The Zurich Conspiracy

son in a car crash six months earlier, his only child. How could she have forgotten?
    “I’m sorry about your son,” she suddenly said.
    “Yes, me too,” Van Duisen answered. “You know, I spent so little time with him. I was always at the office, in meetings, traveling. The company was my whole life. And now he’s dead, and I can’t make up for it.”
    Josefa was quiet. She didn’t know what to say.
    “I would do many things differently today: live more, work less. Not make the same mistakes.” He cleared his throat. “I’m going to quit soon and retire. But don’t tell a soul.”
    They were both silent for a while. Just before the airport he suddenly said, “You can’t help wondering why people run straight into their own misfortune.”
    “What do you mean?”
    “Why Herr Bourdin runs into a golf club at the top of a swing.”
    Yes, that was something Josefa very much wanted to know as well.

Bourdin picks up the gold club and slams it on a box on the ground. Bam. Bam. Bam. Josefa tries to stop him, but he keeps thrashing it with all his might.
    “I want to know what’s in there,” he roars. “I want to know what you bastards are hiding in there!” Bam. Bam. Bam.
    Josefa woke up with a start. The hammering continued. And now a voice.
    “Josefa! Open up! Open the door!” Though the voice seemed familiar, she tried to ignore it.
    “Josefa, I know you’re in there. Open the damn door!”
    Josefa dragged herself out of bed. Her head was throbbing.
    “I’m sick. I look awful. Go away!” she whined through the locked door.
    “If you don’t open up this minute, I’ll howl like a wolf,” Helene threatened.
    Josefa opened the door a hair. “I don’t want you to see me like this,” she squawked.
    “Are you nuts? Let me in,” her friend commanded.
    “You’ve got to let me go back to bed.”
    Helene began to howl. She’d stunned Josefa by doing this once before when they were jogging in the woods. She could imitate a wolf howl perfectly ever since participating in a scientific study on the animal in Romania. Josefa was a bit embarrassed by her demonstration in the woods because people were walking nearby.
    This time, it was more than embarrassing—it was a shock.
    She opened the door wide. Helene was in full safari gear, right up to the hat and rubber boots.
    “Dog,” said a child’s voice. “Dog.”
    Josefa peered past Helene. Sali was on the lower landing, wearing the new glasses Josefa had picked out with him; they were a perfect fit in spite of his jug ears. The lenses reflected light from the stairwell window. Josefa heard herself say, “No, Sali, that’s a wolf, not a dog, a wolf .”
    “You are dog?” he asked, pointing a finger at Helene. Josefa looked at Helene and Helene looked at Sali.
    “No,” Helene solemnly said. “I am a wolf.”
    And before Josefa could stop her she howled again.
    Then Sali’s mother came running up the stairs, quickly took the boy by the hand and led him downstairs. Helene pushed Josefa resolutely into her apartment, took off her boots, got a blanket out of the bedroom, tucked Josefa in on the sofa, and retreated to the kitchen to make some tea.
    “You could easily have said something,” she scolded, filling the pot with hot water. “You might die here, you know, and nobody would know anything about it.”
    “I don’t intend to die. I’m just sick,” Josefa said grumpily.
    “That’s what your secretary told me too. I called your office after not hearing from you for five days.” Helene handed her the piping hot mug.
    Josefa didn’t want to think about the office at all. Better to put it out of her mind completely. “Walther blames the whole disaster on me. And it was Bourdin , that complete moron, who ran right into it.” It was all a nightmare.
    Her friend shook her head. “I saw it in the newspaper. It didn’t look too good. But the question is: Are you going to put your neck in that sling?”
    “I’ve had it up to here with the whole business. Those miserable sons of bitches!” Josefa slopped some of her tea.
    Helene laughed. “Anger does you good, my dear. Grab ’em by the balls and let ’em have it!”
    Josefa actually did feel somewhat better. All that sleep had done her a bit of good.
    After they finished their tea, Helene offered to pick up Josefa’s mail and go grocery shopping for her. As her friend was going out the door she stopped and said, “My mother spoke about you again. She’s still expecting you