Run Run as Fast as You Can (12 page)

"This number is no longer in use."

Thomas threw the phone across the room in anger. He clenched both his fists while staring at Ellen through the window.

"Where are you going, Ellen?" he said to the room. He stormed to the window once again. The truck was still there, but they were almost done packing it. How long had she known about this? A move like that took planning, didn't it? She could at least have hinted it to him, so he could start preparing as well. She had to leave him a clue somehow, she simply had to. She loved him too much to be able to leave him like this. They couldn't live without each other. It would kill the both of them.

Damn that husband! It is all his fault. He is forcing her to do this. He is forcing her to leave me. I'll kill him. I'm going to fucking kill that bastard!

The moving men closed the back of the truck and the movers sat in the front seat. They said something to the handsome husband then drove off. Ellen and her family got into another car.

"They're leaving. Hurry up," Thomas shrieked and grabbed his coat and ran outside and jumped down the stairs taking several steps at a time.

If you follow them, they'll show you where they're going. She wants you to follow them. That's what she wants.

Thomas stormed out the door and towards his car, still with his eyes fixated on Ellen's car. She was holding the door for Gerda to get in.

They're still here. You have time. Just get behind the wheel and follow them. Don't let them out of sight and you'll be fine.

Thomas walked towards his car, still staring at Ellen waiting for her to look at him, waiting for her signal that she wanted him to do this, wanted him to follow her. And just like that, it happened. Right before she opened the door to the car's passenger-seat she turned her head and looked directly at him. Then she nodded. It was a nod he couldn't misunderstand. Thomas smiled widely and nodded back. He watched her as she got inside the car, then turned and sprang for his own.

But he never made it that far. Two officers jumped out of a parked car next to his and approached him showing their badges.

"Going somewhere, Thomas?" one of them asked.

The other shook his head. "I think you're staying here for a little while." Then he lifted his baton and swung it through the air hitting Thomas in the neck, knocking him out instantly.

31

November 2013

L
ISA FELT SUCH
a thrill as she beat up Nora. She breathed in a deep breath, then lifted her clenched fist and slammed it into her face again and again. A tooth flew out and blood ran down her chin from her broken lip. Nora had lost consciousness a little too early, Lisa thought. She had made the mistake of slamming the thick wooden cutting board in her face to begin with and, after that Nora had barely been awake enough for it to be really fun.

But this will have to do
, Lisa thought and slammed her clenched fist in Nora's face once again.

Lisa was sweating from all the excitement and wiped her face on her sleeve. She was too smart to use one of Nora's towels and leave DNA behind. No, Lisa was so much smarter than that. The only thing she was afraid of now was that Nora's husband would wake up and come downstairs. If he did, she would have to deal with him as well. There was still room in the freezer at home. But apparently Erik was a heavy sleeper since, so far he had slept through all the turmoil and Nora occasionally waking up screaming before she lost consciousness completely.

Lisa hit her one final time, then pulled out the knife that had gone through Nora's hand. It made a delicious sound as it came loose. Lisa shivered in delight. The hand fell to the ground next to the lifeless Nora.

Lisa kneeled next to her and listened. She was still breathing, but not for long. Lisa panted, then walked to grab the butcher knife. She bent over Nora and started planning what she was going to cut off first.

"The fingers are the easiest part," she mumbled. "But they won't do as meat. The best meat is on the stomach and thighs. With those fat thighs, she’ll make a great stew. The rest I'll have to put in the grinder for later use. I'm thinking sausages, and lots of them."

Lisa giggled thinking about all the times Christian had applauded her food lately, not knowing what he was eating. For a second, she wondered if it was possible to make a smoothie of meat? She had never tried, but maybe it was about time she did. Lots of good protein in that.

