01x02 - The Number of The Harlot

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ERINYES
Goddesses of Vengeance

Chapter 2:
The Number of the wh*re

THIS ENTIRE CROWD, WHOM YOU SEE,
IS HELPLESS AND UNBURIED;

THAT FERRYMAN IS CHARON;
THESE PEOPLE, WHOM THE WAVE CARRIES,

ARE BURIED. HE MAY NOT CARRY THEM
OVER THE DREADFUL BANKS

AND HOARSE-VOICED WATERS UNTIL
THEIR BONES HAVE FOUND A RESTING PLACE.

Virgil, Aeneid 6, 325-328

I forgive you, as always.

You'll never learn, Edward.

Following Wiluś's advice,

I decided to offer
my detective services

to the son of the m*rder*d
Luba Bajdykowa.

Mr. Popielski--

your appearance doesn't inspire trust.

You've got whacked over the head, huh?

Sometimes it happens in my job.

You want to know what the heads
of those who attacked me look like?

America has taught me one thing.

Someone who becomes independent can be

much better than

the company he has worked for.

How often did you see your mother?

Four times a year.

I paid her a thousand zlotys
once a quarter

so that she would not practise
witchcraft, but she did it anyway.

She came here to get the money?

God forbid, my house would reek of her.

I used to go to see her myself.

She didn't move from home at all.

She was too fat and sick.

You are asking
the same questions as the cops.

I don't have time
for such conversations.

I might start regretting
spending my money on you.

Put on your shoes, you simpleton,
your feet reek.

Am I original enough now?

My feet may reek,
but my money doesn't.

Do you want to earn more?

Then listen to what I didn't tell
the police. If not, get out.

There's only one man

for whom my mother would climb
into that damn attic.

You do everything I say.

Then you put it out
of your mind, you bonehead.

The money is returned to you,
ten times more.

Five thousand, Popielski,
as much as Rydz Śmigły earns.

He is some poor mathematician.

She called him her "bidołacha".

She once came to see him
and asked him to come up with a formula

that was to help her cast a horoscope.

Instead of paying,

he was getting information
about her clients from her.

He lives somewhere on Zadworzańska.

Why would your mother
do anything for him?

Because he was her c*ck.

And that's why you didn't tell
the police about it? You were ashamed?

You will bring him to me,

on a dark night
you will bring him to my garden.

I'll talk to him,

then give him back to you alive

but a little tired.

Jerzyk, come to me, son.

Aren't those new shoes too tight?
Let me see. Are they comfortable?

Suum cuique – to each his own.

I give Lodzia respect and affection,

and I give Jerzyk father's love.

Hello?

I have a new Hebrew transcript.
It refers directly to k*lling.

Oh, it's you.

At nine o'clock in the Louvre?

Sure.

Well, you rushed to that phone

and got nothing but disappointment.

Sad disappointment.
Is that true, Edward?

I don't understand.

It wasn't her, it was Mr. Zaremba.

Not your sweet little girl.

Stratyn speaking. The residence
of Count Joseph Bekierski.

Edward Popielski, I would like
to speak with Miss Sperling.

You know that Miss Sperling
no longer works here.

She is in Lviv. She lives with
Miss Marianna Stolecka, the address--

Zadworzańska, this I know--

Not any Zadworzańska.
No. 3 Linde Street.

What a sad disappointment.

Yesterday, Mosze Kiczałes reported
one of his girls missing.

Lija Kochówna, 23.

Of Jewish faith.

Found customers on the street,
didn't have VD.

So the m*rder*r is not some purist
who kills syphilitic women.

We should rather call him a Hebraist,

for that and the fact that victims
were female connects the murders.

The sun vanished,

there was a lamentation of a man,

God was m*rder*d,

and it became a feast
for the palate of the vulture

and Leviathan.

You know, Wilek?

Bajdyk gave me a lead, provided that
I give the m*rder*r into his hands.

