Ellen moaned. "Not that again. We have been through this a million times, Mads. I never knew the guy. I have no idea why he has become obsessed with me. I don't know why … I swear to God, I don't have a clue. You have to believe me Mads. Or I swear I'm gonna loose it."
"So he wasn't your lover? You didn't sleep with him while we were married or something?"
"How could you even ask such a horrible thing?" Ellen said furiously. Thomas felt her frustration and hoped she would finally leave her husband. He knew she wanted to, but he didn't understand what she was waiting for. Maybe she was afraid of him? Afraid of what her husband might do?
"It's just really hard to understand, Ellen. You have to realize that."
"Don't you think I know that? Don't you think I feel exactly the same way? This guy has been stalking me for what, six - seven years now? Don't you think I think about it every day, wonder why he chose me, of all people? Don't you think I'm asking myself that very question every day?"
Mads exhaled deeply. "I know, Ellen. I know. It's just … just so hard. I thought we would finally get rid of him when we moved, you know? I thought this was it. Now we could move on with our lives. And then this?"
"But it couldn't have been him, Mads," Ellen said. "The police told us he was dead when I called them. He died in his apartment, probably suicide they said. They found the burnt up remains of him inside the apartment. He is gone, Mads. It must have been a dream. Your mind is playing tricks or something."
Mads exhaled again. "I know what they told you, but I'm telling you he is still out there. He is alive and he has found us. I can't believe you refuse to believe me. After all we’ve been through," Mads said.
They both went quiet, then a door slammed. Thomas smiled from under the window. He had been living in his car ever since he got there. He followed Ellen wherever she went and watched her sleep at night, never taking his eyes off of her for more than a few hours when he needed to get some sleep himself. Being close to her again made him calmer and he finally felt whole, but it was like it wasn't quite enough anymore. He wanted more, he needed more than this.
Thomas sighed and rubbed his eyes. He had developed a tic in one eye that bothered him, especially when he felt agitated. He had trouble controlling his mind. The lack of sleep didn't help much, but he felt like he was slowly losing grip of reality, of what was real and what was fantasy. It felt like he was slipping. He kept imagining killing the handsome husband, and there were days when he thought he had already done so. The many voices in his head wouldn't keep quiet about it and, at times, he thought the only way to make them shut up was to obey.
41
November 2013
"SO WHAT CAN I do for you, Officer ... Bredballe, was it?"
Lisa pulled out a smoothie from the refrigerator that she had made earlier in the morning and started drinking it while staring at the fake officer. She felt like she had seen him before and wondered for a second if she was wrong about him, if he really did work at the station downtown? Lisa had never had much to do with the local officers. And she wasn't starting to now. The guy was sloppy and dirty and highly annoying.
"Yes. Morten Bredballe," he said. "You're new in town?"
"Yes, been here about a year now."
"How do you like it?"
"We love it," Lisa said with a huge smile.
The officer smiled back and sipped his coffee while staring at the smoothie in her hand. "Meat-smoothie," she said. "With beetroot. Very high in protein. I have more, would you like to try one?"
The officer looked like he was about to throw up.
How rude, Lisa thought to herself.
"No, thanks. The reason I'm here is actually to ask you about a man who went missing a couple of days ago. His name is Bo Quist. He works for Nordby VVS. It's a plumbing company. On the morning he went missing, he was supposed to have come here. He had another client before you and he showed up for them, but that's where the trail ends."
Lisa drank her smoothie through the straw. She didn't even blink when the officer mentioned the plumber. Simply because she didn't care.
She shrugged. "That's most unfortunate, Officer, but I can't say I've seen him. We haven't seen a plumber in this house at all and it’s been weeks since we called the company. WEEKS. Can't say I'm impressed with them, but they're the only ones in town I understand."
"Well yes. That is true. So you're telling me that Bo Quist never came here at all?" the Officer asked and put a picture of the plumber on the table for Lisa to look at. She shook her head with a chuckle.
