by Willow Rose
I looked at my son and wondered when he was going to speak. He made sounds like he was trying to, but no real words yet. At this age, Julie had spoken like a waterfall. Mostly stuff only I understood, but she wouldn’t shut up. Whereas, William could be quiet for hours. I had wondered if something was wrong, but the doctor had told me William probably was a late bloomer.
“And boys do tend to be a little slower than girls. That’s just the way it is,” he had said.
“You’ll start talking to me soon, won’t you?” I said, and tickled his tummy, when I suddenly sensed that someone was behind me. I turned to look into Jeppe’s eyes. Everything inside of me froze.
Is he following me?
He smiled. “I’m sorry. I was looking for the bathroom.”
The bathroom. He just took the wrong door. Got to stop being so paranoid, Rebekka.
“It’s across the hallway,” I said, and continued to look at my son.
“Oh, thank you,” Jeppe said.
I put William’s clean diaper on, then put a pair of clean pants on, and had him stand up while holding him.
“Oh, you’re a big boy, now, huh?”
William laughed and grabbed my hair. I kissed him and took him in my arms. When I turned, Jeppe was still there, but he had moved even closer.
I gasped.
“Oh, my God. You startled me,” I said, my heart beating like a drum.
What is he still doing here? Why hasn’t he gone to the restroom?
I felt uncomfortable with him so close to me, and I tried to walk past him, but he blocked my way. Then he leaned over and whispered in my ear.
“I like that shirt, Rebekka. Red is my favorite color.”
46
“THAT WAS YOU? You sent me those texts?”
I felt my face turn red in anger. Who the hell did he think he was?
Jeppe smirked.
“Answer me!” I yelled. “Did you send me those texts?”
He still didn’t answer. The way he stared at me freaked me out. “It was you, wasn’t it? And what about yesterday? I saw you in our bedroom. It was you, wasn’t it? You were watching us. You were staring at us in our sleep, weren’t you? You creep!”
Steps on the stairs came closer. Sune came inside William’s bedroom. “What’s going on here?”
Jeppe shrugged. “I don’t know. I tell you, man. That girlfriend of yours is nuts. She suddenly attacked me with all these questions. She’s apparently accusing me of staring at you in your sleep?”
“That again, Rebekka? Really? I thought we agreed it was just a dream.”
I looked at Jeppe. I couldn’t believe him. “I want you out of my house,” I said. “I want you out of here now. You hear me? And don’t you dare to ever come back here. I don’t want you near me or my children again.”
“Rebekka!?” Sune said.
Jeppe turned to him. “It’s okay, bro. I told you she was jealous of us. It’s all right. I’ll back out. I’ll leave. No hard feelings. I’ll see you around.”
“No, you won’t,” I said, but he had already left.
Sune looked angrily at me. “What the hell are you doing, Rebekka? I didn’t think you’d stoop this low. You really hit rock bottom with this. I can’t believe you. I finally have a friend. I finally have someone I like to hang out with, and then you do this to me? I’m beginning to think he is right. You are jealous. You have been jealous of him and me this whole time. Just because you don’t have any friends. What else is he right about, huh? He keeps telling me I should keep a closer eye on you and that David guy. You’re probably cheating on me. Are you, Rebekka? Are you cheating on me?”
I shook my head. “Sune…Would you please listen to me?”
“No. No. I’m done listening to you. I’m done hearing you say all this crap about Jeppe and talking to me like I’m a baby.”
“Sune, would you just listen?…I…”
Sune shook his head in anger. “No. I’m done here, Rebekka. We’re done here. I’m gonna stay at Jeppe’s tonight, and tomorrow I’ll start looking for a new place for me and Tobias.”
On the last word, Sune turned around before I could say anything, and stormed down the stairs.
“Sune!” I yelled, trying to run after him, but it was too late. When I reached the stairs, I heard the front door slam.
Tobias and Julie came out from the living room and looked at me. “What happened?” Julie asked. “First Jeppe left, now Sune?”
