by Rose, Willow
Christian came down for breakfast. In a line behind him followed Jacob and Amalie. As usual, they were all in a hurry and had no time to chat or, hardly, to eat. They swallowed their food quickly. Amalie, who had piano practice, simply grabbed a piece of fruit and was out of the house.
"You need real food," Lisa yelled after her, but she was long gone.
"I have to get going," Christian said and flushed down a bite of toast with coffee. He looked at Jacob. He had promised to take him to his office today, like he often did on Saturdays. "Ready buddy?"
"Give him a chance to eat," Lisa said.
"I'm late, Lisa. If you had a real job you'd understand. I have a boss who wanted me at the office half an hour ago. You know we're working with an important client and I have to be a team player and pitch in, even on weekends and holidays. We can't all just goof around. Come on, Jacob. Grab your jacket and let's go."
Jacob took one last bite of his toast with jam before he got up and grabbed his jacket. He looked at Lisa with a smile. "See you, Mom."
Christian leaned over and kissed Lisa on the cheek. "See you for dinner, it won't be late."
When the door closed, Lisa stared at all the food she had prepared that they had barely touched. Margrethe was babbling from the playpen. Lisa shook her head and started cleaning up.
I'll tell you who is goofing around. Running for City Council is a job, Mister. I'll show you. I am gonna show everybody.
The doorbell rang. Lisa screamed in frustration, then threw the dishes back in the sink. She walked to the door and opened it violently.
If it's another ignorant plumber …
"What?"
Outside stood an ugly faced man. He smiled and held a badge up in the air. "Morten Bredballe, Nordby police. Could we have a word?"
Lisa looked at the badge. It looked fake. So did he.
"Could I come in?" he asked.
Lisa found her unbeatable election smile. "Sure. Come on in, Officer."
"Thank you."
Lisa stepped aside and let the man enter her house, leaving muddy footprints behind him in the hallway. Lisa growled behind his back, then slammed the door shut.
"Should we do this in the kitchen?" he asked.
"Why not? It's all dirty anyway," Lisa said and walked ahead of him trying to make sure he followed her and didn't leave mud from his shoes anywhere else.
Calm down Lisa. Floors can be cleaned. No need to get angry. Calm yourself down. Think about something nice. Picture the ocean, a meadow, a forest. There you go. Now remain calm, no matter what. You can do it.
"Would you like a cup of coffee, Officer?" Lisa asked.
"Yes that would be great. Thank you."
"Well, you're very welcome. It's the least I can do for our friends in uniform." Lisa grabbed a cup from the cupboard, then poured some coffee in it and placed it on the table in front of the fake officer.
Don't think I haven't figured you out with that toy-badge of yours. What are you? Polish? Ukrainian? Come here to rob me have you? To take advantage of a poor lonely woman home alone? Did you stand outside and watch as my husband left so you knew I'd be alone? Come to steal my money? My credit cards and silverware? My flat screen TV and iPad and sell it on the black market? Well you're in for a little surprise, my good friend. Oh, how you're in for a surprise.
37
February 2013
Thomas had butterflies in his stomach as he drove through town. Behind him his old building stood in flames, and in the distance, he could hear blaring sirens. He enjoyed looking at the flames in the rearview mirror while driving out of town and into the countryside. He couldn't help being a little proud of himself. He was a genius, really. Leaving the body of the mailman in the apartment was a stroke of genius. It really was. Once the firefighters put out the fire and they found the remains of the body, it would be so burnt that they wouldn't be able to see it wasn't Thomas. They were going to think he was dead. And the way things were right now in his life, that suited Thomas more than anything.
He had written the address on a small piece of paper. He looked at it feeling so excited. He couldn't wait to see Ellen again. When she woke up tomorrow morning, he would be close to her. And this time, he wasn't going to let go of her again. Never again. Never.
Till death parts us.
Thomas found the address easily. It turned out it was out in the country. A small farm outside of Nordby. Not even half an hour’s drive away.
All this time you've been so close, dear Ellen. And I didn't know. Maybe you tried to tell me, maybe I just didn't listen. I promise it won't happen again. I promise. I'll stay close from now on, never let you out of my sight.
Thomas parked the car not far away, then ran up the dirt road towards the house. It was dark and all the lights were out, making the place seem abandoned, but Thomas knew it wasn't. Somewhere in there behind those walls was his beloved. He knew she was. He could sense she was close. It felt so good to finally be in her presence again, to be close.
Thomas tiptoed around the house and peeked in through all the windows to see if he could spot her. Just catch a glimpse of his beloved who he had missed so deeply for weeks now.
"Where are you, Ellen?" he whispered with so much joy he had a hard time containing it.
Finally he found her. Thomas breathed in a deep breath as he spotted her through the crack in the curtains that hadn't been closed all the way. The light from the full moon outside hit her face and made her look like an angel.
Thomas almost cried with happiness. Oh this lovely sight. How he adored watching her. How he worshipped her. The most perfect creature on the face of the earth.
