Death at the Orange Locks

by Anja de Jager

  I didn’t think Margreet could live in a place like this any more. For her, water had become an enemy.

  Hidden behind the trees were the towers of a business park. It shouldn’t be too hard for Fabrice, with his IT knowledge, to find a job right around the corner.

  Therese greeted us by the walkway that linked the safety of the shore to their houseboat. I had to duck to go in, but once inside, it was very spacious. She asked if Stefanie wouldn’t mind taking her shoes off, because the heels might make dents in the wooden floor. Stefanie grudgingly agreed. Her feet looked vulnerable covered by nothing other than tights. I was happy with my boots and equally happy that I wasn’t asked to take them off.

  They had decorated the boat in such a way that outside and inside fitted seamlessly together. It was filled with house plants of a similar type to the ones on the water’s edge, so that it seemed the park was an extension of the interior. The large window on one side was entirely filled with the view over the canal. It was soothing. The sound of the water washed against the boat, the kind of noise that would send you to sleep in an instant.

  ‘You have a lovely home,’ I said.

  ‘Thank you.’

  Fabrice was sitting on the sofa, a mug of coffee in his hand.

  ‘We were just going to have breakfast when you called,’ Therese said. ‘We were told not to go into work anymore.’

  ‘Thanks for taking the time,’ I said. ‘I hope you won’t mind if I record our conversation.’ At their nods, I took my phone out and switched the recorder on. ‘I’m really looking to get all the facts right about the company party. I’m particularly interested in who saw what.’

  ‘What do you mean?’ Fabrice’s voice was sharp.

  ‘Can we talk about this without Fabrice here?’ Therese asked. She thought I wanted her to retell the story of the assault.

  ‘I’d just like to know what time you called him and what time he came to pick you up,’ I said, to set her mind at ease. I was interested in the aftermath, not the sexual assault itself.

  ‘Okay.’ She seemed to relax.

  ‘I’ll be able to tell you exactly,’ Fabrice said.

  Stefanie shot me a look. People who knew exactly what they’d done and at what time always seemed suspicious. Normally people had a vague idea of what they’d been up to, maybe linked to whatever programme they’d watched on TV. ‘Exactly’ implied that Fabrice might have had a reason to watch the clock.

  But my suspicions were unfounded when he got his phone out and scrolled through. He didn’t seem nervous. He didn’t look as if he had something to hide.

  ‘Nico called me at 21.45.’ He held the phone out to me and I took a note of the time.

  ‘How long would it have taken you to get to the Clipper?’ Stefanie asked.

  ‘There was hardly any traffic. I don’t think it was much more than fifteen minutes, twenty at most.’

  Therese nodded. ‘I think you were there just after ten.’

  ‘You were outside with Nico all that time?’ I asked.

  ‘Yes, we sat outside on the steps.’

  ‘Did anybody see you?’

  ‘I’m sure some people walked past, but nobody I recognised.’

  ‘I mean from inside the restaurant. Did anybody from your company come out?’

  ‘Oh gosh, not that I noticed. You should ask Nico, I wasn’t paying attention.’

  Arjen had said that he had seen the two of them outside; that he had listened to their conversation. Was it possible that Therese hadn’t noticed him? She could have been too upset to be aware of what was going on around her, of course.

  ‘What did you talk about?’

  ‘Nothing special, I don’t think. I really can’t remember. Is this important?’

  ‘It might be.’

  ‘We just chatted. I was upset and Nico was trying to calm me down. We didn’t talk about Patrick, as far as I can remember.’

  ‘Did you leave straight away?’ I asked Fabrice. ‘Or did you stay and talk to Nico?’

  ‘I didn’t stay,’ he said. ‘To be honest, Nico and I have never really got on. I feel bad about that now, but he was always agreeing with Patrick. His little lapdog. Or maybe I should say his rather big lapdog.’

  ‘Fabrice!’ Therese said.

  ‘Sorry, but it’s true. I’m grateful to him for helping you, of course, but that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t say what I think.’

  ‘Nico had worked with Patrick a long time,’ Therese said. ‘He was used to doing things Patrick’s way. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that.’