But I won't do that,

I'll break the agreement and hand
the m*rder*r over to the police.

I will give up the fee.

But I will do it

only when Commandant Zubik,

over Kocowski's head,

hires me back to the police force.

I want to be a commissioner,
not an expert.

Do you realize, Edziu,
what you are asking of me?

I'm supposed to talk
to the voivodship commander again,

over the head
of my immediate supervisor?

Edziu!

Come here, quickly.

And there, some guy is fooling around.

And I tug the lazy boy by the ear,

get up, you smelly belly.

Good morning, sweetie.

- Good morning.
- Good morning.

And what do you think?

Germany and Austria are far away,
it's Bolsheviks who are near us.

Don't worry,

we are in no danger.

Well, I can see that.

This is a bad sign,
an egg is a symbol of life.

Have you become
superstitious, Leokadia?

Look after yourself, Edward.

Good morning.

Which apartment
is Miss Marianna Stolecka in?

She won't live here long
if she misdemeans herself like this.

But so far she lives in apartment 3.

Do you smoke?

Yesterday at eleven in the evening

were both misses home?

You are very curious.

It costs more.

As you wish.

Wait a minute, you curious man.

I guess Renata wasn't there,

because the engineer was
with Miss Marianna all night.

Engineer who?

I forgot the name.

Engineer Count Bekierski.

He has a large estate,

but I do not know where.

These screams of pleasure weren't hers,

but if it was her friend who was
screwing, where was she at that time?

At some guy's house?

Or maybe she was having
"a ménage à trois" with her friend.

Did you fall in love or what?

What's wrong with "ménage à trois"?

Good morning, Miss Renata.

I wanted to apologize
for my behavior at Bombach's.

I was drunk and had a fever--

No, I have no excuse.

I guess only my madness.

Come on in. The flies are flying in,
when the door's open.

After our last meeting,
I felt like a morally ill person.

Today, you have partially cured me,

but I wish to be completely healthy.

Will you accept my invitation
to the Louvre?

Does that mean 'yes'?

Guess.

I'll pick you up tonight.

No, the landlady can't see you.

Eight o'clock at the Louvre then?

Please, go now.

Good morning, dear cousin.

There was a call for you.

Inspector Czesław Paulin Zubik
wishes to see you today at six o'clock

in his office.

Blood, blade,

ruin, enemy,

end,

death; for the Son of Dawn

they are neither a stigma nor evil.

The sun vanished,

there was a lamentation of a man,

God was m*rder*d,

and it became a feast for the palate

of the vulture and Leviathan.

One, two, three, four, five, six.

One, two, three, four, five, six.

What is the sum of this square?

What do these numbers mean?

It doesn't look like a satanic code.

It's more of a mathematical puzzle.

Edward, it's almost six.

And you're still solving charades.

Inspector Zubik is waiting for you.

I was told today that you know
how to find the Hebraist.

That's why I called you.

Yes,

but in return I want to
rejoin the police force.

You've gone too far.

You thug.

Blackmailing me?!

Kocowski provoked me.

Hitting him was a mistake,
but he touched a raw nerve.

Illness never prevented me
from working.

I was the one who solved the Gad case,
but he took credit for it!

And I will catch the Hebraist,

for I have something this miserable
clerk will never have – talent!

I will find the Hebraist

and let you know
at the last stage of the investigation

so that we apprehend him together.

Or I can also cooperate
with the police from the start,

just give me a chance.

Get out!

Get out!

Baldy, the boss wants to talk to you.

Popielski.

Come back to my office.

You will talk to Inspector Kocowski
from my phone.

But reasonably, do you understand?

From now on, I am personally
supervising this investigation!

Yes, sir.

What have you been doing all those
years we haven't seen each other?

After passing matura, I went to Cracow
and completed business courses,

and then worked here and there
as a bookkeeper.

My last job was at Bekierski's.

Would you care to dance?

Just as I am powerless
against your destiny,

you are powerless
against your fate and my destiny.

