Roseanna mb-1

by Maj Sjowall

M: Not at all.

  K: Did she turn out the lights?

  M: No.

  K: And you?

  M: What do you think?

  K: Did you have sexual intercourse then?

  M: What in hell do you think we did? Crack nuts? Yes, I'm sorry but…

  K: How long did you stay?

  M: I don't know exactly, until one or two. Then I went home.

  K: And this was the first time you saw Miss McGraw?

  M: Yes, it was the first time.

  K: What did you think of her when you left there? And the next day?

  (Pause)

  M: I thought… first I thought that she was just an ordinary, cheap tramp although she had not given that impression at all in the beginning. Then I thought that she was a nymphomaniac. One idea was crazier than the other. Now, here, especially since she is dead, it seems absurd that I ever could have thought either of those things.

  (Pause)

  K: Listen to me, my friend. I assure you that it is just as painful for me to ask these questions as it is for you to answer them. I would never have done this if there hadn't been a purpose. The worst part of it is that we are not through yet. Not by a longshot.

  M: I'm sorry that I got upset just now. It's just that I'm not accustomed to the situation and the surroundings. It seems so crazy to sit here and say things about Roseanna, things I have never said to anyone, with detectives running around outside the room and while the tape recorder turns and turns and the sergeant just sits over there and stares. Unfortunately, I'm not exactly a cynic, particularly when it has to do with…

  K: Jack, close the Venetian blinds over there. Then wait outside.

  (Pause)

  ROMNEY: Goodbye.

  M: I'm sorry.

  K: You have nothing to be sorry about. What actually happened between you and Miss McGraw? After your first meeting?

  M: I telephoned her two days later. She didn't want to see me then, she said so quite directly. But she said to call again if I wanted to. The next time I called her—it must have been about a week later—she invited me up.

  K: And you…

  M: Yes, we slept together. Then it continued like that. Sometimes once a week, sometimes twice. We always met at her apartment. Often on Saturdays, then we were together on Sundays if we were both free.

  K: How long did this go on?

  M: For eight months.

  K: Why did it break up?

  M: I fell in love with her.

  K: I'm afraid that I don't really understand.

  M: Actually it's quite simple. To tell the truth I had been in love with her for a long time. I really loved her. But we never talked about love, so I said nothing.

  K: Why not?

  M: Because I wanted to hold her. Then when I told her… Well, then it was all over.

  K: How did it happen?

  M: You have to understand that Roseanna was the most upright person I have ever met. She liked me a lot and above all, she liked to sleep with me. But she didn't want to live with me. She never made any secret of that. Both she and I knew precisely why we would meet.

  K: How did she react when you told her that you loved her?

  M: She was sad. Then she said: 'We'll sleep together one more time and tomorrow you'll leave here and that's the end. We are not going to hurt one another.'

  K: Did you accept that?

  M: Yes. If you had known her as well as I had you would have understood that there wasn't anything else to do.

  K: When did this happen?

  M: On July 3 last year.

  K: And that was the end of all contact between you?

  M: Yes.

  K: Did she see other men during the period you were going together?

  M: Yes and no.

  K: In other words, did you have the impression that she was together with other men from time to time?

  M: It wasn't a question of impressions. I know. In March I attended a four-week course in Philadelphia. Even before I left, she told me that I couldn't count on her being… faithful for such a long time. When I came back I asked her and she said that she had done it once, after three weeks.

  K: Had sexual intercourse?

  M: Yes. Boy, that's a hell of an expression. I asked her with whom, stupidly enough.

  K: What did she answer?

  M: That it was none of my business. And it wasn't either, especially from her point of view.

  K: During the eight months that you saw her did you have intimate… sleep together regularly? Do I understand you correctly?

  M: Yes.

  K: But what about the evenings and nights that you weren't together? What did she do then?

  M: She was alone. She liked being alone. She read a great deal and, anyway, she sometimes worked evenings. She wrote some, too, but I don't know what. She never mentioned it to me. You understand, Roseanna was very independent. Then too, we really didn't have the same interests. Except for one thing. But we got along well together and that's the truth.

  K: How can you be sure that she was alone when you weren't there?

  M: I… I was jealous sometimes. Once in a while when she wouldn't see me I went there and stood outside her apartment house watching. Twice I even stood there from the time she came home until the time that she left in the morning.

  K: Did you give her money?

  M: Never.

  K: Why not?

  M: She didn't need my money, she told me so from the very beginning. If and when we went out, she always paid for herself.

  K: And when you stopped seeing each other? What did she do then?

  M: I don't know. I never saw her again. It wasn't too long before I got a new job and moved here.

  K: How would you describe her character?

  M: She was very independent, as I said earlier. Honest.

  Completely natural, in every way. For example, she never wore make-up or jewelry. She seemed calm and relaxed for the most part, but once she said that she didn't want to see me too often because she knew that if she did I would get on her nerves. She said everyone did and that in our case it was unnecessary.

  K: I am going to ask you some rather intimate questions now.

  M: Go ahead. I'll answer anything now.

  K: Have you any idea of how many times you were together?

  M: Yes. Forty-eight times.

  K: Are you sure? Exactly?

  M: Yes. I can even tell you why. Every time we met and slept together I drew a small, red ring around the date on my office calendar. Just before I threw it away I counted the days.

  K: Would you say that her sexual behavior patterns were normal?

  M: She was very sexual.

