Heartbeat Detector Page #5

What is 88 - 13?"

His father beat him,

shut him in the cellar,

yelled death threats

through the door.

One day in the bathroom,

he tried to drown him.

The child wondered what the bodies

were doing face down on the ground.

"Daddy, there were

women and children

lying by the cemetery.

What were the bodies doing there?

What were the 13 children doing?

Daddy, what were the bodies doing?

The 88 women on the ground?

The 88 bodies, the 88 children?

Were the children dead?"

I can feel it.

It's going to fall.

I can feel it's going to snow.

It will be beautiful.

Hello, sir.

Do you have a cigarette?

Come with me, please.

Come with me.

I'm happy you came.

I couldn't ask Lucy.

Here.

Apart from you, I don't know who....

It's pure lies.

You'll see how spiteful men can be.

-Should I read them?

-Do what you like.

It's worthless.

A disgusting, repugnant past.

Lies.

My father wasn't in Berlin

at the time.

He wasn't a technician.

He was just a shopkeeper

in Hamburg.

He was forced to enlist

in a Polish battalion

in the east of the country.

I have nothing to do with this.

The envelope contained three letters.

Jst had kept them on him.

They were anonymous,

posted in Le Mans.

The first, sent a year ago,

well-known to Shoah historians.

Enclosed was a facsimile

of a memo written by an engineer,

dated June 5th, 1942,

stamped, "Secret: Affairs of State".

"Since December 1941,

in exemplary fashion

using three vans,

without any sign of defect.

The explosion in Kulmhof

should be seen as an isolated case

caused by an operational error.

Special instructions

have been addressed

to the services concerned

to avoid such incidents.

One:

To facilitate rapid distribution

of carbon monoxide,

without pressure build-up,

two 10-centimeter vents will be made

at the top of the rear wall.

These vents will be fitted

with adjustable metal valves.

Two:

The normal load capacity

is from 9 to 10 pieces

per meter squared.

But the large Saurer vans cannot be

used for that many.

The problem is not

one of overloading,

but the effect of maximum loading

on the vehicle's maneuverability.

It therefore seems necessary

to reduce the cargo area

by one meter.

Reducing the number of pieces

as we've been doing

is not the answer

because the empty space must also

be filled with carbon monoxide.

The manufacturer pointed out

that making the van shorter

at the rear

would cause the cargo

to shift towards the front,

and might overload the axle.

In fact,

there is a natural compensation

in the distribution of the load.

There is a natural compensation

in the distribution of the load

caused by the fact

that during the operation,

the load tends to force

its way towards the rear doors

and ends up lying in this area.

Consequently, the front axle

is not overloaded.

Three:

The pipe that connects

the exhaust to the van

tends to rust because

it is eaten away from the inside

by liquids that flow into it.

Pointing the nozzle downward

prevents this from happening.

Four:

To facilitate cleaning,

a watertight drain

will be installed in the floor.

The cover of the 20 to 30

centimeter opening

will be fitted with an elbow siphon

to allow for the drainage

of thin liquids during the operation.

Thicker dirt will be disposed of

through the large drainage hole

during cleaning.

To enable this,

the floor can be tipped slightly.

Five:

The observation windows can be

eliminated as they're rarely used.

This will save a great deal of money.

Six:

Grills should cover

the lamps high enough

to make it impossible

to break the bulbs.

Experience shows

they can be done away with.

However, when the back door

is closed and it gets dark inside,

the load pushes hard

against the door.

This is because

the merchandise rushes

towards what little light remains

as it gets dark.

This hampers the locking of the door.

It has been noticed that the fear

aroused by the darkness,

provokes screaming

when the doors are locked.

It seems expedient

to keep the lights on

before and during

the start of the operation.

Lighting is also useful

for night work

and for cleaning the van."

You can't sleep here.

I'm not asleep.

You must have fainted then.

-Really?

-Come on.

Thank you.

Come and drink something.

No, I'm fine.

-I should call a doctor.

-No, thank you.

-Where do you live?

-Nearby.

The memo had been submitted

for examination and decision

to SS-Obersturmbannfhrer Rauff.

It had been signed:

"By order of Jst. "

Feeling better?

What did you mean

by "black as a prison."

Why did you say that?

You frightened me.

I thought you were going mad.

We kissed.

We wanted each other.

We were going upstairs....

And then you remembered your mail.

You went to get it.

When you came back,

you had changed.

You were a different man. Cold.

You really hurt my wrists.

It was the other guy that did it.

He must have been hiding

in the hallway.

He appeared out of nowhere.

Louisa, I....

Let's go back to before the mail.

I touched your breast.

With my other hand, remember,

I was stroking your back.

I felt you against me,

pressing against my stomach.

I took you in my hand.

When I was a child,

I'd close my eyes and see the sun

through my eyelids.

It was red, frightening,

like an explosion.

I could no longer feel Louisa's body.

I clung onto her flesh.

I could no longer see her eyes.

A face without a mouth.

A sort of body without arms or legs.

The second letter Jst had given me

was composed of pieces

from the 1942 report,

pulled apart, broken up,

deconstructed.

The words were scattered

over a sheet of music.

I didn't know it but I held the proof

of the sender's identity.

What's the good news,

Mr. Corporate Shrink?

Hello, Mr. Paolini.

Whisky, wine, pastis.

Whisky.

It's not my office, but it's better

than in that busy cafeteria.

Have you ever played this piece?

It's short.

It must be the Franck,

the second movement.

We had a go at it.

May the composer forgive us.

Why are you so obsessed

by the Farb Quartet?

As I told you,

I'm forming a little orchestra.

If I organized a concert this summer,

would you take part?

What an appalling idea!

Here? No!

I've always hated company parties.

They make me think of mass burials.

I thought the young executives

could meet the old boys.

They were all really fond

of the quartet.

Which old boys?

The few that are left

have forgotten it

or have gone deaf by now.

The quartet was total crap.

You're lying.

No one would have talked about us.

Yes, Lynn Sanderson did.

She was madly in love!

She couldn't hear a thing.

We only had one real musician,

Arie Neumann.

He was great.

He came from marketing.

He was laid off

during the restructuring program.

He was an amazing guy.

-Lynn never mentioned him?

-No.

The quartet broke up when

he stopped coming to rehearsals.

Did you stay in touch?

No, I don't know

what happened to him.

Why aren't you answering?

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