"Emma?"
Someone was waving.
"Jack?" I said and walked closer. He ran towards me. He seemed unusually happy. He was wearing that beanie of his. For once it was appropriate with the cold wind. I smiled.
"What's up?"
"Is Sssophia okay? I heard ssshe was sick?"
"Well. Yes. It's a long story. It would be better if she told you herself, but we have the kids at our house for now. To give her rest."
"IIii was wwondering if you would like to come over for dinner later in the afternoon? I was making an early dinner for myself and foolish me I have made way too much food."
I smiled again. There was nothing I'd rather do right at that moment. I really liked Jack and would like to get to know him better. Preferably to a point where he didn't stutter when he was near me. Like the afternoon I was at his house, when he had been relaxed and we had a really nice time together. "Thank you. That's so sweet of you. I would really like that. But I'm afraid I can't today. I have to do something for Sophia and I can't leave my dad and Maya alone with all those kids for that long. But maybe tomorrow?"
Jack seemed confused. He bit his lip. "Bbbut tomorrow the food wwwill be no ggood."
I smiled. "Then we'll make some new."
"I wanted so badly to show you my new ppppicture." Jack's face was so disappointed I could hardly take it. I put my hand on his shoulder. "You know what? Maybe I'll come over for a little while later this afternoon. Right now I have to go to town for a little bit, but when I get back I'll stop by and look at it, okay?"
Jack smiled again and suddenly reminded me somehow of an older Victor. Maybe he was like him in some way. Maybe he had slight autism as well?
"That's a dddate, then," he said and started walking away.
"See you!" I yelled and walked to my own house. I found my dad and Maya in the living room playing with all five kids who seemed to have the time of their lives.
I signaled my dad and he came closer.
"I need to go down to the police station," I said. "Sophia has agreed to report the bastard."
Dad smiled and gave me a warm hug. "That's great news. I didn't like thinking that bastard was running around somewhere out there hurting people."
I hugged him back while nodding. I had thought about Stephan a lot since I found Sophia in the yard. Something was really off with this guy and maybe it was more than just him enjoying beating the crap out of women. Maybe it was even deeper than that. Maybe ... maybe he ... Well I couldn't help wondering about that food he had served for us.
What if Stephan had also killed people? What if he was the killer?
"Is it okay if I leave you all alone for a little while then?" I asked.
My dad nodded. "Sure. No problem. I don't know about Maya and the kids but I'm having a blast," he said with a great laugh. "But I don't know about Victor. He doesn't seem to take this all too well. Maybe you should check on him before you leave. He has been in his room all morning and when I checked on him last he was sitting on his bed with his hands pressed against his ears. I tried to talk to him, but he didn't respond."
"He never liked loud noises too much, especially not the ones young children makes. How he ever gets through an entire day in school is beyond me," I said exhaling profoundly. "I'll check in on him."
"Great," Dad said and put on a cowboy hat. "Now if you'll excuse me. I believe there is need for a new sheriff in town." Then he pretended to ride an imaginary horse. I chuckled and watched him ride off into the sunset before I ran up the stairs and knocked on the door to Victor's room.
He didn't answer so I walked right in. He was still sitting like my dad had described him. In the middle of the bed, his legs pulled up under him and with both hands covering his ears. I approached him and as he saw me, he let his hands come down.
"Mom. Can't you get those kids out of the house? They're screaming all the time. I can't stand it!"
I looked at him and tilted my head slightly. "That bad, huh?"
"Worse. It's terrible."
"Alright. What do you say to come with me out for a small drive? I'm going to the police station, maybe you'd like to come along?"
Victor smiled and exhaled. "Please. Yes. Take me away from here."
"You know they're having a lot of fun in the living room, don't you?" I asked him as we walked down the stairs together. "That's why they are yelling and screaming. They're just playing. You're missing out. Wouldn't you rather stay and play than go with me to a boring police station?"
