76
PARTISAN REVIEW
21.
I took a taxi to the airport which is on the outskirts of Wurtenburg, and
checked with a number of airlines if anyone by the name of Daphne
Hasendruck had booked a flight to America. She had not, at least not
under her own name. Wishing to be thorough, I inquired at Lufthansa
if a Miss Daphne Hasendruck had booked a flight to Geneva that
morning. Trying to sound as diffident as possible, I mentioned that my
niece, Daphne Hasendruck, was to call me on her arrival in Geneva.
Since I hadn't heard from her, I was inquiring if, in fact, she had left
for Geneva. I don't think that the clerk believed my story, but she did
inform me-after checking a list-that a Miss Hasendruck had taken
the afternoon flight to Geneva. It was not a direct flight, but her
destination was Geneva.
Did she fly there to join Paula? Or did she fly there for another
reason?
My brother Helmut did his best to talk me out of flying to Geneva.
Whatever it is, you don't want it. Whatever it is, you don 't need it.
You're free. You're in the clear. She may not know Paula, he argued.
She may just be drawn to the Alps, or the abundance of chocolate.
I left for Geneva the next day. As I expected, my wife was not listed
in the telephone book. I had been
to
Geneva several times before and
without giving it much thought checked into a hotel where Paula and I
had once stayed for a couple of nights.
It
was conveniently located near
the Quai du Mont-Blanc. The first thing next day I purchased a ream
of paper and a map of the city. As I rather aimlessly walked around the
downtown area in the vicinity of the Jardin Anglais I kept asking
myself if I was in Geneva in order to locate Daphne, or my former wife,
or if I was simply collecting fresh material for my next book. On the
third day I found a small decent restaurant. I also found a store where
the
Wiirtenburger Neue Zeit
was sold. I was still in Geneva when
another bomb went off in Wfutenburg. This one destroyed an entire
floor in the fingerprint section in the new police station. When I spoke
to
Helmut on the phone he, in a weary voice, suggested that I remain in
Geneva for the time being, adding his cautionary: Please don't fuck
up .. . do you understand what I am saying. I know it's your speciality,
but try not
to
this time.
In my hotel room I was prepared for every eventuality. I had a
ream of typewriting paper and a portable Hermes, but I couldn't write
