‘IF I want to be part of them.’
‘Of course. Although we have discussed this.’
‘That was before you sat me in front of that laptop. How can I look her parents in the eye after that?’
‘Nobody holds you directly responsible.’ But Hazel couldn’t deny she’d felt a tiny satisfaction from making him experience Meredith’s suffering.
‘We both know that’s not true… Hazel.’ Again, his use of her name sounded awkward.
‘I’ve FaceTimed everyone at length. Spent as much time with them as I have with you. They’re all taking part for the same reason. They want answers.’
‘And that’s just what you’re going to give them, right?’
Hazel opened her mouth to reply but sealed her lips again. That was a conversation she didn’t want to have off-camera. But the lone tourist theory relied on first proving all of her interview subjects were innocent, and she wasn’t yet a hundred per cent positive they were. ‘We’ll be showing the same clip to everyone. It’s not you on the screen.’
Henrik gauged her reaction for a few moments. ‘What about Eve Huber?’
‘How many times do we have to go over this?’
‘Until I feel a hundred per cent secure. She has threatened to kill me. Or, at least, threatened to get someone else to do it.’
‘That was directly after her brother had been murdered.’
‘And what has she said to you since, specifically?’
‘D’you think I’d put you in any sort of danger?’
‘I repeat, what has she said to you?’
The puddles in the concrete suddenly went black as dark clouds passed across the sun.
‘She’s not a threat. And I’m here to protect you.’
‘That makes me feel so much better. If you can’t give her the person who killed her brother, don’t you think I’m going to be the next best thing?’
‘I’ve asked you to trust me.’
He slitted his eyes. ‘Are you holding something back?’
‘Should I be asking you the same question?’ she dodged.
‘What the hell does that mean?’
But Hazel knew his mortification was a deflection. She’d found out about his six-figure book deal. ‘I just want to remind you that you’ve promised me exclusive access to your side of events.’
‘And you have it.’ He studied her chin. ‘But if you’re stringing me along and there’s no more to this than you pushing me forward as a punchbag to give you conflict for your movie, I’m out of here.’
‘Believe me, I understand how distressed you must be after what you’ve seen. But I’m not going to put you in any situation you haven’t given your blessing to. I just think once we start talking you’re going to be driving this more than me.’
He nodded and watched the leaves settle.
‘Today, it’s just you.’
Henrik tugged his goatee a few times and then a new thought soured his features. ‘So… you’re actually paying for the others to stay in town?’
16
‘Henrik, why don’t you just begin by telling us something about yourself.’ Hazel settled back in her red swivel chair, which was positioned in front of his. Lucas had the camera on the legs beside her and had set up the monitor on a stand to her right. She looked down at it and could see the votives on the shrine flickering behind Henrik.
Weiss tapped his headphones. ‘Wait.’
Henrik shot a nettled glance at him.
They’d been waiting for the breeze to die down, but the roof of Fun Central was still shuddering. After a few seconds it ceased.
‘There’s got to be a way around this.’ Weiss took off his spectacles and cleaned them. It was his way of thinking. Eventually he put them back on, checked his sound rig and nodded at Hazel.
She did the same to Henrik.
‘My name’s Henrik Fossen. Uh, I’m a mature student studying for a distance education degree in global ecology.’
‘Don’t look directly at the camera and be more conversational. Just relax. I may use snippets of this. If you’re not happy with what you’ve said, just pause and repeat it. I can cut around it.’ Hazel tucked her hair behind her ears.
Henrik straightened in his chair.
‘You’re not making a clip for a dating site. Just tell me about what you like to do.’
‘So you can paint me as a loner, right?’
‘I’m not painting you as anything. Give me something that will dispel people’s preconceptions about you. Just be honest and take your time. If you want a few minutes to think, we can cut.’
Henrik considered that. ‘No, I’m good.’
The wind glanced the complex again, and Weiss held one finger in the air until the rattling had died away. A chorus of crows took a brief shift before he indicated it was OK to proceed.
‘My name’s Henrik Fossen, and you’ve asked me to be honest. So, honestly, the one thing I can tell you about myself is that I’m terrified.’
Hazel looked down at his fidgeting hands. ‘Of what?’
‘You, this crew, being here, the people you’re going to make me talk to.’
‘Nobody’s making you do this, Henrik. You must have your own motives for being here.’
Henrik wiped at his beard. ‘And what happened to Meredith. That terrifies the shit out of me now. Whoever murdered her is probably still around here. Somebody capable of that is out there going about their daily routine while they have the memory of that inside their head. I wonder what they’re doing right now. This second.’ He folded his arms.
Hazel opened her mouth to respond but could see he was turning something over in his head.
‘When I was a teenager, I had obsessions with different celebrities. And at certain specific times during the day I used to wonder what they were doing at that exact moment – sleeping, being bored, drinking coffee, masturbating. I felt an odd connection with them then because I was probably the only person thinking about them in those terms. Most people perceive others’ lives, especially celebrities, as abstract entities. It’s like when you’re a kid; you believe everyone else orbits your existence; that they’re just there to furnish it and nobody else has the same feelings or emotions.’
