I hated to admit it, but he made a fair point. He had worn sunglasses when I saw him in the street, so I had no chance of recognizing the eyes. It could have been a disguise. It could.
Everything inside of me screamed that he was guilty. I had no doubt in my mind. He was just playing me. But, with my heart, it was different. A small seed of doubt had been planted, and I had no idea what to do with it.
63
August 2014
HE HAD TO be so angry. He had to be so frustrated, so scared sitting alone in that cell, trying to convince the world that he had been framed, yelling at them that he hadn’t killed all those people.
Jesper Melander couldn’t stop giggling, thinking about it, and about the plan. He sat in front of the mirror while putting his long brown hair in a ponytail. With a pair of tweezers, the beard was carefully placed on the smooth skin on the chin, beginning to look like a goatee. It felt uncomfortable, and he wondered why anyone would ever decide willingly to have a beard.
“So, how does it feel to be back in prison, huh?” he said to his own reflection. “Made any new friends yet?”
He found the leather vest and put it on, then tucked the white shirt into the jeans, so the shape of the breasts wouldn’t be seen.
Yes, Louise thought to herself. Now she looked just like the Jesper Melander she had known, who had moved into to her apartment after his release and raped her night after night. The same Jesper Melander that had told her he owned her from now on. This was how she got to know him. He could change his name all he wanted to, but he was still the same to her.
For years, she had been Mrs. Melander. For years, she had been watching him bringing young girls home with him, taking their pictures, taking them to the basement where he could spend hours with them, while she was left in her room with nothing but her jealousy for companionship.
“Bet there aren’t any girls where you’re at now, huh baby? Guess you’ll have to settle for me for a little while. Poor baby.”
Louise stood in front of the mirror and looked at Jesper Melander. It was amazing how much she looked like him. Especially after she had started working out. The cross fitness had given her the broader shoulders, the wider chest that she needed to look like a man. It was all part of it.
Louise grabbed the gas can and matches, and headed out the door. The small red car that Louise’s parents had once bought for her was in one of the barns, hidden under a cover. The police had told her the house would get searched sometime soon, and had told her to stay in a hotel, and Louise had played along. She had thrown the act of her life, being all surprised by what her husband had been up to when they came to arrest him.
But, on the inside, she had been laughing her heart out. Didn’t they know it was all just a part of the plan? Didn’t they know they had been lead along all the way? Pulled by the nose? They had been given the clues they needed to bring him down. Oh, how well she was playing her cards. It was a masterpiece.
She had told them she thought she knew her husband, that she had no idea what he had been up to. She had told them, with tears in her eyes, that she had been such an idiot for marrying him when everyone told her he was scum…that she was so glad they had figured it out and taken him in before he killed her as well. She had told them how he had often beaten her, and that she was afraid of him. Then she had shown them her latest bruises from the night in the basement. Then, she had told the officers she would pack a bag and stay in a hotel in downtown Nordby. She had cried and told them she could never set foot in this house again.
But, in reality, she had just stayed at the house on the farm. She knew it would take days before the forensic department from Copenhagen would come to search the house. And, by then, she would be long gone.
It was all a part of the beautiful master plan. But, there was still one thing missing, one mission she needed to do first.
Louise started whistling in the car and continued as she parked it in front of Emma Frost’s old house by the beach. She grabbed the gas can, and while pouring the gasoline on her house, she was singing out loud,
I'd be brave as a blizzard…
I'd be gentle as a lizard…
I'd be clever as a gizzard…
If the Wizard is a Wizard who will serve.
Then I'm sure to get a brain, a heart, a home, the nerve!
64
August 2014
THE FOLLOWING NIGHT, I couldn’t stop thinking about my visit to the prison. I couldn’t believe it. Could the guy really be innocent? Had we made a mistake?
Don’t be a fool. He’s just playing you. He’s just good at manipulating people. Don’t fall for it, Emma. Don’t. He did it. He killed those people in cold blood. It all fits.
I tossed and turned for an hour or so, then looked at my phone. It was almost midnight. I went on Facebook to get my mind on something else. I scrolled through my friend’s statuses and read an article that stated it contained ten tips to get in shape fast.
I wasn’t interested in doing any of them, so I went out of Facebook, and put my head on the pillow again. Thoughts flickered through my mind and wouldn’t leave me alone.
In the distance, I thought I could hear someone singing, but realized it had to be in my head. It was that song from the movie that Sophia and I had sung the other day. I opened my eyes, wondering about the lyrics.
“…Then I'm sure to get a brain, a heart, a home, the nerve…”
It had been my theory that the killer had taken those same things that they wanted in the movie, right? He had taken the brain, the heart and cut out the nerve from someone. But he hadn’t taken a home, had he?
Was that going to be his next move? Did they arrest him before he could finish?
“How do you take a home from someone?” I asked into the darkness.
What if it isn’t Steffen Carlsen? What if he is as innocent as he claims to be? Is there someone else out there, right now, getting ready to kill again?
I shook the thought. That was just silly. I closed my eyes and tried to go back to sleep, when suddenly, the door to my room opened.
