Dead Men (Marie and Lotte Book 1)

by Mette Glargaard

  She continued to look on as blood eagerly exited his wound and then Marie reached Lotte. She gently pulled on her arm; it was time to go up. Lars’s body’s descent left a blood trail in the water, but then it began to fade as he slowly disappeared down the face of the coral wall.

  Marie and the diving instructor pulled Lotte away and they swam her still yet cooperative body through the water. She felt weightless surrounded by the warm salt water and her breathing was automatic as she mechanically followed the instructor’s directions. The reef wall was now far enough away to become a blurry and shadowy silhouette and she felt nothing as her own lifeless body was being pulled to the surface. Her thoughts had left her as if they had gone on to lead their own lives, her connection with her them had been severed as the shock set in.

  Lotte searched Marie’s eyes. There was nothing there but an inquisitive look and any animal is capable of that.

  “She killed him. Do not panic!” was the thought that now played as a loop in her head and now her body was as tense as a constricted spring. The diving instructor gave the okay sign to continue moving towards the surface and, once more, Lotte looked down to see if she could still see Lars, but Marie grabbed her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze and shook her head.

  So, as they continued their ascent, Lotte’s body was wracked with shock and a sense of foreboding, but the sea around her was just as calm and beautiful as it had been the previous ten minutes. She was simply on autopilot as they grew nearer to the light and the image of Marie killing Lars played like a dull ache in Lotte’s head.

  She was desperate for any other explanation; her imagination gone off the rails, a hallucination, anything, but the reality she knew was not a fabrication of her mind. The knife stowed away safely in Marie’s diving vest was clue enough for Lotte that his murder was planned. She couldn’t guess for how long.

  Had she really wanted Lars’ death? Could she have freed herself from the diving instructors grip? And what of him? He had done nothing except watch Marie and her deadly knife the same as Lotte had. He was prescient of Marie’s act meaning he was more than merely a random diving instructor, he was Marie’s accomplice. She now remembered how calmly Marie had said that Lars needed to die, so had this been Marie’s first kill? Was the diving instructor an aid to her murderous impulses on previous occasions? Were these collaborative acts for business or pleasure on his part?

  Lotte looked at the diving instructor. She expected an okay motion with his hand, but what she got instead was a grave look coupled with looking up and pointing. She followed the line of his finger and spotted the outline of the boat; they were nearing the surface. Lotte swam up some more, but in her heart she wished the world would stop. That the current of time flowing forward would cease and she could stay in the womb of the ocean for an eternity.

  But since that would never happen she wondered if she would be able to live with Lars’ death. Accept it. She had to go to the police and turn herself in. She had, after all, wished for his death, wished he could just stay at the bottom of the sea so he would not surface with them and subject her to more of his violence. Her grandmother had said to be careful what you wish for because you just might get it. As a child this was utter nonsense; of course you would hope to get what you wished for. You wished for it! But now the wisdom of those words pierced her soul and they wounded her deeply.

  In the cool water of the ocean, questions burned in her brain. What now? What will happen now? With Marie, with life, the world … with Lars’ body?

  Lotte swam hard to break the surface, peeled the mask off and threw it to one side as she screamed and it’s pitch built to a piercing crescendo. It wasn’t just Lars’ murder by Marie that she was expelling by way of her lungs and vocal cords, it was a violent roar that expressed grief and hatred, confusion and frustration. It vibrated through her entire body and she released it all into that scream.

  Then a hand was gently placed on her shoulder. The scream stopped and her eyes shot open as she swiveled her head to see the diving instructor. Lotte growled at him as though she was a wild animal and hot tears flooded her face. She sobbed into her hands for a moment but soon stopped and looked up before she swam away from him towards the boat. She did not fear what he might do to her; he was only a hired hand. Her target was the murderer; Marie. Lotte had an aching gratitude in her heart for what had been done, but with it came a terrible sobering guilt. She looked at Marie as she sat in the boat, relaxed and gazing out to the horizon in the opposite direction of Lotte.

  She shouted at Marie as she approached the boat.

  “How the hell could you do that? Who the hell do you think you are? What the hell...”

  Lotte’s voice wavered and cracked from the screaming. Her head bent forward, too close to the water and with her breath she drew in the ocean. She coughed until her lungs ached, but then coughed some more. Her body was reacting as if she were drowning and struggling to survive. Feverishly attempting to pull in air through the rounds of coughs, she wondered if this was what Lars had felt. Another deep and abiding scream wanted to rip through her again, but instead the coughing wracked her body.

  Despite what outside observers may have viewed as merely the tantrum of a child, the diving instructor guided her up the ladder and onto the boat. There was so much weight as her body seemed to resist the open air. Going from the weightlessness of the water to the normal forces of gravity with pounds of gear gave her a moment’s relief from her despair as she focused on getting into the boat.

  Once she’d made it over the edge she sat across from Marie who still seemed to avoid Lotte’s gaze. Once more, she fought the urge to cough but could do nothing about her shaking body. It was a violent vibration throughout her limbs from the continued shock and then the wave of nausea gripped her. She leaned over the edge in a rush and vomited, the acid burning her throat as it came up and the vile taste made her gag and cough once more; the constriction of her stomach left her midsection feeling bruised.

