The Forest Lake Mystery

by The Forest Lake Mystery (retail) (epub)

  There was no sadness in the memory, only a swelling hope for the future; it was a life purpose, the first real one he had experienced.

  Captain Kurk interrupted the young couple; he wanted to exchange a few words with Holst. The obvious disappointment which marked Ulla’s face at the interruption reconciled Holst to the separation. The gentlemen retired to the captain’s room to be undisturbed.

  It was obvious that Captain Kurk wanted to know the whole story, but the moment Holst realised that Kurk was on another person’s errand, he abandoned his gentle mood and gathered himself to receive the attack coldly, clearly and sensibly. He realised that the moment had arrived when he had to take a position on the question of Captain Ankerkrone’s relationship to the unfolding drama. He was in a foreign country; the case was solely dependent on him; he had it in his power to lead it, and they all understood that. But he was a soldier and no atmosphere in the world would take him away from the path of duty that lay before him, sharply outlined by what he already knew and what they would have to tell him if he wanted to know about it.

  IX

  Captain Kurk asked Holst to take a seat and offered him one of those excellent cigars which mean so much in Italy, where the desire for tobacco has to be satisfied, along with Minghetti, Cavour and other deceased statesmen, by damp, unpleasant tobacco or by Virginia and Trabuco, which lasts for weeks and costs a fortune in matches.

  Holst lit it and sat down, on his guard.

  “Lieutenant,” began the captain, “I understand that Sjöström has been arrested.”

  Holst nodded.

  “Lieutenant Ankerkrone came to me extremely agitated and told me that you had carried out the arrest in Lieutenant Sjöström’s home where he lives with his mistress. The lieutenant said that the charge is falsification and fraud. Is that correct?”

  Holst nodded.

  “Will the charge be limited to this?” asked Kurk with an inquisitive look.

  “Provisionally, yes,” replied Holst.

  “Provisionally – but what about later? Claes disclosed that you had mentioned a name that you know because of me, as I’m sure you will recall. Do you consider Sjöström guilty of the murder of Annie, and is that why you have arrested him?”

  Holst looked up calmly at Kurk.

  “It’s against my principles to comment on my suspicions at such an early stage of a case. I believe I can prove that Lieutenant Hugold Sjöström has falsified a cheque issued by Annie Cederlund and appropriated a considerable amount of money hereby – or rather, I am in possession of the document and there is a strong probability that the falsification can be proved. With regard to the murder, I have no presumptions at all – I only know that in this case I will have to negotiate personally with people, not with their representatives.”

  The captain bit his lip.

  “You seem to be forgetting, Lieutenant, that when you presented yourself to me some time ago, you invoked a bond that ties us together and that I respected your approach to engage me in dialogue. I told you what I knew. It seems to me simple gratitude to return the favour.”

  Holst looked firmly at him.

  “My dear captain,” he said, “what you told me was what you felt fully disposed to tell, no more. I can’t tell you about the deliberations of my superiors. I’m merely a subordinate and my duty, as you know, goes above everything else.”

  Captain Kurk switched to a more familiar tone.

  “Of course, it’s up to you. It might seem more satisfactory that Arvid Ankerkrone spoke to you personally, but he is ill. His health has suddenly been undermined in recent days and he can’t take a lot of mental exertion.”

  “I have plenty of time,” said Holst kindly. “My friendship with Captain Ankerkrone and his family is so warm that you must trust, dear Captain, that I won’t take any action against anyone of that name without due warning.”

  “Will you give me your word on this?” asked the captain. “And that you won’t use your acquaintanceship and the confidentiality which you enjoy with the family in the conduct of your office?” Holst stood up and gave the captain his hand.

  “Sir,” he said, “on the day when my civil duties require me to take any step against Captain Ankerkrone or any of his family that is against their desire and will, on that day I will step back and ask someone else to do it. I won’t seek any information that isn’t voluntarily given to me, and before I disclose the name which hasn’t yet been mentioned in any official document, and not even to the district magistrate, I will present myself to the head of the family and tell him why I am disclosing it and give him every chance for it to remain unmentioned.”