‘Was that how you felt when you were a child?’
‘My parents were good at making me feel isolated.’
‘And do they now?’ Hazel knew how sensitive a question it was.
‘What do you think?’ he replied testily.
‘You father’s Theodore Fossen—’
‘I know who my father is.’
‘I’m doing it for the benefit of viewers who don’t. Tell us about him.’
‘Maybe you know more about him than I do. Why don’t you go ahead?’ He tightened his arms across his chest.
‘Theo Fossen, founder of TechFlex, the second largest multinational technology company on the planet, and Republican election candidate, although his political ambitions have recently been stymied by your online activities.’
‘He already has enough power.’ He grinned scornfully.
‘So was @BeMyKiller a deliberate attempt to sabotage that? Because it seems to be working.’
‘My parents, particularly my father, don’t care about me and I don’t give two shits about them.’
Hazel changed tack. ‘You were talking about childhood. As an adult do you still feel other people’s lives are inconsequential?’
He knew where she was going with that and sighed. ‘Of course not. But online we all wilfully strip away reality. We deliberately emulate celebrities because they’re so removed from it. On Facebook we all try to make our lives seem perfect to the people who know us, as well as people who don’t.’
‘So the serial killer account you created, you never once thought people would believe it was real?’
‘Millions of people didn’t. They just saw it as it was intended – for shits and giggles.’
‘But some didn’t.’
He scuffed some leav
es on the floor. ‘No.’
‘Do you regret creating it?’
Henrik shook his head a few times before answering. ‘Of course. It probably took me less than twenty minutes to germinate the idea and activate the @BeMyKiller account. Then I used a cluster of others to get the hashtag #BeMyKiller trending. I was bored, and it was a whim. A fucking stupid whim. I do vividly remember asking myself what I’d do if it led to someone actually being killed.’
‘And what was your response?’
‘Truthfully?’
Hazel nodded.
‘I don’t think I had one. I just went ahead and did it.’
‘“For shits and giggles”?’
‘When I’m online I question everything I come into contact with. If someone I don’t know tries to communicate with me I know it’s probably a troll, a bot or a paedophile. When @BeMyKiller’s followers kept racking up it all seemed unreal.’
‘Nearly eight million people had used the #BeMyKiller hashtag while it was trending, briefly, before the @BeMyKiller account was suspended, and Twitter and Instagram started blocking accounts of anyone using it. After four people had been murdered, you dropped the comment “Burn me in hell” into your own Twitter timeline. Is that because you thought you were responsible for their deaths?’
‘No. I wasn’t thinking straight.’
‘In our other conversations, you’ve given me the impression you had doubts about that. So why didn’t you just immediately close the account yourself? Or were you enjoying the attention?’
Henrik shifted uncomfortably in his chair. ‘You really think I want the public profile I have now?’
‘If you didn’t, you’d have deactivated the account before Twitter did. Or are you saying shutting it down was like an admission of guilt?’
‘It’s the advice I was given.’
‘By your lawyers?’
‘Yes,’ he said truculently but his leg jigged.
Hazel held his gaze. ‘Particularly as you have no alibi for the time period when all of the victims died.’
Henrik exhaled. ‘Really? Is this going to be the thrust of the interview?’
‘So accusing you of murdering four people… ’
‘Is fucking preposterous.’
‘Of course it is.’ Hazel kept her voice as level as his. ‘But again, although we’ve talked about this, I still need to have this conversation with you on camera. I don’t want to make any suppositions on the audience’s behalf. We agreed you wouldn’t hold anything back.’
‘I’m not.’
‘Just indulge me then.’
‘You know I was dealing with some personal issues.’
‘You were on meth.’
‘Yes.’ His green eyes hardened.
‘So why not say that?’
‘Because that was between us.’
‘Or is it more to do with the fact you’re writing in-depth about that particular episode for a major publisher?’
Henrik tried not to look surprised but failed spectacularly.
‘This movie experience would also be great for the book. After your suicide attempt, are you looking for enough material to fill the last chapters?’
Henrik chewed the hairs of his goatee as he considered his reply. ‘Can we stop recording?’
‘I’d prefer it if we continued on camera.’ Hazel watched his chest expand but he didn’t breathe out.
‘Who told you about the deal?’ he asked petulantly. ‘I’m meant to keep it under wraps till May.’
‘The book is likely to be out before my movie. Anything you’re holding back from me for your readers?’
‘I thought you said you were here to protect me.’
‘And everyone else who participates. That’s why we can’t conceal anything from each other. I need to know why you failed to tell me you were writing a book.’
‘I told you; I was gagged.’
‘I take it the advance is commensurate with the size of the publisher. And they’re a pretty big one, from what I understand.’
‘You’re not paying me, Hazel. And I still have to earn a living.’
‘So you’ve decided you want to live now?’
He narrowed his eyes at her. ‘I suck at suicide – is that the same thing?’
‘It was your brother that found you when you OD’d?’
‘Yes.’
