Run Run as Fast as You Can (6 page)

"Me too," Jack said. "Any idea what is going on?"

I shook my head. We passed the small ice cream shop at the entrance to the public access to the beach. It was now closed for the winter and looked old and abandoned. I spotted the police car parked further down and saw officer Morten talking to someone, a young teenager who looked very upset. My heart skipped a beat when officer Morten turned his head to look at us. His eyes lit up, but he remained serious. I knew by the look on his face that this was bad.

He said something to the teenager, then approached us. "What's going on?" I asked.

Officer Morten sighed. "The kid says he saw a car drive into the ocean, but we can't see a damn thing in this darkness. If I had more flashlights, we could all go down there and search."

"I … I have two at my house," Jack said. "I'll go get them."

"Great. I have one in my car too," Officer Morten said.

"What was he even doing down here?" I asked, as we started running towards the ocean.

"Apparently, he has a broken heart and couldn't sleep. He lives right up the street. He was sitting on the sand when the car came driving down the beach and continued into the ocean. It had no lights on, he said."

Officer Morten lit his flashlight and we stopped. I could see nothing but the dark ocean as far as the eye could see. "There doesn't seem to be anything?"

After a few minutes I spotted Jack come running across the wide beach. He handed me a flashlight and we started scanning the area. Still no trace. I turned my flashlight on and lit up the sand.

"Here, guys. Over here," I said.

I pointed the flashlight on the sand. "See here. That looks like it was made by tires, if I'm not mistaken."

"And they continue into the water," Officer Morten said with a moan.

"The kid was right," I said and followed the tracks with my flashlight into the water, then lit up the water. The light hit what looked like the top of a car.

"There it is, Officer Morten said and pulled off his shirt. He jumped into the water and started swimming towards it. With fast-beating hearts, Jack and I made sure our flashlights stayed on the car so he could see. Officer Morten dove into the water and disappeared for a few seconds.

"There’s someone in there!" he yelled, as he emerged from the water again.

Without thinking, Jack pulled off his shirt and jumped in as well.

14

November 2013

J
ACK AND
O
FFICER
Morten managed to pull a body out of the car and drag it up on the beach. With my heart pounding in my chest, I watched as they placed her lifeless body on the sand. Officer Morten bent over her.

"She’s dead," he said.

"Drowned?" I said, dreading that we had come too late, fearing that we had been close to saving her, if only we had been earlier.

"No," Morten said. He turned her body around. "Look at this," he said and pointed at wounds in her back, shoulder and leg.

"Oh my God. That looks like gunshot? Has she been shot?" I asked and looked at Jack who was sitting in the sand, catching his breath from swimming while carrying the woman's body.

"I'm afraid so," Morten said. "Several times." He sighed and rose to his legs. "Poor Tim. He's gonna be devastated."

"You know her?" I asked.

"Yes. Tim is my colleague."

"He's a police officer?"

"Yes. This is his wife. Simone. They just had a baby nine months ago. Their second child. Simone disappeared yesterday and left her baby in the car. They had been in a fight the night before, he told us. We all thought she would come back, you know?"

My heart dropped. I nodded. "I know. You weren't the only ones."

With another deep sigh, Officer Morten grabbed his phone and looked at me. "I better call for help. We'll need lots of it. The forensic team from Copenhagen, the whole lot. This might be a long night. I'll also have to tell Tim somehow."

I smiled and put a hand on his shoulder.

"You go home and get your sleep," he said to me and Jack. "I'll swing by tomorrow and take your statements for the report.”

“Will you be alright?” I asked, then felt stupid. Of course he would. It was his job. But still. It wasn't something you just got used to, was it? Especially not when it was a colleague who was affected by this.

"I'll be okay, I'm not the one to worry about," Morten said and put the phone to his ear. "I'll call in for more officers to help me."

