“The seed for more murders,” interrupted Vledder.
“Exactly,” agreed DeKok, “the seed had been planted for more murders.”
They remained silent. Fredrich Gosler’s vengeful hatred had taken possession of them, as if the murders were being contemplated anew.
Mrs. DeKok moved uneasily in her chair.
“You know,” she said earnestly, “I can understand how Fredrich Gosler would come to think that way. Had he laid hands on those two guys right after his uncle’s murder, people would have understood. He’d have been guilty of acting on overpowering emotion. Not that he would have been justified in killing those two, mind you. By now, though, eight years have passed…”
DeKok bit his lower lip thoughtfully.
“You’re right. Gosler’s emotions after the vicious murder of his uncle might well have overwhelmed him. But Brets and Kamperman went to jail. Gosler’s rage had plenty of time to cool. Gosler kept an eye on both men. He learned that neither man had served a full sentence. We have our much-touted system of rehabilitation and parole, you know. Imagine Gosler’s chagrin when his uncle’s murderers walked. Needless to say, Fredrich Gosler was outraged. He discussed this miscarriage of justice with his sister and brother-in-law, Pierre Brassel. All three agreed no justice had been done on behalf of Uncle Hampelmann. Fredrich proposed the idea of belated executions.”
Vledder looked up.
“That sounds familiar.”
DeKok nodded.
“Yes, I guess it would. Pierre Brassel made a mistake, right at the beginning. During our first meeting at the station, Brassel wondered aloud why he would take risks for a murder like that of Jan Brets. He said, ‘It would be too silly to risk all that for a somewhat belated murder.’ You remember? He swallowed the last word, but the word was meant to be execution.”
Mrs. DeKok made a vague gesture.
“So, they accepted Gosler’s idea at once?” she asked.
“No, Pierre Brassel was against it. He didn’t want to go through with it. He was really an outsider, after all. He thought a lot more soberly about vengeance than his wife and her brother. He thought it was insane to risk their lives, family, and position executing the likes of Brets and Kamperman. Brassel is a snob. To him they were inferior beings, unworthy of the attention of a gentleman.”
“Wha-what changed?” Vledder stammered. “I don’t understand. The killings took place after all.”
“Yes, but for a different reason,” said DeKok.
“A different reason?”
“Cancer.”
He remained silent. In his mind’s eye he saw the sick man. The flat eyes, the hollow cheeks, the half-paralyzed mouth that spoke of justice.
“Yes,” he continued, “Fredrich Gosler became ill with cancer. A forthright doctor told him that he had maybe six months left.”
DeKok rubbed his eyes with a thumb and an index finger.
“The rest is easily deciphered. Gosler’s wish in the last six months of his life was to avenge his uncle, to see justice done. He asked his brother-in-law, Pierre Brassel, to help.”
Mrs. DeKok gave him a compassionate look.
“And,” she asked, “this time Brassel was willing to cooperate?”
“Brassel was in a difficult position. In principle he agreed with his wife’s brother. There had been no justice for Uncle Hampelmann. But he was still not inclined to take unnecessary risks for futile vengeance. Also, by nature, he was a lot more humane. Brassel believed the criminals could be rehabilitated, maybe had been rehabilitated. He didn’t think Jan Brets was still the murderous maniac who had split Hampelmann’s head with a hammer. He pleaded for a test.”
“A test?” asked Vledder.
“Indeed, a test. He wanted Jan Brets to be placed in a hypothetical situation in which he would have the same choice.”
“The same choice?”
“Yes,” answered DeKok patiently. “He would give Brets a choice to kill…or not to kill.”
“Ah, I get it. He chose to murder the old watchman.”
“Exactly. Brassel approached Brets with a lot of garbage about a gang, an organization.” He raised his index finger in the air. “He alluded to a rich haul at Bunsum & Company. He suggested the old night watchman would have to be eliminated. He even supplied Brets a weapon, a lead-reinforced hockey stick. It was clear that anybody who was hit on the head with that instrument would not survive the experience. But Brets cheerfully accepted the stick and the assignment. He declared no qualms about taking care of the old man.”
“Thereby signing his own death warrant.”
“Yes. Brets failed the test.”
Mrs. DeKok was visibly upset. She shook her head, as if to clear it. Imagine setting up a cold-blooded test to determine if someone would live or die a violent death. It was more than she could bear.
“What about Kamperman?” she cried.
“Pierre Brassel hadn’t the luxury of delaying matters,” he answered gravely. “Perhaps he could have delayed the second murder, which certainly put him at further risk. Gosler, however, was facing down his own death. Brassel had argued at length to get Gosler to agree to the first test. Jan Brets proved to be as ready to commit murder as he had been in the past.”
DeKok shook his head in despair.
“When Brassel asked for a test for Kamperman,” he continued, “Gosler wouldn’t hear of it. Time was pressing, you see. Fredrich Gosler was getting weaker by the day. The disease progressed faster than the doctor had estimated. If he was to complete his self-imposed task, they had to proceed.”