Lisa looked at Nora and stroked her bloody cheeks. "Sorry but it ends here, little Nora. If only you had made better choices, then this wouldn't be necessary." Lisa was about to start cutting the meat off of Nora's right thigh, when suddenly someone was at the back door. Lisa froze and lifted her eyes to look. A shadow was moving outside the door. She saw it through the frosted door window. Lisa gasped. It couldn't be Erik could it? He was upstairs sleeping, wasn't he?

The handle turned downwards and someone was fiddling with the lock when they realized it was already unlocked, just like Lisa had realized a couple of hours earlier. The door slowly opened and Lisa hid in the closet next to her. She held her breath and looked out through the crack. A man entered through the door, and closed it after him. Then he walked towards Nora and kneeled next to her. Lisa sized him up and decided she could easily take him out. Probably nothing but a burglar picking the wrong house at the wrong time, she thought to herself and felt the weight of the butcher knife in her hand. The man studied Nora's face, then bent over to listen to see if there was a pulse.

Lisa snorted, then clenched the knife in her hand and prepared herself for her upcoming attack. She put her hand on the door, took in a deep breath, and thought it through. She was going to storm out, then stab the man in the back, hopefully killing him instantaneously; if not then she'd have to pull it out and stab him again. The man was big, but he was no match for Lisa. She exhaled, then grabbed the door to the closet, but then something happened that made her stop.

The burglar bent down, grabbed Nora's arm, and pulled her onto his back. Lisa stared, startled, as he carried her towards the door, opened it and left with Nora on his back.

Baffled, Lisa stayed in the closet for a long time before she finally decided she should probably leave as well.

32

November 2013

M
ORTEN STAYED AT
my house all night. After the bath, we went to my bedroom and, still shaking, we snuggled up together under the covers and fell asleep. When I woke up the next morning, I felt much better. Morten was still sleeping. I turned and looked at him. He was smiling in his sleep. I leaned over and kissed his forehead, then crawled out of the bed and got dressed. I went downstairs to start breakfast. It was Saturday, but Maya had dance class and Victor was always up early, especially on the weekends when he finally got to play outside all day.

He was sitting at the kitchen table when I came in. "Victor. You startled me," I said. I looked at him. He sat bent over his notebook, while writing in it. "How long have you been up?"

Victor stopped writing and looked up. His eyes met mine and I smiled. His eyes were always so serious. It was like he was carrying so much worry inside of him, when all I wanted for him was to be a child, play, and have fun. I never knew what went on inside of that small head of his and I worried constantly about him. Since he never spoke much, I never knew how he was feeling … If he was sad or as troubled as he seemed. With Maya it was always so different. She had told me every little emotion she ever had all of her life to the extent that I, at one point, stopped taking them seriously because there was always something. Now she had closed up as well, but that was normal behavior for a teenager. With Victor, nothing was normal. I hadn't talked to any of his doctors about him since we had moved away from the city. I was tired of them constantly telling me he was sick and wanting to medicate him. Yes, Victor was introvert and not like other kids, but I could handle him.

"The bats again, huh?" I asked.

Victor nodded.

"Do you hear them now?"

Victor stared at me. Then he nodded. "They'll be quiet soon. When the sun rises," he said. "Then they usually fall asleep. Except when someone is in the cage with them. The smell of blood wakes them up."

I looked at Victor. His eyes were still so serious. I had no idea what to say. I nodded and went to open the freezer. I pulled out some bread and turned on the oven.

"Will Morten have breakfast with us?" Victor asked.

I turned and looked at him. "How did you know he was here?"

Victor shrugged. He looked down at his notebook then continued writing. I made scrambled eggs, soft-boiled eggs and fried eggs, then heated the bread in the oven and cut it up for Victor.

"Put the book away while you eat," I said and put a plate with his buttered bread and scrambled eggs on the table in front of him.

Victor closed the book and pushed it aside. I poured him some orange juice and put it on the table. He picked it up and drank. I took a chair next to him and sat on it. I tried to catch his eye and have him look at me again, but without luck.

"You're okay, aren't you Victor? Do you feel sad on the inside? Do you worry about some stuff we should talk about?"

