possible to question him soon.’
Poznar understood now. ‘So they’ll come running to try to ensure that Doležal doesn’t talk.’
‘I hope so. And I hope they’re not too far away so they won’t have time to think before they get here.’
Staněk nodded and went to make his call somewhere quieter.
‘Is Navrátil all right?’ Slonský enquired.
‘Bit shaken,’ Poznar replied, ‘but he’ll do. He’s a resourceful lad. He’s a bit worried about having to explain what he was doing to the priest whose spare outfit he stole, but otherwise he’s okay. And he’s given me some useful information about Our Home.’
Slonský beckoned Officer Peiperová to him, which meant that Captain Forman had to come too, since they were handcuffed together now.
‘I think they’ll smell a rat if they see Captain Forman handcuffed to you. You can’t sit in the car in case they see you, but find somewhere in the hospital to keep out of sight. I’ll call you when the coast is clear.’
Poznar was making his call to ask the helicopter to land as inconspicuously as possible. There was a small airport at Pardubice where a helicopter landing would not be unusual, so that was nominated. Since it was around five kilometres away, they were told to commandeer taxis. Poznar was concerned with one aspect of the plan. ‘They’re police officers, Slonský. They’ll be armed.’
‘I know. So we have to take them by surprise and disarm them. Have you got a weapon?’
‘Of course. Have you?’
‘Yes. I just haven’t got it with me.’
‘What?’
‘I put it in the glove compartment of the car in case Forman tried to snatch it. His is there too.’
Poznar pointed at the only available person. ‘He’ll get it for you.’
‘Navrátil? There’s one small problem. Peiperová has the car keys, and we don’t know where she is.’
Further debate was stifled as the doors swung open and Klaberský marched in, Vondra following behind at something of a trot. Klaberský looked through the observation window in the door as if checking that it really was Doležal in there.
‘I’m glad you got him here,’ Klaberský said to Staněk. The sheer effrontery of it made Slonský’s blood pressure rise. ‘How about if Captain Vondra relieves you and then I can take the next shift?’
‘I don’t think so,’ said Slonský. ‘We don’t normally let police officers guard victims they’ve attempted to kill.’
‘What rubbish is this?’
‘We don’t actually need Doležal’s evidence so bumping him off wouldn’t help you.’
Poznar had drawn his gun, but Klaberský grabbed a nurse and held her in front of him as a shield as he retreated towards the doors.
‘Don’t be a fool!’ Vondra called. ‘It’s over.’
‘I’m not going to jail,’ Klaberský yelled. ‘Not now, not ever.’ He backed through the door taking a quick glance to check that the path was clear. Slonský restrained Poznar from chasing after him. There was no need. Lurking behind the doors Slonský could see a little priest wielding a heavy fire extinguisher.
Navrátil swung it smoothly. It cracked into Klaberský’s head and he slumped to the ground. Unfortunately Navrátil had somehow pulled the pin out and foam was filling the corridor, so that the nurse had to drop to her knees and lift Klaberský’s head free of it. Poznar raced forward to grab Klaberský’s gun while Slonský did the same to Vondra.
It was at this moment that Major Rajka turned the corner. He took in the nurse cradling a police officer’s head, the priest still holding the assault weapon and the corridor full of foam.
‘Well, everything seems to be in order here,’ he said.
Chapter 16
‘This is extremely embarrassing,’ said Slonský.
‘Yes, sir. Sorry, sir,’ Peiperová said again.
‘What were you thinking of?’
‘He said he needed the toilet, sir. I obviously couldn’t go in there with him, so I had to take the cuffs off. And there wasn’t a male officer free to go instead or to check for escape routes.’
The hospital maintenance crew had dismantled as much of the window as they could but they still could not free Forman, who had attempted to squeeze through and was now wedged by his belly with his head dangling downwards.
‘How did he think he was going to get down two storeys?’ Peiperová asked.
‘I don’t think he gave it an awful lot of thought, Peiperová. Maybe he was so desperate to avoid your company that diving head first onto concrete seemed a good option.’