  Kurk was a little uncertain for a moment.

  “Do you think it will be necessary to disclose it?”

  Holst shook his head.

  “I can’t say. Tomorrow I’ll be talking to the man I’ve had arrested and much will depend on what he tells me. With the best will in the world, I can’t tell you more than that today.”

  The conversation was closed and the two gentlemen returned to the others. Claes and his wife had arrived in the meantime. The young Englishwoman paid special attention to Holst; she wasn’t very pretty – indeed, not particularly charming either – but her eyes sparkled with intelligence and her ability to look at people and relationships and judge them coldly and clearly was uncommon. She appeared to be very much in love with her husband, but seemed cooler towards her father-in-law and sister-in-law. She treated Captain Kurk with a striking lack of affinity.

  Claes Ankerkrone pretended to have completely forgotten the scene at Sjöström’s apartment; he was overwhelmingly gracious towards Holst, extremely charming, but hardly totally honest. Holst didn’t take to him. He dedicated his evening to Ulla, and in her company forgot about other people and other matters. When he left them, she gave his hand a long, firm squeeze and asked him to come by and accompany her on a trip through the wonderful city. He promised to do that.

  Upon his return home, he pushed the waiting Jeannette gently aside and went to his room to be alone with his thoughts and his young hope.

  X

  Captain Holger Kurk slept very little the night after his conversation with Holst. He was nervous after Sjöström’s arrest, which only he, the district magistrate and Claes knew about. He knew more than the young lieutenant; he knew that the true reason for the arrest was the suspicion that Sjöström was Annie’s murderer. He shared that suspicion, but at the same time, he realised that this case could well expose his old friend’s name in a court case, the scope of which could not be ignored.

  Ankerkrone was ill; admittedly his health had improved recently, but he couldn’t take too much mental stress. There was a brief mention in the morning newspapers of the arrest, which would, of course, immediately be communicated to Sweden telegraphically. Ankerkrone would thus get wind of it and what would happen then was impossible for anyone to calculate.

  When Kurk had informed Holst of what he knew about Annie, he had intentionally withheld the name of Arvid Ankerkrone, but he realised that Holst, who already at that point had been on the trail, now knew a lot more – indeed, it could be that Holst knew even more than him, because he had certainly found out about most of what had happened between Ankerkrone and the murdered girl before the last fateful events. He only had his suspicions about these, nothing definite. Ankerkrone had involved him in order to try and restrain his son, but this hadn’t succeeded, and Ankerkrone had had to take action himself. He had informed Kurk that it had been successful, but that the price had been higher than he would ever have thought possible. At first, he had thought it was about money. After Holst’s visit to Kristianstad, he had been nagged by the most painful doubts and the heaviest suspicions and immediately sought out his friend. He had arrived just as Ankerkrone had received Holst’s messages, which had caused Ankerkrone great anxiety. Kurk hadn’t been told anything and the Captain had rejected all his attempts to find out more. But he had been very ill, that much was clear.

&
nbsp; Kurk didn’t want to believe that there could have been anything really important between Arvid Ankerkrone and Hugold Sjöström. He knew better than anyone else what had happened earlier, but this – no; and Arvid Ankerkrone neither would nor could. Annie was dead, murdered, and Sjöström was her murderer, but Arvid Ankerkrone had been in the vicinity and might have negotiated with her shortly before. He had to know more than he had said and therein lay the foundation for his silence and illness.

  Holst was a dangerous man, for he would do his duty; his friendship with Captain Ankerkrone would have to take second place. There was only a flimsy foundation of hope to build upon – he was captivated by Ulla. But sacrifice her to save the family’s honour? Not even Ankerkrone himself would do that.

