Bella Italia

by Suzanne Vermeer

  He knew he was being unreasonable, but he didn’t care. He needed to let off some steam. Grumbling at other people from the inside of his car seemed fairly safe.

  What a crazy day, he thought, not for the first time. After a fun and relaxing Easter weekend, during which the he, Petra, and Niels had spent a lot of quality time in the woods, they had overslept this morning. It was only fifteen minutes, but those fifteen minutes had a sort of domino effect on the rest of the day.

  Quickly eat some bread and gulp down some coffee. Wash up fast, no time for a shower, brush teeth, and get dressed as fast as humanly possible. Petra had brought Niels to school, and he had raced to his practice. No time whatsoever to read the paper, watch morning television, or check the Internet.

  Just before eleven thirty, Petra had called him at his practice, which was very unusual in of itself, because she rarely ever called him at work during office hours. This was because he was usually working on a patient and any interruption was a great disturbance. If she did call, he assumed something was terribly wrong. When his colleague told him that his wife was on the line, he had quickly wiped the massage oil off his hands and raced to the phone. His biggest fear, if Petra called him at work, was always that something was wrong with Niels. But Petra was at home with Niels now; she told him this immediately after he answered the call. He had been suspended for the rest of the day after a fight in the schoolyard. The only other thing she wanted to share was that Niels was okay. He hadn’t suffered any physical injury. That was a relief to him, but Petra insisted he come home right away, nothing more. Clearly something was very wrong.

  Fortunately, his colleagues offered to help him out, and moments later he was in his car on his way home. But what was waiting for him there? This question kept spinning through his mind.

  When he parked the car in front of his house, he was glad he had gotten there so fast. But now what?

  Petra and Niels were both seated on the couch. He noticed their awkward body language first. Petra made an attempt to look neutral, but Niels’s face spoke volumes: he looked gloomy and guilty.

  Hans sat down in the chair across from them. “Okay, so what’s going on?” he asked, straining to sound as calm as possible.

  It took a few seconds before Petra took the initiative. She had waited a moment to give Niels a chance to answer first. “As you know, I was supposed to go to Utrecht this morning to purchase supplies for the store. On my way back I received a phone call from Wim Kuipers. He said there had been an incident with Niels in the schoolyard, a fight, and asked me to come and pick him up as soon as possible. Niels had been suspended for the rest of the day and that after you and I had a talk with him, he would be allowed to return tomorrow.”

  Hans frowned. “A fight in the schoolyard? What happened?”

  Niels didn’t respond. He stared blankly ahead, not looking like he was planning on clearing any of this up.

  “Apparently, Niels fought with Chris Bakker during their lunch break,” Petra explained. “But Niels was the only one who hit, which is why he is suspended.”

  “This Chris,” Hans wanted to know, “is he in your class, Niels?”

  Niels looked at his father for a moment and shook his head.

  Petra went on. “He is one grade below him.”

  Hans turned to Niels again. “So, you hit a boy who is younger than you, and I’m guessing he is also smaller than you? You must have had a very good reason to do that?”

  Niels remained silent.

  Petra grabbed him by the shoulder. Hans could tell from her body language that she felt insecure. She seemed unsure on how to handle Niels. “Tell your father why you hit Chris.”

  “No.”

  “Okay, well, I happen to know the reason why you hit him, because Mr. Kuipers told me. So, shall I tell your father then?”

  Hans could now see the doubt in his son’s face, too. He would really prefer not to say anything, but could also see that it was inevitable that the truth would come out.

  “Okay, so shall I tell Daddy then?”

  Niels shook his head. “He said something bad about Dad, and so I smacked him in the head.”

  “His face you mean,” Petra corrected him.

  “Well, then it had to be pretty bad,” Hans said. Niels was not usually the fighting type, so the kid must have said something very mean.

  “He said, ‘Your father is a child molester.’”

  Hans’s mouth dropped open with surprise. He could barely comprehend what he had just heard.

  “He said what?”

  “‘Your father is a child molester,’ and then I hit him in the … his face.”

  “What exactly is a child molester?” Petra asked.

  Niels looked at her in disbelief. “You don’t know?”

  “Of course I do. But I wonder if you know what it means.”

  “An old, dirty man who does gross things with small children.”

  Hans sighed. “Uh, something like that, yes. But how does this fit in with your karate? Don’t you learn how to control your temper there? Don’t they teach you never to throw the first punch?”

  “He started,” Niels answered decisively and got up. “I need to go use the bathroom.”

  Petra nodded toward the door that connected the living room to the hallway. “Well, go on then. You know where to find it.”

  When they heard Niels lock the bathroom door behind him, Hans stood up and sat down next to Petra.

  “Did Kuipers say anything else?”

  Petra nodded. “We had a short talk. Chris’s father is a reporter. This morning, Chris overheard part of his father’s phone conversation. He only caught a few words and drew his own conclusions from there. At least, that’s what we think happened. I haven’t spoken to Chris’s father yet.”

  “I can’t believe a father would say such things with his child around, especially a journalist.”

