The Foreign Service Journal, July-August 2003

“It is not necessary to alarm yourself unduly, Mademoiselle,” he said. “We are merely investigating all possibilities. Although you had the opportunity, you do not appear to have a motive.” He cocked his eyebrows as if in query. “Eric Fleet was a very annoying man…” I began. For the first time I saw the officer crack a smile. “I have already come to that conclusion, Mademoiselle. Monsieur Fleet appears to have displeased many people during his short stay.” C aptain Lauer’s statement was still ringing in my ears an hour later as I sat in a meeting of the CTE — Committee on Trade and Environment. The other 15 or so members were discussing sea turtles — where they swim, who catches them, and whether the U.S. was jus- tified in banning shrimp imports from foreign fleets whose nets weren’t equipped with turtle excluder devices, or TEDs. The issue was important for the U.S. — several countries had filed lawsuits against us over it — but I had a hard time following the debate. My inter- views with the police kept running through my head. I sought out the committee chairman, Dr. Stefan Tordorov, to apologize after the meeting was over, and found him back in his office. Gray-haired and dark-suit- ed, he was busily putting away his papers from the meet- ing. The wall behind his desk was lined from floor to ceiling with books; on the facing wall were hung an over- lapping assortment of turtle excluder devices — circular metal frames measuring about three feet across covered with webbing. I cleared my throat apologetically. “I couldn’t con- centrate today; I’m sorry. This murder and all the policemen make it hard to work.” Although Dr. Tordorov took pains to speak distinctly, I had to listen carefully to understand his Eastern European accent. “Yes, the authorities have also questioned me. They are talking to everyone. But since you were the one to discover Mr. Fleet’s body, I suppose you are being asked even more questions.” “I’m the main suspect.” I meant to be flip, but only succeeded in sounding tense. “Surely they can’t think such a thing, Liza. No one who knows you would even suggest it.” Tordorov gave me a reassuring smile, then swiveled his chair around and peered into a glass terrarium sitting on a small side table. Two small turtles basked in a sunbeam. “Eric Fleet was murdered just a few minutes before I found him, and I was the only one in the hallway during that time. I told them that no one went in or out any of the doors. The police have come to a very logical con- clusion.” “The police are tyrants,” he said with an unexpected intensity. He stared broodingly at his turtles. “In my native Bulgaria, I was imprisoned when I protested the poor working conditions at my hospital. I had been a successful doctor there for seven years but after my release, I was no longer allowed to practice my profes- sion. I wasted decades of my life repairing tractors on a collective farm.” “But you are here now.” I felt embarrassed to have raked up painful memories. “Yes, I am here now,” he said with a half-smile, look- ing up. “Friendly people came to power in my country and gave me the opportunity to work as a professional once again. Of course I have been too long away from medicine to serve any more as a doctor, but I still may accomplish some small good in my role as a bureaucrat.” J ay was being ghoulish again. I pushed aside my plate as he expounded on the details of the murder. “The weapon was a steak knife from the cafeteria. At first the police planned to talk with everyone who ate here yesterday, but then I explained it was common to take trays back to our offices and forget to return them for days. You can find kitchen utensils in practically every office in the WTO.” Jay paused in the middle of cutting his meat and held up his knife, gravy dripping down, as if to examine it for clues. The noise level rose briefly as a small group at a nearby table finished their meal and got up to leave. A cafeteria worker quickly F O C U S J U LY- A U G U S T 2 0 0 3 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 23 The murderer had to be experienced — the stabbing caused almost instantaneous death, and the wound hardly bled.