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authorities. Even if this step might seem ridiculous in normal times, the guardians of the law would surely sympathize with such fears on a day like this and might even be grateful for information that could lead to the killer’s capture.
    Heinrich vigorously contested this. He had no intention of making himself look a fool in front of the police. He was going to have to live here for a long time. Did he want to be known at the police station as the idiot who’d called the police because of a creaking beam? No, he certainly wasn’t going to run that risk. So saying, he made for the stairs leading to the second floor.
    However, my partner prevented him from carrying out his intention of investigating the mysterious crash on his own. Stirring from the spot for the first time since her abortive attempt to escape, she caught hold of the belt around his bathrobe. He wasn’t going up there on his own, she said; she wouldn’t allow it.
    Heinrich came to a standstill, although his physical superiority would undoubtedly have enabled him to shake off the restraint. He burst out laughing.
    She didn’t find it funny, Eva said indignantly. Something had to be done. That noise just now really did defy rational explanation. Perhaps they ought to enlist the help of the farmer and his wife.
    That was all he needed, Heinrich exclaimed. What was this—blind panic coupled with stupidity? Besides, he doubted their neighbors were back from church yet. The two women should compel themselves to view the situation in a levelheaded manner.
    For a while, we all remained where we were in the passage, my partner still clinging to Heinrich’s belt. We strained our ears and thought it over.
    Eva wanted to discuss the matter as unemotionally as possible, she said. Heinrich would probably not encounter anything dangerous up there, but a certain risk remained. What did he propose to do if, contrary to expectation and mathematical probability, he suddenly found himself confronted by the camera killer in a second-floor room? He possessed immense physical strength, it was true, but the murderer would certainly take advantage of the surprise element. He might be lurking behind a door and attack him unexpectedly. Heinrich should at least be armed. She was thinking of a kitchen knife.
    Heinrich retorted that he was not adept at knifeplay and that resorting to such a dubious weapon could very quickly rebound on an unskilled defender. Eva sternly enjoined him to take the matter more seriously.
    After reflecting for a moment, Heinrich sighed and agreed to take an ax with him for purposes of self-defense. Eva applauded that decision. My partner, on the other hand, looked worried and would not be weaned from her proposal that we call the police for assistance. Heinrich rejected this, tapping his forehead.
    When my partner learned that fetching the ax would first entail another visit to the cellar, she wouldn’t hear of it. She made a lightning dash for the telephone, and Heinrich had some difficulty in wresting the receiver from her grasp and hauling her away from the handset. She loudly pointed out the dangers of a trip to the cellar: how easy it would be for the murderer, if he were outside, to capture him and, possibly, start filming.
    To resolve the situation, I expressed my full approval of Heinrich’s suggestion. Partly ignoring my partner’s resistance andpartly neutralizing it by exerting physical strength, I opened the door for Heinrich and locked it behind him.
    While waiting, Eva and I spoke soothingly to my partner. She abandoned the idea of phoning the police after Eva had argued that such a call might shed an adverse light on her mental state.
    There was a knock, and I opened the door without hesitation. Attired in his bathrobe, which was sodden with rain, Heinrich entered, ax in hand. He wasted no time in going upstairs. I followed him. The women plucked up their courage and climbed the stairs too.
    Once on the second floor, we turned on the