They paused for a long time over the door frame, seeming to note the same thing I had noticed.
I really needed to learn Swedish.
They kept Isaac, Dr. Hoffen, and I at the far end of the hall in the boys' dorm, but hadn’t questioned us after our initial statement.
“How are you holding up?” Isaac leaned against the wall next to me. It was cute, the way he seemed to think that I was the one who needed extra support right now.
“Fine.” I observed him carefully. His color had come back, a bit, but he had a greenish tinge about him that made me suspect he would turn all the colors of the rainbow before we were done. “How about you?”
He just nodded, his lips compressed.
I didn’t smile on the outside, because the police I was used to kept an eye out for odd responses among people who run across bodies. But I couldn’t help smiling on the inside. Isaac was just so…vulnerable. He needed a shock blanket, a cup of soup, and a wing back chair to sink into. I couldn’t give him any of that just yet, but maybe later tonight I could.
“Dr. Hoffen, I was thinking about the big move to the girls' dorm.” There were certain things about the way the roof hadn’t fallen in that were bringing up question marks right now. Maybe Dr. Hoffen had answers.
“Yes?” He wasn’t fully attending, but I gave him credit for responding at all. His eyes stared into the far distance. He looked scared.
“As far as I can tell there is absolutely no damage to this building, but Rolf insisted the boys all move out. Do you think he wanted the place vacated for his own purposes?”
Dr. Hoffen pulled his brows together. “Why would he want that?”
“That’s question number two.”
“He did seem to jump to the total destruction of the boys’ dorm pretty fast.” Isaac said.
“When was the last time Rolf was on campus?” I asked, my mind spinning through the questions I wanted answered.
“He helped us do two roofing jobs in August.”
“So just about six months ago.” That seemed too long ago to have made advanced plans with someone here. “Could he have come back without you knowing it?” I was headed to the idea that Rolf had manufactured the collapse of the awning for his own purpose.
“He could have. We don’t have security cameras on the buildings.”
I nodded. “So if he wanted to meet someone privately in the boys’ dorm, he could have set it up in advance.”
“Or he could have just taken advantage of the situation.” Isaac said. “He might have seen the collapsed awning and decided he could set something up.”
“It’s a big campus, with a lot of buildings. Why would he need that particular one?” Dr. Hoffen’s voice was quiet. His eyes narrowed, as though he was giving my questions serious thought.
“I guess he wouldn’t.” I was disappointed. It seemed to me that the more complicated the set-up, the easier the killer would be to catch. “The cops will check his phone and see who he called or texted. It should be pretty obvious who he was trying to meet last night.”
“Except I called him at least three times to see if he was okay, and Megan and you called him more than once as well, right?” Isaac said.
“And Stina, I think.” I ran my fingers through my ponytail, a gesture that always seemed to help me center my thoughts. “However, the cops would be looking for someone that Rolf called, or for a text about meeting up. This will probably be easy to figure out.” I let out a slow sigh. It was good that it would be an open-and-shut case. The last thing the big, important Julbord needed was an ongoing murder investigation.
“What if there are no messages or outgoing calls?” Isaac asked.
I didn’t want to answer that question, but Dr. Hoffen didn’t say anything so I had to. “If he didn’t contact anyone, then the person who met him in the hallway of the boys’ dorm was someone he saw in person, after he discovered the building would be empty. While he was here.”
Even the sickly greenish color faded from Isaac’s face.
We waited in silence just long enough to repeat the Lord’s Prayer twice, which I did to calm myself down.
The police returned, leading the rest of the people who were living on campus right now between them, in a long line. We followed the police and our friends into the common room of the boys’ dorm.
“Good morning.” The man who seemed to be in charge spoke. He was a stocky man with dirty blonde hair who looked a little like Russell Crowe. “You have all heard now that Rolf Vaarland, who was here on your campus in the role of a handyman, was found dead in the hall. We will be taking each of you into that room,” he indicated Troy the RA’s bedroom, “to talk about last night.”
