Run run as fast as you can (Emma Frost #3)

  "Susanne, I can see your nipple," one of the girls in her mothers’ group named Lisa said.

  Susanne shrugged. "So what?"

  "Well … at least cover up a little bit with your shirt. I can practically see the entire breast."

  "Then don't look," Susanne said.

  Lisa growled and ate her salad. Susanne really didn't like Lisa much. She was so uptight. And now she had told them that she was running for City Council. Susanne had stared at her and tried hard not to laugh. At least it had lightened up the mood in the mothers’ group a little. They had all been really down since Simone disappeared and this morning they had heard that she had been found shot in a car in the ocean. It was all very strange and creepy. Susanne wasn't scared since she was certain Simone's husband did it.

  "He fits the profile. He is the typical power-tripping police officer," she had stated when the rest of the group had told her she was crazy for making such a statement.

  "Tim loved her," Sophia had said. Sophia six-kids, as Susanne secretly had named her, since she was alone with six children all with different fathers. She was by far Susanne's favorite in the group.

  "Yeah, but that just gives him a motive, doesn't it? I mean they had a big fight the night before, didn't they? And then she is suddenly gone the next day? Looks a little suspicious to me."

  The group had agreed to disagree. They did that a lot. Now Lisa was looking disapprovingly at Susanne's breast while Malthe finished his meal.

  "I really don't understand why you don't just introduce him to the bottle," Lisa grumbled. "Margrethe never slept better than since I started giving her a bottle."

  "Well I'm not going to, so live with it," Susanne said.

  Susanne was sweating heavily because of the pain. She wiped her forehead with a napkin. She closed her eyes for a second while the other girls, including the always very-quiet Nora talked about Lisa's new upcoming career.

  "I'll definitely vote for you," Sophia stated.

  The rest nodded. Lisa looked smug. It annoyed Susanne. She looked away. Her eyes met with those of a man sitting across the room at a table by the window. She thought she had seen his face before and smiled as you would smile to an acquaintance you met in the street or at the supermarket.

  He smiled back.

  19

  October 2009

  OH MY GOD, she's going to be choked!

  Thomas ran across the street and stormed into the yard through the back opening in the fence. He ran to the tree where Gerda was hanging lifelessly from the branch. Her face had turned purple and she wasn't moving.

  Thomas gasped, then climbed the tree and reached down to grab her by the shoulder and pulled her back up into the tree.

  "Please breathe, please don't be dead," he said, panting while untying the rope around her throat. Gerda's older brother had now realized something was going on and approached the tree.

  Thomas looked at the young girl in his hands while his heart was racing in his chest. Everything inside of him was screaming.

  Please don't die, please don't.

  He leaned over her and listened, then put his fingers on her wrist to feel for a pulse. He didn't find any and she wasn't breathing.

  "What's happening?" Frederik asked with a shivering voice.

  "Get your mom and dad," Thomas yelled. "Go get your parents. Now."

  Frederik disappeared and Thomas put Gerda over his shoulder and carefully carried her down. He placed her in the grass, then opened her mouth and breathed in. Then he pressed her chest carefully, so as to not break any of her ribs.

  "Come on Gerda. Come on, sweetheart. Wake up. Breathe."

  When nothing happened, he leaned over and breathed into her mouth again, then pressed on her chest again. Finally, something happened. Gerda spurted and coughed. Her legs and arms moved in what looked like spasms. Thomas was crying heavily, tears rolling across his face. Voices emerged from the house. Frederik was running towards them; Ellen and her handsome husband following him.

  "What's going on?" Ellen screamed.

  Thomas looked up and his eyes met hers. Oh how he loved those deep blue eyes that he had admired for so long.

  "Who are you?" she asked.

  "I … I …" Thomas stuttered. He looked down at Gerda who was still coughing.