Victor took one look inside the living room where my dad now was rolling on the floor with four kids on top of him trying to ride him as a horse. I had to hold back my laughter. I had never seen my dad quite like this before. When I was a child he was always too adult, too busy to play with me and even when Victor and Maya were born he had his clinic to take care of and there was always some patient that needed him. It was like he had completely changed. Maybe my mom leaving him wasn't only bad after all?
"No," Victor said putting his hands over his ears again. "I want to go with you."
"It'll be very boring, Vic. Don't say I didn't warn you," I said and grabbed my long coat.
When we walked out of the house, it had started to snow. I reached out my hand and grabbed a couple of flakes. "Now what do you know? Snow in October? That's a first. What do you say buddy?"
Victor shrugged.
"Ah, that's right," I said. "You already knew it was coming."
50
2012
The snow was coming down heavily as we drove across town towards the police station. The winds had picked up too, I could tell by the trees surrounding the police station. I stopped the car at the small parking place outside the building, then looked at Victor in the rearview mirror.
"It's snowing heavily now, buddy. Are you ready to run inside?"
He nodded without looking at me. He hadn't uttered a word all the way down there. I figured he enjoyed the silence for once.
"Okay. Let's go."
I opened the door and got out. My hair was soaking wet before Victor had even gotten out of the car. We ran side by side towards the front door. I held the door for him, then we both went inside. Two officers were at work. They seemed to be stressed and busy, constantly talking on the phone. I scanned the room but didn't see Officer Dan anywhere. When one of the officers hung up, I approached the counter.
"Excuse me? Could you help me please?"
"Yes, of course," the officer said and approached me. "I'm so sorry but this blizzard has taken us all by such a surprise. It was not foreseen by any of the meteorologists. Now we have a lot of citizens who need our help. Especially old people falling and some are even stuck with their cars. It's really coming down hard out there, huh?"
"It sure is," I said.
"At this time of year," he said looking surprised. "Don't think that ever happened before. So ... what can I do for the two of you?"
"We were looking for Officer Dan Toft. Is he here somewhere?" I asked and looked behind him.
"Officer Dan usually has the night shift. He won't be in for another couple of hours. Isn't it something I can help with?"
I bit my lip. It would be the easiest to just have this officer take the report and take care of everything, but I had made a promise to Sophia. I shook my head. "No. I'm afraid it has to be him. I'm sorry."
The officer shrugged. "Well I guess we are kind of overwhelmed anyway right now, so if it can wait, then maybe it would be for the best."
I nodded while walking towards the front door. "Thanks anyway."
Back in the car I hit my hand into the wheel. "Crap!" I really wanted to get this done today so they could have that guy put away. I didn't like that he was out there somewhere on this island posing a threat to everybody. What he had killed all those people? Maybe it was even one of his victim's heart and liver he was serving us that day? The thought made me nauseous. I started the car and backed out through a big pile of snow. Out on the road the car was sliding from s
ide to side so I drove as slow as possible while trying to see out through the front window.
"Snow in October," I mumbled.
"So are we going back home already?" Victor asked.
I looked at him in the mirror. It had been my original plan, but now I wasn't so sure anymore. "You know what? What do you say we make one more stop on the way?"
Victor answered with a smile.
I turned right and let the car slide down another road. I remembered that Sophia had once told me that Officer Dan lived in one of the main streets downtown in a small red house on the corner of Poppelvej and Pilevej. It shouldn't be too hard to find.
I was right. A few minutes later I parked the car in front of his house and got out. Victor followed me closely.
"Who lives here again?" He asked.
"A nice police officer who is going to help me out with something. His name is Dan."
51
2012
"Emma!"
Officer Dan seemed very happy to see me. He was looking very handsome as always. "What can I do for you?" he asked.
"Can I come in? There is something I need to talk to you about."
Dan looked slightly confused but opened the door and let me and Victor inside. "This is my son Victor by the way," I said.