"No, anyone that ugly, I would remember," she said.
The officer stared at her, then down at the picture. "We did find his truck parked downtown," he said. "So he must have gone down there after the former client and whatever happened to him after that remains a mystery."
Lisa sucked up the last remains of her meat-smoothie through the straw and made a loud sucking noise. She put the empty glass on the table, then looked at the officer and smiled. "It sure does," she said, wondering if she should use the knife and stab him in the chest, or if she could come up with something a little more fun this time. The knife thing was getting old. "And even worse. Our sink is still broken."
"Well yes. That is unfortunate. Say you don't happen to know Nora Willumsen, by any chance? She has a baby about the same age as yours."
"I know, Nora. Yes. She is in my mothers’ group. Can't say I know her well though."
The officer nodded. Lisa turned her head and looked at the knife on the table. She hadn't had time to clean it properly. Then she spotted the carving fork and a smile planted itself across her face. It wasn't her election-smile; no this smile was different.
"Well, the thing is, Nora Willumsen has disappeared as well," the officer continued.
Lisa stared at the officer thinking that maybe he wasn't fake after all; maybe he wasn't here to attack her and take her jewelry. He seemed too well-informed to be fake. Lisa put her hand on the carving fork and caressed it gently. The officer stared at her. She felt his eyes on her body. Was he checking her out? Or was he on to her? Either way, he annoyed her immensely. But worst of all were those dirty boots. Lisa looked at her nice wooden floors that she had just cleaned. Smeared in mud.
Smeared. Defiled. Tainted.
Lisa lifted her eyes and met his. "But I take it you haven't seen her either?" he said and wrote something on his notepad.
Lisa shook her head slowly. "No, officer. I haven't seen her either. Not since we were at the hairdresser yesterday. Boy a lot of people have gone missing lately, haven't they?"
The officer sighed. "Yes. I …" he stopped and looked at her. "Did you say that Nora was in your mothers’ group?"
"Yes," Lisa said and picked up the carving fork in her hand. It felt heavy. She wondered how it was going to sound once she pierced it through his chest. How deep would it go? Would it pierce through his lungs? Would she be able to pierce it straight through his heart or would she have to stab him again and again to kill him? She preferred the last one. She loved to get rid of all her frustrations in that manner.
"Who else is in that group? Was Simone Beaumont in it as well?"
"Yes, as a matter of fact, she was." Lisa walked closer with the carving fork clenched in her hand.
"What about Susanne Arnholm?"
"Part of the group too," Lisa said walking close to him. He didn't seem to notice. He was lost in his own chain of thoughts.
Let me give you something to think about, sweetheart. Let me help you forget about everything else around you.
Lisa closed her eyes and went to that special place, the place of pure pleasure and delight, before opening them again. She looked at her victim, her prey, with a grin, then lifted the fork into the air, when the sound of the doorbell made her lose her momentum and the arm with the fork dropped down behind the officer's back instead of inside of him.
"Who the hell is that?" she growled and sprang for the door. "What?" she yelled and opened it, still clench
ing the carving fork in her hand.
"Hi Lisa," a woman standing outside said.
"Who the hell are you?"
"I'm Emma. We met at the hairdresser yesterday, remember? I'm Sophia's friend."
42
November 2013
"EMMA. THAT'S RIGHT. Now I remember you."
Lisa looked a little manic when she talked. I wondered if she was alright. Maybe she had already heard about Nora and put the pieces together?
"Come on in," she said, and made room for me to walk past her. Remembering what Sophia had told me, I stopped in the hallway and took off my boots. Lisa saw it and smiled.
"Thank you," she said. "I’ve just cleaned."
"Well I know how boots can leave dirty marks all over the place. Especially at this time of year when it rains a lot and there’s mud everywhere outside."
Lisa tilted her head and smiled again. "That is so true," she said. "Not many people realize this. But it is so true."
I smiled and nodded, sensing that Lisa had taken a liking to me.
