by Willow Rose
Morten threw himself on the couch. Kenneth barked at the sofa like he expected it to play with him.
“So, what had you planned for tonight?” Morten asked.
I grabbed a chocolate and put it in Morten’s mouth. “Wouldn’t you’d like to know, huh?”
“Well, yes. I’m curious as to what you could have planned that we haven’t already done a million times.”
The sentence felt like a blow. Was that how he felt? Was that how it had turned out? We had tried everything, and now all that was left was to wait to grow old together?
“Tell me about the murder,” I said.
“Who said it was murder?” Morten said.
I shrugged secretively.
“Ah, you’ve been reading the case files, have you? You really should stop doing that, Emma. It’s illegal.”
“Only if you get caught.” I smiled and grabbed another chocolate.
“But, if you’ve been in the files, you already know everything, don’t you?” he asked, and signaled that he would like another chocolate. I planted one between his lips. He ate it with a grin.
“No, I don’t,” I said. “Someone hasn’t finished his report on the crime scene yet. I want to know more. I might have an interest in the guy. I recognized the name from the letters I’ve been reading. Ulrik Larsen was the son of the lady whose letters the workers found. He’s actually sort of family. His mother was my grandmother’s sister.”
“Ah. I see. Well, I’m not allowed to tell you anything unless you bribe me seriously.”
I sat on his lap and gave him a kiss. When I let go, he looked like he was in pain, and I realized I was crushing his legs.
“Sorry,” I said and moved away, feeling slightly self-conscious about my weight.
“That’s okay, the kiss was great,” he said cheerfully.
“Good enough for a bribe?”
“Will do for now. What do you want to know?”
“The scene. How was he killed?” I asked.
“We haven’t gotten the autopsy yet, but he was stabbed and probably bled to death. The knife was still in his chest. The cats had eaten some of the body’s face. It was nasty. Flies everywhere. Real ugly.”
“I bet. So what kind of knife was it?” I asked.
“A hunting knife. I haven’t gotten it confirmed by the lab yet, but I know a hunting knife when I see it. My dad was a hunter.”
“One of those that needs a permit?” I asked, and debated whether to grab another piece of chocolate or not.
“Yes. It was definitely longer than the legal seven centimeters.”
“So, you’ll be able to pull the permit?” I asked.
“Exactly,” Morten said. “We’ll have this guy in no time.” He leaned over and grabbed another piece of chocolate. I felt jealous that he was so skinny and could eat as many as he liked.
He smiled while he chewed.
“Got anymore coffee?”
Chapter Seventeen
November 2014
WILLIAM KORSVIG stared at the computer screen. He was waiting. Waiting for the slender man to appear inside of the house in Minecraft that he had built and where he usually showed himself to him when he teleported there. He never called himself anything other than that strange name. Slender Man. William had heard and read about him online. He knew he was everywhere, and that he was constantly watching William. He had no idea how, but the man was everywhere, including inside his game. But he only showed himself to William when he wanted to speak to him. He knew everything there was to know about Slender Man and wanted badly to please him. He would do anything he told him to. He could hardly believe he had been chosen. Soon, he would be part of something bigger. Soon, he would become one of his proxies.
Finally, he appeared. William smiled, feeling relieved. The skinny guy moved towards him inside the game. He was tall and slender like his name, and had long tentacle-like arms. He was wearing a suit and tie and had no face.
>Hi there< William wrote.
Slender Man answered.
>Hi. How are you?<
>I’m good.<
>Good. Do you know what to do?<
>Yes.<
>Excellent. You’re ready. I’m proud of you, soldier. It’s time.<
William broke out in a sweat. Slender Man disappeared from his house. William leaned back in his chair with his heart pounding hard in his chest. On his bed next to him lay his costume. He had bought it online using his stepdad’s credit card. William got up from the chair and walked to it. He started undressing himself and putting on the costume, piece by piece. Black pants, white shirt, black tie. The white faceless mask, he put in his pocket for now. He would take that out later when he needed it.
William put on the black jacket that went with the costume, then grabbed the gas can and lighter, and put them inside his backpack. Then, he walked towards the door. Living in the basement of his mother’s house, he had his own entrance, and could come and go as he wished. He liked the freedom it had given him to move down there, even though he knew it was mostly because his new stepdad didn’t want him in the house and hardly ever let him upstairs, except to eat. His mother didn’t care if he went out at night; she never knew what he was up to anymore, or if he even went to school or not. She didn’t even know that he had dropped out of high school a couple of months ago and now spent most of his time in front of the computer or at the fitness center, where he had built up quite the body. His mother didn’t know what he was up to and probably didn’t care. William knew that, once he turned eighteen, he would be kicked out, but there were still two more years to go. William wasn’t going to simply waste those away. He had a mission; he had found a purpose to his life now.
He opened the door and sneaked outside. He put the backpack on his back and grabbed his bike, then rode off. He biked across the small town in the light of the streetlamps. He swung around a corner and into a small street, then threw the bike in a bush and sneaked into a yard. He walked up to the house and looked inside the windows. They hadn’t pulled the curtains yet, and standing in darkness outside, William could see everything going on inside.
