“What happened?” she asked. “Who did it?”
Søren shook his head as though he was deliberating what he could or couldn’t tell her, but in the end he seemed to reach a decision. Even sitting here, off duty, in the living room of a potential suspect was compromising, Anna thought, so he might as well go the whole hog.
“I don’t know,” he said. “He was killed in his apartment. That much I do know. He’s been dead about twenty-four hours, and…”
Anna’s eyes widened.
“That can’t be right,” she exclaimed, triumphantly, as if it meant Johannes couldn’t be dead after all. “I got a text message from him this morning.” She fetched her bag. “See for yourself,” she said, tossing her cell to Søren with the text message open. He studied the message for a long time and scrolled down, she noticed, probably to check the date and time the message had been received.
“What does it mean?” Anna asked.
Søren said nothing, nor did he look at her. Instead he stared into space and seemed to be pondering something. When he finally became aware of her, his eyes were somber.
“The text message is from Johannes’s killer.”
Anna was mystified.
“We haven’t been able to locate Johannes’s cell phone,” Søren continued. “It’s likely the killer took it and, to buy himself time, he probably replied to your message and any others, so no one would get suspicious.” He looked at Anna.
“Johannes was killed by repeated blows to the back of his head. It was messy, blood everywhere,” he went on, observing her closely. He noticed when she moved her foot and when she cleared her throat, his face contracted imperceptibly. It was eerie, and suddenly Anna felt scared.
“This is completely illegal, isn’t it?” she demanded. “Aren’t you being totally unprofessional? Waiting for me in the supermarket, pretending to be shopping when really you were following me? That’s harassment.”
Søren got up and sat down on the sofa next to Anna.
“Hey,” she growled and tried to get up, but Søren grabbed hold of her and pulled her back down.
He held her by the shoulders and hissed, “I’ve had enough of you, Anna Bella.” His grip was vice-like. “I’ve had enough of you refusing to cooperate. I’ve been a police officer for many years, and I’ve never had a case as impenetrable as this, and the last thing I need is a stubborn suspect who, for reasons utterly beyond my comprehension, acts as if the police in general and me in particular were put on this earth to annoy her. I can see it’s not easy for you, Anna. I really can. A young child, a demanding dissertation, and now two sudden deaths. I can understand you’re scared and angry and beside yourself. But I don’t understand why you’re angry with me. I’m your only friend in this whole crappy business.” He let go of her.
Anna yelled, “You’ve bruised me. Are you out of your mind? You can’t manhandle me, you unprofessional shit.”
Søren got up and went to the window.
“Then make a formal complaint, Anna. Go to the station tomorrow and do it. You’ve been uncooperative, and you’re technically still a suspect. Did you kill Professor Helland? Is that what you do when you get angry? Do you get so mad that you kill? And what about Johannes? Did you get angry with him, too? Did he tell you a few hard truths and you went berserk? Was that what happened? And what about Lily? Judging by your behavior, I ought to have her taken to child protective services. You’re mentally unstable, anyone can see that, and it might be better for your daughter to grow up away from you. So, go ahead, Anna Bella. You file that complaint.” Søren looked calmly at her while he spoke, and when he had finished, he turned again to the window.
Anna’s heart was racing and she gasped for breath. Søren had said terrible things, he suspected her, he had found her Achilles’ heel, but to hell with it. She couldn’t imagine life without Lily. Søren stared into the darkness. Anna noticed his right hand was shaking.
“I’ll help,” she croaked. “I promise to help you.”
Søren turned around slowly and looked at her for a long time, then he nodded.
“Some woman was in love with Johannes, and she… bothered him,” she said. “A woman he had met at this club he goes to… the Red Mask.”
“A woman?” Søren raised his eyebrows and looked at Anna.
“I’m not sure… I assumed it was a woman. I thought that’s what he said. Someone he got along with, but he wasn’t in love with her, and I think she freaked out because she was in love with him.” Anna squirmed as she realized how little attention she had paid. “He told me last Monday, but I was too preoccupied with my own problems,” she added, miserably. “But there was someone who wouldn’t leave him alone, who kept calling and…”
“We’ve found some e-mails on Johannes’s computer,” Søren said, looking pensive. “They were sent from an account in the name of Donald Duck and the sender calls himself YourGuy, so we think it might be a man. Ring any bells?”
Anna shook her head and stared out of the window.
“It just seems… so extreme to kill Johannes,” she said. “He’s the nicest person in the world! He never argues with anybody. That’s what makes him so irritating,” she added. “Johannes sees the good in everyone.” She froze, realizing she had used the present tense.
“Johannes had falling out with Professor Helland,” Søren protested.
“No, definitely not. Helland and Johannes were friends. Johannes got really uptight if I ever dared criticize Helland even a little.” Anna replied as though Søren’s statement had been a question.
“Anna, I’m telling you Helland and Johannes had clashed. We have it in writing, a long e-mail exchange that began before the summer and was still ongoing. Helland wasn’t pulling his weight regarding a paper they were meant to cowrite. Johannes appears to have been dissatisfied with Helland’s contribution and upset that Helland was making so little effort. Did Johannes ever mention this?”
Anna looked wretchedly at Søren. “No,” she whispered.
“And you never noticed his relationship with Professor Helland was strained?”
“No.” She jerked her head and stared at Søren. “You’re not insinuating Johannes killed Helland, are you? That’s outrageous. Johannes is the sweetest man I know, he would never…” She clutched her forehead.
“Anna,” Søren assured her. “I’m not insinuating anything. I’m just trying to make sense of it. That’s all. Why do you think Johannes never told you anything?”
“Because I’m utterly self-centered,” Anna said in a chastened voice.
“Pardon?” Søren said.
“Nothing,” Anna replied.
Lily appeared in the doorway, dangling Bloppen in one hand.
“I can’t sleep,” she said, drowsily. “Bloppen is being noisy.”
The World’s Most Irritating Detective sat down and looked at Lily. Now alert, she glanced from her mother to Søren.
“Darling, you need to go back to bed,” Anna said, wearily.
“Bloppen is jumping up and down in my bed,” Lily complained.
“It’s late, darling,” Anna pleaded and got up.
“But Bloppen is reading my books,” Lily persisted. “While he sings.”
“No wonder you can’t get to sleep,” Søren said. Anna wanted to explode. Pig! How dare you talk to my daughter when you’ve just threatened to take her away from me? Søren looked at Lily.
“He makes so much noise,” Lily said, shy, but pleased to have an audience.
“Why do you think he makes a noise when you’re trying to sleep? That’s not a nice thing to do.”
“Bloppen teases me,” Lily complained.
She toddled further into the living room, past Anna as if she didn’t exist, and up to Søren where she stopped in front of his legs. She reached almost up to his chest and her nightgown touched the floor. She dumped the naughty toy dog on Søren’s lap.