"Come into the kitchen," she said. "Can I get you anything?"
I looked at her and was about to refuse, but I realized that she was the type who would be offended if I said no. "I'd love some coffee if you have any."
"Coffee it is," she said, chirping.
I followed her into the kitchen. She placed the carving fork I had noticed in her hand when she opened the door on the counter, then went for the coffeemaker. To my surprise, she wasn't alone. Morten was in the kitchen.
"Emma?" he said, looking at me startled. "What on earth are you doing here?"
"I'm here to talk to Lisa. What are you doing here?" For a split-second I felt the spirit of jealousy visit my heart. I couldn't help but wonder what he was doing in another woman's kitchen. But then I noticed the notepad on the table and the pen in his hand and I blushed. Of course, he was just working.
"I'm here on a police matter," he said with a shy smile.
"Why, isn't this nice?" Lisa chirped and clapped her hands. "You two know each other."
"It's good that you are here," I said ignoring Lisa's sarcastic remark. "I've been trying to reach you. You should hear this."
I sat down while Lisa put a cup of coffee in front of me. I sipped it while Lisa sat down as well. She seemed like she couldn't relax. Like having us in her kitchen made her highly uncomfortable. A small flat screen TV was on in the corner of the kitchen showing the local Fanoe TV station. It had been muted. Lisa stared up at it, then back at me.
"So what is it that is so important?" she asked.
"Well, I'm afraid you might be in danger," I said.
Lisa looked at me, then laughed out loud. "Me? Now that's a new one. And why, might I ask, do you believe I am in danger?" She said, sounding like she was mocking me.
"It's the mothers’ group," Morten said.
"Exactly," I said. "I believe the killer is targeting your mothers’ group. Three people have disappeared, all were part of the group. Two of them turned up in cars in the ocean. Both of them were shot. Only one survived."
"And now Nora has disappeared as well," Morten said.
"That leaves only you and Sophia," I continued.
"Where is Sophia?" Morten asked.
"Back at my house with Alma who is asleep. I called your station. There's a patrol keeping an eye on her and the neighborhood."
"Good," he said.
"Now I say we get Lisa back with us as well. What do you say Lisa?" I said and turned to look at her. But Lisa seemed to have lost interest in the conversation. She was staring at the flat screen TV in the corner where a man was being interviewed.
Per Egon, candidate for City Council, the text said beneath him.
"Lisa?" Morten said.
She still didn't answer. She walked closer to the TV and turned up the sound. I looked at Morten and shrugged. Lisa seemed lost in what was going on inside the TV. The voice of this Per Egon filled the kitchen.
"Yes, I do believe my opponent Lisa Rasmussen should withdraw right away," he said.
"And why is that?"
"I hold here evidence that she is a fake," Per Egon said and held a piece of paper up in the air for the camera to see.
"And what exactly are we looking at?" The journalist asked.
Per Egon grinned. "This is proof that Lisa Rasmussen never passed her final exam at Business School in Karrebaeksminde, as she claims to have. This proves she is a fake, a phony, and no one should vote for her. After all, if this isn’t true, what else is she lying about?"
I got up from the chair. "Lisa …? We really should take this seriously. You should come to my house where we will be able to protect you. You'll have to deal with that other stuff later. Right now, it’s your safety that’s important. Have your family come over as well, just to make sure."
Lisa was frozen. Her back was still turned to me and Morten. I walked closer and realized she was shivering. I put a hand on her shoulder.
"Lisa …"
"That son of a …" she mumbled. "I'll show him who is fake, I'll show him. I will. I have to …" Lisa turned and looked into my eyes. She seemed lost in her own thoughts. I had a feeling she hadn’t listened to anything I’d said.
"Lisa? Will you come to my house?" I asked again.
"It's a great idea," Morten said. "You should do it, Lisa. There is no way we can send out a patrol to guard your house as well. This way you'll be protected."
Lisa mumbled something then looked up.