  As she calmed down and the heaving slowed and came to a stop she peered through the clear water and noticed the boat’s shadow. But her mind interpreted it as the shape of Lars’ body floating in the depths. She screamed and more vomit bubbled from her stomach and she released it into the water, coughing painfully. She scooped a handful of water that wasn’t contaminated with her puke and swiped it across her face before she curled into a ball onto the wooden deck of the boat, letting her deep sobs spasm through her body.

  29

  Lotte was weak in the knees and needed to sit but Marie, with a firm grip, lead her up the stairs from the docked boat to higher ground on the island. Lotte wanted to protest but didn’t have anything left in her at this point to even think about it. At the top of the steps Lotte stopped to take deep breaths. The pace with which Marie pulled her up was too hurried and had exhausted her even further. As she stood, catching her breath, she took in the fertile green of the island, the trees that gently swayed to the song in the breeze. It seemed softer and more inviting here than the mainland as the huge statue of Ganesha was enthroned majestically in front of them.

  Marie turned to Lotte and put her arms around her. As she embraced her Marie whispered in her ear, “It’s okay now. All is well. You have no more worries.” In Marie’s arms, Lotte was rocked soothingly, like a mother would to encourage her baby to sleep. Lotte’s knees trembled and she would have fallen were it not for Marie’s strong hold on her.

  Lotte breathed in Marie’s scent: a mix of sea, sun and latex from the diving equipment and she let herself lean into Marie. She let the worry of whether she should be allowing a murderer to comfort her or not slide away as the exhaustion filled every fiber of her body. Mentally and emotionally she was shutting down and last to fall under the weight of the exhaustion was her body.

  “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you my plans. I tried to the other day, but it was clear it would have been too much for you. I didn’t want t
o give you the chance to try and stop me because I simply wasn’t going to allow him to continue to fuck up your life. Even if you two split and he met another woman he would be no different with her, she too would have suffered like you have. Everything is okay, Lotte. I know you’re in shock, but everything is going to be okay.”

  Lotte began to shake again. It started in the knees and spread to her thighs and then the tremors rippled through her stomach and her arms fluttered around her body. She felt like a ball of yarn being unraveled at lightning speed and in no time at all she would lose all substance. Knots folded in on themselves in her gut, burning flared through her chest and she uttered a sound that should have been a cry, but instead it was just the guttural sound of dry heaves.

  Lotte tried to speak but her body refused to cooperate as Marie tried to help Lotte to sit down on the edge of Ganesha’s throne. Before Marie could complete her task Lotte spewed vomit into the perfect green grass. She even had a brief thought that it was a pity the grass was ruined by the contents of her stomach, but then she was shaken again by the heave of vomit falling from her mouth. Marie held her, stroking her gently and whispering that it was okay. But it was not okay.

  Lotte just witnessed her boyfriend knifed to death in the neck by her best friend at the edge of a coral reef. How could it be okay? It would never be okay. Never, never, never, ever. Even if the ground opened up and swallowed her whole and she were to meet her death that instant, it would never be okay.

  The image replayed in her mind: the kiss between Marie and Lars, the finger on his air valve, the knife in his neck, and his lifeless body floating in a haze of his own blood.

  “Marie.” Lotte croaked in an attempt to speak, but Marie just cradled her and soothed what she read as Lotte’s worries and fears.

  “You’re not going to be hurt anymore Lotte. Lars had to die because he was scum and he couldn’t be allowed to exist while harming others the way he did. That’s only fair. You deserve a life of wonder and beauty, not violence and fear. You can have that now. It’s over and you have nothing to fear.”

  Lotte knew she was at the mercy of Marie whether she was telling the truth or not. She was exhausted and had no means of escape. Her mind jumped from image to image from the day’s events and eventually she was able to utter some words.

  “Diving instructor? Police? The body?”

  The random words spoke of the chaos that was Lotte’s thoughts as her mind attempted to grasp the finality and enormity of Marie’s violence.

  “The diving instructor has been very well paid. He has helped me before and we can trust him. The police won’t suspect anything. Lars’ passport will be aboard a boat to Lombok tomorrow where his trail ends. I have many friends in Bali…”

  Lotte struggled to understand what Marie was telling her. She got stuck on one thing she had said.

  “He has helped you before?”

  “Yes, I have found him to be very useful. I have other helpers as well. As for the Balinese who help me from time to time, they believe in fate and do not interfere when the gods have decided that something must be a certain way. If a dog gets run over, it will not be put down. It will live with a limp because that was his destiny. We all must accept our destiny.”

  “He has helped you before?” Lotte repeated.

  “Yes Lotte. Here before and in other places I have dealt with offenders who do not appreciate the sanctity of life. Men who are predators and mistreat women must meet their deserved fate. That is my destiny.”

  “Your destiny?”

  Lotte crouched down and then lay, curled in the grass, making sure to avoid her vomit. A calm heavy feeling spread across her like a blanket being laid atop her. She let Marie’s words fill her head and she tried to make sense of them, but it was impossible. The Great Wall of China stood between her and true understanding. Her brain was a computer in overdrive, heating up the circuits and beginning to fry the motherboard. Then a pinpoint of light shone through the wall.

