The Professor jumped up from his chair, knocking it over, frantically scanning the corners of the ceiling.
“Oh, that’s rich! Are you filming this? I can’t believe I fell for this. Pranks are juvenile at our age, David. You can come out now!” he yelled. His face reddened.
“Professor, no one’s filming. Sit down!” said Andreas, sputtering a series of Austrian scoffs. The Viennese even breathed with an annoyed accent.
The Professor obeyed.
“So.I gather there’s bad blood between you and David Goldfinch?”
“We studied at university together. We weren’t friends. I haven’t heard from him in a decade. He terrorized me during my student days. We were studying [something that never would have made David any money]. He dropped out to start a company. Worst of all, he took my idea and contorted it into something vile. If this interrogation’s one of his pranks, it’s petty and immature.”
“Professor, David Goldfinch is dead. Murdered here, on the night of your visit, in the room directly below yours.”
The Professor stopped fidgeting. His forehead glazed with sweat. “The last time I saw David Goldfinch was at graduation. Had I known he was here, I’d never have come. You can be certain of that. We were diametrically opposed in our ideals and our work. And I assure you, I’m too busy trying to make tenure to commit murder.”
Beate calmed him, gently enticing him to provide a more detailed account of his activities on the night of the murder. Which, it seemed, were all talk and no action until Luisa stormed out.
While he was distracted, defining some theory in an attempt to impress Beate, Sterling eyed Andreas, tugging her earlobe to remind him the Professor had an alibi from the Ear: his onanism. Andreas looked confused, so she tried something more overt by miming themale act of self-love. Andreas inhaled tensely, appalled, and mouthedOidaat her. He removed his glasses to massage his eyelids. After collecting himself, he asked wearily, “What happened after your date left?”
The Professor hesitated. “I took matters into my own hands, so to speak.”
He didn’t have much more to say. Well, he had alotto say, but nothing valuable to the investigation. Eventually, they led him out and waited for his date to arrive. They needed her to confirm his alibi.
Luisa, the sex worker he’d hired, showed up half an hour later, outfitted like a sexy librarian, with a tight bun and tortoiseshell glasses. Sterling guessed the lenses weren’t prescription.
Sterling offered her hand to shake, but Luisa opted for a kiss on each cheek instead. She smelled like cigarettes and a familiar cologne. Masculine. The scent of the person she’d just been with. Sterling recognized it from somewhere, but the thought floated away before she could make a connection.
The detectives took her upstairs to the suite for interrogation while Sterling prepared coffees. She savored the respite, pouring foam hearts into each drink, decorating the saucers with heart-shaped chocolates and red sugar packets.
When she returned, the suite was smoky. Luisa took her coffee and alternated between sipping it and smoking. Talk about an oral fixation.
“I left early, returned the cash for the last hour. I couldn’t stand how dull he was. Pure sophistry, dare I say. The front door was locked and there was no one at the desk. Luckily, a guy left at the same time and let me out.”
“With keys?”
“Yeah, obviously? I’d have mentioned if he used a crowbar.”
Sterling sat up straight. “Like these?” she asked, rattling her set.
“I guess? A key’s a key.”
“Did you see which room he was in?”
“No, but he came from around the stairs.”
“What time was that?” asked Beate.
Luisa extinguished her cigarette and immediately lit another. “Around three?”
“The desk was empty because I was bringing the cake to the bachelor party,” said Sterling.
Andreas shot her a look, warning her to stop interrupting.
“Can you describe him?” said Andreas.
“He was handsome. Cleft chin. Lean, muscular, white, with brown hair in a ponytail. Tall. Like, ignore-all-his-red-flags tall. Andoof, what a jawline. The only flaw was this mole on his chin. He was outside without a coat, but his shirt was practically translucent with sweat. I turned left. He turned right.”
“He went towards the canal?” said Andreas. There were more security cameras there, one reason why Sterling avoided the Danube Canal.