  Ellen took her in her arms. "Are you alright, sweetie?" Ellen looked at her handsome husband. "We need to call for an ambulance. Please hurry up." Then she looked at Thomas again.

  "What happened?"

  "She … she got the jump rope around her throat … up in the tree. I saw it and got her down."

  Ellen put a hand to her chest. "Oh dear God."

  "She was hanging from the tree over there," Thomas continued and pointed. The jump rope was still tied to the branch.

  Ellen shrieked and held her daughter closer. She was so fragile and tender at that moment. Thomas could never have loved her more. "I … I climbed up there and managed to get her down. She wasn't breathing …"

  Thomas felt the husband's hand on his shoulder. He had talked to the emergency central and put the phone in his pocket. "How can we ever thank you?" he said.

  "Well … I … It was nothing, really." Thomas rose to his feet. His eyes avoided Ellen's. This was a very uncomfortable situation. "I'd better … I should go."

  "Wait," Ellen said.

  Thomas stopped. Ellen looked at him. Their eyes locked. "Haven't I seen you before?"

  "Well … I … live nearby."

  Suddenly her facial expression changed. "It's you, isn't it?"

  Her husband looked at Thomas. "What are you saying, Ellen?" he asked.

  "It's him. I know it’s him."

  The husband took a step closer to Thomas. "You? You're the one who sends the flowers? You're the one who breaks into our house and posts letters and places toys in our children's room? You're the reason we've had to change the locks six times in the last few years?"

  Thomas looked down. He didn't answer.

  "What kind of a creep are you?" The husband snorted.

  Thomas looked at Ellen, longing for some sort of recognition of their mutual love, of the many secrets they had shared over the years.

  She shook her head heavily. "Listen. We are extremely grateful for what you have done for our daughter," she said, but was interrupted by her husband.

  "No. No. This guy only saw what happened because he was spying on us, on our children. He is a creep, Ellen. He needs to be locked away."

  Thomas started to back up slowly. "I … I should …"

  "No," Frederik said. "Don't be mean to him."

  His parents looked at him.

  "I know him," he continued. "His name is Thomas and he is really nice. He saved Gerda's life. He gives us candy at the playground."

  In the distance, Thomas heard sirens blaring and soon an ambulance drove into the driveway.

  "Do you mean to say that this creep has been approaching you and Gerda at the playground?" The handsome man said with a furious voice. "That's it mister," he said and lifted his clenched fist. "You leave my family alone, or I swear to God …"

  "Where is the patient?" A voice interrupted them. "Is that the girl?"

  Ellen nodded while the husband forgot all about Thomas and turned to look at Gerda. Thomas slowly backed up, and while everybody else was busy attending the girl, he snuck out of the yard and ran back to his apartment. For the rest of the day, he sat in the window, his hands shaking so badly he could hardly hold the binoculars still.

  20

  November 2013

  LISA WAS HAVING a busy day. All morning, she was having photos taken for the posters and then she needed to get a new outfit for her upcoming campaign. She went for a nice dress, not too colorful, but in a nice dim beige, making her look trustworthy, yet motherly. She had Margrethe on her hip in some of the pictures and was alone in others.

  Afterwards, she was off to enjoy a late lunch with her friends in her mothers’ group before she had her nails done at that small new place
downtown.

  At home, she cooked enough food for an army, then wrapped it all up and put it in boxes before she headed over to Tim Beaumont's house. She rang the doorbell and he opened the door. His eyes were red and swollen.

  "I cooked for you," she said and stormed past him into the kitchen where she unpacked all her boxes and bags. "There should be enough to eat for a long, long time," she said. "All you have to do is heat it."

  "It's really nice of you, Lisa," Tim said with a heavy voice. He sat down on a chair and stared at the floor. Lisa felt sorry for him. She had always liked Simone and was sad that she was gone.

  "It's the least I can do. I had all this meat lying in my freezer anyway, so I'm just glad to use it to help you. Here, this is for tonight. It's a stew."