Victor stormed past him without looking at him.
"I'm sorry about that," I said. "He doesn't like strangers. It takes him a while"
Officer Dan closed the door behind me. "No problem at all. He is smart not to talk to any stranger in the street. You never know what their intentions are."
Victor found a couch and sat in it with his arms crossed in front of his chest.
"Is there somewhere we can go where he can't hear what we're saying?" I asked discretely.
"Sure. In the kitchen."
"Let's go in there."
"So what can I do for you?" Officer Dan asked and showed me a chair in the kitchen where we sat down. He smiled.
"You know you get a small wrinkle on your nose when you're upset."
I felt my nose, then blushed.
"Do you want something to drink?" he asked. "I can't believe you went through that awful storm to get here. Do you want a beer? Or maybe a glass of wine?"
"I'm driving, remember?" I said.
"Of course. Sorry about that. Can I offer you a soda?"
"Sure."
Dan found an orange soda and opened it for me. He placed it in front of me on the table, then he opened the door leading to the living room. "Do you think he would like one too?"
"Sure. Give him a Coke. That'll make his day. I never allow him to have that. You know the caffeine and all that sugar. Goes right in his blood."
Dan found a Coke and opened it. He left to give it to Victor, then returned. He sat down in front of me. "Think I just made a new friend," he said with a smile.
"That was fast. It usually takes Victor weeks to change his mind."
"I gave him a bag of gummy bears as well," Dan said and winked.
"Smart move."
"So what can I do for you, Emma?"
"It's about Sophia, who lives in my street."
"I know her, yes. What's with her?"
"She's been beaten up. Badly."
I saw Officer Dan's expression change drastically. "Who? Who would do such a thing?"
"I'm afraid it was her boyfriend. Stephan Olsen. He works as a chef at that place down by the harbor."
"Kabyssen?"
"That's it, yes. I found her in her yard yesterday. My dad's been checking up on her. He's a doctor. He says she's alright, but it's really bad. I convinced her to report it, but she insisted it being you who took care of it. Could you do that?"
Officer Dan swallowed hard. He was restraining his anger. I could tell by the visible vein in his forehead that had doubled in size. "You bet I will. I'll make sure that bastard is put away for doing this."
"There is more," I said.
Officer Dan drank from his soda. His nostrils were moving when he breathed.
"I think ... Well I don't know for sure, but I have a feeling he might have a little more on his conscience than beating up Sophia."
"What? You mean like he has done this to more women?"
"Not just that. I think that maybe ... I can't prove anything, but maybe he might have killed the others as well. You know, Mrs. Heinrichsen, Irene Justesen, the Pastor and even my grandmother."
"Interesting theory. Why do you say that?" Officer Dan asked.
"It's gonna sound strange, but ... well first of all he's a psychopath, right?"
Officer Dan nodded. "To do that kind of a thing to a girl like Sophia, he must be."
"Okay, so he's capable of hurting people and maybe even killing, that was my first clue. Second, he served us something really weird for dinner the other night."
"Oh like what?"
"Hearts and liver."
Officer Dan spurted out his soda in the air. "You're kidding me right?"
"No I'm not. Just like what the killer removes from the victims. Except for the lungs that is."
"Exactly," officer Dan said. "Wait. How do you even know about that? It hasn't been in any papers or anything."
I blushed. I had said too much. It was very illegal what I did, hacking my way into the police files and I could go to jail for doing so. "Uh ... "
Suddenly our conversation was interrupted by a loud scream coming from Victor in the living room. I jumped up and stormed in there. Victor was standing with his big dirty shoes on the couch while screaming.
"Victor!" I yelled. "What are you doing?"
"Spiders, spiders!" he yelled.
I sighed deeply. "That again. I'm so sorry officer Dan, but my son has been afraid of spiders ever since we moved here and he keeps thinking he sees them everywhere."