Next to her, the handsome husband turned in his sleep and put his arm around Ellen. Thomas felt a pinch of rage in his heart. How he loathed the man who had come between them. How he despised him for keeping them apart, for holding Ellen captive against her will. Wasn't there some law against that? Couldn't the police see what was really going on?
Thomas clenched his fists while watching them. He had to restrain himself. He wanted to run in there so badly and beat the crap out of that husband of hers.
Why did you marry that bastard, Ellen? Why? What did you see in him anyway? Did he force you? What has he been doing to you? Has he hurt you? If he has, I swear to God, I'm gonna hurt him too.
Just as Thomas finished the thought, the handsome husband opened his eyes like he had heard him. He stared directly at Thomas.
Thomas didn't hide himself. He lifted his clenched fist and showed it to the husband without realizing it was smeared in the mailman's blood. So were his clothes. Thomas looked at the husband until he opened his mouth and started screaming. Then Thomas ran. He ran as fast as he could down the dirt road, through the small forest and jumped inside of his car that was parked on the big road. Then he drove off.
38
November 2013
The strange man kept staring at Nora in the cage. She had no idea what to do and was too sore and beaten up to care. She was lying on the newspapers on the floor, whimpering and moaning in pain. What the hell was going on here? She kept wondering. What was Lisa up to? Why was she doing this to her? Had she hired this guy to hurt her?
"What do you want from me?" she moaned.
The man was squatting in front of the cage and had been for a very long time. Nora thought he looked like he was speculating over something. He hadn't uttered a word for a long time now.
"Please just let me out. I want to go home to my baby."
Finally, he spoke. "You won't."
"What? What are you saying? What is it you want from me? Why are you keeping me here?" she cried.
"I’m keeping you here because you deserve no better."
"I haven't done anything to you," she said.
"Oh, but that's where you're wrong. You have. You have done something to me. Something unforgivable."
Nora wailed. "I don't even know you. How can I have done something to you? How? Is this Lisa's doing? Did she put you up
to this?"
The man smiled. "Could you be quiet for once? I'm trying to think."
"Think? Think about what?"
"I'm figuring out how best to kill you."
"What?"
"You heard me. Can you even stand up straight?" he asked.
Nora lifted her head. It hurt so badly. She grabbed the fence and pulled herself up till she was standing. Her sore body hurt like crazy. The wound on her hand was pounding where Lisa had pierced it with the knife.
"Oh good, you can," the man smiled. "Now try and move."
"Why?"
The man clenched his fists and closed his eyes. "Just do it, will you? Please?"
Nora drew in a deep breath, then took a step forward. Her legs felt fine but she was extremely dizzy from all the blows she had suffered to her head.
"Good," the man said and clapped his hands. "Now walk a little more."
Nora kept walking while holding onto the fence. The bats seemed disturbed and started moving around.
"Can I please sit down now?" Nora asked.
"Not yet. I need to know that you can walk without holding on to the fence," the man said.
"Why? I'm so tired. Please just let me sleep?" Nora pleaded.
"Just show me that you can."
"Will you leave me alone then?" Nora asked.
The man chuckled. "Even better."
"What could be better?" Nora asked.
The man chuckled again. "I could … let's see … oh, I've got it. What if I promised that, if you can walk over to the end of the cage and back without holding on, I'll let you out of the cage?"
Nora opened her eyes widely. "You'd do that? You'd let me out of the cage?" She asked, her voice filled with hope.
The man nodded slowly. "I promise. Cross my heart and hope to die."
Nora was panting with happiness and expectation. Could it be? Could it really be that he would let her out, let her go home? She took in a deep breath, then let go of the fence and started walking … carefully, so she wouldn't fall and he wouldn’t be able to use that as an excuse for not keeping his word to her. She put one foot in front of the other, and managed to take the first step. The other leg followed and soon she was walking without a problem to the end, then she turned and walked back.
"Tada," she said, her voice shivering.
"Very good," the man laughed.
Nora looked at him waiting for him to say that now he wasn't going to let her out after all, but much to her surprise, he kept his promise and unlocked the door to the cage and helped her out. Nora laughed with relief when he closed the door after her and locked it. Finally, she was out. Finally, she wouldn't have to worry about those disgusting bats. Her face was still hurting from where they had been sitting and licking the blood off of her wounds.
"So why did you have to see if I could walk before you let me out?" she asked.
The man laughed again. "Because, dearie … I wanted to make sure you could run."
39
November 2013
I tried to call Morten on my cellphone, but he didn't answer. Sophia was sitting in my kitchen biting her nails and swilling down one cup of coffee after another.
"I'm sorry," I said and turned to her. "He's not answering."
"I'm really scared, Emma," Sophia said.
"I know, sweetie. I'll try again in a little while. He is probably just working. He told me they had a busy day."
"So you finally slept with him, huh?" she asked.
I shook my head and sipped my coffee. I grabbed a cookie. Sophia hadn't touched them. It concerned me. She was usually as bad as me when it came to sweets. "No. Actually we just spent the night together, but nothing happened. We kissed a lot, though."