  Tim nodded. "Thanks. The kids will probably love it. I don't seem to have any appetite lately."

  "Well that's only natural, Tim. Give it time, okay?"

  "You're always so good to talk to, Lisa," Tim said. "Christian is a very lucky man to have you."

  Lisa chuckled. "Well maybe you should tell him that." She put the last box in the freezer and sighed, satisfied. It was true that helping people really made you feel better. It also helped her get rid of the last remains of that annoying no-good plumber, so, in that sense, she was killing two birds with one stone, now wasn't she?

  "There," she said. "It's all in there and ready for you when you need it." She turned to look at Tim again. It hurt her to see him this sad. She grabbed a chair next to him and sat down.

  "The worst part is that we ended with a fight you know?" he said. "I can't bear the fact that I never got to tell her how much I loved her."

  "I'm sure she knew."

  "How? How could she know? I hardly ever told her. I was too damn proud. If only I had apologized that night. I hate all this guilt."

  Lisa nodded pensively. "Why did you have to apologize?"

  "It was my fault. It was all my fault that we were fighting the night before." He said and sniffled.

  "What was your fault?"

  "I should never have told her. I should have kept my big fat mouth shut," he continued.

  Lisa put her hand on top of his to comfort him. "I'm sure it doesn't matter anymore. Now you have to focus on your children. They need you, Tim."

  "There was this girl," Tim continued, without looking at Lisa.

  Lisa froze. She pulled her hand away from his. "What girl?" she asked, slightly anxious for what he was going to tell her. "Tim. What girl?"

  "Nothing ever happened. I swear Lisa. It started at a summer party a couple of months ago. She came on to me."

  "Is she an officer?"

  "No, one of the secretaries. I never told Simone who she was, though. She really wanted me to, but I couldn't. She would have killed her."

  "Aha. And what exactly happened between you and this secretary?"

  "I was in the small kitchen at the station when she came in there to me and started kissing me. I didn't stop her. I know I should have, but I'm ashamed to say I didn't." Tim hid his face in his hands and shook his head. "She kept telling me how badly she wanted me and I … I kissed her back. But nothing else. I swear, Lisa. Nothing else. But ever since that day, she kept coming on to me and grabbing me whenever we were alone, trying to kiss me. It was a nightmare in the end. She kept writing things on Facebook and in e-mails and I had no idea how to get it to stop. I told her I wasn't interested, but that didn't make her stop. Then she started calling me in the middle of the night. She kept saying she would tell Simone that I had slept with her if I avoided her. I … I had no idea what to do. So, I told Simone about her. That's why she got so mad at me. She didn't even speak to me all morning … on the day when … the last time I saw her. If I had only apologized and not been so stubborn. I kept telling her that I had no part in it and she kept arguing that I did since I didn't fight the girl off when she kissed me. Am I such a bad person, Lisa? Am I?"

  Lisa snorted, then put her hand on Tim's shoulder. "No, Tim. No, you're not. Tell me again which one of those two secretaries at the station was it?"

  21

  November 2013

  I WORKED ON my book most of the day. Around three o'clock, Sophia popped over with baby Alma in her arms. She looked exhausted.

  "What's going on?" I asked when she sat down in my kitchen.

  "I can't sleep," she said. "I hardly closed an eye last night."

  I shrugged. "Well you have a baby, that's pretty normal."

  She shook her head. Alma played on the floor. "No not because of her. I'm used to her waking me up, no I simply can't fall asleep. I keep thinking about Simone. I really liked her. I did, Emma. She was the nicest in our group. I can't believe she's gone. Today someone in my group suggested that her husband could have killed her. Now I can't stop thinking that he might have. Maybe he fooled all of us? I have known my share of psychopaths in my life and I know how they fool the people around them."

  I scoffed. "You know better than to believe stupid rumors and speculations like that. Is there anything that indicates he could have done it?" I asked. "What would his motive have been?"

