Chapter 2 Chapter two

"Major Glydel?" Jessop hesitated a little when he pronounced the name. "It's hard to pronounce, isn't it," said the visitor with humorous appreciation. "During the war, your countrymen called me and now, in America, I'm going to change my name to Glyn, so that people It will be easier to read." "Are you from America?" "Yes. I was here a week ago. Excuse me, are you Mr. Jessop?" "I'm Jessop." Glydel watched him with great interest. "Then," he said, "I've heard someone speak of you." "Really? From whom?"

The man smiled. "Perhaps we are moving too quickly. Before you allow me to ask questions, I will give you this letter from the American embassy." He bowed and handed over the letter.Jessop took the letter, read the first few lines of courtesy, and put it down.He looked at his guest appraisingly.He was tall, with a somewhat rigid manner, and was about thirty years old.His blond hair was combed in a Continental style.He spoke slowly and carefully, with a distinctly foreign accent, but the grammar was correct.Jessop noticed that he didn't seem at all nervous or insecure about himself.That in itself is unusual.The vast majority of people who come into this office appear jittery, agitated, or worried.Sometimes they improvise, sometimes they go into a rage.

Here is a man in complete control, a man with a serious face.He knows what he's doing, why he's doing it, and he's not easily coaxed or tricked into saying things he doesn't intend to say.Jessop said to him lightheartedly: "What did you come to see me for?" "I came to you to inquire if you had any further information concerning Thomas Betterton, who has recently disappeared in a manner which seems somewhat lurid. What I read. So I asked where I could get good news. I was told that you could get good news here." "Sorry, we haven't had definitive information on Betterton yet."

"I think he may have been sent abroad to perform some kind of mission." He paused for a moment, and added tactfully, "You know, this must not be made public." "My dear sir," said Jessop with a distressed expression, "Betterton is a scientist, not a diplomat or a spy." "You're berating me. But labels aren't always appropriate. You might ask why I'm interested in this. Thomas Betterton is one of my in-laws." "Understood, I think, you are the nephew of the late Professor Mannheim." "Oh, you already know. You are very well informed here."

"People come here a lot and tell us things," whispered Jessop. "Betterton's wife was here just now. She told me you wrote her a letter." "Yes. I wrote her a letter to offer my condolences and to ask if she had any further news." "You are right to do so." "My mother is the only sister of Professor Mannheim. They have a very good relationship. When I was a child living in Warsaw, I used to go to my uncle's house. His daughter Elsa is like my own sister. Same. After my parents died, my family was my uncle's and my cousin's. How happy those days were! Then came the war, and a lot of misery and horror... But all I don't want to talk about Yes. My uncle and cousin fled to the United States, and I stayed and joined the underground resistance organization. After the war, I held several errands. I went to the United States once to see my uncle and cousin. When I was in At the end of my assignment in Europe, I thought about settling in America. I wished I could live with my uncle, my cousin, and her husband. But, alas," he spread his hands, "my uncle was dead when I got there My cousin died too, and her husband, who had come to England, remarried. So I was homeless again. Then I read in the newspaper that the famous scientist Thomas Bate So I came to England to see what was to be done." He paused, looking at Jessop inquiringly.

Jessop also looked at him with blank eyes. "Why is he missing, Mr. Jessop?" "That's exactly," said Jessop, "what we're dying to know." "Perhaps, you know?" Jessop admired the man who had so easily reversed their identities.In this room, he is the one who is used to asking people questions.And now the stranger was the interrogator. Jessop replied, still lighthearted: "I assure you, we don't know why he disappeared." "But, do you have any doubts?" "There may be suspicions," said Jessop cautiously, "that there is a pattern to this thing . . . it has happened before."

"I know that." The guest quickly cited more than half a dozen cases. "They're all scientists," he said meaningfully. "yes." "Have they all gone beyond the Iron Curtain?" "It's possible, but right now we don't know." "Did they go voluntarily?" "It's hard to say," Jessop said. "You think it's not my business?" "Oh, sorry." "You're right in thinking that. It's only because of Betterton that I'm interested in this case." "I'm sorry," said Jessop, "but I don't quite understand why you're interested in this case. Betterton is, after all, only one of your in-laws. You don't even know him."

"You're right. But for us Poles family is very important. Obligations." He stood up.Bow unnaturally. "Sorry to take up so much of your time. Thank you for being so kind to me." Jessop stood up too. "I'm sorry I can't help you," he said, "but I assure you we don't know anything about it either. If we hear anything, can I get in touch with you?" "I can be reached through the US embassy. Thank you." He bowed primly again. Jessop rang the bell.Major Glydle went out.Jessop picked up the phone. "Ask Colonel Wharton to come to my room."

When Wharton came in, Jessop said to him: "Things are finally moving." "what happened?" "Mrs. Betterton wants to go abroad." "To meet your husband?" "I hope so. She comes here with a letter of introduction from her doctor. The letter says she needs a complete rest and a change of scenery." "It really seems to be happening!" "It might be true, of course," Jessop warned him. "It might be a fact." "People here never see things that way," Wharton said. "Yeah. But, I have to say she did it convincingly. She didn't miss a word."

"I suppose. You didn't get more from her?" "Only got a little. That's the Speed ​​woman who lunched with Betterton at the Dor Hotel." "Really?" "He didn't tell his wife about the lunch." "Oh!" Wharton thought about it, "Do you think that has anything to do with it?" "Probably related. Carol Speed ​​was once vetted by the Un-American Activities Committee. She exonerated herself, but that was after all... yeah, she, or people thought, she was, after all, stained. This Possibly a contact. The only Betterton contact we have found."

"How about Mrs. Betterton's contacts? Any contacts that might have come lately to instigate her to go abroad?" "No one has contacted her. It's just that she received a letter from a Pole yesterday. It was written by the cousin of Betterton's first wife. The Pole was still asking me about this and that. Woolen cloth." "What kind of person is he?" "A man who isn't very real," said Jessop, "everything foreign and canonical, everything so 'genteel,' as a person he's strangely unreal." "Do you think he was the liaison who instigated her to go abroad?" "Maybe. I can't say for sure. He puzzles me." "Do you need to monitor him?" Jessop smiled. "Yes. I've rang the bell twice." "You trickster—very scheming." Then Wharton became serious again. "Hey, how did you fill out the form?" "Janet and the usual stuff, I think. The location is Spain or Morocco." "Not Switzerland?" "Not this time." "I think in Spain or Morocco they will have difficulties." "We must not underestimate our opponents." Wharton fingered the stack of investigative materials in disgust. "About those two countries people haven't seen Betterton yet," he said ruefully. "We're going to give it our all this time. Good God, if we lose this case..." Jessop leaned back in the chair. "I haven't had a vacation in a long time," he said. "I'm getting a little bored with the office. I might have to travel abroad..."

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