  ‘Sure, but he was never going to change. Nothing at the company was ever going to change. It’s no wonder we ended up closing down.’

  ‘Why do you say that?’ Stefanie asked.

  ‘It was hard to win new business,’ Therese said. ‘Other companies were doing similar things to us but at a much lower cost. It hadn’t always been like that. We used to have the edge, or so Nico kept telling us.’

  ‘He should have designed something new,’ Fabrice said. ‘Instead, he just sat in the corner, sulking.’

  ‘A couple of years ago, we were at a trade show and there was another company who were doing exactly the kind of T-shirts we were selling, only at a fraction of the cost. Nico went over to talk to them, all casual, and they told him it was their bestselling item. But it was his design. They had ripped it off.’

  That was interesting, but not what I was after. ‘What time were you back here?’

  ‘It must have been around ten thirty. We can check with your mum,’ Fabrice said.

  ‘Your mum?’

  ‘Therese’s mother was over for dinner that night,’ he said.

  ‘That’s why it was so annoying that I had to go to that company do.’ Therese put her hand on his knee. ‘Patrick would never accept that anybody might have had other plans. I knew you’d be upset.’

  He covered her hand with his. ‘I know. It’s okay.’

  This was all lovely, of course, but it put a spanner in the works of my theory. ‘Your mother was with you all evening?’

  ‘Yes.’ Fabrice looked away from Therese, suspicion suddenly looming on his face. ‘Why are you asking that?’

  ‘As I said, I want to get the timeline right. Can you give me her details? I want to follow up with her.’ If there had been a third person here and she could provide Fabrice and Therese with an alibi for the rest of the evening, that killed my theory. We knew Patrick had still been alive at 11 p.m., when he paid the restaurant bill. It ruined my idea of presenting Fabrice as a more plausible suspect than Arjen.

  Therese gave me her mother’s phone number without hesitation. I would call her later.

  ‘Tell me more about those ripped-off designs,’ Stefanie said, much more interested in the workings of the company than I was.

  ‘It’s been a nightmare,’ Therese said. ‘They’re still at it. That’s why I lost my latest deal. They use our own products to compete against us.’

  ‘And nobody has done anything about it?’ Stefanie leaned forward, either fascinated or frustrated by the company’s lack of action.

  ‘Patrick asked me why we didn’t get the contract, and I explained it to him, of course. I think he went to talk to the other company. He was livid.’ She looked at Fabrice. ‘He could be useful sometimes.’ Her voice was softer, as if she didn’t like admitting this in front of her boyfriend. ‘When things like this happened, he had your back. He never doubted that it was a product problem.’

  ‘He only helped you,’ Fabrice said. ‘I don’t think he would have done it for anybody else.’

  ‘That’s not true.’

  ‘You’re still defending him?’

  ‘The man’s dead, Fabrice. I can talk about the things he did right as well, can’t I?’ Her voice rose.

  I watched with interest, intrigued by how Therese had this apparent need to still think positively about Patrick, regardless of what he’d done to her. It made me wonder about their relationship in the p
ast. Not that it justified what I still believed had been a sexual assault, but it meant Arjen had told the truth about how Patrick had seen the incident.

  ‘When was this?’ Stefanie was taking notes as she asked the questions.

  ‘When was what?’’

  ‘When did he go and talk to that other company?’

  ‘Two weeks ago, I think.’

  ‘And you first noticed that they were plagiarising your products when?’ Now that she was talking about financial things, Stefanie sounded totally in control, despite the fact that she was sitting here in stockinged feet. The waves might give the houseboat just a hint of a rocking motion, but she was on solid ground. For me, this interview had been a disaster. For Stefanie, it seemed to be fascinating, giving her insight into why the company had gone under. I wanted to tell her we were investigating a murder and not a financial fraud, but I’d dragged her along to help me, so I felt obliged to let her ask her questions, however pointless they were.

  ‘It was a while ago,’ Therese said. ‘When was that Stockholm trade show? Do you remember?’ She looked at Fabrice. ‘You were there to help set up the booth.’