Victor didn't answer. He ate his food without looking at me. I guess he didn't think my questions were important enough to answer.

"Do you miss your father? I can understand if you do."

Still no reaction. Victor ate and drank like he couldn't care less about me or what I was saying. I chuckled, feeling silly.

"Of course you're alright. I'm just being obsessive, right?" I said and got up from the chair. I walked to the stove and removed the boiling pot of eggs.

"Smells good," a voice said from the door.

I turned and smiled. "You're up."

Morten smiled and nodded at Victor. "Hi buddy. Do you mind if I take a seat next to you?"

Victor didn't answer. "Don't mind him," I said. "Sit wherever you like."

Morten smiled and sat down. I served him some bread and eggs, then sat next to him with my own plate and started eating. It was very quiet at the table for a long time and I started feeling awkward.

"Are you on duty today?" I asked to make conversation.

"Yep," Morten said and looked at the clock. "Have to be at the station at ten. Gonna be another busy day, I guess, with all that went down last night."

"Are the people from Copenhagen still in town to help you out with the case?" I asked.

"Yes. Now that we've had a second case I'm sure they'll stay for a lot longer. It's good. With Tim out of the picture, we are kind of short on men."

"I bet."

Victor emptied his glass of juice and pushed his plate to the middle of the table the way he always did when he was done with his food. Without even looking at me or Morten, he got up from his seat. He grabbed his notebook and stood with it in his hands for a little while, his head bend and his hair falling into his face so we couldn't see his eyes.

"What's wrong, Victor?" I asked. "Is there something you want?"

Victor didn't move or speak.

"Victor? Did you want to say something to Morten?"

Victor finally moved. He took two steps towards Morten, then reached out the notebook towards him.

Morten looked at me, confused.

"Victor?" I asked. I was confused as well. Usually Victor kept that notebook close to himself and he hardly even let me look at it. "Victor? What is it, buddy?"

Victor didn't speak, he just stood with the notebook between his hands pointing it towards Morten.

"I think … Do you think he wants me to take it?" Morten asked.

I shrugged, slightly baffled. "I have no idea. Usually, he never lets any of us look in it, but maybe he likes you. I don't know."

"Should I take it? I don't want to do something wrong."

"With Victor, it's hard to know what is right and wrong," I said.

Victor took a step closer still with the book pointing towards Morten. Now it was touching his arm.

"I think he wants me to take the book," Morten said.

I inhaled deeply. "Is that what you want, Victor?" When he didn't answer I looked at Morten. "I think you're right. Just take it."

"Okay," Morten said and grabbed the book. As he put his hands on it, Victor let go and stormed out the room without a word. Morten looked at me.

"Was it wrong?"

I chuckled. "No. If it was wrong he would have screamed. Storming out the room is when Victor is happy. Probably going into the yard to play." I sipped my coffee and smiled at Morten. "He must like you. That's a good sign."

"But what do I do with it?"

"You read it. He wouldn't have given it to you if he didn't want you to read it," I said.

Morten chuckled, then put the book carefully on the table. He opened the front and started flipping through the pages.

"Makes no sense, right?" I asked and took another piece of bread from the basket. I buttered it and put jam on it while Morten kept flipping the pages. I realized he seemed to be interested in what he was reading.

"Actually, it makes perfect sense to me," Morten said.

I almost choked on my bread. "It does? How so?"

"It might be hard to believe, but before I was a cop, I was a scientist. A biologist and expert on animal echolocation."

"Really?"

"Yes. I worked at Aalborg University. We observed bats and …"

"Bats?"

"Yes you know how they use echolocation to find insects or animals, even when it’s dark? That's what we tried to identify and survey with the hope of being able to help blind people use this technique."

"So what you're saying is that what Victor has written in his notebook has something to do with bats and echolocation?" I asked, startled and stared at the many numbers and charts.

"This looks exactly like my work, except it seems to be much more accurate. I can't believe your son wrote this?"