It was Victor. My heart dropped.
“What’s up, buddy? Having another bad dream?”
“I'm not afraid of a witch. I'm not afraid of anything - except a lighted match.”
“What’s that, buddy?” I asked and went to him. He was shaking all over. It scared me.
My heart started pounding, as he repeated the sentence over and over again, just like the other times.
“Is that another quote from the movie?”
Could it be another one? It had to be.
I almost panicked. Somewhere out there, someone was about to get killed, and I had no idea who or where.
“Victor, do you know anything that can help me?” I asked, but he kept repeating the sentence over and over again. That was when I saw it. That was when I saw the big bright light outside of my window.
Oh, my God. My house is on fire!
The heat was suddenly unbearable; flames were licking the side of the house. I grabbed Victor in my arms and, for once, he didn’t complain that I touched him. He let me carry him through the hall and into Maya’s room. I pulled on her arm. “Maya, baby. Wake up. The house is on fire!”
“What?”
“We need to get out now. Run!”
We jumped the stairs, two at a time, and stomped outside, where we threw ourselves onto the grass, coughing and panting. My kids were both screaming, and so was I at the sight of my wonderful house surrounded by flames. Windows were popping, and curtains took the fire inside. I couldn’t believe this. It was like a horrible nightmare.
I heard a voice come up behind me.
“Step aside!”
I turned and saw Jack run into the front yard, dragging a huge hose, much like the ones the firefighters used. He turned it on, and water splashed onto the house and soon killed the fire. My heart was beating fast, as I held my children close, and the fire slowly died out. My only question was, who the hell had done this?
Little did I know, I was seconds from getting my answer.
65
August 2014
I HEARD TURMOIL, and turned my head to see two people on the street outside the neighbor’s house, fighting, yelling, and screaming. I let go of my children and ran to see. I was quite startled by the sight that met me.
It was Steffen Carlsen’s wife and…and Dr. Sonnichsen? What the heck was this? Why was Louise Carlsen wearing a beard?
Dr. Sonnichsen was on top of Louise Carlsen now, sitting on her, holding her down. “Dr. Sonnichsen?” I asked, and approached them.
She was groaning and panting. “She is one strong bastard, a fighter, a typical seven. I saw her. She was pouring gasoline on your house and setting it on fire. I had to stop her.”
I couldn’t believe any of what was happening. Louise Carlsen had set my house on fire? Why?
“I don’t understand…” I said.
“She was trying to kill you and your family,” Dr. Sonnichsen said, sounding annoyed that I didn’t understand.
“But…but why?” I asked.
“Maybe we could ask her that later, like after she’s incarcerated?” Dr. Sonnichsen said, and fought to keep the woman beneath her down.
“I’m sorry. I’ll call the police right away.” I fumbled with my phone, then found Morten’s number and called it.
“I’m sorry, Morten. I really need your help.”
“What’s up?” he said.
“I…I don’t know where to begin. Maybe you should come down here. Someone tried to set my house on fire.”
“I’ll be right there.”
When Morten said that, he meant it. A few seconds later, he was standing in my front yard, putting Louise Carlsen in handcuffs. The woman kept screaming and laughing like a madman. She had definitely lost it.
Morten put her in his van and drove off. I thanked Dr. Sonnichsen, and gave her a warm hug.
“I’m so glad you were here to catch this crazy woman,” I said. “How can I ever repay you?”
Dr. Sonnichsen smiled and bowed her head. “It’s no big deal.”
“What were you doing out here anyway?” I asked.
“I…well, I was just in the neighborhood. I know some very nice people not far from here, and was on my way home, when I saw this person lurking around the house with a can of gas. It looked very suspicious, and when she lit a match, I jumped out of the car and threw myself at her, trying to prevent her from setting the house on fire, but the match fell to the ground just as I did and lit up the house anyway. I couldn’t stop it from spreading. I’m sorry about the damage to your house.”
“It could have been much worse,” I said. “Thanks to you, it wasn’t.”
“I’ll get going then,” Dr. Sonnichsen said, and waved to Maya. “See you tomorrow.”
Maya waved back, and I watched as the hero of the day walked to her car and drove off.
Sophia, who had also come out of her house once she heard all the noise, came over and hugged me.
“My beautiful house,” I said, shedding a tear.
“You can all sleep at my place tonight,” she said. “You can stay there as long as you want.”
Jack came to me and hugged me too. “Thank you so much,” I said. “Without you and your giant hose, my entire house would be burnt to the ground.”
“Y-y-you’re welcome. We don’t have a f-f-firestation on the island, so, many years ago, I v-v-volunteered as a firefighter in case of emergency. Guess today was one of those, huh? It doesn’t look too bad, though. M-m-mostly façade work. Maybe the kitchen will need a little r-r-redecorating and your room upstairs, but that should be all. The rest of the house l-l-looks intact.”
“Thank you. You have no idea how grateful I am.” I kissed his cheek and our eyes met. I smiled, then turned my head and met Sophia’s eyes. She was staring at us, looking like she was frozen. I saw something in her eyes I hadn’t seen before, and suddenly it struck me. I stared at Jack, then back at her.
