262 292
262
Zöe Beck
everyone else. Silvana
said that she believed
him, as did her father and
the police.
My mother didn’t believe
a word of it, and she
wasn’t the only one. I
heard her continue to
whisper secretly with
acquaintances,
either
on the phone or on the
sidewalk:
Somebody
claimed to have seen
Silvana’smother one place
or the other. Someone
else knew that she was
hiding in Herr Schneider’s
apartment, and that Herr
Schneider’s return to
school was only part of an
elaborate scheme.
Once Silvana’s mother
was pulled dead out
of the Judenteich that
Friday morning, no one
said anything more about
elaborate schemes. Now
it was suicide. She had
jumped to bring an end to
the scandal. It wasn’t just
the old people who were
saying that. The younger
ones had picked it up as
well: She simply couldn’t
take it anymore that
everyone was saying such
bad things about her. We
read in the newspaper
that
ultimately
they
couldn’t determine if the
woman’s drowning had
been an accident, murder
or suicide. After several
weeks, the investigation
was closed, and Papa
said it was nonsense for
them to act as if they had
actually been trying hard
over the past weeks to
figure out the truth.
What
actually
took
place on that May night
between Thursday and
Friday at the Judenteich
was never clarified. They
also never determined
where Silvana’s mother