by Samuel Bjork
“Classmates?” Mia said, baffled.
“Oh, yes, they’re about to start school. Haven’t you figured that out?”
Finally the pieces came together in Mia’s head. I’m traveling alone. The backpacks. The schoolbooks. The jump rope. Karen Nylund had some twisted notion of creating a class in heaven where she would be the teacher. That had to be the logic inside the mind of this psychopath. Mia felt a pang of guilt. Why had she not worked this out sooner? If she had, then Marion might not be lying prisoner in a small room in the basement in this isolated house of horrors.
“She also has a dog,” Karen continued. “A lovely little German shepherd puppy. She loves playing with the puppy. Look how happy she is, Mia, look.”
Karen pointed toward the ceiling and remained standing with a sheepish grin on her face.
“Mommy is coming soon, Margrete. Not long now.”
Karen blew a kiss toward the sky.
“Why ten dresses and only five girls?” Mia tried.
“What?” Karen said.
“You ordered ten dresses, but you’ve only taken five girls.”
“No girl should have just one dress, don’t you think? Did you have just one dress, Mia? Back home in Åsgårdstrand? When you played with little Sigrid?”
Mia bit her lip when she heard Sigrid’s name. She felt the rage tear at her body again, but she managed not to lose her temper.
“So you’ll stop at five?” She smiled.
“Yes.” Karen nodded pensively, as if considering whether she should have added more. “Best, really, small class sizes, so everyone gets a chance to be seen and heard. It’s important, don’t you think, that everyone is seen and heard? Perhaps I should have gone for ten—what do you think? Is five enough?”
“Oh, absolutely,” Mia agreed. “You’ve done well. I think you’ve done very well.”
“Do you really?” Karen frowned.
“Oh, yes, definitely,” Mia continued. “It’s a good idea and a fine plan. Margrete could not go to school alone. I mean, seriously?”
“Exactly,” Karen said, sitting down at the table again. “It was the least I could do, really.”
“It was well thought out,” Mia went on. “And incredibly well executed. I mean, we were clueless. You completely tricked us. You’re seriously clever.”
“Yes, I am, aren’t I?” Karen smiled and clapped her hands.
“You’re the smartest person I’ve ever met.” Mia nodded.
“I’ve been planning it for such a long time,” Karen said. “Every detail. But in the end it turned out to be so easy, and that’s the worst part—it was so easy, so easy, you were barking up the wrong tree. It’s been a really fun game, don’t you think?”
“Yes, really fun.” Mia smiled.
“And now it’s nearly over. That will be nice,” Karen said with a sigh. “All that needs to happen is that we all die, and then we’ll be done.”
“Yes, that will be good.” Mia’s thoughts raced around inside her head. “Did you say now, Karen? Right now? Who is going to die now?”
“You first,” Karen said. “Then Marion. No, wait. I haven’t made up my mind yet.”
“Oh?” Mia said. “I thought you said you had a plan. That’s unlike you!”
“I know.” Karen chuckled. “But I can’t decide everything. Some things depend a little on chance.”
“Do they? Please tell.”
“I had a guy who helped me,” Karen said, sitting down again. “Men are idiots, but you know that, don’t you?”
“Complete idiots,” Mia concurred.
“Yes, they are, aren’t they? Quite incredibly dense. But this one, he really took the cake. He was stupid, very stupid—do you know what I mean?” Karen laughed.
“And who was he?”
“Oh, just some guy, what was his name again? Oh, yes, William, that was it. He was married, but he wanted me—they do, you know, men are disgusting. He helped rebuild the room. I didn’t want the old room. I wanted a new one.”
“Because Margrete had lived there?”
“Yes, it wasn’t nice anymore.”
“I understand.”
“So he helped rebuild it, and then I thought of something funny.”
“What?”
Karen could barely contain herself now. She snorted and giggled like a little schoolgirl.
“We made a film,” she tittered.
“A film?”
“Yes, with his cell phone. I laughed so hard afterward.”
The Kiese film. It was a hoax.
Mia tried to keep a straight face.
“What kind of film was it?”
