To many people, Louise came off as a little odd. She knew that, and always kept her distance from them. She was different. She even had the doctor’s word for it. She had a disease that she couldn’t remember the name of, but they told her it meant she would never be mentally older than a fifteen-year old. It was okay for her. She didn’t mind, and as long as she took her medicine, she was fine. The city had given her rehabilitation when she was just twenty-three, and after that, she never had to work again, they told her. She didn’t completely understand why she didn’t have to work at the kitchen anymore, but she enjoyed staying home with her cats, so she didn’t complain.
The train rushed across the countryside, and after two hours, she was in Copenhagen, where she found a bus to Albertslund. She had planned the route from home, since it had been many years since she was last in the capital, and it was so easy to get lost.
Her mom and dad didn’t know she was going to visit Bjarke. She had told them over the phone that she was corresponding with him, and it had made them so angry with her. But she didn’t care. What did they know about being young and being in love?
“For the first time, someone actually likes me,” she told them. She was disappointed to learn that they weren’t as happy about this as she was.
“But he’s a very dangerous man,” her mother pleaded. “Please stay away from him.”
“He’s not dangerous, Mother. I know him. He is nice. He is innocent. He never killed anyone.”
“Don’t be naïve,” her mother snorted.
“I’m not,” she had said, and hung up the phone. Her parents were so annoying. They always thought they got to decide everything. For once in her life, Louise wanted to be in charge. She loved this man, and she was so thrilled to go and see him. No one should get in the way of her happiness. So, she decided to simply not tell them. They would just try and stop her.
On the bus, Louise felt the tickling sensation in her stomach again. At the age of thirty-eight, this wasn’t a sensation you felt often. It was her last chance if she was ever going to meet someone. And now she had. Maybe he wasn’t going to be able to be there for her and live with her like other men, but it didn’t matter. He was nice and he liked her. What more did she need?
The bus stopped in front of a huge building and the driver told Louise this was her stop. She got out and stared at the enormous brick wall surrounding the buildings. Again, she felt the butterflies, and she couldn’t help but chuckle. She found her ID and walked towards the entrance.
This is it. The moment has finally arrived. In there, somewhere on the other side of these thick walls is the man of your dreams waiting for you. Just for you.
Louise could hardly contain her excitement.
15
July 2014
“THESE KIDS HAD no money!”
I looked at Sophia who had probably hoped for more exciting news. It turned out to be easier than I thought to get access to the couple’s lives. People really weren’t being very careful about protecting their private information. I’d gained access to the Boegh’s web-bank within an hour.
“Really?” Sophia asked. “How did they afford this house, then?”
“Big loan. They were in over their heads, the way I see it. It’s not hard to see that buying this house was going to eventually give them trouble. They both had good incomes, but this house was expensive, and they even took another loan to cover the moving costs. They were really going to be living tight. They also have another loan to cover the costs of their wedding. These people weren’t being very smart about their money. That’s for sure.”
“Looks like they were a little unrealistic. So, they might have taken other loans outside of the bank, then?” Sophia asked. “Maybe they owed money all over the place?”
“Hmm, they might,” I said, and looked at the screen. “He was a lawyer, though. Doesn’t sound like something a lawyer would do, does it?”
“Anyone can be an idiot with money. Believe me,” Sophia said with a loud laugh. “I’ve met many men who seemed to have it all together on the outside, but were fools when it came to money. It doesn’t matter what your title is. Anyone can get a gambling debt.”
“Definitely. But that’s not something I can see here. There are no big transactions of money within the last five years, or anything else suspicious, as far as I can see. But that doesn’t tell us anything.”
“What else?” Sophia asked.
I tapped on the keyboard. “Well, I did some background on both of them. The woman, Maria Boegh, grew up with her mother, who was on social welfare. They used to live in Vejle on the mainland. I found her files, and she was diagnosed with a lot of stuff, paranoia, social anxiety, and so on, nothing much to note there. The father left when she was just a young child. I found him in Esbjerg, where he is a realtor.”
“What about the guy?” Sophia asked.
“He came from a more solid background. His father was a farmer. Jonas Boegh grew up on a farm outside of Herning on the mainland as well.”
“Farmer? That’s some jump from farmer-boy to lawyer-boy,” Sophia exclaimed.
“I guess. Probably just didn’t want to end up like his parents, constantly doing hard manual labor. Who knows? Anyway, this doesn’t tell us much. It’s all pretty ordinary.”
Sophia leaned back in her chair and put her arms behind her head. My stomach was hurting from too much coffee, and the empty pot on the counter was a sign that we had been at this all day. I looked at the clock and realized it was time for me to start cooking dinner.
I opened the fridge and took out the roast rump I was going to make. I found garlic and smeared it all over it. Sophia looked at the computer screen with a disappointed look.
“I told you it wasn’t as simple as you thought it would be,” I said.
