"I took that photograph two weeks ago. He had just arrived from Tokyo and was still tired from the trip."

"He comes here often, does he?" Grijpstra asked.

"Often, almost every month. He always stays at the same hotel and I meet him at the airport in his car. I keep the car when he isn't here."

"A car," Grijpstra said hopefully. "Where is the car now?"

"I don't know."

"What sort of a car?"

"A white BMW, a year old. It belongs to the Japanese company he works for. A very nice car."

"Do you remember the registration number?"

"Yes, it's an easy number to remember, 66-33-MU."

"Right," Grijpstra said briskly. "We'll investigate the case. Don't worry, miss. I don't think there is a case but we'll go into it all the same. We have your telephone numbers and address and we'll let you know."

"Soon?" she asked nervously.

"Soon," Grijpstra said, and his light blue eyes looked at her kindly. "Tonight, in fact. Maybe we'll know nothing by tonight but we'll phone anyway. And you can phone us too. Here is my card. It's got my home number too in case I am not here."

He got up and shook her hand and opened the door for her.

De Gier had finished with the phone when Grijpstra got back to his desk. He sighed.

"Yes," Grijpstra said. "The fellow ran into another girl and is having the time of his life somewhere. Or he ran into a boy. Or he got drunk and had another drink when he got up in the morning. Always the same thing, happens all the time. But the wives or girlfriends never catch on."

"Women worry a lot," de Gier said, "most women anyway."

"Doesn't Esther worry?" Grijpstra asked.

"No," de Gier said bitterly. "She just makes coffee when I come home and pats me on the head. If she is in my apartment, that is. Sometimes she isn't there, and then I worry, and talk to the cat. Silly Oliver also worries when she isn't there."