He watched an old lady sitting in a chair, knitting, then he watched the man half asleep next to her on the couch. The TV was on, but neither of them were watching it. From the outside, they looked like just an ordinary couple on an ordinary night of their life. But they weren’t. William felt proud that he had gotten such an extraordinary assignment. He was proud to be chosen to fulfill this task. It was special. It had to be. The target was very special.
William put the backpack down, then opened it. He pulled out the gas can and started pouring the gas around the house. When he was done, he put on the faceless mask and walked to the front door. He kicked it in, then walked quietly and calmly into the living room. The woman sitting on the couch gasped and looked at him.
“Who are you? What are you doing here?” she said, and pulled her husband’s arm. He grunted and woke up.
“What the hell?”
William tilted his head, then smiled behind the mask. He enjoyed watching the fear on their faces, just like Slender Man had told him he would. No, he didn’t just like it. He loved it. He devoured it.
My God, this feels good. This is what it feels like to be alive.
“What do you want?” The man asked, and jumped up from the sofa. He was very agile for an old man. His cheeks were burning red with anger. He walked towards William.
“Is this some sort of prank?”
William reached out his long slender arms and slammed his clenched fist into the man’s face. The woman screamed while the man fell backwards. William lifted the gas can and started pouring gasoline on the body of the old man.
“Stop!” the woman screamed. “What are you doing?”
The old man was staring at him, then screaming for help. William held him down, while making sure the gas soaked his clothes. He squirmed underneath William, but wasn’t strong enough to get free. William secured him to the floor with duct tape, then stood ab
ove him before reaching into his pocket and pulling out the lighter.
“No! No! Don’t!” The man screamed, panicking.
William turned his faceless mask towards the woman. While lifting the lighter into the air, he whispered:
“Run, little lady. Run for your life.”
Chapter Eighteen
November 2014
“THERE’S A FFFFIRE ACROSS TOWN!”
Jack was standing in my doorway. He had knocked on the door in the middle of the night, waking everyone up, including the dogs. Kenneth was now running around behind me, barking loudly and biting everything he could find. I wasn’t quite awake yet.
“Excuse me?”
“I thought Mmmorten might be at your house. I tried his cell, but he didn’t answer. Is he here? He nnneeds to come with me. I got the call a minute ago. A house is on fire across town. I need him to come with me. I called the station and Allan, who was on duty tonight, is on his way down there, but we need as many men we can gather. It’s a big fire, they say.”
My eyes widened. Jack was the island’s volunteer firefighter, since we didn’t have a fire station. “He’s still asleep. I’ll go get him right away,” I said, and stormed up the stairs. Jack came inside and closed the door. I heard Kenneth barking loudly at him. I rushed inside the bedroom and woke Morten up.
“There’s a big fire. Jack is downstairs. They need your help. Allan is on his way too.”
Morten jumped out of bed. I got dressed in a hurry as well. Morten looked at me. “What? I’m coming,” I said. “You need all the help you can get.”
He didn’t even bother arguing. There was no time. I ran to Maya and woke her up and told her we were leaving and that I was leaving her in charge of the house and of Victor for a few hours. She growled and went back to sleep. I took that as a sign she had heard me, then ran downstairs and jumped into Jack’s small fire truck that the county had provided him.
Soon, we were driving across town with blaring sirens. I could see the fire as we approached the house. It was big, all right. The flames were licking the night sky.
“I just hhhope we can stop it before it spreads to any of the surrounding houses,” Jack yelled. I noticed he barely stuttered when he was agitated. “That would be a real tragedy. Lots of these houses have thatched roofs. The entire neighborhood will bbburn down in a matter of minutes.”
Jack made a turn, and we drove onto a small street. It was narrow, but Jack managed to maneuver the truck through. We came closer and I saw people in their night robes in front of the house. They looked terrified. Probably neighbors afraid the fire would spread to their houses as well.
“It’s the mayor’s house!” Morten exclaimed, as we came closer. “It’s Mayor Bang’s house!”
Officer Allan arrived at the same time we did. We jumped out of the truck and approached the house. Outside stood a woman screaming and staring paralyzed at the fire in front of her. While Morten, Allan, and Jack pulled out the hose and attached it to the fire hydrant, I grabbed the woman and let her cry in my arms.
“Help him!” she yelled, her voice breaking. “He’s in there! He’s still in there! Help him. They gotta help him!”
“You mean someone is still in there?” I asked, horrified.
“Yes! My husband! Help him!”
I ran to Morten. “There’s someone in there. There’s someone in the house!”
Morten and Jack looked at each other. Jack shook his head. He was the only one wearing firefighter equipment, but still, he wasn’t professionally trained.
“What do we do?” Morten asked.
Jack shook his head again. “I…I don’t think there’s much we can do. The house is almost burned to the ggground.” He looked terrified at the thought of having to go in. I couldn’t blame him. The roof was hanging loosely, and the loud cracking sounds told me it wouldn’t be long before it crashed. I was right. Seconds later, it did. The entire roof collapsed on top of the house. The mayor’s wife screamed. I ran to her and grabbed her in my arms.