  “Well, that is what Wim thought as well, and I obviously agree. Chris overheard something and then his imagination took off with him. Something that is very normal for a boy his age.”

  Hans made a stop gesture with his hand. “That’s all good and well, but now we have a problem.”

  “Exactly,” Petra said.

  After that awful night at the lake, they had gone home and more or less had gone in to hiding from the press. They wanted no publicity whatsoever, and the handful of journalists who still managed to find them had respected this. The family was left alone and had been able continue on with their lives, up until now. This incident made a deep impact. Was this the beginning of even more publicity? Would the media not leave them alone this time?

  “Wait a minute,” Hans said. “What kind of telephone call did the father receive? Because we had to rush so much this morning, I haven’t looked at a single news report or newspaper today.”

  “Let me look online quickly,” Petra said decisively. “Maybe there is something important in the national papers.”

  “Yes, please look.”

  Petra grabbed her laptop while Hans walked to the door and listened to hear whether Niels was returning from the bathroom yet. Behind him, he heard Petra gasp.

  “This can’t be true …” she stammered.

  Hans turned around and saw how the blood left her face. “What the hell is going on, for God’s sake?”

  Petra took a deep breath. “Another child has been murdered at Lake Garda.”

  28

  They had read the article quickly, before Niels returned from the bathroom. Much to his surprise, they had sent him to his room, explaining that they needed to have a private talk and that he should go ahead and get started on his homework, or play games on his computer. They didn’t need to tell him that twice, but it did surprise him. After all, he had not been suspended from school for being a good boy. But because he didn’t want to run the risk of his parents changing their minds, he went to his room right away.

  It took a while before they got the whole story. They had searched the Inter
net, trying to gather as much information as possible about this new drama. A twelve-year-old English boy had been found murdered the night before, at a campground located on Lake Garda. He had been found strangled to death, but no other details were released. The police had responded with full force, but they found no trace of the perpetrator anywhere. In the article, they referred here and there to Mats’s murder, which had now occurred a little less than a year ago.

  The similarities between this murder and the German boy’s murder were eerily familiar. What should they do now? Should they consult Irene first? Chances were that Niels would find out about this in the foreseeable future, or maybe he had already heard about it today at school. In the end, Petra made the decision. They needed to talk to Niels about it directly and as soon as possible. Hans eventually agreed with her idea. Niels was called down and took a seat in the chair across from them.

  “We want to talk to you about something,” Petra began. “Something horrible has happened.”

  “What is it? Am I not allowed to go back to school?”

  “No, this is about Lake Garda, Niels,” Hans continued. “It’s quite shocking. But we’ve just read online that another boy was murdered there, late last night.”

  Niels’s eyes widened. Clearly, he had not heard the news yet. “Just like Mats …”

  “Right,” Petra confirmed. “And the police are still looking for the person who did it.”

  Niels became restless. Absentmindedly, he began to bite his nail. “Does Irene know we are talking about this?” he mumbled.

  “No,” Hans answered candidly. “We chose to discuss it as a family, together. But don’t worry about Irene—we will keep her informed and let her know exactly what we talked about today. Unless you would prefer to have her join us?”

  “Come and sit with us for a moment, sweetheart,” Petra said as she moved over to make space on the couch for him. Niels did what he was asked and sat between them.

  “We think that the man who murdered the English boy yesterday probably also killed Mats,” Hans said calmly. “Of course, we understand how difficult it is for you to talk about it with Irene, with us, or with anyone else for that matter. But I am going to ask you to be very strong now. Tell us the whole story.” Hans put his arm around his shoulder. “You are our child, and you know that we love you very much.”

  Niels nodded.

  “The same goes for Mats’s parents and the parents of this English boy. They also loved their sons very much.”

  Petra could see the first tears well up in her son’s eyes. “If the same man who killed Mats also killed this English boy, then it is possible he will do it again to another boy. Maybe next year, maybe next month, but it could also be next week. He must be stopped.”

  “That is why it is so important that you tell us the truth, Niels,” Hans continued. “This cannot happen again.”

  While they spoke, Petra watched her son’s body language like a hawk. Niels started to retreat back into his own little world.

  “Let’s just go back to that night again, for a moment. The party had just finished, and the four of you were going to head home. But, you didn’t. Thijs came home alone on his bike and told us you were still with Mats.”

  “But I’ve told you this story so many times. Can I go back to playing on my computer?” Niels got up.

  Petra grabbed his arm. “Oh, sweetheart, listen. I don’t want you to feel any more pain or fear. You have to tell us now. Otherwise, we can’t help you.”

  “I don’t need any help.”

  Hans intervened. “That is what you think. But even if that were true, then the parents of Mats and this other boy do need your help.”

  “Please sit back down. It will be a big relief for you to tell us. We are here to support you and nothing can happen to you.”

  Niels seemed to hesitate, but eventually sat back down. “Mats wanted to smoke a cigarette before going home. His parents didn’t allow him to smoke, so he wanted to go do that in the bushes. He asked me to watch his bicycle.”