“He pretended to be really terrified.” Karen laughed. “And he gave the wrong coordinates about his location. You know, GPS, the kind of thing they have in cars?”
“Yes?”
“He gave the wrong coordinates, isn’t that funny?”
“Hilarious,” Mia said, not quite managing to smile anymore. “And what coordinates did you give?” She cleared her throat.
“Well, that’s the best part.” Karen giggled. “The coordinates for a house farther down the road. Isn’t that brilliant? You did get the film, didn’t you?”
Karen moved very close to Mia. The unstable woman stroked her face with a cold hand.
“Don’t think for a moment that you’re pulling the wool over my eyes, Mia. Acting as if we’re friends? Do you think I’m stupid, Mia?”
Mia felt the cold fingers on her eyes and lips.
“You did get the film, didn’t you? From his wife?”
Mia nodded feebly.
“I’m not stupid, you know that, Mia. You won’t outwit me. Telling me what you think I want to hear. Why did it take so long for that movie to reach you? To be honest, I thought you would have gotten it a long time ago.”
Mia felt sick. Karen ran her icy fingers across her face as if she were a blind person trying to imagine what Mia looked like.
“What happened, Mia?”
Mia was really struggling to stay calm. She was sorely tempted to bite the sick woman’s finger, but she refrained.
“The wife couldn’t be bothered to hand in the film. She only showed up a couple of days ago,” Mia said calmly.
“Aha.” Karen smiled. “She didn’t like him very much, did she?”
Mia made no reply.
“I can see her point.” Karen laughed. “He was so thick. But you have it now?”
“Yes,” Mia said softly.
“Good. Then all we need to do is wait for it to go bang.” Karen smiled and sat down at the table again.
“So the house isn’t far from where we are?” Mia said.
“Yes, isn’t it brilliant? We’ll hear it go bang, and perhaps we’ll get to see something as well. If we have time.”
Karen got up and disappeared from view. Mia could feel the chill from the evil woman behind her. She glanced at the monitor again. She had a shock when she realized that Marion was about to wake up.
No, no, Marion, lie still.
“Not you, by the way,” a voice whispered in her ear. “You won’t hear it go bang.”
Karen stroked her cheek.
“You’re going to die now. Won’t that be nice?”
Mia made a last, desperate attempt to free herself, but she was still stuck. She couldn’t control herself anymore. She felt the rage boil inside her, and it was unstoppable. Her body felt as if it were about to explode.
“You crazy bitch!” she screamed.
“Now, now, now, language, Mia,” Karen warned her.
Mia felt the tape go over her mouth again. The taste of adhesive on her tongue. Breathing became difficult. Panic. Don’t panic. Breathe calmly through your nose. Don’t wake up, Marion, don’t let her see you—lie still. This is a trap, Holger.
Don’t send anyone into the house. She’s going to take everybody with her. Don’t let anyone enter, Holger. Don’t go in. Don’t send in Kim or Curry or Ludvig or Gabriel or Anette. Don’t send anyone in. We can’t afford to lose anyone, Holger.
Mia felt a prick in her right hand. She looked down and saw that Karen had inserted an intravenous needle. Mia could hear the psychopath fumble with something behind her. She hung a bag on a stand, and Mia felt something seep into her. It stung, it made her veins cold and numb.
“There we are,” Karen said, sitting down at the table again. “It’s a shame that we couldn’t play any longer, but it’s best that you die now. I would like a little time alone with Marion. We need some time together before we go, just her and me. We can’t have you around then.”
She giggled.
“Won’t it be funny when they find out that you died just a few houses away? If they survive, that is. Those who survive. Who do you think will live, Mia? Munch? Kim? That Larsen guy who thinks he’s so tough? Won’t that be fun to know?”
Mia mumbled behind the tape. The psychopath was not entirely lucid. She didn’t realize that Mia could not reply. Karen drummed her fingers on the table. Made small clucking sounds with her tongue. Scratched her face. Got up. Disappeared outside of Mia’s field of vision. Returned with a double-barreled shotgun. Broke the weapon open, checked that there were cartridges in both barrels. Snapped it shut and laid it on the table next to her.