Jack got the hose going and started spraying water on the remains of the house to put the fire out and prevent it from spreading. I held the woman in my arms and tried to comfort her, while I couldn’t stop thinking about how the same thing had almost happened to me a few months ago. I shivered, thinking about what would have happened if we hadn’t gotten out in time. If one of my children hadn’t…I didn’t want to finish the thought. It was too gruesome. I was just so relieved that the woman who had set my house on fire had been caught. I had a lot to thank Dr. Sonnichsen for.
The woman was sobbing and crying hard in my arms. I had no idea how to console her. She had lost everything in a matter of minutes. Her husband, her house, her entire life, all her memories, everything. There was nothing I could say or do. So, I didn’t. I simply kept quiet and held her tight till she exhausted herself and could cry no more.
Chapter Nineteen
November 2014
“DO YOU HAVE any idea how this could have happened?”
Morten was looking at Mrs. Bang. She was sitting inside Jack’s firefighter truck with a blanket over her shoulders, her feet sticking out the door. She shook her head. Her eyes were lost in desperation. The shock was visible on her face and in her eyes.
“I…I…there was a guy, there was someone…he…he broke into the house. He…he had a can of gasoline. He poured it over my husband, then lit the lighter…I thought I could run for help. He told me to run. Run, little lady, he said. So I did. I ran, but as soon as I was outside, running across the street to get ahold of our neighbors, there was an explosion, and when I turned to look, the house was on fire. It all went so fast. I can hardly believe it. I…I…”
Morten wrote on his notepad. “So, it was arson. Murder-arson, you say?”
Mrs. Bang nodded with a whimper.
“Did you get a good look at the man who entered your house?” he asked.
“Yes,” Mrs. Bang cried again. I held her hand and put an arm around her shoulder.
“It’s okay,” I said. “Take your time.”
“Can you describe him for me?” Morten asked.
Mrs. Bang tried hard to stop crying. I gave her a new Kleenex.
“Just tell me what he looked like. Was there anything particular that you noticed about him?”
“I…He…he didn’t have a face.”
“He didn’t have a face?” Morten asked, puzzled.
“He was wearing a mask, but it was just white. All blank.”
“Okay. So, he was masked,” Morten repeated, while scribbling his notes. “Anything else?”
“He was tall. Tall and slender.”
“A slender man,” Morten said. “Got it. What else?”
“He was wearing a black suit and tie,” she continued.
“A suit and tie?” I asked. “That sounds quite unusual for a killer.”
Mrs. Bang shook her head. “This was no ordinary killer. I couldn’t see his eyes, but I was certain he enjoyed it.”
“Did he say anything?” Morten asked.
“Just run, little lady. Run for your life. That was right before…right before he…he lit the lighter.”
“I found something!” Allan yelled.
Morten and I both looked outside. Allan was walking towards us with a bike in his hands.
“That could belong to anyone,” Morten said.
“It was parked right at the entrance to the yard,” Allan said.
“I’ve never seen that bike before,” Mrs. Bang said.
“But still,” Morten said. “It could be from some kid who stole it and threw it in the bushes afterwards. But, take it in for examination, maybe find out who it belongs to.”
“I’m on it!” Allan yelled.
Morten returned to Mrs. Bang. She was shaking her head heavily and straightening out her skirt, while mumbling to herself. I wondered if she would ever again become a whole person after this. To be attacked in your own home like this was terrible. She would experience trauma for
years afterwards.
“I’ll take her to the hospital in Esbjerg,” Morten said. “We can take the morning ferry to the mainland. It leaves in an hour and a half. I’ll leave the rest of the questioning for later.”
I stayed and helped clean up, but hours later, I decided to walk home. Jack had to stay at the site to make sure it was all under control. It took half an hour before I was finally at the doorstep to my house. I glanced at the façade when the sunlight peeked up from behind the horizon, behind the house. The light was gorgeous. I thought about this strange house and all its history and wondered about my grandmother’s sister, Helle Larsen. Her son had been murdered, and now the mayor of the town had been as well. They weren’t the same age; the mayor had recently turned fifty-five, I remembered from the local paper. Ulrik Larsen had been sixty-eight when he died. Could there be a connection between their deaths? Could it be a coincidence? After so many years of being mayor, he had probably made his share of enemies, but still. Something told me there was more to this story than simply coincidence.
I didn’t get to finish the thought before the front door sprang open and Kenneth jumped out towards me, followed by Maya holding on to the leash.
Chapter Twenty
May 1959
OLD HANSEN’S HIP was doing better, and he didn’t need as much help as earlier. Still, their father sent Ulrik and Peter down to help him out every Saturday for many weeks to come, and old Hansen was so pleased with their help. They fed the animals and fixed whatever needed to be fixed.
One afternoon, when Ulrik was done with feeding the horse and cleaning out the stalls, he started moving the bales of straw that seemed to take up too much space. He grabbed one after the other and moved them up against the wall, stacking them on top of each other to make more room. Then, he grabbed a broom and started sweeping the straw off the floor. That was when he came across something that made his blood freeze. Peter was right behind him and saw it too. A massive dried up bloodstain, right there on the cement floor inside the stable. It had, up until now, been covered by the straw.