  And the district magistrate was a good-natured, helpful person whose indecision concerning his responsibilities would only make the case even more complicated. Even though it might be possible to win Holst over, what position would the old civil servant take when suddenly faced with his old friend who had to be dragged into a case where the whole of the Nordic region would be a curious spectator? The Danish judiciary was a race that was well known in Scania as well and the profession wasn’t exactly bathed in glory, thanks to the treatment that the country’s old and new literature and the press had rightly or wrongly given it. Would the friendship hold?

  Claes was a stupid boy who would only worsen the case; he had to be kept at one remove. And Ulla – never. No, there was nothing else to do but to force Arvid Ankerkrone to speak up if Holst wouldn’t lend him a helping hand. Captain Kurk still didn’t trust Holst.

  Early the next morning, he went to Ankerkrone to speak honestly to him.

  Arvid Ankerkrone received him in the living room on the first floor of the hotel; he was quite well and greeted him cheerfully. It was very painful for Kurk, but there was no way around it. He began to talk about Holst and his well-mannered bearing.

  The Captain nodded.

  “He’s extremely captivated by Ulla,” said Kurk, “and do you know what I think? Ulla is extremely captivated by him too.”

  The Captain smiled.

  “They would be a handsome couple. Holst is a complete gentleman and he will surely be able to reach a position of high standing – he’s an unusual talent.”

  “Do you think so?” mumbled Kurk. “It’s an ignoble occupation – he should give it up.”

  “He could no doubt be persuaded to do that,” said Ankerkrone seriously, “if some incentive was used. But, as you know, I’m not all that well off and Ulla has nothing except her inheritance from her mother’s side, which won’t stretch very far. It could be difficult to get him another position.”

  “So you’ve already been thinking really seriously about it?” said Kurk.

  “Often,” said Ankerkrone, before adding in a strange, hollow voice, “it’s also the only way.”

  “What do you mean?” asked Kurk.

  “Nothing,” said the Captain with a weak smile.

  “Do you know that Holst has made a catch here in Venice?” asked Kurk, with a searching look at his friend.

  “No. What catch?”

  “Yesterday he arrested Hugold Sjöström for falsification and fraud.”

  “Well I never,” said Ankerkrone, “and you don’t tell me this until today – or didn’t you know yesterday?”

  “Yes, I did,” replied Kurk hesitantly.

  “Then you should have told me so that I could have wished Holst good luck with his catch. That Sjöström fellow has a great deal on his conscience.”

  Kurk looked surprised, while Ankerkrone sat quite calmly, although Kurk thought that his mouth was set in a strangely fixed manner, as if on a man who had made a decision and was determined to carry it through.

  “Arvid,” said Captain Kurk, “you’re not being honest with me.”

  “I don’t know what you mean. Why should I take a keen interest in Hugold Sjöström’s fate? After all, he’s closer to you than to me. He was a bright soldier in the old days, but now he’s become a criminal capable of the lowest of the low.”

  “Murder too?” asked Kurk.

  “Everything,” answered Ankerkrone.

  “Don’t you know what the true reason for his arrest is?”

  “I don’t know anything except what you’ve told me. I didn’t even know that Sjöström was here – he hasn’t sought me out.”

  “So you aren’t interested in the case in the slightest?”

  Arvid Ankerkrone stood up and went over to the captain, put both hands on his shoulders and looked him firmly in the eye.

  “Brother Holger, I’ve been weak three times in my life, and all three times it was because of the same woman. She’s now dead. I’ve stood beside her body. On that occasion, I was calm and now I’ll never be weak again. Dear brother, I know that I can count on you and therefore I entrust you with the task that I can’t do myself. You know that Sjöström has only been in contact with us on the one occasion. That time it was a matter that must remain a family secret, which mustn’t be spread to thousands of curious, scandal-seeking strangers. We’re now facing a court case in which Sjöström’s arrest is the first vague beginning. If that case is going to be extended depends on you.”