  ‘The one where Nico completely lost it? At least two years ago, I think.’ Fabrice made an effort to sound amenable. He knew better than to get angry in front of two police officers.

  ‘He lost it?’ Stefanie asked.

  ‘Yeah, when he saw that they were selling his stuff. I didn’t think it was identical at all, to be honest. It looked different to me, but what do I know?’

  ‘True,’ Therese said. ‘It looked different to me as well, but Nico said there was something in the underlying design that infringed on our patent.’

  The couple were in harmony again, the moment of argument past. I was annoyed with Stefanie that she’d started a topic they agreed on.

  ‘Did Patrick take them to court?’ she asked.

  ‘No, nothing came of it,’ Therese said. ‘But it kept happening, and then we lost the deal the other week. The client said the products were very similar but our competitor’s was slightly better, and cheaper. So I told Patrick.’

  ‘And he was going to meet with them?’

  ‘That’s right.’

  ‘What’s the name of the other company?’

  ‘Ozone. They’re called Ozone.’

  I didn’t know what to think as we drove back from the houseboat. After observing Fabrice and Therese, seeing the way they were together and how calmly and openly they’d answered my questions, I had a hard time believing that my theory of how they’d killed Patrick had been correct. This was a nuisance. There was no doubt in my mind that the mother would back up their story.

  ‘We need to check with that other company,’ Stefanie said. ‘I don’t think the timelines quite match up, but for the last three years the sales at Linde Lights have been very bad. It’s as if they fell off a cliff. I wondered what had happened, but if another company was making the same products at a lower cost, that could be the reason.’

  ‘But did you see Fabrice’s temper flare up as soon as Therese said something good about Patrick?’ Even though I knew I was grasping at straws, I still couldn’t quite let go of my favourite theory.

  ‘Annoyed that there was something good about him more than guilt over having killed him, I thought.’

  She was probably right. ‘I’m still going to follow up with the mother,’ I said.

  ‘Sure, because her mother would be a perfectly fine alibi.’ Sarcasm was heavy in her voice. ‘Mothers are as objective as ex-wives.’

  ‘Give it a rest.’

  ‘You want those two to be guilty so that your ex is off the hook. They didn’t look all that guilty to me.’

  ‘You just stick to your numbers.’ I hated it when she was right.

  I called Therese’s mother and she sounded delighted to hear from me. It was quite an unnerving experience. We drove over to her house. ‘You know this is pointless, right?’ Stefanie said.

  Deep down, I agreed, but I was also aware that I needed to double-check Fabrice’s alibi, otherwise I would think I hadn’t done enough and hadn’t tried my hardest for Arjen.

  ‘This is about that guy, isn’t it?’ Therese’s mother said as soon as she opened the door. I didn’t even have time to get a question out. ‘Come in, come in.’

  I tried to remember if I’d ever been so warmly welcomed before. If this woman was covering for her daughter and her daughter’s boyfriend, she was a very good actress.

  ‘I popped out and bought biscuits after you called. I’m Sally Kroese. Call me Sally.’

  Stefanie shot me a glance that clearly said: not guilty, I told you so. Guilty people didn’t buy biscuits for police officers.

  ‘This is so exciting,’ Sally said. ‘Just like one of those police shows. I love those, don’t you?’

  ‘Did you ever meet Patrick van der Linde?’ I asked.

  She grimaced. ‘No, but I heard a lot about him. Therese worked closely with him, and it seems he could be quite difficult. There’s no hiding in a small company, is there?’

  ‘Can you tell us about the evening you were with Fabrice and Therese?’

  ‘I was annoyed with her, to be honest. I’d come over to have dinner with them and then she went to the work do. I get that work is important, but being forced to spend the evening with your colleagues when you have other plans is really too much.’ She handed round the plate of biscuits and poured tea out of a pot that had obviously been brewing for a while. ‘Fabrice had left work early to cook for us, I was already at their place, and then Therese rang to say that she had to go to the drinks. Apparently Nico had called to tell her it was important that she was sociable with this Arjen guy. Patrick’s son-in-law. It’s always the ones with the connections that get the good jobs, isn’t it?’