“Yeah,” Tobias said. “Where did my dad go?”
I swallowed my emotions and forced a smile. “They just went out for a little bit. They’ll be back later. No worries, kids.”
Of course, my daughter didn’t buy that. She always saw right through me. “You look sad, Mommy. Did something happen? Did you and Sune fight again?”
I held on to William and hugged him tight, while fighting the tears. I sniffled and wiped my nose. “It’s nothing. I’m fine,” I said, my voice cracking. “Go ahead and finish the game without me. I’ll be down a little later.”
47
MONDAY MORNING came, and I still hadn’t heard anything from Sune. I knew he was staying with Jeppe next door, but wanted to give him the space to think, so I didn’t even try and call him. Even though it was devastating, since he clearly didn’t want to listen to anything I had to say, and I wasn’t very comfortable with him spending time with that creep. What was his agenda anyway? What did he want from us? Why was he spying on us at night? Why was he texting me? Did he have a thing for me? Or was he trying to split us up?
I drove the kids to school and headed off to work, while trying not to worry about Sune and our future. He had to come around somehow, and then I would be able to explain everything to him.
“Whoa. Someone either partied all weekend or the kids kept you up all night? Did William get sick or something?” Sara asked, when she saw me.
I sighed and sat at my desk. I was exhausted. Emotionally, completely shattered.
“Let me get you some coffee,” Sara said, and disappeared into the kitchen. She came back with a steaming hot cup. The best sight I had seen all morning.
“You’re a doll, thank you so much,” I said.
“With milk, just the way you like it,” she chirped. How she was always in such a good mood on Monday mornings was beyond my comprehension. Even on the good days, I wasn’t as cheerful as her. A plate with a pastry landed next to the coffee. Our eyes met, and Sara winked.
“You deserve it,” she said. “I put a little honey in your coffee to sweeten you up a little,” she whispered, then tiptoed back to her desk with a giggle.
She made me smile. The way she loved taking care of me was wonderful. The morning had been rough, having to take care of all three kids on my own, so I guess I did deserve it. And I had no time to get breakfast, so I was actually pretty hungry.
I grabbed the pastry and started eating. It was crisp on the outside and moist on the inside, just the way freshly baked pastry was supposed to be. A little jelly inside of it made it just perfect. I closed my eyes and enjoyed it, along with the sweet coffee. The combination of sugar and caffeine soon sparked life into me, and I felt more alive. I was ready for whatever this day had in store for me. I turned on my computer and a picture of Sune, the kids, and I screamed at me, and the knot in my stomach returned. Were we going to get through this? Did Julie have to go through yet another bad break-up? Why was I so terrible at relationships? Was Sune right? Was I too controlling?
“So, David called and said he was going to stop by this morning,” Sara said. “He told me to let you know. He didn’t want to call you on your cell, he said. Probably afraid of what Sune might think, huh? Does Sune have reason to be jealous, I wonder?”
I shook my head and sipped some more coffee. “I think I’m done with men for a little while,” I said.
“So, you and Sune…?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know what’s going to happen. He didn’t come home last night. It’s a long story.”
; Sara looked terrified. “Don’t tell me you’re splitting up?”
I wanted to be honest with Sara, but also knew she adored Sune and me, and it would almost be as hard on her as on the kids if we split up.
“No. No,” I said, sounding exactly like I had when trying to convince the kids that everything would be fine. “Just a little trouble, that’s all. Nothing we can’t fix. We just need a little time. You know how it is.”
Sara hardly breathed. She had a hand on her chest and gasped as she spoke. “You’re not…you and that David fellow, you’re not…are you?”
“No. No. Not at all. We’re just friends, that’s all.”
Sara breathed again. “Phew. ‘Cause, I mean, the guy is handsome and all…but still. You and Sune. That’s special.”
My phone rang and I picked it up, happy to escape this conversation. It was Jens-Ole.