The firefighters had managed to raise their ladder until one of them could take the weight of Forman’s shoulders. Slowly they eased him back inside, centimetre by centimetre, until he was able to get his shoulders and arms back through the window. As soon as he did so, Peiperová reapplied the handcuffs.
Forman was returned to earth, allowing the blood to leave his face, which was not an attractive colour. He adjusted his disordered uniform and had the grace to look apologetic. ‘I’m sorry,’ he said. ‘I didn’t mean to cause any trouble.’
Slonský sighed. ‘I know. But it’s a bit hard to give you credit for co-operation when you try to do a runner. Especially with an OII officer in the building at the time.’
They returned to the corridor where Rajka was waiting for them.
‘Jesus Maria, that was funny!’ he said. ‘I’ve got several photos on my phone. Of course, they’ll have to make my word for it that it’s Forman’s backside wedged in the window. Still, it made the trip to Pardubice worthwhile.’
‘How is Klaberský?’ asked Slonský.
‘Awake but sore. Where do priests learn to thump people like that?’
‘He’s not a real priest,’ Slonský explained. ‘He’s planning to marry Officer Peiperová here and the church has rules about that.’
‘I can see that celibacy might be a challenge,’ Rajka agreed, causing Peiperová to blush.
‘And he’s broken one of the other commandments too. He stole the priest rig.’
‘I imagine the church takes a dim view of that too. Of course, OII has rules about police officers stealing stuff,’ Rajka said, ‘but I don’t think we need to know about this.’
Peiperová relaxed.
‘Unless the priest makes a formal complaint,’ Rajka continued.
‘Navrátil is on his way to return the stolen goods right now,’ Slonský confirmed. ‘He’s not looking forward to it. We can only send him to jail for a while but it seems that priests can sentence you to an eternity of little devils tickling the soles of your feet with goose feathers.’
Rajka put a brotherly arm round Slonský’s shoulders. ‘It’s been a grand day out, but how about we all get back to Prague and reconvene in the morning to compare notes?’
One of the advantages of losing Peiperová to the Director of Criminal Police was that she was able to persuade him to let Slonský have the use of the conference room for the morning, so Slonský, Peiperová, Navrátil, Klinger, Rajka and Poznar were sitting around a highly polished table drinking coffee.
‘I didn’t know we had cups with the police logo on them,’ said Navrátil.
‘It’s probably to stop anyone stealing them,’ Slonský answered. ‘It might be an idea if the Catholic church did that with its cassocks.’
Navrátil coloured. ‘The priest was actually very nice about it.’
‘I’m pleased to hear that,’ Slonský replied. ‘The people of the Pardubice Region must be getting a bit fed up with seeing police officers in handcuffs.’
‘They won’t see them for a while,’ Rajka interrupted. ‘They haven’t got many more to arrest.’
‘I’ve had a word with the Director of Criminal Police before the meeting. They’re going to offer Doležal Vondra’s job. It’ll mean a promotion to captaincy. Of course, we don’t know whether he’ll take it, but I think he might.’
‘But he’s not going to be back at work for a while, is he, sir?’ Peiperová enquired.
‘The doctors say he’s responding well to treatment now. The pressure in his brain has returned to normal and they’re hopeful he’ll make a good recovery. Of course you can’t take a beating like he took and not expect consequences, but let’s hope they’re minimal. In the meantime Staněk will be acting captain. We’ll have to give them some extra help until they recruit to replace Klaberský and Sedlák, but I’m sending Rada there on a permanent posting. It’s not what I’d planned, but he probably didn’t want to work for the Border Police anyway. And if Doležal isn’t fit for active duty, Captain Lukas suggested I might find him a role with the Police Academy as an instructor. The police look after their own.’
‘That’s why we got into this mess,’ Rajka suggested.
‘There’s a right way and a wrong way to do it,’ agreed Slonský. ‘My way is better than theirs.’
