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Commissioner Von Riedau sat at his desk late that evening, finishing up some important papers. The quiet of an undisturbed night watch had settled down on the busy police station.
And before you leave to look at the body, I would like to know whether the dead man owned a watch, or rather whether he had it with him on the day of the murder." "Yes, sir; he did have a watch, a gold watch," answered Mrs. Klingmayer. Riedau looked at the bookkeeper, who nodded and said: "Yes, sir; Winkler had a watch, a gold watch with a double case. It was a large watch, very thick.
His guards remained at the door, while the prisoner himself walked forward to the middle of the room. Commissioner von Riedau sat at his desk, his clerk beside him ready to take down the evidence. Muller sat near a window with a paper on his lap, looking the least interested of anybody in the proceedings.
Commissioner von Riedau raised the paper that covered the watch and continued: "You presumably recognised that the chain on which this watch hung was valueless, also that it could easily be recognised. Did you throw it away, or have you it still?" "I threw it in the river." "That will not make any difference. We do not need the chain, we have quite enough evidence without it.
"Well," asked the commissioner, as Muller did not continue, "your tongue is not usually so slow as you have proved just a few moments back what were you going to say now?" "I was about to ask your pardon for my interruption. It was unnecessary, I should not have said it." "Well, I realise that you know better yourself," said Riedau, now quite friendly again, "and now what else have you to say?
She crept slowly and tremblingly up the stairs behind the head bookkeeper and was very glad when she was left alone for a few minutes while Pokorny went in to see the commissioner. But as soon as his errand was known, both the bookkeeper and his companion were led into the office of Head Commissioner Dr. von Riedau, who had charge of the Hietzing murder case.
The commissioner shrugged his shoulders, bowed to the departing visitor, and then turned without an answer to some documents on his desk. There was silence in the room for a few moments. Finally a gentle voice came from Muller's corner again: "Dr. von Riedau?" The commissioner raised his head and looked around. "Oh, are you still there?" he asked with a drawl. Muller knew what this drawl meant.
This case had appeared to be so simple, and suddenly the hidden deeps of a dark mystery had opened before him, deeps already sounded by the little man here who had gone so quietly about his work while the official police, represented in this case by Commissioner von Riedau himself, had sat calmly waiting for an innocent man to confess to a crime he had not committed! It was humiliating.
Muller led his companions back to the commissioner's office and they made their report to Dr. von Riedau. Upon being questioned further, Pokorny stated: "I had very little to do with Winkler. We met only when he had a report to make to me or to show me his books, and we never met outside the office.
When he came to this spot in his story, he halted and drew a long breath. Commissioner von Riedau had begun to make some figures on the paper in front of him, then changed the lines until the head of a pretty woman in a fur hat took shape under his fingers. "Well, go on," he said, looking with interest at his drawing and improving it with several quick strokes.
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