Hunkeler's Secret

Hunkeler, now a retired inspector of the Basel police force, is hospitalized and sharing a room with Stephan Fankhauser an old acquaintance terminally ill with cancer. One night, a groggy Hunkeler wakes up to see a young nurse with a ruby ring on her hand administering an injection to his friend. The next morning, when Hunkeler wakes up, Fankhauser is dead. Was the injection just a dream? Does the night nurse not usually wear a small diamond ring? Once a radical member of the 1968 student movement, Fankhauser would eventually become a director of a prominent but troubled local bank. There was no autopsy, and he was quickly cremated. Hunkeler resolves to get to the bottom of the matter, despite the objections of his ex-colleagues, who want the retired inspector to stay clear of the investigation.