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‘No, I’ve not seen him all week – I thought he was at home…ill in bed.’
‘He was…he has been. But I’ve just got home and he’s not here. He didn’t take his coat. I’m rather worried.’
Michaela was silent for a few moments. ‘OK…’ she began tentatively. ‘That does sound odd, I agree, Leila. But could he have popped out to the shops – to get some medicine, perhaps?’
‘That’s what I wondered, but without his coat? It’s starting to rain again.’
‘He can be forgetful…’
‘Yes, I know. Look, Michaela, I’ll stay here, in case he gets back. Could you call me if you hear from him?’
When Axel and Sofia arrived home from school, they threw their school bags down noisily and retreated to their room. Leila, anxious not to alarm them, tried to concentrate on her column. She sat at Viktor’s desk, typing furiously – the words came easily now, suddenly released in a torrent from her brain. ‘If Fascism wins,’she wrote, ‘basic citizens’ rights will come to an end for the foreseeable future.’
She finished the piece within an hour and dictated the text to the sub-editor over the phone. Whatever the circumstances, she was a professional and couldn’t let Julius down.
It wasn’t until they sat down to dinner that the children noticed their father’s absence.
‘He’s had to go out…with colleagues,’ Leila explained. ‘Now, as soon as you finish your homework, it’s into bed with both of you.’
‘Oh, but Mutti,’ pleaded Axel, ‘you promised we’d play cards tonight.’
‘I know I did…but I’ve got work to do. I’m sorry, sweetheart.’
Her son sulkily got to his feet and the children sloped off to their room.
With the children in bed, Leila sat alone in the sitting room, her heart thudding with fear, desperately hoping to hear the sound of Victor’s key in the lock. But there was silence. She needed someone to talk to, and rang Julius. ‘Did you get my column?’
‘Yes, it was very good…powerful. I think it will create quite a stir.’
‘Not too much of a stir, I hope.’ Her voice was quiet and frightened.
‘Are you all right, Leila? You sound upset.’
‘It’s Viktor…it’s nine o’clock and he hasn’t come home yet.’
‘Is that unusual?’
‘Yes – very. He’s been ill and he’d never have gone out without leaving a note, or calling me.’
‘I’ll come over – I’ve just got to put the paper to bed. Won’t be long.’
The moment Julius arrived, Leila fell into his arms. ‘I just know something’s happened to him…I can feel it. Someone’s taken him.’
‘Now there,’ he said, rocking her gently, ‘you don’t know that. Let’s just try to stay calm.’
‘No!’ She pushed him away and began to pace the floor. ‘Something’s happened to him, I tell you. His glass had been knocked over. He didn’t take his coat or his spectacles. Oh God…where is he?’
‘I agree, it’s odd – but that’s not exactly evidence, is it? He might be out with a client, or friends.’
‘Without telling me? No, he’d never do that.’
‘Look, Leila, try to get some sleep. I’ll go back to the office now, and see what I can find out.’
‘How?’ she asked desperately.
‘Contacts in the police – that sort of thing. I’ll call you as soon as I know anything.’
Leila dragged an armchair into the hall, next to the telephone, and wrapped herself in a blanket. When the phone finally rang, she was woken from a dreamless half-sleep. ‘Yes…yes,’ she said urgently.