I looked at Jack and we started walking back in silence. As we reached my house, we looked at each other. "What a night, huh?" I said. "Do you want to come in and get a cup of coffee? I have a feeling none of us is getting anymore sleep tonight."

"I better go back to make sure my sister is alright. She wakes up several times at night. If I'm not there, she'll be scared."

"Of course. Me too. I mean my kids need me too. So … I guess … I'll see you then?" I said.

Jack nodded. I gave him a hug and watched him walk back to his house with his head slightly bent. He was a handsome guy, but just didn’t know it. I liked that about him. I had liked him for a long time, but with him, everything was just too complicated. He was taking care of his sister and that made it almost impossible for him to be in a relationship. It was like he had given up on the hope of ever having one.

I shrugged and walked inside. I poured myself a glass of milk and tried to fall asleep, but thoughts of the woman and her husband and their poor children kept me awake. Who had shot her? And how was it even possible for her to drive her car into the ocean? Was she trying to get help? Maybe she had managed to escape whoever hurt her somehow and then died behind the wheel driving into the ocean? I thought about Sophia and how sad she was going to be, losing one of her friends like this.

It was almost five in the morning before I finally fell asleep.

15

November 2013

L
ISA TOOK
M
ARGRETHE
on her hip and walked inside City Hall. The red brick building looked charming from the outside, but Lisa was disappointed to learn that the decor inside left a lot to be desired.

"Yet another thing I can help change," she chirped and walked towards the reception desk. The clerk behind the counter didn’t even look up when she approached him. She cleared her throat. He still didn’t look up from his book. She cleared her throat louder. Finally, he lifted his eyes and looked at her.

"Yes? What do you want?"

"What do I want?"

Doesn't he know who he is talking to? Another thing about to change once Mrs. Rasmussen takes over.

"Yes. What do you want?" He repeated, annoyed.

"Is that a way to address a person entering City Hall, the heart of the town?" Lisa asked.

He sighed. "I'm kind of busy. Could you please just tell me if there is anything I can help you with?"

Lisa smiled. "Now that's better. Young man, I'm here to sign up for the coming election."

"You're what?"

"I wish to be elected for City Council."

"You're a little late, lady," the young boy said. "The election is in two weeks."

"I know when the election takes place and I want to be in it. Now please just tell me where I sign up my name?"

The clerk shrugged. "Well I can put your name on the list. There aren't that many candidates, so I guess we could add another name. But I have to tell you, the last eight years there haven't been any replacements in the Council. They sit pretty heavily in their seats once they've gotten a hold of them."

"Well I guess that's about to change, then," Lisa said.

The clerk shrugged. "Suit yourself lady. I'm just telling you, it's a waste of time. The ones already sitting there are all up for reelection. So, unless one of them moves away or dies or something ..."

"Well that can be arranged."

"Excuse me?"

Lisa shook her head with a grin. "Nothing. I'm just joking around with you. Now where do I sign?"

The clerk passed a piece of paper to her on the counter. "Right here, here, and on the last page."

Lisa found her lucky pen in her purse and, while still holding Margrethe in her other arm, she signed the papers. "There you go. Now Mommy's all signed up."

She handed the papers back to the clerk. He looked at them. "Well you're all set to go. Good luck lady."

"Well thank you." Lisa looked at her baby and tickled her tummy. Margrethe whined in joy. "Mommy's gonna make a lot of changes in here, isn't she? You betcha. Yes she is."

"Don't get your hopes up too high," the clerk mumbled.

Lisa froze and looked at him. "What was that?"

He shook his head. "Nothing. I just said to not get your hopes too high up. I mean even if you did get elected, there really isn't much being changed around here. Everything pretty much stays the same."

"
If
I get elected? What is that supposed to mean?" Lisa asked very loudly. "I intend to get elected and then I'm gonna MAKE things happen around here. You HEAR me?"

The clerk stared at her with wide-open eyes, completely startled.

