Passenger to Frankfurt - Agatha Christie [69]
‘Code word Blue Danube,’ said Sir George Packham in a loud, hoarse whisper. ‘Yes, yes. I’ll bring Pikeaway along with me. Oh yes, of course. Yes, yes. Get on to him. Yes, say you particularly want him to come, but to remember our meeting has got to be strictly private.’
‘We can’t take my car then,’ said Pikeaway. ‘It’s too well known.’
‘Henry Horsham’s coming to fetch us in the Volkswagen.’
‘Fine,’ said Colonel Pikeaway. ‘Interesting, you know, all this.’
‘You don’t think–’ said Sir George and hesitated.
‘I don’t think what?’
‘I mean just really–well, I–mean, if you wouldn’t mind my suggesting–a clothes brush?’
‘Oh, this.’ Colonel Pikeaway hit himself lightly on the shoulder and a cloud of cigar ash flew up and made Sir George choke.
‘Nanny,’ Colonel Pikeaway shouted. He banged a buzzer on his desk.
A middle-aged woman came in with a clothes brush, appearing with the suddenness of a genie summoned by Aladdin’s lamp.
‘Hold your breath, please, Sir George,’ she said. ‘This may be a little pungent.’
She held the door open for him and he retired outside while she brushed Colonel Pikeaway, who coughed and complained:
‘Damned nuisance these people are. Always wanting you to get fixed up like a barber’s dummy.’
‘I should not describe your appearance as quite like that, Colonel Pikeaway. You ought to be used to my cleaning you up nowadays. And you know the Home Secretary suffers from asthma.’
‘Well, that’s his fault. Not taking proper care to have pollution removed from the streets of London.
‘Come on, Sir George, let’s hear what our German friend has come over to say. Sounds as though it’s a matter of some urgency.’
Chapter 17
Herr Heinrich Spiess
Herr Heinrich Spiess was a worried man. He did not seek to conceal the fact. He acknowledged, indeed, without concealment, that the situation which these five men had come together to discuss was a serious situation. At the same time, he brought with him that sense of reassurance which had been his principal asset in dealing with the recently difficult political life in Germany. He was a solid man, a thoughtful man, a man who could bring common sense to any assemblies he attended. He gave no sense of being a brilliant man, and that in itself was reassuring. Brilliant politicians had been responsible for about two-thirds of the national states of crisis in more countries than one. The other third of trouble had been caused by those politicians who were unable to conceal the fact that although duly elected by democratic governments, they had been unable to conceal their remarkably poor powers of judgment, common sense and, in fact, any noticeable brainy qualities.
‘This is not in any sense an official visit, you understand,’ said the Chancellor.
‘Oh quite, quite.’
‘A certain piece of knowledge has come to me which I thought is essential we should share. It throws a rather interesting light on certain happenings which have puzzled as well as distressed us. This is Dr Reichardt.’
Introductions were made. Dr Reichardt was a large and comfortable-looking man with the habit of saying ‘Ach, so’ from time to time.
‘Dr Reichardt is in charge of a large establishment in the neighbourhood of Karlsruhe. He treats there mental patients. I think I am correct in saying that you treat there between five and six hundred patients, am I not right?’
‘Ach, so,’ said Dr Reichardt.
‘I take it that you have several different forms of mental illness?’
‘Ach, so. I have different forms of mental illness, but nevertheless, I have a special interest in, and treat almost exclusively one particular type of mental trouble.’ He branched off into German and Herr Spiess presently rendered a brief translation in case some of his English colleagues should not understand. This was both necessary and tactful. Two of them did in part, one of them definitely did not, and the two others were truly puzzled.
‘Dr Reichardt has had,’ explained Herr Spiess, ‘the greatest success in his treatment of what as a layman I describe as megalomania. The belief that you are someone other than you