The Midnight Witness

by Sara Blaedel

  Louise tried to catch his eye. “We can’t let him know that Camilla has talked to the police.”

  “But she has.” He kept staring at her forehead.

  She turned away from him. “No, she told me because I’m her friend.”

  “Hmmm. We’ll go in and grab him when they sit down.”

  She swung back around in anger. “No, are you out of your mind!”

  Finally, he looked her in the eye. “It’s also too dangerous if we do nothing.”

  Louise knew he was right.

  “Birte Jensen knows him, if I’ve heard right,” Jørgensen said. “Why can’t we get her to talk to him?”

  Louise knew that Suhr wouldn’t wait to get that arranged. “What about if we listen in and wait to pick him up until he’s away from Camilla?” She offered to take care of the microphone.

  Suhr laid a hand on her shoulder. “That’s what we’ll do.”

  That was easy, Louise thought. Maybe too easy, maybe that had been his idea, too. He’d just been waiting for her to suggest it so he’d have her support. Smart. Though she didn’t like being sucked in. She also wanted to hear what the Finn had to say.

  “Let’s get going,” Suhr said. “Call Camilla Lind; we need to get the mike on her quick.”

  After the others left, Jørgensen said, “What if she doesn’t go along with this?”

  “She will.” Louise picked up the phone. “She’s not going to like it, but she doesn’t want to miss out on anything, either.”

  He smiled and shook his head. “Strange woman!”

  “Hi, Camilla, it’s me. I’m going to be there, too.”

  “What do you mean? You can’t come along!”

  “I don’t mean physically. You’re going to wear a mike, and we’ll be listening.” She hoped Camilla would be so relieved about Louise not insisting on holding her hand that she’d go along with the plan.

  Her friend thought it over. “So where exactly will you be?”

  “I don’t know, maybe in back, or outside in a car.”

  “He’ll see right through that,” Camilla said.

  Louise could hear she was getting nervous. She had to convince her that people didn’t discover these things. “How could he do that?”

  “When the shitty little mike makes noises or something.”

  “That only happens in the movies. He’s not going to find out; he won’t hear or see the mike. Look, we don’t have much time. I’m coming over right now to put it on you.”

  Say as little as possible, she thought; that’s the best way to calm down Camilla.

  “What if he sees you? You never know. Maybe he’s down on the street.”

  “I’m coming alone. I’ll bring a few papers along, like I’m just delivering something to you, then I’ll get out of there. See you in a bit.” She hung up.

  “Good,” Jørgensen said. “Take the car.” He threw her the keys. “Suhr sent two men over to Cafe Svejk to find a place for you. Call them when you leave Camilla’s.”

  Louise stopped on the way and bought two women’s magazines, then she parked in front of Camilla’s apartment building. She grabbed the magazines and held them so they were conspicuous. Without looking up and down the street, she strode over to the door; the second her finger hit the buzzer, the door unlocked. The small box with the mike rattled in her pocket as she ran up the stairs.

  Camilla stood outside her door. “Hi!”

  “Hi, get inside. We don’t have much time.”

  She was out of breath when she entered the apartment, from running as well as the adrenaline kicking in.

  Quickly she peeled off the protective tape from the small mike and pressed it onto Camilla’s chest. It was the size of a button, and no thicker. Then she clipped the small transmitter on the inside of the waistband of her skirt.

  “That’s it?” Camilla said. “No cords or anything?”

  “Nope.” Louise shook her head and guaranteed her the mike wouldn’t fall off. She got ready to go. “Remember to ask him.”

  Camilla rolled her eyes and nodded toward Louise. “What the hell are you thinking? I’m not brain-dead yet.”

  “Great.” Louise hugged her, then she left and ran downstairs. She glanced around after starting the car and backing out, but she saw no sign of the Finn. It would have surprised her if she had, but he could be lurking around anyway. As she drove down Falkoner Allé, she grabbed her phone and called the two men assigned to help, to say she was on the way. She turned down Smallegade and into the large parking lot behind Frederiksberg Town Hall. The officers would pick her up and then drive behind Cafe Svejk and park.