  ‘Nico called?’ I said. ‘I thought Patrick called her.’

  ‘Yes, he called her as she was on the phone to me. I remember that. She said, oh God, now my boss is calling me as well.’

  ‘That’s interesting,’ I said. ‘I had no idea Nico had spoken to her.’

  ‘Yeah, she told me he’d promised to keep an eye out. Nico knew what Patrick was like when he was drunk.’ Sally grimaced again. ‘Dirty old man. That guy was older than I am, for goodness’ sake. Not that it’s fine to harass people when you’re younger, that’s not what I’m saying, but Patrick was revolting. Seriously. So yes, I was glad Nico was looking out for her.’

  ‘Therese told you what happened that night?’

  Sally nodded. ‘She was very upset when she got home, I could tell. When Fabrice popped out for a cigarette, she told me. She didn’t want me to tell Fabrice.’ She lowered her voice to a confidential whisper. ‘He’s got a bit of a temper and she was concerned about what he was going to do. I like him well enough now, but when she first moved in with him I wasn’t that happy. I like Nico much more.’

  ‘Nico? You know him?’

  ‘Yes, he worked with my husband for a bit before he moved to Linde Lights. He got Therese the job there. I thought maybe they’d end up together – he always had a bit of a crush on her – but, well, he wasn’t her type. She said they were just friends and would never be more than that.’ Sally took another biscuit. ‘I’m sure it was awkward, all of them working together. I think Nico would have liked to be more than friends.’

  Now I totally understood why Fabrice and Nico had never got on, and why Fabrice wasn’t happy about being in Nico’s debt. It also explained why Nico, the man described as Patrick’s lapdog, had stepped in. That he’d known Therese, that he liked her, was probably why he’d been willing to confront his boss over this, especially if he’d told Therese beforehand that he’d keep an eye out for her.

  ‘Nico nearly got what he wanted,’ Sally said.

  ‘What he wanted?’

  ‘To get closer to Therese. It’s just like one of those romcom movies where the guy sets up a plan to save the girl so that he can look like a hero. He did end up looking like a hero, didn�
�t he?’

  I shook my head. This woman had watched too many movies. ‘Nico called Fabrice to come and pick her up.’

  ‘Yes. She could have asked Nico to drop her off here instead, but I think he’d been drinking. It was lucky that Fabrice and I had decided we were going to wait to open the wine until after Therese had got home. I’d brought a nice bottle, and Fabrice said we shouldn’t have it without her. So yes, he picked her up and they came back here. She had a bit of food but was just picking at it. Fabrice was annoyed with her for having drunk so much, but I could tell she wasn’t drunk. She was upset about something.’

  ‘Did either Fabrice or Therese leave again after they’d come back?’

  ‘Fabrice had a smoke on the deck of the boat, that’s all. That’s when Therese told me what had happened, and then she was sick. I felt so sorry for her. That bastard.’

  ‘How long was Fabrice gone?’

  ‘He wasn’t really gone; he was right outside. He saw that Therese wasn’t well and came rushing back in.’

  ‘You could see him the whole time.’

  Sally nodded enthusiastically. ‘The whole time. This really is just like a detective show, isn’t it? Have you got any ideas about the suspect yet? I guess it’s just like an Agatha Christie, where really everybody had a reason to want the guy dead.’

  Maybe everybody did have a reason, but I could tick one suspect off my list at least.

  ‘It was interesting what Sally said.’ Stefanie pulled out onto the main street.

  ‘Which bit?’

  ‘About Nico being the hero for Therese.’

  I remembered. I also remembered Fabrice saying how much he would have liked to have been the one to have saved Therese. His comment that it was nice that Nico got to be the hero. ‘What’s your point?’ I said, because I didn’t like where this was going. ‘Do you think Nico planned this? Got Patrick to assault Therese so that he could rescue her?’

  ‘Sally was right: it’s what happens in the movies.’

  ‘Movies written by some guy, I’m sure. Movies where borderline stalking is seen as a romantic gesture and obsession is confused with love.’