Chapter Three
Inspector Nuritov greeted Konrad with a smile of welcome, and gestured him to a seat with alacrity. Konrad blinked at the inspector in surprise. It was almost as though the man was glad to see him.
‘It has been a while, Savast. I trust you’ve been well?’
Konrad blinked again, and cleared his throat. It had been a while, but he would not have expected Nuritov to notice. He had not thought their acquaintance had ever progressed to such a point.
‘Social season,’ he said at last, with a shrug and something resembling a smile in return. He could hardly tell Nuritov the real reasons he had been absent; the Inspector knew him only as a bored gentleman of leisure with an interest in solving mysteries, and Konrad could not confide in him about his true identity.
Nuritov grinned a
