Nemesis

by Margit Sandemo

  “That’s exactly what we’re trying to find out. May we have your permission to examine the stable?”

  “The stables? Yes, of course,” said the Count, confused.

  “Certainly!”

  As they were crossing the farmyard, the bailiff said: “I’m wondering whether we should have have spoken to Moll- to Jessica first.”

  “Yes!” nodded Alexander. “She has quite a lot to tell us which we should have heard before we approached these people.”

  “I’d be most grateful if you could spare some time to collaborate with me further in this sad situation.”

  “Most certainly. After all, it’s my son who has stumbled over the two deceased. He put us on the trail, didn’t he?”

  “Yes, my word. He’s certainly had an eventful night! Well, now that we’re here, it would be a good idea to interrogate the family.”

  Alexander was diplomatic and said, “I suppose you’ll follow your usual procedure in such matters? You’ll interrogate them one by one, so that they won’t know what the others have said?”

  The bailiff, who intended to have everybody lined up together, suddenly looked surprised but then quickly said: “Yes, of course.”

  That margrave was pretty smart, he thought. Generally the bailiff did not think highly of the upper classes – or the lower classes, for that matter. But the margrave seemed a very sensible and down-to-earth man. He looked handsome – and so did his son. But the latter was still pretty wet behind the ears. Even so, the son was a charming young man.

  And the Margravine was a truly pleasant and elegant woman. Wise, witty and warmhearted. It was a shame that she had left the scene.

  And little Molly- no, Jessica – who had just been sweet, had come down with a bad cold and was completely baffled. What was it she had concocted?

  Maybe she was the guilty one.

  Tancred said, “I suppose we really should have a word with Dieter too?”

  “Soon,” assured the bailiff. “He’s on our list.”

  Then they were in the stable where it was dark and where there was a pungent yet familiar smell.

  “Well, well,” said Alexander. “Where are we searching now? And what are we searching for?”

  The bailiff had a vague idea that they ought to search where Molly had waited while Jessica had run inside after the money.

  “That makes sense,” said Alexander. “But the stable is large. We should have asked Jessica about it first.”

  Tancred found it very difficult to call his beloved Molly “Jessica” although it was quite obvious that this name seemed the more appropriate of the two.

  But she was no longer his beloved. She had really fallen into disgrace.

  As they walked slowly and half-heartedly among the snorting horses, they had to admit there was nothing of significance there. They were getting ready to return to the main building.

  “Get a move on, Tancred,” shouted Alexander.

  “Wait a moment,” Tancred said from the corner of the stable. “I think I might have found something!”

  They sighed quietly and looked over at him. In his hand he held a wooden spade that was reinforced with iron.

  “Look at this,” he said, turning it around. “Can this be blood?”

  The bailiff seized it.

  “Yes, definitely. But there may be many reasons for it.”

  “Yes, but there are also strands of hair. And they’re not from a horse.”

  They took the spade out into the light.

  “Now Molly’s hair was wet, so we don’t know the true colour of it yet. But this seems to be ash blonde doesn’t it?”

  “Yes, I’d say that’s what it is,” said Alexander. “Dark cendré in a more sophisticated language. Well done, Tancred!”

  A little praise went a long way in an abused heart!

  “So this is where Molly was killed,” said the bailiff thoughtfully. “This must have been a quick job!”

  “Yes, because Jessica took quite some time to find the money. But Molly’s corpse must have been moved immediately,” said Alexander, “because Jessica searched thoroughly without finding her.”

  “It’s all very strange. They must have left through the back entrance. What does it look like out that way?”

  They went outside. It was getting dark now and the naked spring fields looked black.

  A bridle path went towards the forest.

  “By horseback?” said the bailiff. “They must have done a quick job of it.”

  Tancred added, “Whoever the culprit is, he can’t have done all this on his own.”

  “No, we realise that,” said Alexander. “There must have been at least two of them. There are many questions, and the only one who can answer them is Jessica. One of them is: What was Molly’s position in the house ...?”

  Tancred looked puzzled and opened his mouth to say something when they heard a voice behind them.

  “What are you doing here?”

  A big, stocky man stood in the stable door.

  “The groom, I presume?” said the bailiff.

  “Groom?” snorted the man. “I’m the Countess’s coachman. But what kind of people are you, barging into another man’s property like this?”

  “I’m the bailiff, and these are my helpers. We’re here to examine the murder of a servant girl by the name of Molly, who was most likely stabbed in this stable – and also the murder of the Countess’s sister.”

  The groom did not hear the last bit. He had turned terribly pale.

  “What? Molly stabbed to death? My little Molly? Oh, God, no, no!”

  He put his hands to his face and disappeared into the stable.

  They looked at one another.

  “And there I was just thinking that we had found one of the criminals,” said Tancred. “He looked sufficiently rough to have committed it. That shows us how easy it is to judge somebody.”

  They walked through the dark stable and back to the farmhouse.

  The bailiff asked to be allowed to speak to the Countess first of all.

  “Women are often the weakest link,” he mumbled. “She might reveal something about her husband.”