“So Renard Kamperman didn’t have a chance?” Vledder questioned. It sounded bitter.
“That’s the most tragic part of the whole situation. Kamperman had been rehabilitated. He had turned over a new leaf, moved from his old surroundings and married. He and his wife had two small children and he had become a respectable father, husband, and wage earner.”
DeKok stopped talking. His final words still hung in the room.
After a long silence, Mrs. DeKok spoke.
“Justice can be a terrible word,” she said.
DeKok pushed his lower lip forward and nodded.
“Sometimes,” he agreed somberly.
Vledder was still deep in thought.
“Why,” he asked after a while, “don’t you finish this case in the normal, prescribed manner?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, why not arrest Gosler?”
“No, I won’t do that. Please understand it is not because of Gosler, or because of his illness. Certainly not because I sympathize with his motives, but because I’m afraid.”
“You? Afraid?”
“Yes, I’m afraid of the consequences. Cancer is not exactly a rare disease. Suppose people in the end stages of disease get the idea it is acceptable to take justice into their own hands. So they get into the private execution business. The consequences don’t bear thinking about. That’s why it’s better for the Case of the Dead Harlequins never to become public knowledge.”
It was already late at night when Vledder went home.
“Say hello to the office for me tomorrow,” said DeKok in parting.
Vledder smiled.
“When are you coming back?”
“As soon as Fredrich Gosler has passed on. According to the doctor, it’s only a matter of days. Not until then will I report to the commissaris.”
He made a simple gesture, shrugged his shoulders.
“You cannot arrest the dead.”
About the Author
A. C. Baantjer is one of the most widely read authors in the Netherlands. A former detective inspector of the Amsterdam police, his fictional characters reflect the depth and personality of individuals encountered during his nearly forty-year career in law enforcement.
Baantjer was honored with the first-ever Master Prize of the Society of Dutch-Language Crime Writers. He has also been knighted by the Dutch monarchy for his lifetime achievements.
&n
bsp; The sixty crime novels featuring Inspector DeKok
written by Baantjer have achieved a large following among readers in the Netherlands. A television series based on these novels reaches an even wider Dutch audience. Launched nearly a decade ago, over 100 episodes of the Baantjer series have aired on Dutch channel RTL4.
Known as the “Dutch Conan Doyle,” Baantjer’s following continues to grow and conquer new territory.
DeKok and the Somber Nude
The gray sleuth is forced to deal with a most gruesome murder: a naked, dismembered young woman has been found in the city dump. DeKok faces death as an inevitable part of life, but when things turn this macabre, it’s a hard pill to swallow.
ISBN-13: 978-1-933108-16-2
DeKok and the Geese of Death
Renowned Amsterdam mystery author Baantjer brings to life Inspector DeKok in another stirring potboiler full of suspenseful twists and unusual conclusions.
ISBN-13: 978-0-9725776-6-3
DeKok and Murder by Melody
“Death is entitled to our respect,” says Inspector DeKok, who finds himself once again amidst dark dealings. A triple murder in the Amsterdam Concert Gebouw has him unveiling the truth behind two dead ex-junkies and their housekeeper.
ISBN-13: 978-0-9725776-9-4
DeKok and the Death of a Clown
A high-stakes jewel theft and a dead clown blend into a single riddle for Inspector DeKok to solve. The connection of
the crimes at first eludes him.
ISBN-13: 978-1-933108-03-2
DeKok and Variations on Murder
During one of her nightly rounds, housekeeper Mrs. Van Hasbergen finds a company president dead in his boardroom. She rushes up to her apartment to call someone, but who? Deciding it better to return to the boardroom, she finds the dead man gone.
ISBN-13: 978-1-933108-04-9
DeKok and Murder by Installment
Although at first it seemed to be a case for the narcotics division, this latest investigation soon evolves into a series of sinister murders involving drug smuggling and child prostitution.
ISBN-13: 978-1-933108-07-0
DeKok and Murder on Blood Mountain
The trail of a recent crime leads Inspector DeKok to Bloedberg (Blood Mountain), Belgium, a neighborhood in Antwerp. Seems a man was fished from the Scheldt River, and DeKok has
been summoned to help with the investigation.
ISBN-13: 978-1-933108-13-1
DeKok and the Dead Lovers
Inspector DeKok and his partner Vledder are ordered to protect the art treasures of a millionaire. During their watch, they are called away to help prevent the execution of a young man. That same night a priceless silver ewer is stolen from the exhibition. Although at first faced with a jigsaw puzzle of more than usual difficulty, the reader is slowly made aware of a course of events that, in passing, destroys a pipeline of child pornography to America.
ISBN-13: 978-1-933108-22-3
DeKok and the Mask of Death
A woman has disappeared without a trace from Hospital South in Amsterdam. Upon investigation, three more women seem to have disappeared in the same mysterious way. For the first time in his career, a hospital means more to DeKok than a place where wounded witnesses and criminals are interrogated.
ISBN-13: 978-1-93318-30-8
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