The Empress Holds the Key by Gabriel Farago

Author:Gabriel Farago [Farago, Gabriel]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: General Fiction
Publisher: Gabriel Farago
Published: 2017-03-22T04:00:00+00:00

60

‘What do you mean you can’t find him?’ Carrington demanded. His junior looked flustered. ‘Do you have any idea what this means? We’re due back in court. Lord Ashburton was supposed to be here at noon with the violin. Go and find him. Now!’

It was Carrington’s first day in court without Jana, and he was missing her already. Dreadfully. To his surprise, he found it difficult to concentrate. She’d be half way there by now, he thought, all by herself.

‘You are still under oath,’ the judge reminded Krakowski waiting in the witness box. ‘Yes, Mr Crown,’ she continued, nodding towards Carrington at the bar table in front of her.

‘Mr Krakowski, just before the luncheon adjournment you told the court about your father’s violin,’ Carrington began, rising to his feet. ‘I think you referred to it as precious. Why was it precious?’

‘My father was a child prodigy. At the age of ten he was already giving concerts all over Europe. Count Esterhazy heard him play Paganini in Vienna. Apparently the count was so impressed by the boy’s performance that he presented him with a violin after the concert. The violin was a Stradivarius. It also had a name ...’

‘A name you say? What name?’

‘It was called The Empress. It was named after the Empress Elisabeth of Austria – the Kaiserin.’

Carrington glanced over his shoulder; Lord Ashburton had still not arrived.

‘You said in your evidence this morning,’ Carrington continued, trying to buy time, ‘that you and your family were deported from Warsaw after the ghetto uprising in April 1943, and sent by train to Auschwitz. Is that correct?’

‘Yes, that’s right.’

‘You also told the jury that your father took one item with him, his violin, because it was his most treasured possession. Is that right?

‘Yes, he couldn’t bear to leave it behind. It was part of him.’

‘What happened when you arrived at Auschwitz?’

Krakowski paled. Trying to calm himself, he reached for the glass of water in front of him.

‘Your Honour,’ protested Archibald, rising to his feet. ‘I must object. This evidence is hardly relevant.’ Archibald realised that Krakowski had the jury eating out of his hand and hoped an objection now would break the spell of Krakowski’s carefully chosen words and restrained, spellbinding delivery. Any account from him of the enormous human tragedy in which the accused was implicated would be disastrous for Archibald’s client. Krakowski sounded truthful, accurate and honest; a devastating combination in a witness giving evidence against one’s client. Just as one would expect from a seasoned performer, Archibald thought.

‘Mr Crown?’ asked Her Honour. ‘What do you say about that?’

‘The relevance of this evidence will become apparent shortly, Your Honour,’ Carrington explained calmly. The judge accepted the assurance.

‘Please continue, Mr Krakowski. What happened next?’ Carrington asked, turning towards his witness.

‘A German officer came over to us, pointed to the violin case under my father’s arm and asked if he was a musician. My father explained who he was and told the officer that we, that is my brother and I, were also accomplished musicians.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.