We are all powerless against fate,
it will always defeat us.

Mine waits patiently
for you to surrender.

You are like pollen
on the wind of my fate.

I knocked, but you didn't hear.
Won't you come to the living room?

I'm playing solitaire,
but you never succeed in solitude.

That's a paradoxical solitaire.
After all, it's a game for loners.

Take a book, and we'll sit together.

I can't, Lodzia, I have urgent work.

What exactly?

Magic squares--

How do you know?

I know a lot,

but I'll tell you only when you come
to the living room.

I'm sorry, but today I really can't.

I know magic squares,
especially one of them.

It's a number square,
can be seen on Dürer's engraving.

Add the numbers in each column,
add the numbers in each row,

add the numbers diagonally,
and you'll always get 34.

I have a riddle for you.

Do you know
the title of Dürer's painting?

Check it out,

and you will learn something about me.

Please, wake him up.

I can't, he always sleeps until noon.

If he finds out it's me,
he'll wake up immediately.

He always sleeps until noon!

Oh, see? He isn't sleeping anymore.

Show madame into the living room
and serve coffee. I'll be right there.

And for God's sake, don't shout
or you will wake everybody up!

What happened?

The landlady kicked me out
of the apartment

for, as she said, meeting with men.

She took you as my guardian, as--

Pimp.

I will help you, Miss Renata.

I will place you with my friend
on Kleparowska.

Thank you.

I will not accept this offer.

Should a single woman stay with a man?

That's not right.

Dear Miss Renata, you can get away
with anything in Kleparów.

Plus, my friend would never as*ault
your virtue, I give you my word.

So, shall we?

Strengthen yourself with coffee,

and I'll get dressed.

You must know one thing,
Miss Renata, but please,

God forbid, do not be offended
by what I am about to say.

I wonder what you have to say

five minutes before placing me
with your friend.

Your most obedient servant,
Commissioner.

The situation is exceptional, maestro.

This lady will live here
for a few days,

and please spare her
the sight of male torsos.

Servus tuus, domine Eduarde.

You will be as safe here with me
as with your mother.

What happened to your noble face, sir?

Someone didn't like it.

I know well this…
shameful lack of taste.

I--

I want--

Move over, please.

Come in.

Excuse me, I heard
that you are already awake.

Where is the woman who was with me?

I don't know, I was asleep.
It was still very early.

I have your keys here
and something else.

Is maestro here?

Mr. Szaniawski had to leave
for a rehearsal.

And I'm going out as well.

That's why I have to
tell you something.

There was a call for you--

some gentleman--

I have his phone number,
his name as well.

Name?

Who the hell are you?!

Icchok Jaffo.

I didn't do anything, I stayed
overnight at Mr. Julius' place--

- I have to go now.
- Wait!

Say again, what's this note?

There was a phone call
from a Mr. Zaremba.

He asked you to call number 32 41
in the evening, that's it.

But there is another number,
much longer. What is this?

It's not a number,
it's the surname, Zaremba.

If it were a number, it would be--

The gematria
of the name Zaremba is 321.

Well, goodbye.

Wait a minute.

The numerical value of the words, yes?

Can you count something
quickly in your head?

I'll tell you a word, and you
calculate its gematria for me, okay?

- Maybe next time, okay?
- You'll leave, when I tell you.

Unless you want me to go to your folks
and say Icchok Jaffo is a sodomite.

Names.

Luba Bajdyk.

And Lija Koch.

The gematria of both is 68.

I'm begging you, can I go now?

Yes.

LVIV CITY POLICE STATION

Each Hebrew letter
has a number assigned to it.

I turned the m*rder*r's notes
into squares

and substituted numbers for letters.

I got such a matrix
in the case of Luba Bajdyk

and such in the case of Lija Koch.

I noticed that some numbers in these
matrices have special positions.

Each of them corresponds
to the product of its coordinates.