‘Hadn’t you asked him to swing by that afternoon?’
‘You’re saying it was a showboat suicide?’
‘You tell me. Did you want to be found?’
‘Yeah, I also planned to have seizures for the rest of my life. I need daily meds now. Oh, fuck this.’ Henrik ripped off his mic and strode to the door leading to the upstairs offices.
The crew watched him tug it and walk through.
As it sluggishly closed behind him Hazel didn’t move from her chair.
17
‘You going after him?’ Weiss cut sound.
‘I will.’ Rena took a few paces towards the door.
‘Don’t. Let him go.’
Rena obeyed Hazel but pouted.
‘Nice, Haze. Just put them at their ease.’ Lucas stood and arched his spine.
‘He has to know this won’t be an easy ride. And his publisher deliberately leaked the deal so he needs to take that up with them.’ But Hazel knew she’d pushed too hard. She was angry about the book – at the notion of him profiting from the deaths of Meredith and the others. But couldn’t she make the same accusation about herself?
‘If he walks, you don’t have a documentary.’ It sounded as if the prospect pleased Lucas.
Up until then Lucas had been stand-offish but this was the first time Hazel had detected any antipathy. Was it because she hadn’t waited up for him the previous night?
He fished out his smokes. ‘Maybe you should call this one and go back to the project we were talking about in Syria. Online radicalisation is much more relevant than indulging this spoilt little fuck up. Don’t you think he’s just doing this to piss off his daddy?’
‘Maybe.’
‘If he is throwing his toys out of the pram, can we talk about doing something more worthwhile?’ His cigarette bounced between his lips.
‘If he’s gone to pack his bag, he has to come back this way.’
‘What a cock.’ Lucas stepped away to light up with his Zippo.
Hazel addressed the rest of the crew. ‘He’ll be back. He needs to go on record and put things straight.’
Weiss cleaned his spectacles. ‘Sounds like he’s doing that already. There’s probably a ghostwriter on it now. Maybe he doesn’t need us.’
‘If he doesn’t, we’ll know soon enough.’
‘Caffeine?’
Everyone nodded at Rena, and she headed for her trolley.
‘I’ll give you a hand.’ Keeler trailed after her.
‘Should I hold fire on charging the batteries?’ Sweeting was tying the long split ends of the dark hair that encircled his bald pate into a measly ponytail.
Hazel wondered if his wife really went for the look. ‘Let’s give him a few minutes.’
Lucas pocketed his lighter. ‘Are you buying any of that stuff he said earlier?’ he asked through blue fumes.
Hazel waved them away. ‘About being removed from what he was doing? No. Too rehearsed.’
‘What’s his game plan then?’
‘This performance? To remind us he’s indispensable.’
‘You sure about that? Maybe it’s because he is shit scared of Eve Huber.’
Hazel prodded her chest. ‘I’m shit scared of Eve Huber.’
‘What time’s she in tomorrow morning?’ He stamped on his cigarette.
Hazel knew he was still trying to give up and only allowed himself three puffs per smoke. ‘It’s in the schedule.’
‘That’s OK. It might be obsolete at this rate.’
He followed Weiss and Sweeting over to Rena’s trolley and left Hazel wondering if he was right.
18
‘
Miss Salter.’ Detective Bennett sounded like he was in a busy diner. ‘Do you never get tired of hearing the same answer?’
Hazel closed the production office door. ‘Just thought I’d update you about my progress here.’ It was a hollow claim. Henrik Fossen’s interview had yielded nothing more than she expected, and she’d only been able to prevent him from walking by divulging her ultimate aim was proving the lone tourist theory.
‘Progress? And to think I’d wasted all those man hours when I could have come straight to you.’
She detected a tremor of uncertainty in his voice though. ‘The Hubers are in Broomfield.’ Momentarily there was nothing but the buzz of the other tables around Bennett.
‘Trying to provoke a reaction from me?’
‘No, just thought I’d let you know who’s in town.’
‘If there’s any sign of trouble, I’ll be closing you down.’
‘Why don’t you drive out here? Keep an eye on things.’
‘I’m not giving an interview.’
She heard a coarse noise against Bennett’s mouthpiece. She guessed he was cleaning his lips with a napkin.
‘You paying to fly everyone in?’ He sounded amused.
‘Everyone that’s relevant.’
‘What about Kristian O’Connell’s sister? Sheenagh getting a vacation in Broomfield as well? I see she’s been doing the rounds of the TV shows.’
‘Why?’
‘Maybe save yourself some money.’
‘Is that a tip?’
‘You won’t get any of those from me. But if your journalistic expertise extends to watching the TV news, maybe you can catch one there.’ He hung up.
19
Eve Huber’s mud-spattered black Acura SUV arrived at Fun Central dead on 8 a.m., and Hazel and Rena were waiting outside the main entrance to greet it. The car came to a halt in the nearest space, and she switched off the engine. Her door swung open but Eve didn’t climb out.
Be My Killer: A completely UNPUTDOWNABLE crime thriller with nail-biting mystery and suspense Page 5