“The one we never mention liked hunting,” she said, scratching her face again. “We had that in common. We both liked killing. Watching something die is funny, isn’t it, Mia? It’s fun when they stop breathing. When they finally depart.”
Karen got up and went out into the hallway. Mia could hear a door open and close. A small gust of fresh air slipped into the room. Then it disappeared. Karen returned.
“I’m not going to shoot myself, if that’s what you’re thinking. I don’t imagine that the girls will like having a teacher without a face, do you? No, it’s just in case anyone should come in. You can never be too careful, isn’t that right, Mia?”
Mia felt the back of her hand sting again. Something almost metallic was entering her bloodstream. She began having problems seeing clearly. She tried focusing on the monitor. Marion was no longer there. Marion was gone. Had Karen been down there? What had she done to the little girl?
Karen shook her head faintly and smiled to herself.
“I like watching people fall. That idiot who made the movie, he fell really well. For a moment I thought he might be able to fly. Just like Roger Bakken. Roger even had wings. It was wonderful to watch. Did you feel like that, Mia? When you killed?”
Mia disappeared for a moment, went away, almost leaving the disgusting room for good. She jerked as she came around again. And saw that Karen had packed a suitcase.
“And I was so sure that you knew,” Karen said again. “That you knew why.”
Mia could see Sigrid now. In her white dress. Running in slow motion through the field.
Come to me, Mia, come.
“Markus Skog,” Karen said again. “She wasn’t very bright, my sister, she wasn’t, but she was kind. It wasn’t her fault. He wasn’t a good person. But what can you do? Men, eh? Not worth the hassle, are they? She killed herself after you shot him. Not with an overdose, no, she hanged herself. An overdose would have been better, don’t you think, Mia? Like Sigrid? I bet she felt good when she died? She didn’t have to jump from a tree with a rope around her neck.”
Karen glanced at the door, scratched her face briefly again.
“Well, that’s love for you. What would I know?”
Mia could no longer keep her eyes open. She had lost sensation in her arms and legs.
Karen got up from the table, came over to her, and caressed her cheek. “Have a nice trip, Mia Moonbeam.”
Across the field Sigrid came running toward Mia. She stopped in front of her with a teasing look. She waved to her sister.
Come to me, Mia, come!
I’m coming, Sigrid, wait.
I’ll be Sleeping Beauty, and you’ll be Snow White?
Yes, Sigrid, I’d like that.
Come to me, Mia, come!
I’m coming, Sigrid. I’m coming now!
Mia let go.
And she followed her sister’s billowing white dress across a field of golden wheat.
78
“Delta One, come in. Over.”
Munch released the TRANSMIT button on the walkie-talkie and waited for a reply.
“Nine, this is Delta One. Over.”
“This is Nine. What’s your position? Over.”
Munch glanced at Kim, who sat with the Glock in his lap. He wore a bulletproof vest and a grim expression on his face. Curry was sitting in the back; he, too, was wearing a bulletproof vest and holding a pistol in his hand. They had driven down the forest track with the headlights switched off, and they could make out the house now. It was not far away.
“Nine, this is Delta One. Eyes on location in forty meters. No target in sight. Over.”
“Delta One, this is Nine. Hold your position, and don’t shoot until I give the order. Received? Over.”
“Nine, this is Delta One. Received, over and out.”
“It’s pitch-black,” Curry whispered, leaning forward between the seats.
Munch took out his night-vision binoculars and aimed them at the dilapidated old building in front of them. There was nothing to suggest that the small cottage was inhabited. That was probably the intention. The GPS coordinates from the film had taken them to this place. He was grateful to Gabriel Mørk, who with the help of a friend had managed to identify the location in record time. The guy had really turned out to be a find. Munch pressed the walkie-talkie again.
“Delta Two, this is Nine, come in.”
“Nine, this is Delta Two. Over.”
“Position? Over.”
“This is Delta Two. We have two men behind the house, east. Three in front of the entrance, northwest. In position fifteen zero meters. Over.”
“Delta Two, this is Nine. Await further instructions. Over and out.”