“I want you to follow up on that lawyer story, that girl that was killed. I was thinking you could go to the law firm and speak with her co-workers. Paint a picture of this girl. Who was she? Was she liked? Was she kinky and got herself into trouble? What’s her story? Did Sune manage to find the autopsy report yet?”
“Sune? Well…No…He’s…” I looked at Sara, who was signaling me, putting a hand to her forehead and pretending to lie down. “Sick. He’s sick. Yes. Sune hasn’t been well.”
“I hope it’s nothing serious?” Jens-Ole asked.
“No. Just the flu. You know how these things take a few days…sometimes a week. He’ll do it as soon as he’s better.”
“Well, good. Tell him to feel better, and then bring that David guy. He’s quite the photographer. I mean, for a journalist.” Jens-Ole chuckled. “No, we’ve been very impressed with his work. He’s a great replacement for Sune.”
48
DAVID ARRIVED while I was thinking about my editor’s bad choice of words.
Replacement. As if anyone could ever replace Sune.
“Everything all right?” he asked, with his handsome smile.
“It’s a long story. I got a job for you. Jens-Ole wants us to go and talk to her colleagues in the law firm and paint a picture of her. We don’t have much on her the way it is, and it is fairly rare that an associate in a prestigious law firm is found murdered.”
“Sure,” he said. “I wasn’t doing much today anyway.”
I looked at David, and wondered for a second why he was still here anyway? Why was he sticking around? He didn’t have a job here. He didn’t have any family here, to my knowledge. Was he just here for me? Because he thought I could somehow make him feel better? Because he enjoyed my company?
Maybe it was as simple as that.
Or maybe because he’s madly in love with you and is just waiting for you to split up with Sune to make his move.
“You coming?” he asked.
I smiled and grabbed my jacket. “Sure. Let’s do this.”
There was another thought that occurred to me while we walked to my car. The killings had started just as David arrived in town.
Don’t be an idiot, Rebekka. You know the guy. He saved you and took care of everyone else down in the sinkhole. He’s a freaking hero.
No, it was stupid. There was nothing linking him to any of them, as far as I knew. I shook the thought and we drove to the law firm.
“So, any news on finding the twins?” David asked on the way.
“I haven’t had the time to look into it myself,” I said. “But I asked Sara to try and locate them, starting with Hans Toft. She has contacts in the strangest of places. She’s good at stuff like that.”
We arrived at the building where the law firm had their offices. It was an old beautiful white villa in a residential neighborhood just outside of Karrebaeksminde. Inside, it had wooden floors all over, high ceilings, and big windows overlooking a lake. I recognized the lake as being the same that one Steffen and his dog had found the bodies in. It was a huge lake, and his grandparents lived on a farm on the other side of it. I stared at the frozen landscape outside the big windows. Could it be a coincidence that the bodies turned up next to the law firm?
A secretary approached us. “What can I do for you?”
“We’re from Zeeland Times. I’m Rebekka Franck, this is David Busck. We called earlier?”
“Yes. Mr. Kragh will be with you in a minute. Please take a seat.”
We did, and soon after, a good looking man in his mid-forties came out of his office and approached us. His shoes clacked as he walked across the parquet. He was wearing an expensive suit and had thick black hair.
“Hello,” he said, and we shook hands. He stared at me very intensely, undressing me with his eyes. It was very uncomfortable. “Let’s go into my office and talk.”
“So, you want to know about Leonora, huh?” he said, when we had sat down inside his office. He was still smiling and staring at me. I didn’t smile back and avoided his eyes.
“Yes. We really don’t have much information about her, but would like to do a portrait of a sort. Maybe you could help?”
Mr. Kragh leaned back in his leather chair behind the big desk. “Sure. If you think I can contribute anything, then by all means. What do you want to know?”