“Are you guys…?”
Sophia nodded and so did Jack.
“It happened a couple of weeks ago. We didn’t want to tell you until we knew if it was going somewhere, but I guess it is,” Sophia said, walking to him. He put his arm around her shoulders.
I was startled, completely taken aback. But at the same time, so incredibly happy for them both.
“You guys,” I said, with tears in my eyes. “I can’t believe it. That is such wonderful news! And Sophia. I can’t believe you managed to keep it from me for this long.”
Sophia shrugged, while I hugged them both. Guess it was time to let go of the men in my life. Maybe it was about time.
66
August 2014
I MOVED INTO a hotel downtown while they worked on my house. I had made the decision to have my entire kitchen redone, even though the damage from the fire didn’t require it. I wanted a new kitchen, and had thought about it for a long time. It was, after all, the room of the house I spent the most time in. It was my favorite place to be, so it should be nice. It should be up to date and have the newest appliances.
The hotel was nice, and the kids and I enjoyed staying there, pretending to be on vacation.
My parents had told us we could come live with them any time we wanted, but I really needed some time alone with my kids and didn’t want to have to argue with my mom about all kinds of strange little things like we always did.
Every day, I felt so grateful for still having my life and for nothing horrible happening to my children. I couldn’t believe how close it had been.
After a week in the hotel, Morten called me one morning while the kids were in school. I hadn’t heard from him since the night of the fire, so it was quite surprising to hear his voice.
“I thought you’d like to know that we have interrogated Louise Carlsen, and she has admitted to committing all the killings, dressed like her husband.”
“Excuse me, what?” I asked, almost choking on the soda I had just grabbed from the mini-bar. I couldn’t believe what he was telling me. Was she the one? I guess it made sense, when you thought about it. She was very strong.
“But how? Why?”
“Apparently, she wanted to frame him because he was constantly cheating on her, bringing home new women all the time. He was into bondage and stuff like that, and they had a basement filled with equipment that he used to torture her, against her will, she told us. She had no idea how to get rid of him or to revenge herself for all the hurt he had brought upon her, so she came up with the kills. She made the shoes herself, to make sure the police would know it was someone who loved the movie, like Steffen Carlsen, or whatever his name is now, was. She took one of his hairs and planted it on the bed next to Camilla Hermansen. We found everything when we searched the house, the craft table to make the slippers, the glitter and red spray cans. She was dressed like him in a leather vest and a glued-on beard when we arrested her, and we found more clothes like them in the house where she told us they would be, some of them with blood on them. We even found the knife in her closet behind her clothes. I think it’s going to be very easy to convict her fast and put her away.”
“Wow!” I was completely blown away. I guess I should have known when I saw her strange outfit and beard while she was fighting with Dr. Sonnichsen. But it all happened so fast, and she was a mess, and her hair was all over the place. Now, it all made sense, I thought. I couldn’t believe the guy was actually innocent like he had told me. I guess I owed him an apology.
Not really. He’s still a prick, a genuine bastard.
“I know. It’s quite the story,” Morten said. “But, luckily, we got to the bottom of it, and like I told you, she admitted to doing it all by herself, with the intent of framing her husband. We found the remains of what we believe might be her parents in a freezer in the basement. And get a load of this. We found the heart, the brain and the nerve in the freezer as well. Plus, she had just started at RealInvest, the island’s only realty company six months ag
o as a realtor. It gave her the access she needed to the victims. Plus, she had a very good reason for wanting to get rid of Camilla Hermansen, since she knew she was one of the women sleeping with her husband. Now, I think it’s fair to say, it’s all over. Case is closed.”
“I’m so glad to hear that,” I said. “You must be thrilled. Finally, your life can get back to normal.”
“Well, it’s not going to be normal…” he paused. “At least not without you in it.”
My heart was about to melt. I missed him so incredibly much. “Well…” I had no idea what to say. I held the phone tightly to my ear when there was a knock on my hotel room door. “Hold on, there’s someone at the door. Wait a second; don’t go anywhere. I’ll get rid of them. It might be room service. I ordered some lunch.”
I put the phone on the table and walked to open the door, wondering why they had brought my lunch at ten-thirty in the morning.
I couldn’t believe what I saw standing on the other side of the door. It was Steffen Carlsen.
67
August 2014
“WHAT THE HELL do you want?” I asked.
He looked even more obnoxious than the last time I saw him. Had he come to gloat? To tell me I should have believed him? To have me say that I was sorry? That I was wrong? What?
He didn’t ask if he could be let in, but pushed me aside and shoved his way in.
“Hey!” I yelled after him. “You can’t just barge in here!”
Steffen Carlsen smacked his hands together with a laugh. The door closed shut behind me.
“I’m here to thank you,” he said.
“Thank me for what?”
“For making it all so easy for me. For falling for every trick in the book, for being such a fool. Basically, thank you for being YOU!” he pointed his finger at me and laughed again.