"Don't forget to blink," Lisa said with her most gentle smile and turned around. Just as she was about to leave City Hall, she turned and looked at him again.

"Take a good look at my face," she said. "You'll be seeing a lot more of it in the future."

16

October 2009

E
LLEN WAS CRYING
again. Thomas was watching her through his binoculars while drinking a canned soda. She had been crying a lot lately and it hurt him so deeply to see her like this.

The handsome man entered the kitchen and they started arguing again. The kids were in the yard running after each other, screaming. Ellen was shaking her head and gesticulating. Thomas took another bite of his ham sandwich and drank more soda. It was the same day after day now. Them fighting, the kids crying and screaming.

Thomas shook his head. It was hard to see his beloved in this much distress. The husband was hardly ever home anymore and, when he was, they were constantly fighting. Thomas sighed and drank again. He wanted so badly to help Ellen out, but there was no way her husband could ever know about them. This was the way Ellen wanted it. She had to keep their relationship a secret because she had a family to think of. Thomas understood that. But he never stopped sending her flowers, even if he knew it was often the subject of their many discussions. And so were the letters. Thomas had found a new way of communicating with his beloved. While in her house when she was off at work, he would place notes and letters in her drawers and closets, sometimes just a post-it note on her clothes or the wall, telling her how deeply he loved her. He knew it was risky, but his beloved needed his encouragement. She needed to know she was loved.

Thomas watched the husband in the kitchen. He was standing by the door, obviously yelling at Ellen while she was sitting in a chair her hands folded in her lap. She was crying and it infuriated Thomas to see her like this. He clenched his fist.

If he ever hurts her, I swear to God I'm gonna …

The husband was gesticulating wildly and Ellen hid her face between her hands. Thomas restrained himself. He wanted so badly to just run over there and beat the crap out of him.

The bastard. He didn’t know how lucky he was to wake up to this woman every day.

But he couldn't know about them. The husband could never know. It would destroy everything. And, even if it was hard, Thomas respected Ellen's wish to keep their relationship a secret. He had to. Instead, he always kept an eye on Ellen to make sure she was safe. It was his job to protect her.

Thomas turned the binoculars to look at the children playing in the yard. The oldest, Frederik, was on the swings while the youngest, Gerda, was playing with a jump-rope. Thomas chuckled. How he adored those two munchkins. He often talked to them on the playground nearby where they came every afternoon with their nanny and, just as often, he had given them candy. Gerda was always so sweet and smiling, taking the candy willingly right away, while Frederik had been more reserved the first time. When Thomas had told them he knew their mother well, he had loosened up a little and taken the gummy bears. Thomas had really gotten close to them lately and started giving them new toys now and then, by simply placing them on their beds while in the house. The husband hadn't been too happy about Thomas' small gifts but Ellen loved them. Thomas knew she did. She would tell him in her own way. Through signals like pulling the curtains or by putting the newspaper on top of the trash can, so when he opened the lid to go through it, he would see an article where she had circled something. Ellen and Thomas had a love-language of their own and a way of communicating that no one else in the world would ever understand or know.

Thomas heard the husband yell and turned to look into the kitchen again. The handsome husband was still yelling and stomping his feet. Ellen was crying heavily now. Thomas inhaled deeply trying to calm himself down. Then he turned to look at the kids again only to realize that Gerda had managed to somehow climb the big tree in their yard and tied the jump-rope around a branch. Thomas gasped as he watched her jump and accidentally get the rope around her neck. With a shriek, he turned to look at Ellen and the husband who were still fighting, then back at the girl who was struggling with the rope around her neck, while Frederik was still on the swings, not seeing anything.

Thomas threw the binoculars on the floor and stormed out the door.

17

November 2013

O
FFICER
M
ORTEN
B
REDBALLE
stopped by late in the afternoon the next day. The kids had just gotten home from school and had eaten their freshly baked buns. Victor had gone into the yard to play while Maya was upstairs doing her homework, at least I hoped she was.