Garret cleared his throat. “Uh…” He was very red-faced, but he pushed himself to speak. “I’m just thinking about, uh, that girl in Italy, and…shouldn’t we all get lawyers before we talk to the police?” He definitely looked like he wanted to puke. In fact, if it was a race between him and Isaac, I think he would win.
“Ja, ja. I understand. We want to construct a picture of what happened last night. Dr. Hoffen can stay in the room during each conversation.” The officer didn’t look at Garret with any particular suspicion.
I exhaled slowly. Garrett was right. We needed some kind of legal representation before we sat with the police to be questioned.
“Dr. Hoffen isn’t a lawyer.” My back bristled, and I squared my shoulders. “We shouldn’t answer any questions without someone here to explain what is going on. We’re not Swedish, we don’t know our rights.”
The policeman’s jaw worked. “Everybody take a deep breath. This is not a thing to worry about right now. If you wish, we will interview you all in this room, but in the corner so everyone can feel a little bit of privacy, yes?” He nodded as he spoke, and I thought he looked like he was barely containing his impatience.
But the thing was, we were all the most likely suspects, and with our complete lack of knowledge about how murder investigations in Sweden worked, we were all in pretty great danger of getting ourselves into serious trouble.
ELEVEN
Isaac Daniels
Start to finish, Dani didn’t bat an eyelash. I was impressed. She had this cool, composed thing going that our trip through Europe together had not led me to expect. She didn’t break a sweat, didn’t tremble or shiver. She kept her eye on Garrett who seemed liable to faint, and I have to admit, she kept an eye on me. I was only keeping myself together with great effort.
Where had young, vulnerable, and impulsive Dani Honeywell gone to, and who was this cool, collected girl in front of us?
And which version of Dani did I like better?
I hated to say it, facing down a battered corpse with fearless resolve was not the most feminine of qualities.
Of course, turning green and almost puking wasn’t the manliest either, so if she could still respect me tomorrow, I’d have to chalk this up as just another surprise in an all-around great girl.
The detective, if that’s what they were called in Sweden, started his interviews with Dr. Hoffen and Megan. They spoke with him in Swedish, which I thought was a mistake, since none of the rest of us would be able to vouch for them if the cops decided to twist their words.
Nick went next and used a sort of Swedish-English hybrid. I hadn’t realized his Swedish was so strong. I was next in line, so I felt prepared for the questions. How had I spent the evening? Was I alone while I searched for Rolf? Did I see any signs that someone had come to the campus? Did I notice the boys' dorm was unlocked? Where were my keys to the boys’ dorm? How well did I know Rolf? On and on. I answered short and honest, then let out a deep breath.
“Just one more thing” The detective, who had introduced himself as Peter Larsson, spoke up just as I stood up. “Do you have a romantic or familial connection to any woman that Rolf may have had communication with?”
“What?” I sat back down with a thump. “I mean, yes, sort of. He might have talked to Dani. We’re kind
of seeing each other, Dani and I.” I nodded in her direction. “Courting, kind of. But it’s very new.”
Detective Larsson looked from me to Dani. “Thank you. Will you send her to us next?”
I swallowed hard. I couldn’t see what my seeing Dani had to do with Rolf’s murder, or why they’d want to talk to her just as soon as I’d said it, but I mumbled “Sure” as I stood up.
I joined Dani. She sat on the couch, leaning forward, elbows on her knees. Her brows were drawn in concentration and she had a strand of her shiny brown hair laced through her fingers. “He wants to talk to you know.”
“I see.” She stood up without further comment, and joined the detective at the table he had pushed to the corner for the sake of interviews. I wanted to follow her, but Dr. Hoffen took her seat on the couch.
“Isaac…” He paused. Then he exhaled slowly. “This is a terrible tragedy.”
“Of course.”
