Chapter 12
LIEUTENANT LÁSKA IN THE FAMILY CIRCLE
Lieutenant Láska, alias Rudolf Švarcšnupf, slid the key into the lock. But the mechanism was stubborn — even maliciously so — and thus Láska had to ring. The door was opened for him by a tall, slender woman — let’s acknowledge the fact that her name was Marta, even though Marta Švarcšnupfová has a chilling sound to it. But such is life.
That lock will drive me crazy, complained Láska, turning the useless key over and over in his fingers. What a horrid day it’s been. Sometimes I think I’d’ve been better off as a barber or a shoemaker than what I am. But you only leave State Security in a pine box. Where’s Anička?
Playing outside in the courtyard, Marta answered. That’s not an answer to make Láska very happy. The courtyard in question was