  "Anger, jealousy, because she wanted to leave him? They had a fight? You name it. The man is a police officer, for crying out loud. Those are the worst. Just look at Officer Dan. Remember him?"

  "How could I forget?" I mumbled and thought about him for a second. Talk about misjudging persons and a true psychopath. "But we can hardly suspect all in the police force just because there was one rotten egg."

  "True. But still. I'm telling you. Someone shot this woman and he is out there somewhere."

  If only it was the husband, I thought to myself and wondered for a second about the missing plumber. Then at least he wouldn't kill anyone else.

  I stared at Alma who had grabbed on to my chair and was now lifting herself up to stand on two legs. I looked at Sophia.

  "She does that all the time now. In a few weeks, she will be walking. Then I'll have to get to work, you know. Constantly chasing her around. When is it again they move away from home?"

  "How should I know? Mine are still here," I said chuckling.

  Sophia smiled, then laughed. "They say one day we will sit in our empty houses and look back at this moment and wish for it back. I don't know about that." Sophia laughed again.

  "I have a date," I suddenly said.

  Sophia lit up. "Really? Who?"

  "Officer Bredballe."

  Sophia rolled her eyes. "Finally. That took some time huh?"

  I shrugged. "I don't know. We have been through a lot together."

  "When is it?"

  "Tomorrow night."

  "Oh, we're in a hurry then," Sophia said.

  "In a hurry to do what?"

  "Get you ready. You need a new dress, we need your hair fixed and those nails won't do either."

  I scoffed. "You must be kidding. Morten isn't into stuff like that."

  "Men always say they aren't but they really like it afterwards. We'll make you pretty. Come on. Indulge me here. I need this."

  "You've got to be kidding me," I said. "I don't have time. I have to write my book, remember?"

  "You have plenty of time. You already have two bestsellers, there is no rush with the next one. You have earned plenty of money on the first two."

  I frowned. "I really don't want to …"

  "Come on. At least go with me to the hairdresser tomorrow morning. The entire mothers’ group has planned to go. They have this place where they take care of your baby while they fix your hair. It's new. Please come with me, please? I so badly want to introduce you to my group."

  I exhaled deeply. "Alright then. But just the hairdresser."

  "And a new dress," Sophia said.

  "Okay. Hair and dress. But no nails. I can't stand getting my nails done."

  "Promise," Sophia said. "Cross my heart and hope to die, stick a needle in my eye."

  "Don't say that. I don't like that saying. Why would anyone hope to die? And what's
with that needle?"

  Sophia rolled her eyes at me again. "Alright, Mrs. Cumbersome. I'll just cross my heart then."

  "Good."

  22

  November 2013

  SUSANNE'S HEAD WAS hurting badly. The smell was still in her nostrils. She opened her eyes, but saw nothing but darkness. She held a hand to her head, trying hard to remember what had happened. The parking lot. She had been in the parking lot and had just put Malthe in his car seat, yes that was it. Susanne opened her eyes widely.

  Malthe? Where is he?

  In the darkness, Susanne tried to stand up straight but her head hit against something and she ducked down. Then she fumbled forward across what felt like newspapers on the floor. What was this place?

  Susanne tried hard to remember. She had opened the door to her car when someone had approached her. Yes, that was right. Some guy had come up to her. She knew him from somewhere, she had seen him before. Yes in the café. That was right. He had been in there looking at her and her friends. Where were they now? She had said goodbye to them. Then the guy had come up to her asking her for directions to the post office. He had held a map in his hands. Susanne had thought he was a tourist. She had pointed the direction to him and shown him on the map. He had smiled and nodded. He seemed so nice, she remembered thinking. She wondered why he had been alone and not with some nice family. He looked like a dad, he really did. Except for his eyes. There had been something in them when he had lifted his head and looked at her, thanking her for her help. He had pulled something out of his pocket. What was it?