The Mask of Dimitrios Page #5

i suppose.

I had nothing better

to do.

Maybe that was why

i was interested in such a colorful character.

I don't expect you

to believe me,

but it's the truth.

If you don't like it,

too bad.

Here, mr. Leyden,

are 3 pieces of paper.

On the first is written

the name of the man of whom i spoke to you.

The name is grodek.

He lives just outside geneva.

The second is

a letter to him.

If you will present

that letter,

he will know that

you are a friend of mine

and that he can

be frank with you.

And incidentally,

it was he who

employed dimitrios in 1926.

Oh, really?

Uh, what about

this one?

I think you said

you were not rich?

No, i'm not rich.

Half a million

francs...

would be useful

to you?

Well, it wouldn't

make me sad.

Well, then, mr. Leyden,

when you have tired of geneva,

i want you to,

how do you say,

to kill two birds

with one stone.

Ahem. Here on

this list of yours are other dates

besides 1926 still

to be accounted for.

If you are to know

what there is to know about dimitrios,

the place to account

for them is paris.

That is the first thing.

The second is if

you will come to paris,

if you will consider then

the pooling of resources,

the alliance that i have

already proposed to you,

i can definitely

guarantee that in a very few days

you will have at least

a half a million french francs.

At the moment

i cannot say more.

But if you will believe in

and trust me,

if you will come to paris,

then here on this piece of paper

is an address.

When you arrive send

a pneumatique to me.

Do not call, for it is

the address of a friend.

I have put you

to so much trouble.

Oh, no trouble

at all.

I wish to make restitution

in a practical way.

Half a million francs

is worth considering, eh?

And i would guarantee it.

But, uh, we must trust

one another,

that is most important.

Au revoir,

mr. Leyden.

I won't say good-bye.

Half a million francs,

mr. Leyden,

will buy a lot of

good things.

I do hope we shall meet

in paris.

Good night.

Ohh...

mr. Leyden.

Excuse me, monsieur.

I did not hear

the car arrive.

I was playing

my favorite bach.

Oh, i see that

you have introduced

yourself

to eloise

and abelard.

Do you like cats?

Very much.

I love them,

monsieur.

This is eloise.

Isn't she beautiful?

Oh, beautiful.

And so

inscrutable,

like a woman.

Ravissante.

Go back to

your lover now.

Won't you sit down,

please?

Yes, thank you.

Very kind of you

to receive me, sir.

Well, i don't know

exactly what mr. Peters said in his letter.

Mr. Peters was very

frank about you.

Oh, was he?

He said that you

were writing a book.

I, too, am writing

a book.

Oh, really?

Your memoirs?

Oh, no, monsieur.

I am writing

the life of saint francis.

Pardon me?

Yes, indeed.

But i confidently

expect to be dead

before it

is finished.

Do you care for

english whiskey?

Yes, i do, very much.

Good. I, too, prefer

it as an aperitif.

Oh, yes. May i have

a cigarette, please?

Please,

help yourself.

Thank you.

Have you known

mr. Peters long?

No, i...

i met him once

in a train

and then again in

my hotel in sofia.

Thank you.

Monsieur, i wonder what

your attitude would be

if i were to ask

an impertinent question.

Please,

go right ahead.

If i were, for instance,

to ask you to tell me seriously,

if a literary interest

in human frailty

were your only reason

for approaching me?

Monsieur,

i can assure you-

i'm quite certain

that you can,

but forgive me,

monsieur.

What are your

assurances worth?

All i can do is

give you my word

that any information

you give me

i'll treat as

confidential.

I don't think

i have made myself quite clear.

The information

itself is nothing.

What happened

in belgrade in 1926

if of little

importance now.

It's my own position

of which i am thinking.

You see my point?

I'm a little suspicious,

monsieur.

I still have enemies

in this world.

Supposing, therefore,

if you tell me

just what your relations

with our friend peters are.

Would you like

to do that?

I would, but i can't...

for the simple reason

that i don't know

what our relations

are myself.

I was not joking,

mr. Leyden.

Nor i.

As you know, sir,

i was investigating

the life of dimitrios,

and while doing so

i met this mr. Peters.

Well, for some reason,

i don't know why,

he seemed to be

interested in dimitrios, too.

He followed me

to sofia, and there he approached me-

behind a pistol.

Behind a pistol?

He made me an offer.

Ah.

If i would meet him

in paris

and collaborate in

some sort of a scheme he had in mind,

we should each profit

to the extent of half a million francs.

I see.

He said that i had some

piece of information in my possession which,

when used

in conjunction with some information

that

he possessed,

should prove of

great value.

And what may i ask

is this so valuable

piece of information in your possession?

That's what

i don't know.

Come now, monsieur.

You ask for

my confidences.

The least you can do

is to give me yours.

But it's true.

I don't know.

Well... well, yes,

at one point

in our conversation,

he became

very excited.

At what point?

When i explained

to him how i knew that dimitrios

had no money

when he died.

And how

did you know?

Well,

it's very simple.

Because

i saw the body.

You saw the body?

Yes, everything taken

from it was right there on the mortuary table,

but there was

no money, none. Not a single penny.

Another drink,

monsieur?

Oh, yes, please.

You see? I don't

know what

my relations

to mr. Peters are myself.

Mm-hmm.

Straight?

Yes, please.

A toast,

monsieur leyden...

to the detective story.

Thank you, sir.

To your book.

Forgive me, monsieur.

A thought crossed my mind

that made me laugh.

It was a thought

of our friend peters

confronting you

with a pistol.

You know,

he's quite terrified of firearms.

With me, he kept his fears

to himself very successfully.

A clever man,

peters.

May i be permitted

as a friend

to give you a word of advice,

mr. Leyden?

- Please do.

- Then, if i were in your place

i should be inclined

to take our friend peters at his word.

- And go to paris.

- Really?

I think i shall tell you

about dimitrios.

My friend peters has

probably reffered to me

as a master spy.

The term is ambiguous.

Actually it means that i was

an employer of spy labor

that's how i came

to employ dimitrios.

He was well recommended

for this particular job.

Which i don't mind telling you was on behalf of italy.

Relations between italy

and yugoslavia in 1926

were a bit strained.

My assignment was to get a copy

of the yugoslav minefield chart.

And for that job

i employed dimitrios.

I was in belgrade myself,

and had ample opportunity

to watch him in action.

I left the whole matter

entirely up to dimitrios,

but i was interested

to see how he started.

At the time, he was

using the name of wagner-

even

herr wagner.

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