“And I don’t want, in any way, to come across as callous.”
“I understand.”
“And you understand, as well, that the anniversary Julbord can’t be easily cancelled. Not with so many people flying from so far away.”
“Ahh.” I admit, I didn’t really understand. This was a murder. Doesn’t everything stop for a murder?
“Soon the media will be on us, and it will give us exactly the opposite exposure from the kind we want.”
I didn’t respond. Because Rolf was dead. A man was just…dead, at the end of the hall, and Dr. Hoffen, who I really did have a whole lot of respect for, seemed to be more worried about his dinner party.
“I know how I sound. But this is about the spiritual future of the nation. This isn’t just for enrollment numbers.”
“I know.” I didn’t, not really. But it was the right thing to say. Dr. Hoffen was working up to something and having a hard time getting there.
“What I’m trying to say is…I need your help.”
“Of course. Anything.”
He nodded, and exhaled slowly, again. I was beginning to think Dani should put him on her worry list. “You and Dani found Si and Drew even though the odds were really stacked against you. Do you think you could find out who killed Rolf?”
His words hit like a hammer to my chest. My head spun, and I leaned back against the couch to pull myself together. “No.”
“The police are good,” Dr. Hoffen said.
“I couldn’t agree more.”
“But you and Dani, with maybe Stina’s help, could probably find the killer sooner.”
“I don’t see how.” I pressed my hands to my eyes and rubbed. Surely when I opened my eyes again this conversation would be over.
Dr. Hoffen scanned the room. “Because one of us did it. And the cops don’t know us as well as you do.”
In the corner of the room, Megan Hoffen and Cadence played with the little Hoffen kids. They were drawing on small pieces of paper together, the kids giggling. In another corner Si and Bel sat, silently, lips pressed in thin lines. Xavier stood near his sister, his arms crossed.
Troy and Garret sat near Gretchen who was clearly on team Murder-Makes-Me-Physically-Ill. Nick paced the center of the room, and an officer stood in the entrance to the hall, keeping us away from the area the investigators were examining.
“I really don’t think it was one of us.” Even as the words came out I wasn’t sure I meant them.
Detective Larsson was finished talking to Dani, and Dr. Hoffen waved her over.
She pulled a chair up and faced us.
“Dani, I was just asking Isaac for his help, and I want yours as well.”
Her eyes were focused on Dr. Hoffen, but her forehead was creased with concern. “We can’t interfere with this investigation.”
He exhaled. “Not interfere. Just, keep your eyes open. Listen to your friends. I know you two can find out what happened.”
She shook her head. “We’re not trained. We don’t know anything about this.”
“You know us.” He leaned forward and held her eye contact. “And God has given you a gift of discernment and strength. Use it to help bring justice for Rolf.”
She shook her head again, but there was a spark in her eye, like she liked what she was hearing.
“You can do all things through him who gives you strength.”
That was the clinch pin. Dani was sold. Her brow smoothed, her eyes smiled, and her lips set with determination.
Girls always fall for that line. Always.
Dr. Hoffen stood up. “As soon as I’m allowed, I’m going to take Megan and the kids back to my house. I leave this in your capable hands.” He cleared his throat. “I’m here for you, anything you need. But my priority has to be Megan and the kids.”
“Hoffen is crazy.” It was a statement of fact, so I didn’t give it an overly dramatic reading.
Dani scanned the room, pausing on each person.
“We don’t have to do this.”
She stared at Garret for longer than I liked. He sat in brooding silence, his hoodie pulled low.
“You are not obligated to get mixed up in this business.”
“I don’t think it was one of us.” She whispered, but I detected an acute case of excitement.
“Good.”
“And I think I can prove it.” She sat back and crossed her arms. “And I think we need to prove it, because all signs point to a Tillgiven killer.”
I chewed on the inside of my cheek.
She smiled at me. My kryptonite.
“Then, how do we do it?” The words came out without my permission.