“Strange that there’s not a single light, isn’t it?” Kim Kolsø said as Munch handed him the night-vision binoculars.
“Perhaps she’s not there?” Curry wondered out loud.
“Or they’re in the basement,” Munch said.
He took the binoculars back from Kim and aimed them at the small house. There were three units attending. Two from the armed-response unit, Delta, who had turned up with a group of marksmen and a SWAT team, in addition to Munch, Kim, and Curry. Munch returned the binoculars to Kim and almost had to smile as he remembered how Ludvig and Gabriel had both insisted on coming with them. Ludvig was one thing—after all, he’d been a police officer for a long time—but Gabriel? The boy had probably only ever let off fireworks. But he had guts. A real coup for the team, definitely. Munch had told them to man the office. He had enough of a force here.
“Are we sure that she also has Mia?” Kim said.
“We don’t know, but at the same time we do, don’t we?” Curry said.
“Her car was found outside the nursing home,” Munch said. “And the last message from her cell phone was sent from somewhere on Drammensveien.”
“Thrown out a window, probably,” Curry snarled.
“Did you discover anything about the boy? Iversen?” Munch said.
Kim had worked on his own case and come back just in time to join the team heading to the house.
“I spoke to his teacher, Emilie Isaksen,” Kim replied. “Very resourceful woman with a great social conscience. Wish there were more like her. The boy is gone. The parents are gone. She had just rescued the younger brother from the house—he was there without food for a week. I told her not to do anything on her own, but I doubt th
at she’ll listen. She’s probably on her way up to the forest to look for Tobias as we speak.”
“Talk to Ludvig,” Munch said. “Get Hønefoss Police to dispatch a unit.”
“Already done,” Kim told him.
Munch nodded affirmatively in response. If you could trust anyone, it would be Kim Kolsø. Curry, however, he had to keep an eye on. Kim sat motionless in the passenger seat, while Curry in the back could barely sit still.
“So what do we do?” Curry said, leaning forward between them again.
“We wait,” Munch said.
“What are we waiting for? That crazy woman has Mia inside. Who knows what she’s doing to her? Why don’t we just kick the door in and take the bitch out?”
“Curry,” Kim said to calm him down.
“I know what’s at stake,” Munch said in a steady voice. “My granddaughter is in there.”
He gave Curry a look that could not be misinterpreted. Curry grunted, somewhat apologetically, and sat back in his seat.
Marion was in there.
Munch pulled himself together. He could not assume that mantle now. The mantle of grandfather. Mikkelson had tried to insist that Munch stay home, letting others do the job, but not even a bulldozer could have held Munch back. He raised the binoculars to his eyes again and looked toward the dark house.
“How long do we wait?” Curry said impatiently from the rear seat.
“Curry,” Kim said again.
“No, he’s right,” Munch said gruffly. “There’s nothing to wait for.”
He pressed the walkie-talkie again.
“Delta Two, this is Nine, come in.”
“Nine, this is Delta Two. Over.”
“Delta Two, this is Nine, stand by for entry. Over.”
“Delta Two. Received, over and out.”
Munch checked that the safety catch had been released on the Glock before looking to the other two. “Are we ready?”
Kim nodded.
“Oh, yes,” Curry said.
Munch carefully opened the door and got out of the Audi as quietly as he could.
79
Marion Munch awoke with that strange taste in her mouth again. She’d had such a lovely dream. That she was at home, that her parents were there, and that everything was back to normal. She opened her eyes only to discover that she was still trapped in the small, chilly white room. Still wearing the same stupid, bulky dress. She curled up under the thin duvet and started to cry. She did not know how long she’d been there now; it was difficult to tell because the light never went off. She had looked for the switch, but there was no switch to be found, just cold walls and no windows or doors. Marion had cried so much that her eyes had almost run out of tears. She’d banged on the walls, screamed and shouted, but no one had come. At first she couldn’t understand why. They always came when she cried. Her parents, they would always come. Like the time she’d had a temperature and dreamed that Pooh bear had turned into a giant monster that was trying to eat her. At that time both her parents had come immediately. But no one was coming now. Not to this room. No one took care of her. She was all alone.