Officer Dan nodded. "Well we do have a lot of spiders on this island. Some people just don't like them."
"I'm sorry," I said. "I'll get him home. There has been a little too much change lately for him to handle."
"No worries,” Officer Dan said. "I'll take care of that thing we discussed. Be sure of that. I'll be at the station later today and then I'll visit Sophia to take her statement. I'll bring Stephan Olsen in as soon as possible. We'll have him locked up soon enough. I've got it. Don't worry."
I tried to grab Victor, but he started screaming louder as my hand touched his arm. "Victor!" I said angrily. "This is not the time for this. We have to get home before the snow covers all the streets and we won't be able to drive."
But Victor kept screaming and pulling his hand away.
"Wait a minute," Officer Dan said and removed my hand from Victor's arm. "Something is hurting him." He turned to look at Victor, then spoke to him gently. "Is your arm hurting?"
Victor stopped screaming and sniffled. Then he nodded. "Okay, Victor. Can you pull up your sleeve and let us look at your arm. We won't touch it if you don't want us to, alright?"
Victor nodded again, then carefully pulled up the sleeve of his jacket and shirt. Red marks appeared on his skin.
"Oh I forgot," I said and held a hand in front of my mouth. "The insect bites. But I thought they were gone now? They seem all red and inflamed again."
Officer Dan looked at them closer. "They can get like that if he keeps scratching them. This doesn't look good at all. You know what those are? Those are spider bites."
"Spider bites?"
Officer Dan nodded. "Yup. I recognize these anywhere. Used to get them a lot as a kid. All the time actually. Where I grew up spiders were everywhere."
"So that's why he is so scared of spiders?"
"Has he been playing in your yard a lot?"
"Yes. Yes he has."
"Well that's it then. The yard behind your house is packed with spiders. The Atypus Affinis or the Northern Tarantula as it is also called. They have a quite strong bite. It's not dangerous, but it can hurt for quite a while."
"Wow. I guess that's it, huh, Vic? Good to know what it is, thank y
ou, Officer Dan. For all your help."
"It was my pleasure," officer Dan said and smiled at me.
I walked towards the door with Victor right behind me. As I grabbed the handle it suddenly dawned on me. I turned and looked at him. My body started shaking as I recognized his eyes.
"You're him, aren't you? You're that boy. How else would you know that my grandmother's yard is filled with these spiders? You're the boy from the bunker under ground, aren't you? You had a spider on your face. That's how you got bitten all the time as a kid. You played with them down there, didn't you? It's not a common spider on this island or else Doctor Williamsen would have seen that kind of bite before. But he hadn't. It's only in that yard, isn't it?"
Officer Dan took in a deep breath. "You got me there."
Then he sprang for the door and locked it.
52
2012
"What's going on here, Dan?" I said my voice slightly shaking. "Why did you lock the door?"
Officer Dan shook his head. "I'm sorry. I'm afraid I can't let you leave."
"What are you talking about?" I felt Victor's hand in mine. It could only mean he was afraid. Just like I was beginning to be. I hadn't yet put all the pieces together but I was beginning to.
"It was you?" I asked.
Officer Dan walked closer to us. Victor was climbing behind me, whimpering in fear. I backed up slowly. "You killed my grandmother? You killed all those people?"
Officer Dan didn't react. He kept walking closer to us.
"She kept you in that bunker in the yard, didn't she? Was that why she had to die? Was that why you killed her? She was the first, she was number five. Why did you kill the rest of them? Were they in on it?" I stared into his eyes as I spoke and all the while I was trying to grab something, anything I could find on my way backwards to be able to throw at him or hit him with. I walked into a lamp and almost tipped it over. Then I grabbed it and threw it at him. He grabbed it mid-air and put it down with a grin. "You're no match for me," he said. "I dealt with guys twice my size growing up at the orphanage after you let me out."
"So you do remember me?" I asked desperately searching for something to defend myself with.