  “Somehow I just knew you were going to kill him when I saw your hand on his air bottle. But I think I was just in shock from seeing you two kiss. I felt so betrayed.”

  “It was only a way to distract him.”

  “I can see that now, but what about his body? What if it washes up? What if the police come to us and ask us questions when we get home? What do we do if they ask us where he is?”

  “Lotte, between the sharks and all the fish down there, it will only be days before he’s picked clean. There will be nothing to come ashore. And if the police ask, we’ll tell them that after a fight, and you guys broke up, he left for Lombok.” She put her hand into Lotte’s and looked into her eyes. “I have given you a fresh start, here at the feet of Ganesha. You are free.”

  Lotte was oddly reassured by Marie’s words, although it was disconcerting that Marie had acted like she’d done a service for Lotte. At the same time there was a place in Lotte’s head, a voice which insisted that that was exactly what had happened..

  Once, Lotte had lived in a place with rats in the basement. She had seen them a few times but wasn’t bothered by their presence. She thought they were beautiful with their glossy coats and their large, black, frightened eyes. She was certainly opposed to killing them as long as they caused no harm. But eventually they gnawed into her moving boxes and decorated their nests with her memories. The smell became horrid, the acrid stench of rat urine. So despite being opposed to killing them she ended up calling pest control. They set out rat traps and the rats all died. So perhaps it was the same way with Lars.

  “Look at Ganesha,” Marie said. “No matter what one believes he exists as a symbol of hope. It’s a shame you fell for another idiot and this one a terrible abuser; you might have some sort of special ability to attract them. But they exploit you and disrespect you even when you give them your body and soul. I tried to warn you but you were blinded by infatuation.”

  ‘Were you trying to warn me? When? And how did you know that Lars was a bastard?”

  Lotte was calm now; well calmer anyway as Marie helped her to stand.

  “Let’s get off the island then get something to eat drink and then I will answer your questions.”

  “How can you be so calm? You’ve just killed a man.”

  “No more questions. First food and drink, okay?”

  They looked up at Ganesha and for one more time and then made their way back to the boat. On the journey back Lotte wanted to speak, to ask those burning questions, but she found a small sense of peace in the slight see-sawing motion of the boat and the throb of the engines. Once they had docked the boat, Marie gave a quick nod of her head to the instructor and then led Lotte straight back to their car. The driver never even blinked when he saw that there were only two of them.

  He took them to a grand, Balinese style house a small man with very dark skin came out to greet them with open hands. He addressed them by name and asked if they were ready to eat. Lotte realised that they were expected and as the man nodded and disappeared again she had to marvel at Marie’s skills at getting everything organised and run so smoothly. Then she almost smiled at the thought that Marie had to be like that if she’d gotten away with murdering abusive men.

  A woman came out of the house and led them to a Bale Bengong, decorated with white gauze curtains and white pillows to sit on. Lotte felt like they were in a surreal French film as the curtains fluttered in the breeze and shielded them from the sun. After sitting, a man dressed in white appeared out of the house and began to use a large palm leaf to generate a gentle breeze. Lotte was immediately filled with discomfort.

  “I’ll never get used to being looked after like this.”

  “You know, just because your boss isn’t present when you’re serving him doesn’t mean you aren’t serving him. What’s the difference?”

  “Hmmm,” Lotte thought, “I’m better paid?”

  Marie laughed
.

  “We are all subject to others, Lotte. Your boss pays you to do the work you do. And if he doesn’t need you anymore he can just fire you. The difference between you and the man waving the palm leaf is that he knows the meaning of his life and knows how to make the best of it.”

  “Yes, my work is certainly not the meaning of my life.”

  “No, and yet you spend so much time on it every day. So who is the lucky one here?”

  “Fine, I concede your point. I suppose next you’ll be trying to convince me to marry a rich man and kill him. Just like you.”

  Lotte realized what she said and gave Marie a startled look.

  “Oh, sorry!”

  “There is no need to apologize and there’s no reason for you to marry a rich man and kill him. I have already done that, as you seem to have surmised regarding my late husband, but I highly doubt you are capable of killing. That is not where your fate lies Lotte.”

  Marie’s matter of fact way of speaking about murder was astonishing and then, to Lotte, it suddenly seemed amazingly humorous and she could not stop herself from starting to giggle at this insane situation. In fact, there was so much giggling in her body that she felt the tickle all the way up through her stomach, and she burst out laughing as she apologized again and again. But still she couldn’t stop and she had to lie down on her side and hold her stomach as she became almost hysterical.

  Marie was worried at first, but she started to smile and chuckle until the ever infectious laughter grabbed her and they were both swept by waves of giggling that filled the warm Balinese air. Even the man with the palm leaf smiled and chuckled a little, but he did not know, of course, that Marie had just killed Lotte’s boyfriend. They laughed til the tears rolled down their cheeks and their stomachs ached. Lotte sobbed with laughter, as if her body was using it to release the shock.