  Louise stayed in the car. There weren’t many vehicles there this time of day, and she would draw attention if she waited outside.

  She spotted them at once when they drove up. It couldn’t be seen that they were police. The generic van had tinted windows, but that wasn’t unusual. She hopped in back when they parked beside her.

  “We’ve got ten minutes,” said the tech in charge of the bugging equipment.

  She nodded and got settled in. “Are you getting sound from her?”

  “Yeah, but she’s not saying anything.”

  Louise had forgotten to ask Camilla to speak so they could adjust the sound.

  “We’re picking her up; I can hear her walking.” He held out a pair of headphones. She reached over for them and was startled at the sight of Suhr stretched out in the seat behind her, his eyes closed. She hadn’t noticed him when she got in.

  She pointed at him and mouthed, “What’s he doing here?”

  “Sleeping,” the tech mouthed back.

  That much she had figured out. Why was he there?

  The driver left the parking lot, then he turned in behind the bar and parked. Suhr sat up the second the driver turned off the engine.

  “We’re ready then,” he said, looking at the others. He was like a kid waiting for the circus to begin.

  “Almost.” Louise smiled at him. “The only thing missing are the stars of the show.”

  He looked puzzled.

  “Camilla and the Finn haven’t arrived yet,” she added.

  He was still half-asleep, which no one could blame him for. He’d had little time off lately. “Do we know what he looks like?”

  Two men came walking toward the door.

  “Light hair, good-looking, mid-thirties,” Louise said.

  “In other words, neither one of those guys,” he said.

  The driver picked up a thermos and offered everyone coffee. They chatted for a while, everyone was in good spirits, but they kept their focus on the door.

  “There she is,” Louise said, pointing to the crosswalk.

  Camilla was wearing a heavy coat, with a thick scarf around her neck. Louise had the feeling she was looking over at the van, wondering if that was where Louise would be listening. The light changed, and she disappeared when she crossed the street. While they’d been talking, Louise had listened with one ear free, but now she took a sip of coffee and slipped the headphones on both ears, shutting everything out except what came over the mike.

  She waited for Camilla to reach the door. Was there live music tonight? She’d forgotten to ask. Usually on weekdays they played CDs. She heard a bicycle stop, and Camilla made some sort of sound, muffled from her heavy coat and scarf.

  “Walk,” a voice said.

  Louise turned and saw Camilla and a man with a bicycle walking behind the van. His arm was around her, and if she hadn’t known better, she would have thought they were a couple.

  “Shit,” Suhr said. “What the hell’s going on?” He leaned forward until he was almost touching the rear window, but they were parked in a way that blocked him from seeing them. “Back out,” he ordered.

  “Wait!” Louise said. “He’s only walking away because he’s afraid we’re here. If we back out now, he’ll know.”

  After a moment, Suhr said, “Okay, but where the hell are they going?”

  Louise had one ear free
of the headphones again. “There’s another café across the street. Should I follow them?” Instantly she knew her idea was just as stupid as backing up the van.

  “No, you shouldn’t follow them!”

  Suddenly she heard a sound, a whisper. Camilla’s voice was strange and distant; she seemed to be saying, “Sokke.”

  “Wow, it’s still cold, huh?” Camilla’s voice blasted into the headphones, and the tech hurriedly turned down the volume. He, Suhr, and Louise were wearing headphones. Louise pointed farther down Smallegade and said, “Sokkelund.” A café. Suhr untangled himself from the cords and glanced at the tech. They took off their headphones and discussed something with the driver—whether to drive closer, Louise guessed. Then she heard Camilla and the Finn talking. They were about to sit down, and she told the others.

  The driver backed out and drove slowly over to the café, about a hundred meters away. He parked in front of a produce market. Both voices were clear. Apparently, the bar was having a slow evening, because all they could hear besides their talking was music.