  The nondescript woman, who was now dressed in black after her sister’s death, seemed even more nondescript in these clothes. Her features, which tended to be kind, bland and smiling, found it difficult to return to a relaxed and natural expression.

  “First a side-issue: What connection did your coachman have with Molly?”

  The Countess seemed startled.”The coachman? Why ...?”

  “He was ever so shocked when he heard of her death.”

  “Oh, now I see what you mean. I think he wanted to marry her but she didn’t want that at all.”

  “What kind of position did Molly have in your house?”

  “She was Jessica’s maid and clearly her confidante. She was a very difficult girl to have in the house – Molly, that is. Cheeky and challenging. She refused to obey anybody except Jessica. She spoiled the girl, turning her against us.”

  “Did she have a male friend?”

  “Molly? I don’t know because she had many secrets. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if she had.”

  “How old was she?”

  “That’s hard to tell. Somewhere between 25 and 30, I’d think. She also worked here when the Cross Family managed the estate.”

  “And now to your sister, the Duchess.”Countess Holzenstern stiffened. “Mr. bailiff, I don’t want to talk about the deceased. Let them rest in peace!”

  “That won’t do I’m afraid. We know that she had many male liaisons and that you threw her out of here. Why? Did she associate with any of the men in this house?”

  For once, she forgot to smile. “Mr. bailiff, I know perfectly well that there’s only one man in this family! So what are you impl
ying?”

  “Precisely what you’re thinking.”

  She was very angry. “My husband abhorred her. He was the one who wanted her out of the house. At least I felt sorry for her. And now I find your questions so rude that I refuse to answer them any longer! Goodbye!”

  Her voice cracked as she burst into tears, and she hurried out of the drawing room.

  They sat in silence for a short while.

  “That didn’t go too well, did it?” said the bailiff. “We must question the Count instead. But I’m very anxious to speak with Jessica.”

  “So am I,” said Alexander. “We won’t be getting anywhere without her explanation.”

  When the Count entered the drawing room, his face ashen and with trembling hands, the bailiff said, “So far, we’ve only got one question to put to you. I hope you can give us a satisfactory answer.”

  Count Holzenstern waited.

  The bailiff fired the question at him: “Why did you make young Tancred believe that there’s no such thing as Old Askinge?”

  There was silence. Then the Count shrugged his shoulders.

  “I could have given several explanations to your question. But you wouldn’t believe them would you?”

  “Hardly.”

  “I see,” sighed the Count. “I didn’t want him to snoop about there.”

  “Why not?”

  “Surely that’s obvious, isn’t it?”

  “No, not quite. We realise perfectly well that you had an affair with the Duchess. We won’t interfere with that. But you see, Count, she was murdered, and that puts you in a totally different light.”

  The Count blushed. “I wasn’t the only one,” he said angrily.

  “No, we gathered that much. Mention some names, please!”

  “I can’t do that. That would be ...”

  “Young Dieter?”The Count gave in. “Yes, young Dieter.”

  “Any others?”

  “Probably. Only I don’t know any names. That’s the honest truth.”

  “Thank you. That will do for the moment. But we’ll be back. Please send your daughter in.”

  “Stella doesn’t know anything at all!”

  “We’ll see.”

  The wax dummy entered. If she had any other facial expressions than her usual empty one, then this one showed horror and the slight tightening of her lips.

  The young lady was exceptionally beautiful. But Tancred would not have her for all the gold in the world!

  The bailiff was certainly not stupid. He did not ask ridiculous questions, such as, for instance, whether she knew that her aunt was at Old Askinge. She would have denied that anyway. He said, “Were you Molly’s friend?”

  “Molly’s friend?” she giggled. “Honestly!”

  “What about young Dieter? I hear that the two of you are to marry?”

  Now she lifted her ever surprised eyebrows even more. “I’ve not yet agreed to it.”

  “Tell us about young Dieter.”

  “He lives on his mother’s farm not far from here. His father is deceased so Dieter manages the estate. He’s a Baron. His father was one of the gentlemen of the realm. So he’s of the finest family. My parents wouldn’t accept anything less.”

  “Were you and Jessica Cross good friends?”

  “Were? You speak as if she was dead?”

  “No, of course she’s not. Well?”

  Stella hesitated. “Certainly. Only we’re very different.”

  The bailiff asked a few more questions and then let her go.

  “And now – home to Jessica” he said with determination in his voice. “Dieter can wait.”

  When they came to Ursula Horn’s estate, Cecilie explained that Molly was still in bed. She was anything but well.

  So they all went up to her bedroom.

  The girl looked pretty miserable lying there with only her nose above the edge of the duvet. They sat down on chairs around her bed. Tancred looked at her and he felt a pain in his heart. Or rather: in the pit of his stomach because, despite all the romantic talk, that is where unrequited love resides.

  “Well, Jessica Cross,” said the bailiff and both women started. Cecilie did not know anything either. “Now we’d like to have an explanation, and it must be the truth. Don’t present us with any more beating about the bush!”

  “How do you know that I’m Jessica?” she whispered, frightened.

  “Because we’ve found Molly. Dead. Stabbed in the stable and thrown in the lake. Well?”

  “Yes, she’s dead,” whispered Jessica silently.

