The Archfornicator of Canterbury

48 Drøvel runs through it

Marcello Finocchio noticed with a certain amount of satisfaction that Professor Drøvel was about to hit the hay. That meant he too could have a well-deserved nap of roughly eight hours. For his report, he would make an educated guess at the times the Professor got up to pee, like he did every day. Finocchio set the alarm on his watch to go off at 7.25, which meant he would have plenty of time to get up to witness the excitement of the Professor's morning routine.

What Marcello Finocchio did not know that even with multiple camera video surveillance, things were not always as they seemed. Even though Finocchio and his men had been very discreet, the Professor eventually found the equipment planted in his apartment. One night, when the Professor was supposed to be sleeping, he got up in the middle of the night to let a man in. The man was Al Kopp, a colleague of Drøvel's from the University who specialised in video technology. Drøvel had, quite rightly so, calculated that whoever was on the other end of the camera feed would be fast asleep. Kopp disconnected the cameras one by one and spliced a VCR in between each camera and the cables leading downstairs. Once they had taped a whole day's worth of the Professor's activities, they were ready to disconnect the cameras and play the tapes as if the Professor was doing a repeat of that day's activities. Today was the day of the re-run.

While Finocchio watched Professor Drøvel brush his teeth, in reality he was on his way to King Square. Night had fallen hours ago, and the streets of Nuevo Saunabad bathed in the curious yellow light of low pressure sodium floodlights. The Professor was carrying a leather satchel, clutching it against his breast as if he was afraid to break whatever was inside.