  Kurk looked questioningly him – he didn’t understand a word.

  Ankerkrone smiled weakly.

  “Brother, it’s too early in the case, too early in the day too. Now the threads are resting in my hand and it isn’t shaking any more. But you must be patient. You will remember that, in the old days, there were three of us. I was always the head, you were the heart, and Cedersköld was the hand. The hand became unfaithful to us, and that’s why it withered. Now you must be the hand, Holger – the heart must stay cold. We don’t only hold sway over our own destiny. Don’t lose courage, brother, because you don’t understand me, but you should know that I can and will act so firmly now that nothing will divert me from my path.”

  Kurk shook his head, but he felt that Arvid Ankerkrone himself was the one in charge. And he became calm because he knew that Arvid was stronger than him. Then Ulla arrived and her bright smile brought the sunshine into the living room where the three were soon seated around an enjoyable lunch table.

  Ankerkrone wrote a few words to Holst and asked him to be his guest on an excursion to the Lido.

  XI

  Holst presented himself at the hotel at the stipulated time. The whole group was assembled and Ulla greeted him with a radiant smile. Captain Ankerkrone was apparently much better; he looked more recovered and it struck Holst that his whole demeanour bore traces of considerable determination and dignity.

  Kurk was slumped and said little, keeping his distance from Holst, and devoted himself mostly to the district magistrate, whose happy old man’s chatter sounded strangely alien here, where an intensely uneasy energy pulsed under a smiling surface.

  They all took the steamer to the Lido; the sun was shining warmly, while a fresh breeze made the flag on the steamer’s mast flap and ruffled the tops of the yellow waves. It was as if all the nations of the world had gathered together on the deck of the little steamer, and the plethora of languages sounded like a Babylonian tumult, with the women’s laughter chirping animatedly and a group of German students who had gathered in the ship’s prow singing their soulful German songs.

  Captain Ankerkrone was leaning against the gunwale and observing the people on the deck. Holst went over to him.

  “How many sorrows do you think are hiding behind this noisy bustle? How much adversity do you think these people are trying to escape from? There lies the City of Neptune, as Goethe calls it in his immortal epigrams, as you know.” Ankerkrone smiled weakly. “I brought them with me to Venice twenty-five years ago when, as a young man, I saw this city for the first time. And they’ve been with me ever since. Look at all of these pilgrims to Venice who are searching for the place where the great spirits lived and loved; look at how they stare and listen to their chatter. They’re all looki
ng for the same thing – everyone believes they have found in Venice what they were looking for: to stand at the door of happiness. Poor pilgrims, listen to what the master says: Seh’ich den Pilgrim, so kann ich mich nie Thränen enthalten. O, wie beseliget uns Menschen ein falscher Begriff! ‘If I see a pilgrim, I can never hold back my tears; Oh, how enraptured we humans are by false notions.’ As you see, I’m still quoting Goethe.”

  Holst didn’t answer; the Captain’s gaze rested on him with friendly seriousness.

  “You too, Eigil Holst, have believed you would find what you were looking for in Venice, in more ways than one, haven’t you? And you stopped on the threshold because you didn’t dare to seize the opportunity.”

  He paused.

  “Just seize it.”

  Holst looked up at him seriously.

  “I don’t understand.”

  The Captain smiled with a strange wistful smile.

  “I’m just saying, seize it, my friend, and so that you understand me better, I say, seize both the father and the daughter.”

  Holst went bright red.

  “Isn’t that right? You understand me? Pilgrim, you believe you’re standing at the end of the road and your false notion makes you happy, it’s just that your happiness is of a kind of its own. You should know that I’ve been following your journey and that a plan and not chance have brought us together today. When I saw you for the first time, I received you with friendship and it turned out that you became the one who held my destiny in your hand because I put it in your hand myself, and encouraged that old man over there in his choice of you. Now you’re at your goal and you’re hesitant to seize the opportunity. How strange we humans are.”