49
WE DIDN’T get much from Mr. Kragh, who was slick and slithered his way out of any question that wasn’t about Leonora’s work. He painted a very nice picture of a hard worker and a nice girl, who didn’t stand out much in the crowd, but did as she was told. One of the rising young stars in the company.
But, after we left his office, we had a very good chat with the secretary.
“She did have an ex-boyfriend, who was sick with jealousy,” she said, when we asked if she knew anything about her personal life.
“Really?”
“Yes. He would come to her place every now and then and attack her. He was jealous because she had found someone else.”
“And, who was that?” I asked.
The secretary shook her head. She seemed to suddenly have to go. “I…it doesn’t matter,” she said, and her eyes landed on the door to Mr. Kragh’s office.
“I see,” I said.
“No, you can’t write that,” she said. “Morten will kill me.”
“Oh, I won’t. No need to worry,” I said.
She put a hand to her chest. “Ah, good.”
“But he is married, isn’t he?”
“Yes,” she said whispering. “The poor girl thought he was going to leave his wife, but he never intended to. She’s not the first, you know. I’ve seen it so many times before.”
I nodded and looked at the wall behind her. A big picture of Morten Kragh was displayed for everyone to see as the first thing when they approached the counter. Next to it was an empty spot, but the wood wasn’t faded like the rest of the wall.
“What used to be on the wall there?” I asked.
The secretary turned. “Oh that. There used to hang a picture of Mr. Toft.”
My eyes widened. “Mr. Toft as in Dan Toft?”
The secretary looked sad. “Yes,” she said sniffling. “So tragic.”
“So this company used to be Kragh & Toft?” I said, and looked at the logo, where I could tell the last part of the name had been removed.
The secretary sniffled again. “Yes. They had been partners for so many years. We miss him around here. He was the good one, if you know what I mean.”
“Say, you wouldn’t happen to know anything about where his children are these days, would you?” David asked.
“Dan’s children?” she asked. “The twins?”
“Yes. We’re looking for them.”
She shook her head. “No. We haven’t seen either of them for years. They both ran away from home when they were sixteen. I don’t believe they had any contact at all with them after that. It was all very tragic.”
“Okay,” I said, a little disappointed. “I think we have what we came for. Thank you so much.”
I was about to turn around and walk away, when I looked
at her again.
“Do you happen to know the name of Leonora’s ex-boyfriend?” I asked.
“Yes. His name is Henrik Pedersen. He’s a cop.”
“Do you know if Henrik knew Dan Toft from somewhere?” I asked.
“I don’t believe they knew each other at all, no.”
“I know this is going to sound strange, but do you know how Leonora felt about homosexuals?”
The secretary wrinkled her forehead. “About homosexuals? I don’t think she had any issues with them. Her younger brother is gay. Came out of the closet just two years ago. She loved him more than anyone.”
“Okay. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
In the car on the way back to the office, I couldn’t keep my thoughts from flickering in my head. A lot of new information had appeared, but it didn’t seem like there was any silver lining here. Henrik Pedersen had a baton. He could have killed Leonora in an attack of rage because she was with someone else. That was obvious. But why would he kill Dan and Tina Toft? Why would he kill the therapist or the pastor? And what about the clothes and the mutilated genitals?
It made no sense.
50
“MAYBE HE thought Leonora was having an affair with Dan Toft and not that Kragh guy?” David asked, when we were back at the office eating lunch.
We had been discussing Henrik Pedersen and his possible motives ever since we got back, and I hadn’t been able to write a single word on my article yet. I simply couldn’t focus.
“You’re thinking he knew she was seeing one of the partners and then killed the wrong one. That could be a motive,” I said, my mouth filled with herring. “But it doesn’t explain the wife, the therapist, or the pastor.”
“Could Henrik Pedersen be Hans Toft? Could he have changed his name?” Sara asked.
“It’s a possibility. But the secretary knew him. She would have known if Henrik were Dan’s son. She would have recognized him,” I said. “Besides, he told me he grew up on my street. He could be lying about that, but why should he?”