“I know. I just really wanted there to be something. Something that told me why these people had to be brutally massacred in their new home. Something that told me they weren’t going to come after my kids or me next. You know what I mean? I don’t like this unease I’m feeling.”
“Me either,” I said with a sigh. “Well, maybe Morten can tell us more once he gets here. If he ever gets here.”
“Oh, he will,” Sophia said. “For your roast rump, he’d walk to the end of the earth.”
I chuckled. “I sure hope you’re right.”
I found a bag of potatoes and poured them into the sink. I started peeling them, but my thoughts wouldn’t leave me alone.
“Did you check this guy’s e-mails?” Sophia asked.
“Yeah, I skimmed through them, why?”
“Cause he received a threatening letter just two weeks ago.”
I stopped peeling, wiped my hands on a towel, and approached the computer. Sophia pointed on the screen. “See here. This guy is really mad at him. Calls him all kinds of bad things.”
“You’re right,” I said, and read the e-mail. The e-mail address it was sent from was a Hotmail, and it was simply signed by Furious.
16
July 2014
“HE WAS A lawyer, Emma. They get all kinds of threatening mail. Especially when they win a big case like he had just done.”
Morten looked at me over the steam from the potatoes. Sophia had left to be with her own family, so now it was just the four of us. Once Maya and Victor were done eating, I pulled out the e-mail that I had printed out.
“You said he had won a case?” I asked, and took another piece of the roast. It was so good, I had to have seconds…and probably thirds as well. “What kind of a case was that?”
“I spoke to his firm today, and they said he won a case for this young rich guy whose Dad hired them to get the son free of charges against him. Allegedly, he had raped a girl at his boarding school. The girl had three witnesses who saw what happened, but still, Jonas Boegh got the boy off. He tore their evidence apart, one by one, his boss told me. A work of art, he called it. Probably made some enemies in doing so, though.”
“So, you don’t
think it’s worth investigating?” I asked, with my mouth full of hot potatoes. How come they always managed to stay this hot, even long after I cooked them? I drank some water to cool my mouth down.
“Of course it is,” Morten said. “But right now, there are a lot of things to consider.” Morten looked tired. “I’m afraid I’m in a little over my head here. We’re only four officers at our station, and they’re actually talking about making cutbacks. I have no idea how to deal with this case.”
“Aren’t you getting help from the mainland?” I asked. I couldn’t believe they were actually considering cutting back on the island’s already small police department. There had been talk before of cutting it down to just one man, but that was outrageous to me. It didn’t feel very safe to be out here on this small island if something really bad happened.
“They don’t have any teams to help us. They’re tied up on other cases, or taking compensatory time off because of too much overtime. The entire Danish police force is bleeding. There’s not enough money. It’s as simple as that.”
“So, they’re expecting you to investigate the case, or what?”
“I’ll know more tomorrow, when I go to the mainland to our district’s chief,” he said.
“I can’t believe they would do that to you.”
“It’s not something they do to me. They just haven’t any other options right now. Like I said, I’m having a meeting with the chief tomorrow, and then we’ll see.”
I felt frustrated. Knowing Morten, I knew he would be too nice to say what was really on his heart. He would never stand up to them…or ask for help. He was much too proud.
“Well, maybe I’ll come with you,” I said.
Morten looked up from his plate. “You? Why?”
“Moral support. We can call it a romantic getaway, if you like. Besides, I think we should pay that guy a visit,” I said, and tapped on the letter. “He sounds like he really hated Jonas Boegh.”
“Calling someone bad words isn’t exactly the same as wanting to kill them,” Morten said.
“It’s a little more than just a few bad words,” I said. “He tells him that he better sleep with one eye open from now on. I would call that a threat. Wouldn’t you?”
Morten looked pensive. “They were killed at night while in bed.” He nodded. “It’s worth taking a look at.”
I rubbed my leg against his under the table. “Maya is old enough to take care of Victor for a few hours while we’re gone. I could be your sexy assistant. Your sexy sidekick.”
I really liked the idea of spending some time with Morten like this. We hadn’t had any time alone together for a really long time. Something was always in the way. Mostly, it was our kids. Morten’s daughter Jytte had started wanting to have her dad around more. Since he had given up on finding the strange doctor that had held Maya captive, and come back to the island, she had asked him to stay home more and more often. She wanted him to take her to the movies and to watch TV with her at night, and Morten seemed to enjoy her sudden urge to be with her father. In the beginning, I thought it was great, but little by little, I realized that it meant I didn’t get to see him as much anymore. I was starting to suspect that she was doing this in order to keep him away from me. I had met her a few times, and got the feeling she really didn’t like me. I had suggested, several times, that we do something together, all three of us, or all five of us, bringing my kids in as well, but every time, Morten told me not this time, babe. Jytte wants to be alone with her dad. She’s not ready yet. It was beginning to irritate me how much of our life she controlled by acting like this. It was like a faucet. She could turn it on and off as she pleased, while I had no say in it at all. If she called him, he would come running right away. He never said no to her, and always chose her over me. I was afraid that we were drifting apart, so I wanted to take this opportunity and spend the day with my boyfriend. Plus, I was getting more and more curious about this case, and I wanted to help Morten with the investigation. Maybe even get material for a new book? I was almost done with the one I was writing now. Easy as One Two Three was going to hit the stores in a few months. I only had to revise it. I needed some new material.