"Wow," Sophia said. "He didn't even try anything?"
"Well it was kind of not in question. We had just pulled out a woman from a car and were almost freezing to death. He only stayed to keep me warm."
"Yeah right," Sophia grunted.
"Besides he was too frozen to do anything," I chuckled.
"Ah, that must be the explanation," Sophia said with a nervous grin. I hated seeing her anxious like this. It was so unlike her.
"You know what?" I asked as I put the half eaten cookie down on the table.
"What?"
"I am gonna call the police station and ask them to send someone over to protect you. We can't wait for Morten to pick up his phone."
Sophia nodded. "I'd like that. I'd naturally prefer Morten, but right now, anyone would do."
I picked up the phone and called the police station. I talked to Allan, whom I had met a couple of times when I went down there to do research for my book. I told him my concern. He went quiet.
"I'm sorry," he said. "We simply don't have enough men to have one guard Sophia's house all day. But we do have a car on the streets right now. I can have them swing by your neighborhood and have them stay nearby. Except if anything happens elsewhere. Then they'll have to go. Will that do?"
"I think it will," I said and hung up.
"They're sending a patrol," I said making it sound like it was a bigger deal than it was. "They'll be here sometime soon."
Sophia breathed, relieved. "That’s good," she said. "At least it will provide some safety for me and the kids. Could I stay here at your house for the rest of the day?"
"Stay all night if you want. I have plenty of rooms upstairs you can crash in and enough for the kids, as well. They know the house."
"Are you kidding? They love your house," Sophia exclaimed. "Are you sure it's okay? My mom took them yesterday and will bring them back later today."
"I would be happy to have all of you here. It would make me calmer to be able to keep an eye on you myself."
Sophia lit up. "You're the best. You know that don't you?"
I chuckled. "I guess I do. Cookie?"
"Yes, please," Sophia said and grabbed two. She ate greedily and started to look more like herself again. "But what about Lisa?" She asked with her mouth full.
I sighed. "Do you want me to bring her here too?"
Sophia looked terrified. "I would love it if we could avoid it, but maybe it's the right thing to do. To tell you the truth I can't stand the woman. She is so obsessive. Perfectionistic to the extreme. She'll hate it here in all the mess."
"You think my house is messy?" I asked, startled. This coming from a woman whose house looked like it had been bombed.
"No, I think it is cozy and I love it here, but it's not clinically clean like Lisa's house. Not even the hospitals are as clean as her house. It's awful. We only met at her place once and it was horrible. She kept running after us, cleaning the floor where we had walked and disinfecting everything our kids touched. She was a nervous wreck. After that, we decided to avoid her house from then on, since we didn’t want to put her or ourselves through that ever again. So whenever she suggests that we meet at her house, we always come up with an excuse or something else to do instead. It has worked so far."
"Well she did come off as kind of obnoxious," I said and looked out the kitchen window. "The patrol is here," I said.
Sophia looked relieved.
"He won't dare to come close now that they're here," I said and walked to the door. I spoke to one of the officers and told them that Sophia would be in my house the rest of the day and night. They agreed to stay nearby and keep a close watch on my house.
I returned to Sophia, who was finishing off my cookies in the kitchen. "So what do we do about this Lisa then?" I asked.
40
February 2013
"I know what I saw," the handsome husband grumbled.
Ellen was sitting at the kitchen table in their new home hiding her face between her hands. "But Mads. It can't be. It couldn't have been him," she said.
They had been discussing him for hours. Thomas was watching them from outside the window, mostly listening while sitting with his back against the wall beneath the open kitchen window.
"He was there, Ellen. I saw him. He was
looking at us while we were sleeping. And he was covered in blood."
"How could you even see that if it was in the middle of the night? It was dark." Ellen said with tears in her voice.
"There was a full moon. I've told you this a million times the last three days. The light from the moon hit his face and I saw blood on his hands and cheek. The man is dangerous, Ellen."
"He saved Gerda's life, remember?" Ellen said. Thomas felt a pinch of happiness in his heart. Ellen was defending him. It had to be a sign.
"Yes. I remember. How could I ever forget?" Mads said with a deep sigh. "And I am grateful for that, but I think he is dangerous. That’s why we moved, remember? He made you feel very uncomfortable, or has that changed all of a sudden? Have you taken a liking to him suddenly? Maybe there is something you haven't told me after all? ‘Cause I have always found it strange that a guy would become obsessed with a girl he didn't even know, Ellen. When are you going to tell me the truth about him?"
Ellen moaned. "Not that again. We have been through this a million times, Mads. I never knew the guy. I have no idea why he has become obsessed with me. I don't know why … I swear to God, I don't have a clue. You have to believe me Mads. Or I swear I'm gonna loose it."
"So he wasn't your lover? You didn't sleep with him while we were married or something?"
"How could you even ask such a horrible thing?" Ellen said furiously. Thomas felt her frustration and hoped she would finally leave her husband. He knew she wanted to, but he didn't understand what she was waiting for. Maybe she was afraid of him? Afraid of what her husband might do?
