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A few people remained in their seats. Among them a woman - well-dressed and beautiful with soft brown eyes, a delicately tip-tilted nose and long reddish-brown hair. The interval wasn't yet over when Hanussen re-appeared. He descended the stairs leading from the stage into the auditorium, hesitated for a moment, then made straight for the woman and sat down in the empty seat next to her. She received him with cool amusement as he told her that he wanted to talk to her. "Are you trying to collect material for your next production?" she asked as he stared at her.

"I don't need that," he said. "I know almost all I need. You are twenty-two, married to a man you do not love. His name is Baron Prawitz.

You have no children - nor do you want any. You love tennis and dancing. You have the not entirely undeserved reputation of being rather frigid. Do interrupt me, Baroness, if something is wrong…"

"Almost everything is right," she replied calmly. "Your detectives have done excellent work."

"The only detective I have is my brain."

"And your business is the stupidity of mankind, megalomania, cheap tricks! I'd have nothing against it if you didn't pretend to be genuine! If you told the people - all this is just skill and clever illusion, amuse yourselves, but do not take it seriously... "

Hanussen got up and stared into the eyes of the contemptuous baroness as if to hypnotise her.

"Let me tell you something, madame - to prove that I am no trickster. You'll have to pay for your doubts. Look at me, Baroness. Do you see my black, oily hair, the straight parting, the yellow skin of my face? Can you smell the tobacco... the odour of a chain-smoker? Can you imagine falling in love with such a man?"

"You're crazy - or drunk… "

"Within four weeks you'll become my mistress. You'll leave your husband. We're going to have a wonderful love affair. You'll follow me to Berlin. But it won't last long, our long nights and short days of happiness. I'm not cut out to stick to one woman in my life. You'll go through hell. I'll have other mistresses. I'll abandon you... Go on, Madame... hurry! Try to escape your fate! I wish you luck - I, Erik Jan Hanussen who is going to wreck your life!"

The Baroness got up abruptly. She stared at Hanussen for a moment, her beautiful face contorted in anger and disgust. Then she turned away. It was a retreat that bordered upon panicky flight. Hanussen made no attempt to follow her. His face remained set, his eyes half-veiled. Then slowly, almost painfully he made his way back to the stage to give the second half of his performance.