  “What do you want to drink?” the Finn asked.

  “Coffee.”

  “Anything in it?”

  “No thanks.”

  Camilla sounded nervous. The Finn was more relaxed.

  “We’re sitting at a corner table in Sokkelund,” Camilla whispered. Louise could imagine how she looked.

  “There you are,” the Finn said. They heard something being set on the table.

  “What is it you want?”

  Damn! Louise had hoped that Camilla would take it nice and easy and avoid provoking him at all costs. But she wasn’t surprised. They should have talked about how to handle him.

  After a few moments of silence, Camilla added, “What do we need to talk about?”

  Louise straightened up, as did Suhr and the tech. Camilla would have enjoyed seeing her audience in the palm of her hand.

  “I got some news, might be useful to you.” Again, he sounded calm. A nice voice, Louise noted.

  “Let’s get it all down,” Suhr told the tech, who stuck his thumb up in the air—he was already recording.

  “Interesting,” Camilla said. “Is this about the murders or the drug case?”

  “That’s up to you to decide. But first we’re going to make a little deal.”

  “What sort of deal?” Camilla sounded as if she did things like this every day.

  The Finn hesitated; the four of them in the van were all ears.

  “You have to promise to write about what I tell you—”

  “I can’t promise you that.”

  Louise winced and cursed under her breath at her friend’s lack of experience; he might take that as a rejection. But then Camilla continued.

  “I can’t promise anything before I know what you have to say. Surely you understand that.”

  “Before I go on, I have to know if you’re going to use my tip. Otherwise I’ll give it to somebody else.”

  Louise could practically hear Camilla thinking that over. The others in the van were nervous.

  “I can’t promise.”

  “Suit yourself.” The Finn’s voice was cold as ice. It sounded in the headphones like he stood up.

  Suhr and Louise exchanged glances. The driver sat up, ready to start the car. Thoughts raced through Louise’s head. Suhr had to decide what to do if the Finn left.

  “Take it easy,” Camilla said. “If it’s not something completely crazy, and you’re sure it’s something I can use, of course I’ll write it.”

  Louise could just see Høyer’s face. She hoped he was okay with Camilla’s promise.

  The Finn sighed and spoke hurriedly but softly. “Klaus West had Holm taken out, just like he did Frank Sørensen.”

  “But why?”

  Several moments passed before he spoke again. “West has been shoveling in the money for years. Lately he’s been flooding the center of town with green dust. People not already hooked get hooked. It’s some of the best product to ever hit the streets. He wasn’t going to let two crazies ruin his business.”

  Camilla kept her mouth shut.

  “Maybe you haven’t heard about the drug trial going on lately?” Now he was being ironic.

  “I have. So why is he not on trial like the others, if it’s so obvious what he’s doing?”

  Louise smiled at Suhr. Camilla was doing what she could to get him to talk.

  “So you think Sørensen and Holm had something on Klaus West, something that could prove he was running the whole show, and the ones on trial are taking the blame?”

  She sensed the thoughts of everyone in the van: It would be tough for Camilla to get anything out of the Finn he hadn’t already decided to tell.

  “You really don’t know shit about this, do you?” the Finn said, avoiding her questions.

  Before Camilla could answer, he said, “There’s no reason to know anything more, either. All you have to understand is that Klaus West is damn good at covering his tracks. He’s got an apartment here in town, the cops haven’t found it yet, but I know where it is.”

  All the oxygen, all sense of time and space were sucked out of the van; the three of them listening in on their headphones stared at the floor, completely frozen.

  He spoke slowly. “Before I tell you, I want you to promise your paper will publish a photo of Klaus West, and that you’re looking for people who might know where he lives.”

  “Why?” she asked, almost in a whisper.

  “I don’t want it to look like the cops were tipped off about the apartment. It has to look like the neighbors contacted them after seeing his photo in the paper. Understand?”