“Pray and pay attention, I guess. Leave the police and the boys to me.”
“Er, no?”
She glanced around the room again. “Definitely. Maybe the girls, too. You can….” She trailed off, then shrugged. “You keep praying. And talk to staff. That would be really helpful.”
There was an unconvinced tone to her words, like maybe I wouldn’t be at all helpful. I narrowed my eyes. Oh, I’d be helpful all right.
I just didn’t know how, yet.
TWELVE
Dani Honeywell
The interview with the policeman was not very exciting. Had I met Rolf Vaarland? Yes. Had he done anything that troubled me? Yes. Would I please describe the circumstances? Sure. He smacked my bottom as he walked by. Was that the only time I had ever met him? Yes, thank goodness. Did I see or hear of anything suspicious during the time that Rolf was on campus? No.
Though the interview lacked the kind of excitement I had half expected, the Swedish police seemed more interested in my opinion of things than the French police had when I had been sort of, kind of, arrested a couple of months back, and I liked that.
But their especial concern over how Rolf may or may not have treated me brought my thoughts back to Gretchen who may not have been treated well in the very recent past.
I realized now leaving her situation in the hands of Isaac had been foolish. He was good, Isaac, but asking him to handle the possibility that Gretchen was pregnant, and that against her will, was asking too much.
I needed to take Gretchen’s situation back into my own hands.
After the detective had spoken to everyone, he let us go our own ways, for now. It wasn’t saying much since we all lived here on campus and none of us had anything better than our thumbs to hitch a ride out of town with.
It was already lunch so we made our way back to the dorm and our makeshift kitchen. We didn’t have any reason not to use the regular kitchen now, but we seemed to gravitate to the cozier, safer feeling of the small community room with the big stone fireplace. One thing this school did well was the fireplaces.
I made myself a quick cheese sandwich and sat on the hearth. “Hey, Gretchen.” I smiled and patted the spot next to me.
She sat down without getting anything to eat.
I held out my plate. “Sandwich? It’s just cheese and bread. Not much left this afternoon.”
She shook her head. “No thanks.
”
Her eyes were deeply shadowed, and her lips quivered. She really was hanging on by a thread.
“I didn’t know Rolf at all, but it still feels horrible.”
Gretchen nodded. “I know what you mean.” She threaded her fingers together and rubbed them. Her hands were small, pale and soft. Like a child’s hands.
“Did you know him?” I nibbled my sandwich, thinking it would add a level of innocence to the question.
“No.”
“You seem pretty shaken up though. I mean, you don’t look well. Are you feeling okay?”
She shook her head, and tears sprung to her eyes. “I’m okay.” Her words were clearly a lie.
“Wanna go somewhere alone? Where we can talk?” I set my sandwich back on the plate and tried to make eye contact.
“I think I just need to sleep. I didn’t sleep well last night.”
I had noticed, of course.
She stood up to go. I grabbed an unopened package of knäcke, on my way past our small stock of food. When we made it to her room, I passed the package to her. “This might make your tummy feel better.”
She accepted the crisp bread, but sat on her bed with a thump.
I sat on the bed across from her. “It’s more than just Rolf, isn’t it?”
She shrugged.
“You’ve been sick for a while now.”
She shook her head.
“I don’t mean to pry, but I’ve noticed it, and maybe Cadence has as well. If you are sick, or if you need help…” Like a stick to pee on, maybe…
She flopped back. “I’m fine. I don’t feel perfect, but I’m fine.”
I tried to channel my mom who was always cool in a crisis and had a knack for getting people to open up. “Is it about a boy?”
Gretchen looked away.
“I wouldn’t blame you if it was.”
Gretchen snorted.
Well!
“You’re not really one to judge on the boy thing, though, are you?” I think that might have been the longest sentence Gretchen had ever spoken to me. And so nasty! “I mean…you kind of got Isaac fired.”
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