"So what do you say?" I asked.
"What? Say to what?"
"To spending the night at my place?"
"Oh that … Well I guess. I just have … I mean, I have something I need to do first." She said pensively.
"Okay," I said and looked at Morten. "Maybe I'll stay with you till you're done," I said.
Lisa turned her head like an owl and looked at me. "No! No. I don't need your help. I don't need anyone's protection. I'm fine, don't you see? I'm great. I'm perfect. I can take care of myself. Don't you worry about a thing."
Morten got up from the chair. "Lisa, you really should go."
Lisa nodded distantly while mumbling something about the carving fork. I was wondering if she was at all well.
"Yes, yes," she said. "I'll come over later." She grabbed my shoulder and pushed me slightly towards the front door. "Now, just leave. I'll be right there. Just have a small errand I need to run downtown."
"You really shouldn't be alone," Morten said. Lisa grabbed his shoulder and started pushing him as well.
"Oh, I won't be alone. Don't you worry about that. In fact, don't worry about me at all. I'm never alone. I have all the voices in my head to keep me company, ha ha," she said, chuckling while pushing us out the front door.
"Do take care now," she said and slammed the door in our faces.
I stared at Morten who shrugged with a smile. "Can't force her," he said. "If she doesn't want our protection."
"I know," I said and walked towards my car. Across the road, I spotted an abandoned building.
"What happened here?" I asked.
"There was a fire earlier in the year. Killed the man inside the top apartment. They say he committed suicide because of unrequited love. It was never rebuilt."
"That's so sad."
"I know."
43
March 2013
THOMAS WAS GOING through Ellen's drawers. They had left to go to the movies downtown and Thomas had decided to stay behind. He had followed them all the way there and watched them go inside before he drove back to the farm and broke in through the window in the basement.
Thomas found a pair of her underwear in the basket in the bathroom and sniffed them. He held them to his face and rubbed his nose in them. Oh, how amazing they smelled. How intoxicating.
He put the underwear in his pocket then moved on to the rest of the bedroom. He put his head on her pillow and sniffed it, then rubbed his own head on it imagining he was hugging her and smelling her hair.
Soon Ellen. Soon, we will be together. Soon, nothing will ever be able to come between us again.
"Who’s in here?" The voice of the handsome husband shattered the air above Thomas. He rolled down to the floor, then rolled under the bed. Thomas was shivering as he heard the sound of the husband's big boots come closer.
"Hello?"
"There is no one here," Ellen said.
Thomas smiled. Her sweet voice always made him so happy.
"You're just being paranoid, Mads. I'll get the kids to bed."
The boots were outside the bedroom now. Then they stopped. Thomas heard Ellen talk to the children in the bathroom while they brushed their teeth. They were laughing. Thomas closed his eyes and enjoyed the sound of Ellen's laughter. It felt almost like he was there with her, laughing, goofing around with the kids.
It should have been you. This family should have been yours. Not his. He stole it from you. He stole your life, your future. It's time you take it back. It's time that you take back what is rightfully yours.
The door to the bedroom opened and the boots entered. A second later, a face looked directly at Thomas. Then an arm reached in under the bed, grabbed him, and pulled him out.
"Ha!" the husband yelled. "I knew you were still alive. I was right! Ellen, come and see what I’ve found."
Thomas was shivering and pulled out of the husband's grip. A kick from his boot made Thomas fall back to the floor in pain.
"Ellen!" The husband yelled again. "Come in here. Right now!"
Steps were coming closer and then they stopped. Thomas heard Ellen gasp, then whimper before she shooed the children back to their room. The husband kicked Thomas in the stomach a few times before Ellen finally returned.
"Stop!" she said. "He's bleeding."
The husband was panting. The kicks paused. Thomas coughed to breathe.
"What's the matter with you? Are you defending him again? Can't you see I was right?" the husband said.
"Yes. Yes, Mads. You were right, okay? But there is no reason to beat him," Ellen said.