  Louise imagined Camilla nodding.

  “For all I care you can call and tell the cops about the apartment right after I leave. It’s fine with me if they look at it. I just don’t want to be connected with the tip.”

  “Okay.” It was still difficult to hear Camilla’s voice.

  “We have a deal?”

  “Yes,” she said, a bit louder now.

  “Vestergade 26. The name on the door is Sanne Hansen.”

  Suddenly, the sound of chairs scraping against the floor filled their headphones. A few moments later they saw the Finn walk out the door and hop on his bike.

  Louise watched him until he was out of sight. “Okay, he’s gone.”

  The driver pulled up to the curb just outside Sokkelund Cafe. Louise slid the door open for Camilla to step inside.

  “Fantastic!” she said to Camilla. She squeezed her arm. “We were about to go in and get him.”

  That frightened Camilla. “Yeah, you’d have loved to do that, wouldn’t you? Are you crazy!”

  Louise noticed she was starting to tremble. Maybe because she could let go, now that she didn’t have to concentrate. “We’ll take you home.” She leaned over and plucked the microphone off her friend. The driver hung a U and headed back to Falkoner Allé.

  “Very well done, Ms. Lind,” Suhr said. He held his hand out. “I don’t believe we’ve met.”

  She shook his hand. Now she sounded tired. “I didn’t understand all of it. I hope you got more out of all that about the drug case.”

  “We got an address, and that’s what we’d lacked.” Suhr sounded unusually satisfied. “We’ve already got people on the way to check it out.”

  “You heard what I promised,” Camilla said, a bit nervous now. “I hope it doesn’t come out that you found the apartment before we write about it.”

  Suhr laid his hand on her arm, leaned forward, and spoke quietly. “In this world you have to act. When you’ve been doing this long enough, you learn how valuable information and knowledge are.”

  She listened with interest, but said nothing. The mentor was instructing the student.

  “The police deal with informers like the Finn. He might get caught with drugs on him, but we let him go if he has something interesting to tell us. That’s probably how Birte Jensen got to know him. The police deal with the press. You h
elp us. Quid pro quo. You get your story.”

  Louise watched her friend lap all this up.

  “But again, what happens if all this about the apartment comes out before we get it in the paper?”

  “Then the story is that we got the information from routine questioning. The apartment is in the building next to the courtyard where we found Søren Holm. It’s logical that we’d talk to people in the surrounding apartments.”

  Camilla nodded, but Louise saw that she wasn’t totally convinced. “What does he get out of this? That you find the apartment?”

  “Hard to say, but I’m guessing he’s involved somehow with Klaus West. And for whatever reason, he’d like to see West behind bars for a long time. Maybe he wants in on the drug market and needs some elbow room.”

  He gazed at the traffic outside for a few moments before turning back to Camilla. “Why was it you two didn’t go into Cafe Svejk?”

  Louise leaned in to listen.

  “He just said he’d changed his mind. He’d rather have a cup of coffee.”

  “I’m not so sure he’s as small-time as I thought he was,” Suhr said, more to Louise than to Camilla. “I’ll get hold of Jensen in the morning; we’ll find out just who this guy is. I’m sure she wants a good look at the apartment, too. If he’s not lying about it.”

  The driver parked in front of Camilla’s building.

  “What about the recording?” Louise said. “Do we need to transcribe it now?” It was half past midnight.

  “I’ll have somebody else do it. Go with your friend. You can pick the car up later and keep it until tomorrow.”

  Before Louise got out of the van, she remembered they needed to talk to Camilla about how to tackle the situation at work the next day. Suhr scratched his chin for a moment.

  “Maybe we should just meet tomorrow, say, nine thirty, if it turns out the tip about the apartment is real. Then we can decide what to say and what not to say.”

  “I can come by before going in to the paper,” Camilla said. “So I can hear what you decide.”

  “That sounds fine,” Suhr said. He waved goodbye.