A couple other people were there working about the apartment, getting things ready for the resident, and all of them looked familiar from the meeting; in fact, one man who noticed them in the doorway actually glared at Pierson on his way by.
“Why don’t they like me?” Pierson asked.
“They don’t trust that you’re who you say you are,” Mr. Nyilas replied with a sigh. “I don’t know what to do to persuade them of your identity either.”
Pierson nodded.
“I’ve genuinely tried everything I can think of,” Mr. Nyilas said. “And I have gained a few people who believe me, but the majority still refuse to believe it.”
“Have they given any reasons why they don’t believe the proofs I’ve given you?” Pierson asked.
“The main reason is because the proofs can all be forged,” Mr. Nyilas replied. “Which is true.”
“Even the one you had me show in front of Árpád?” Pierson asked.
Mr. Nyilas said nothing, even looking a little momentarily stunned. “Of course.”
“Had you forgotten?” Pierson asked.
“I hate to confess that I did,” Mr. Nyilas replied. “But I didn’t forget so much that I’d done it as that Árpád had been there. But of course he was, because I wouldn’t have let you stay if I’d not seen it.”
A man approached them and spoke to Mr. Nyilas in Hungarian. Pierson thought he heard Árpád in the flurry of strange words, and wondered if the man was asking why they were talking about Árpád, or what they were saying about him.
Mr Nyilas gave the man a rather lengthy reply, which Pierson suspected was an explanation of the fact that Árpád had witnessed the proof which had convinced Mr. Nyilas that Pierson was who he said he was, especially when the man looked somewhat sceptically intrigued by what Mr. Nyilas was saying, suggesting that he wasn’t fully inclined to believe what Mr. Nyilas was saying, but that he was rather keen on finding and speaking with Árpád alone to confirm Mr. Nyilas’ story.
This was reinforced by the fact that a couple other men Pierson could see were looking their way with the same sorts of expressions on their faces. Pierson wondered if they were all going to gang up on Árpád, maybe getting him to give them taxi rides later, during which they would question him about what Mr. Nyilas was saying, so that they could prove that the truth was really being told, and that Árpád was in no way complicit with any cover-up situation.
Once Mr. Nyilas had finished speaking, the man nearest to him moved off and one of the other men walked over to him, speaking in a hushed voice with some suspicious glances toward Pierson and Mr. Nyilas.
“They still don’t believe you?” Pierson asked.
“They want to confirm it with Árpád,” Mr. Nyilas replied.
Pierson nodded.
“Not that everyone entirely trusts Árpád,” Mr. Nyilas said.
“Why not?” Pierson asked.
“He has an appropriate zeal for the cause, but he can sometimes be a bit impulsive, as I’ve gathered that he was with you before he brought you to me,” Mr. Nyilas replied. “He rather wants everyone he can find to help with the cause, but his passion for it runs the risk of jeopardising the whole operation.”
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