For example, one times two is two,
three times two is six, and so on.

I assumed that
the m*rder*r-mathematician

had encrypted something
in these numbers.

I converted them back
into Hebrew letters

and got this notation.

Luba Bajdyk,

disease, nail.

The name of the victim

and the tool with which she was k*lled.

And in the case of Lija Koch:

Lija Koch, arrogance, hand, rope.

The word disease
from the Bajdyk matrix

and arrogance from the Koch matrix,
how do you explain that?

One was a syphilitic and the other
an empty, vain prost*tute.

Right.

If only we knew the characteristic
of the next victim.

But unfortunately,

despite Mr. Popielski's
brilliant analysis,

we don't know it

and won't know it until the next corpse
and the next note appear.

We are getting nothing
out of your theories, nothing.

If we count up all the letters
in the victims' names, we get 68.

This gematria of 68 is not accidental.

The first victim was a fortune teller
and the second was a hooker.

In Hebrew, these are nebi'ah and zonah.

When we count the value
of the Hebrew letters,

do you know what number we get?

Sixty eight?

Right.

So the m*rder*r k*lled two women
with names of which gematria is 68.

And occupations
of which gematria is 68.

Why?

I don't know.

I have to go
to the civil registration office

to review the names
of all the citizens of our city.

Hello?

Good evening, maestro.

Miss Sperling is no longer here.

At five o'clock she came in a carriage
and took all her belongings.

Did she leave a message for me?

She didn't say anything.

Thank you, good night.

Chaja Leibach, gematria 68.

She is in the 1890 book,
not after that.

What happened to her?

Chaja Leibach, of the Jewish faith,
was born in 1870 in Kolomyja.

In 1892 she was adopted by Mr. and Mrs.
Valeria and Adam Lipowski from Lviv.

From that year on, Chaja Leibach's
name was Hanna Lipowska.

Strange indeed is the adoption
of a 22-year-old woman.

Oh no, no. This adoption is,
I would say, extremely typical.

It concerns a person
of the Jewish faith,

who wanted
to change nationality officially.

Her adoptive parents gave her
a Polish surname,

a Roman Catholic religion,
and probably got a tidy sum for it.

Plus, the age of the adoptee

completely exempted them
from having to care for her.

Are there any further traces
of Hanna Lipowska in the address books?

Of course, in 1895
Hanna Lipowska gets married

and her husband is
Antoni Count Bekierski,

a landowner and Russian citizen.

And in 1898, their only son
Joseph Maria Bekierski is born.

Impossible.

What is the name of their son?

Joseph Maria Bekierski, born in 1898,
landowner in Stratyn now.

The register does not include
employees of the office, yes?

That's right.

So one of the clerks

could have borrowed the file secretly,
without the return card.

Is there any clerk at your office
who knows math well?

Is there anyone like that?!

Yes, there is one! Leon Bójko.
He quit and no one knows why.

Where does he live?

On Zadworzańska Street.

Good morning, do I have the pleasure
of speaking with Mr. Leon Bójko?

If it's pleasure or not,
you will feel during--

- What are you--
- Be quiet!

I will not beat you, if you are quiet.

Name.

Leon Bójko.

Education.

PhD in philosophy and mathematics.

Which university?

Kazan, in Russia.

PhD dissertation topic?

You won't understand it anyway,
you simpleton.

I asked you a question.

A generalization
of Yegorov's certain theorem.

About the convergence
of functions, yes?

Are you a mathematician?

I am more than that, I am a policeman.

You've got mice, heh?

Aren't you ashamed, Mr. Bójko?
Keeping p*rn*graphy in the Bible?

I have an alibi.

I'll undermine every alibi of yours.

Shame won't let you do that.

She is my alibi.

for Gosia

THE SERIES IS AN ADAPTATION
OF MAREK KRAJEWSKI'S BOOKS:

Erinyes, Charon's Numbers, The Rivers
of Hades, In the Depths of Darkness