Authors: Frank Tallis

Tags: #Fiction, #General, #Historical, #Mystery & Detective, #Crime

Mortal Mischief (55 page)

Rheinhardt could hear the director standing behind him, breathing heavily.

'Who has been in here this morning?' Asked Rheinhardt.

'Myself,' said Pfundtner, 'and Herr Gundlach.'

'What about you doctor?' Rheinhardt called back. 'Have you taken a look in here.'

'No Inspector,' said the doctor. 'I've been rather preoccupied with the health of my patient.' His sounded slightly irritated.

Rheinhardt looked back at the director: 'Where do we go?'

'Over there,' said the director, pointing.

'Please follow me very closely, Herr Pfundtner. Try to tread on the rocks rather than the soil.'

'Why?'

'Footprints.'

Rheinhardt negotiated the shallow decline using the rocks like stepping stones. He felt them sink a little under his weight, making his progress unsteady. The pit was horribly humid, and beads of sweat had begun to trickle down his cheek. As he rounded a large sandy boulder, he caught sight of the animal. Even though he knew what to expect, he still found himself surprised by the bizarre spectacle.

The snake was enormous – a mythical beast, a sea serpent or basilisk; however, its dimensions were exaggerated still further by the odd way in which the creature had been mutilated.

'Hildegard,' said the director.

Rheinhardt thought he detected a slight catch in the director's voice. He did not find it difficult to sympathize with his companion.

The snake had been cut into three sections: head, trunk, and tail. These body parts were ordered correctly, perfectly aligned, and separated by gaps of approximately one metre – they had been arranged in a curving procession that followed the arc of the water's edge. The effect was striking and curiously aesthetic. Taken together, the three segments were longer than a tram. The central segment had a diameter wide enough to accommodate a small child.

When the two men had completed their descent, Rheinhardt clambered onto a large rock near the snake's head. Hildegard's eyes and nostrils were set high up on her flat, pointed skull, and a delicate forked tongue protruded from between powerful jaws that had been propped open with a small stone. The device seemed to serve no purpose other than artistic effect. Her skin was green – the same shade as the water – and mottled with black egg-shaped patches. Rheinhardt was fascinated by the textured surface, each scale a tiny blister of jet or obsidian. The snake's innards were revealed in vivid cross-section where the central segment had been cleanly sliced.

'Extraordinary,' said Rhienhardt. 'Quite extraordinary.'

'It must have been a madman,' cried the director. 'A lunatic escaped from Am Steinhoff.'

The soil around the water's edge was of a light brown colour and stained with dark splashes of ophidian ichor.

'Is it a Python?' asked Rheinhardt.

'Good heavens no,' said the director' Hildegard is— . . . was . . . an Anaconda, a water boa.'

'Non-venomous?'

'Quite so.
Eunectes murinus
is a constrictor. In the wild
murinus
lays submerged under water and grabs prey as it arrives to drink.'

'Then it kills by asphyxiation?'

'Yes, or drowning. The jaws are very strong. It can hold a large animal down with relative ease.'

'How large?'

'An adult deer would not escape those jaws. Large Anacondas like Hildergard have even been known to kill big cats – like jaguar.'

'What about human beings?'

'Some attacks have been confirmed, but it is an exceedingly rare occurrence.'

Rheinhardt contemplated the snake's enormity and stopped himself from uttering:
What a monster!
fearing he would hurt the director's feelings. 'How long is Hildegard?'

'Nearly nine metres. Pythons grow longer, though they are not so heavy.'

'Even if one knew that anacondas rarely attack human beings, entering her domain would still have been a daunting prospect.'

'Quite so,' said the director, 'But the villain would never have been in any real danger. This pit has been Hildegard's home for over twenty years. She is— . . .' The director corrected himself. 'She
was
accustomed to human company – which almost always signified the arrival of food. In spite of appearances, she was a very docile creature.'

Rheinhardt scratched his head.

'Herr Pfundtner, have any of the keepers reported seeing anything irregular . . . a patron acting suspiciously, or showing excessive interest in Hildegard?'

'No. Besides, Hildegard had so many devoted admirers, it would be difficult to say.'

'What about persons who might bear the zoo some grudge? Do you know of any?'

'Inspector, we are the most well loved institution in Vienna.'

'Indeed, but I was thinking that perhaps you might have dismissed a keeper, who— . . .'

'No!' interrupted the director. 'No one has been dismissed. And relations between the board of governors and the keepers have always been excellent. You mark my words, Inspector,' said Pfundtner, pointing his finger at the mutilated anaconda, This abomination is the work of a madman!'

'You may well be right, Herr director,' said Rheinhardt, taking his notebook from his pocket. As he did so, the door to the snake pit opened and Walter Gundlach appeared.

'Inspector – your assistant is here.'

Rheinhardt called out: 'All right – I'm on my way.' Then turning to Pfundtner added in a softer register, 'Remember Herr director, tread only on the stones.' He then dropped his empty notebook back inside his coat pocket.

The two men made their ascent, occasionally stretching out their arms to stop themselves from falling. When they reached the door, the director politely allowed Rheinhardt to enter first. The doctor was still standing next to his seated patient. Walter Gundlach gestured Rheinhardt towards the hallway, where young Haussmann was waiting. He looked flushed and was breathing heavily – as though he had been running. Without saying a word, Rheinhardt joined his junior, and together they walked along the corridor until they could speak without being overheard.

'Please accept my apologies, sir. There was a—'

Rheinhardt did not want to hear any excuses; besides, Haussmann was only a little late. He was disinclined to reprimand his assistant and cut him off with a question: 'Do you know what's happened here?'

'No sir. I left the security office as soon as I learned of your whereabouts.'

Haussmann took out his notebook and waited for the Inspector to speak. His pencil hovered over the blank paper. Rhienhardt's baggy eyes suddenly sparkled with a playful light.

'The victim is a nine metre female – approximately 250 kilos. She is known only as Hildegard and to be a personal favourite of the Emperor.'

The young man stopped writing and looked up at his superior.

'You are joking, Sir?'

'It's a snake Haussmann – a snake!'

'A snake?'

'An Anaconda to be precise. Death was probably instantaneous after decapitation. Subsequently the intruder mutilated his victim by cutting off her tail. He gained entry into the snake pit after knocking out one of the keepers, Herr Arnoldt. He's the poor fellow with the head bandage. Get a police photographer down here at once and prepare a floor plan. Take impressions of the directors shoes and those worn by the two keepers – Herr Arnoldt and Herr Gundlach, then see if you get a cast of any prints in the snake pit. Herr Arnoldt has lost his memory, but the doctor says there's a fair chance it will return. I'll try interviewing him in a couple of hours, he might have more to say then.'

The assistant looked up from his note book.

'This is all very unusual, sir.'

'Haussmann, you have a gift for understatement.'

Rheinhardt turned and began walking towards the exit.

'Sir?'

'Yes, Haussmann?'

'Where are you going?'

'To inspect the perimeter fence for damage.' He paused for a moment and then added. 'Oh yes, and see if you can find a murder weapon. If it's here it'll be easy to find. Something large I suspect – an axe or some sort of sword.'