  They already knew this, but they did their best to guide him through the memory the best they could. “So, Mats went into the bushes to smoke a cigarette, and you watched over the two bikes,” Petra clarified. “Were you far apart?”

  Niels shrugged his shoulders. “Kind of far. I couldn’t see him or anything.”

  “But, still, you decided to go to him. Was that because you heard something, or did he call you?”

  “No, I just thought he was taking too long. I put the bikes down on the ground and then walked over to where he was.”

  “Then what happened?”

  “When I got closer, I saw something move. I thought it was Mats, but when I whispered his name, he didn’t answer.”

  “So you decided to keep going.”

  “Yes, it was getting very late, and I knew if we didn’t head back soon, I was going to be in big trouble with you guys.”

  Hans squeezed his lips together. He was horrified to hear that Niels was only worried about getting into trouble during such a dangerous moment. Imagine if he’d gone to Mats sooner … Dreadful thoughts ran through his head. Then maybe it would have been Niels, instead of …

  “I saw a figure and headed toward it, through the bushes.” His story wavered for a moment. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He started rocking back and forth a little.

  Petra rubbed his back and tried to keep him talking. “You saw a figure? Was that Mats?”

  “I’m not allowed to say.”

  Petra could feel that this was the crucial moment that they had been waiting for. She had to break through his defense mechanism right now. “Don’t hide anymore, Niels. Tell us the truth now.” After speaking those words she avoided Hans’s eyes.

  Niels’s lips began to tremble a little.

  “Why can’t you tell us?” Petra continued sternly. “Who has told you that you’re not allowed to tell us?”

  Niels shook his head. He started shaking. “I’m not allowed. If I do he will come after me.”

  “Come after you? Sweetie, take a deep breath. No one is coming after you. We are here with you. You are safe. You hear me? You are safe right here with us. But you are not safe in your own little world, because it is not real. It’s a curtain that you closed to cover up reality. Today were going to open that curtain and throw it in the garbage. You don’t have to hide from anyone.”

  He started sobbing. “It … was a man.”

  Petra pulled him close against her. “Take deep breath for a moment. You are being very brave and doing such a good job.”

  She looked at Hans for a moment. He was watching with tears in his eyes, wringing his hands together. Petra placed her hand on his arm for a moment and felt Niels start to relax. She motioned for Hans to hand her a tissue from the coffee table.

  “Okay, are you feeling a little better now?” she asked while she dried Niels’s face and let him blow his nose. “Listen, I know it’s very difficult to talk about this. You haven’t been able to do it for many months, but you are so strong. You took the first step. If you tell us exactly what you saw then we can help and protect you. And then we can also help the parents of the two other boys. They will be very grateful to you.”

  Niels nodded.

  “Good. Take your time. You saw a man.”

  “Yes, he went like this with his fingers. Telling me to come to him. I didn’t know what to do. I wanted to see Mats. He had to be there, too. I thought maybe the man was a family member of Mats’s and that he had caught him smoking. Only when I came closer, I could see that he was sitting right on top of Mats.” He shuddered.

  Petra pulled him closer again, to encourage and protect him.

  Niels took a deep breath. “He got up and walked toward me. I wanted to run away, but I couldn’t. He grabbed me by my shoulder and put his other hand over my mouth. He looked at me in a very scary way. Then he let me go and put his finger on his lips. I had to be quiet. He turned around to look at Mats again and smil
ed. Then he pointed at me and pretended to cut his throat with his finger. He took his hand from my mouth slowly. I thought he was going to kill me, but then he did it again: pointed at me and ran his finger across his throat. Then he ran away. I … I …” Niels began to cry again.

  “Oh, sweetheart, you must have been so afraid. Don’t worry; you’re safe now. Is that why you were so afraid to say something? Even after we were home?”

  Niels nodded.

  “Oh, go ahead and let it all out. If only we had known …” She didn’t just say it to Niels but also to herself. Maybe they should have pressured him sooner after all? Maybe they should have made him feel even safer somehow? “I wish you would have told us sooner, then we could have helped you and you wouldn’t have had to feel so afraid all this time.”

  “But … what if he finds me?”

  “Shhh. Keep breathing.”

  After he calmed down a little, Petra felt she could ask more questions. “Can you remember what he looked like?”

  “Like an Italian. But he was wearing the Brazilian soccer shirt.”

  Hans and Petra looked at each other. Of course! It had crossed their minds, but because he refused to say anything about it, they hadn’t known for sure. No sense rehashing Christmas, because it was all clear now.

  “Then what happened? You sat down next to Mats,” Petra said with a shaky voice. She tried to remain calm, but it was becoming harder by the minute. She began to feel a bit nauseous at the thought that this monster had put his hands on her son. That he had threatened him. But at the same time, she was so grateful that he was still alive. “Why didn’t you run off right away?”

  “I … I didn’t know what to do. I was afraid. For a moment I thought that Mats might not be dead but that maybe he had fainted, or something? I touched his arm, and I talked to him, but he didn’t respond. Then I heard rustling in the bushes, and I thought the man was coming back to kill me and so I hid behind a bush.”