  “So you knew it then?” blurted Tancred.

  Big tears poured down the girl’s cheeks. “When I returned to the stable, there she lay. Murdered. So I fled into the forest in a state of panic where I roamed around, half ruined by sorrow.”

  They had not expected this. So their calculations must have been wrong.

  “But first of all, you took the time to change capes with the deceased?”

  “No, no,” wailed Jessica from the bed. “That’s why I ran away from it all. Because Molly let me borrow her cape, which was warmer than mine. And she got mine. So the person who killed her in the stable must have believed that she was me. The stable was so dark.”

  They were silent for quite some time while they tried to think it all over. Then Tancred said, “Why did you tell me that your name was Molly?”

  “I wasn’t myself at the time. Besides, I thought that it would be best if everybody thought that Jessica Cross had disappeared forever. Then I could begin a new life somewhere else.”

  “But this doesn’t make sense!” said Tancred. “Those who found Molly in the stable must surely know that it was her.”

  “I know,” sighed Jessica. “Only they couldn’t run the risk of saying that I lived and Molly was dead – without revealing themselves.”

  “You didn’t know who would find Molly there, surely? It could have been somebody who was completely innocent.”

  “No,” said Jessica in a flat voice. “Because I saw that she was carried away on a horse. I sat at the edges of the forest, looking over at the farm.”

  “Did you see who it was?”

  “No, it was the middle of the night. All I saw was somebody riding a horse and a figure at the back of the horse.”

  “Why did you continue lying to me, Jessica?” asked Tancred, wounded.

  “Oh, Tancred, you just don’t understand! I once told you that I’m not worthy of you – and I’m not.”

  She began to sob violently and was totally unable to hold back her tears. Her chest was wheezing badly.

  “I wanted so much to tell you who I was. But then I’d need to reveal so much more.”

  The bailiff asked her. “Did you know that the Duchess resided at Old Askinge?”

  “I hadn’t a clue but I’m not surprised.”

  “Why not? You must tell us everything, Jessica,” said Alexander with a serious look on his face. “Otherwise you risk being accused of having stabbed Molly.”

  She bit her lip and tried to stop her weeping. She made a pleading gesture towards Tancred but he was cold and pretended that he hadn’t seen it.

  Cecilie said. “You said that the person who killed Molly must have have thought that it was you. Why would anybody kill you?”

  “I ... I really can’t tell you. After all, they’ve taken care of me for so long ...”

  “The Holzensterns? They’re the ones who ...?”

  She nodded. “Only I don’t know which one of them.”

  “I hear that you’ll come of age next month,” said the bailiff. “Then they won’t have anywhere to stay. Surely that’s a sufficient motive, isn’t it?”

  “It was never mentioned that they were to move,” said Jessica in a sad voice.

  “But the farm would be yours?
”

  “It’s been mine all the time. They’ve just managed it – and taken care of me.”

  “There’s also another reason, isn’t there? Yes, you mentioned it. Tell it all!”

  The girl had a coughing fit. When it was over, she said, “May I speak with the margravine alone?”

  “No, I’m sorry,” replied the bailiff.

  “Tancred then?”

  “Not him either.”

  “But it’s so private!”

  “Spit it out!”

  Jessica looked very sad.

  With a sigh, she began, “This is the abominable truth, and it will be difficult to digest so hold your ears! Holzenstern’s marriage isn’t exactly a happy one. It was arranged by the parents, and they’ve always detested one another. They dutifully provided a child – even though they’ve never had anything to do with one another, as far as I know. It may have suited the Countess because she’s not so ... so passionate. Her passion is more in the line of counting linen and silverware. And Court gossip. She loves to talk about other people’s scandals in a shocking way. I don’t want to be mean but this is just the way she is.”

  Alexander nodded. “Go on! What about the Count?”

  “Well, he ...” Jessica hesitated. “He probably sought other hunting grounds.”

  “That’s what we’ve gathered. He has admitted that he visited the Duchess at Old Askinge. He was probably the one who had her installed there.”

  Jessica agreed. “Probably. But the Duchess was only a ... a short-term solution. He’d fallen in love with somebody else.”

  “Molly?”

  “Molly and he didn’t get along at all. No, he was interested in somebody else and has been for more than two years.”

  “You?” said Alexander quietly.

  Jessica shuddered. “Yes. The first time he declared his love for me, sweaty and trembling, was the year they settled here. No, I don’t want to expose somebody like that. I’m sorry but I really can’t!”

  “We understand perfectly well how you must feel, but I’m afraid it’s necessary. And you can trust our discretion.”

  She swallowed. “I feel so rotten,” she whispered. “Anyway, it was a very unpleasant moment. He confided in me, telling me everything about his sad marriage and told me that I was his first true love – I didn’t believe that – and that he could find a place where we could meet in secret. He would be ever so good to me and reveal the dizzying heights of ecstasy to me... I ran away immediately, and Molly, who had stayed at Askinge to take care of me, joined me. But we were soon found and brought home. The Count continued to pester me, and I tried to ignore it. I’ve never been able to hurt anybody. I think you could say that I’m excessively considerate. It’s not a noble trait, but a weakness.”