Once we were done eating, Morten grabbed his coat and put it on.
“You’re not spending the night?”
“Sorry. Have to get home to the little one.”
The little one? She’s seventeen!
I stood on my tiptoes and kissed him as he was about to leave. He put his arms around me.
“So, can I come tomorrow?”
Morten smiled. He brushed a lock of hair away from my face. “You can come, but you can’t play police officer. You’ll have to stay in the car while I talk to this guy.”
I kissed him again and whispered, “Deal.”
17
July 2014
THEY HAD NO doubt in their minds. Jacob and Christine walked through the living room, the sound of their shoes echoing off the bare walls. They didn’t have to say anything. They knew each other well enough to be able to just share a glance, and then know that they both agreed.
This was it. This was the house they wanted.
None of them spoke while walking through the three bedrooms of the house. Jacob had taken the morning off to be able to see the house with his wife. He missed an important meeting, but no longer regretted his decision. The realtor spoke eagerly and still hadn’t seen by the look in their eyes that meant she didn’t have to try so hard anymore. The decision had been made. It had been from the moment they entered the house on Niels Sorensensvej next to Nordby Church.
This was, by far, the most adorable house Christine had ever been in. The ceilings were low and the roof thatched. The house was built in eighteen hundred and eight. It was red, and everything about it was just so endearing. Even the street outside was lovely. It was so narrow that only one car at a time could pass. People were biking, and most were walking. Christine had even seen a horse carriage while driving there.
It was more idyllic than she had dared to hope for.
“So, this is basically it,” the realtor said, smiling, as she finished the tour of the house. “Everything is newly renovated, but, of course, you must keep in mind that a house at this age demands a lot of love and care every year.”
“Naturally,” Jacob said.
Christina grabbed his hand and dragged him to the window. “We could fit a small swing set over there in the corner for Emilie.”
“Or Emil,” he said, as he put his hand on her stomach.
Christine smiled. She knew Jacob wanted a boy so badly; one that could take over the business one day…one he could play soccer with in the yard. She looked away and avoided him. At the last visit to the hospital, they had told her it was a girl. She hadn’t dared to tell him yet. It would simply devastate him. Now, she didn’t know if she should keep it a secret until she was born. Maybe Jacob would change his mind once he saw his beautiful daughter. Maybe then he wouldn’t care what gender it was anymore.
She had no idea how to break it to him.
Not now. Not today. Today is about finding a house. A new home for the family. It’s not a day to worry.
“I love this house,” she whispered. “It’s just perfect.”
“I know,” he said. “It’s everything we’ve been looking for.”
They had been looking for a long time to find the right home for them to start their family…a home for their child to grow up in.
“Look, there are children playing in the street,” Christine said.
“That’s perfect. I can take the ferry to the mainland every morning to go to the office, and you get to stay here and enjoy your life and take care of our boy. The harbor is only a few minutes away. I can even ride my bike there and take it with me on good days. Get some exercise. It’s perfect. Oh, Christine, we’re going to be very happy here. I can just feel it.”
The realtor approached them. “So, I take it you like it?”
“We love it,” Christine said.
“We love the house, the yard with all its flowers. We love the street, the island, everything.”
The realtor smiled even wider, probably at the prospect of making a lot of money, Christine thought to herself. But she didn’t care. Jacob’s business made good money now, and it was time for them to live a little.
“It’s ready to be moved into right away,” she said. “It’s been empty for quite awhile. So, do you want to sleep on it or…”
Jacob looked at Christine, whose eyes were begging him.
I love this one. I love it. Let’s just take it. Oh, please say we’ll take it. Don’t start talking about the price. Just take it.
“I say we finish the paperwork right away,” he said. “We’re ready to put in an offer.”
18
July 2014
IT WENT WRONG from the very beginning. Morten picked me up in his car at nine o’clock. He parked on the road and I jumped in. I leaned over and kissed him. His kiss felt emotionless, slightly reluctant.
“Something wrong?” I asked.
Morten drove onto the road. He snapped at me. “No, nothing is wrong. Why would you say that? Why do you always assume something is wrong?”
“I don’t know. You just didn’t seem very happy to see me,” I said. The disappointment was eating at me. I had been looking forward to seeing him, and then he showed up angry? Wasn’t he looking forward to this as much as I was? Maybe he was just worried about the meeting with the chief of police.