  K: Had you had enough experience to judge that?

  M: I was thirty-one years old when we met. A certain amount had happened before that time.

  K: Did she usually have an orgasm when you had sexual intercourse?

  M: Yes, always.

  K: Did you usually have intercourse several times in an evening?

  M: No. Never. It wasn't necessary.

  K: Did you use contraceptives?

  M: Roseanna had some kind of pills. She took one every morning.

  K: Did you usually discuss sexual matters?

  M: No, never. We knew what we needed to know.

  K: Did she often speak about her previous affairs?

  M: Never.

  K: And you?

  M: Only once. She seemed totally uninterested and I never talked about it again.

  K: What did you speak about?

  M: Anything and everything. Mostly everyday things.

  K: Whom did she see, other than you?

  M: No one. She had a friend, a girl at the library, but they rarely saw one another outside of work. Roseanna liked to be alone, as I said.

  K: But she went to that party where you met?

  M: Yes, in order to meet someone to sleep with. She had been… abstaining for a long time then.

  K: How long?

  M:
For more than six weeks.

  K: How do you know that?

  M: She said so.

  K: Was she difficult to satisfy?

  M: Not for me, in any case.

  K: Was she demanding?

  M: She wanted what all normal women want. That a man would take her until she didn't have anything left, if I understand you correctly.

  K: Did she have any particular habits?

  M: In bed?

  K: Yes.

  M: Harrison's Law isn't valid in Nebraska, is it?

  K: No, you don't have to worry about that.

  M: It doesn't really matter. She had only one habit which could possibly be called special. She scratched.

  K: When?

  M: Generally speaking, all the time. Especially when she had an orgasm.

  K: How?

  M: How?

  K: Yes, how did she scratch?

  M: I understand. Well, with both hands and all her fingers. Like a claw. From the hips, over the back and all the way up to the neck. I still have marks. It looks like they'll never go away.

  K: Did she show much variety in her sexual exertions? M: What unbelievable expressions you use! No, not at all. She always lay in the same way. On her back with a pillow under her hips and her legs spread wide apart and raised high. She was completely natural and direct and open in this as in everything else. She wanted to do it, she wanted a lot and at one time, without digression or deviations and in the only way that was natural for her.

  K: I understand.

  M: You ought to understand at this point.

  (Pause)

  K: Just one more thing. From what you've said I have the impression that during your time together it was you who took the initiative, that it was always you who contacted her. You telephoned and she answered, either that you should come up, or that she didn't care to see you then and that you should call another day. It was always she who decided if and when you would meet?

  M: I believe so.

  K: Did she ever call you and ask you to come over?

  M: Yes, four or five times.

  (Pause)

  K: Was it hard for you when you broke up?

  M: Yes.

  K: You have been very helpful. And very honest. Thank you.

  M: I hope you understand that this conversation must be confidential. I met a girl here last Christmas and we got married in February.

  K: Naturally. I said that in the beginning.

  M: Okay, now maybe you can turn off the tape recorder.

  K: Of course."

  Martin Beck put down the bound report and thoughtfully dried the perspiration from his forehead and palms with a crumpled handkerchief. Before he began to read again he went out to the toilet, washed his face and drank a glass of water.

  13

  The second report from Kafka was not as long as the first. It also had a rather different tone.

  'Examination of Mary Jane Peterson held at Police Headquarters, Lincoln, Nebraska, October 10, 1964. Examining Officer: Detective Lieutenant Kafka. Witness to the Examination: Sergeant Romney.

  ROMNEY: This is Mary Jane Peterson. She is single, twenty-eight years old, and lives at 62 South Street. Employed at the Community Library here in Lincoln.

  KAFKA: Have a seat, Miss Peterson.

  PETERSON: Thank you. What's this all about?

  K: Just a few questions.

  P: About Roseanna McGraw?

  K: That's right.

  P: I don't know any more than what I've already said. I received a postcard from her. That's all. Have you brought me here from my work just to hear me say it again?

  K: Were you and Miss McGraw friends?

  P: Yes, of course.

  K: Did you live together before Miss McGraw took her own apartment?

  P: Yes, for fourteen months. She came here from Denver and had no place to go. I let her live with me.

  K: Did you share the expenses for the apartment?

  P: Naturally.

  K: When did you separate?

  P: More than two years ago. It was sometime during the spring of 1962.

  K: But you continued to see one another?

  P: We met every day at the library.

  K: Did you also see each other in the evening?

  P: Not very often. We saw enough of each other during working hours.

  K: What did you think of Miss McGraw's character?

  P: De mortuis nihil nisi bene.

  K: Jack, take over here. I'll be right back.

  R: Lieutenant Kafka asked you what you thought of Miss McGraw's character?

  P: I heard him and I answered: De mortuis nihil nisi bene.

  That's Latin and means 'One shouldn't speak ill of the dead.'

  R: The question was this: what was her character like?

  P: You can ask someone else about that. May I go now?

  R: Just try and you'll see.

  P: You're a dope. Has anyone ever told you that?

  R: If I were in your shoes, God forbid, I'd be pretty careful about talking like that.

  P: Why?

  R: Maybe because I don't like it.

  P: Ha!

  R: What was her character like?

  P: I think you had better ask someone else about that, you idiot.

  K: That's fine, Jack. Now, Miss Peterson?

  P: Yes, what is it?

  K: Why did you and Miss McGraw separate?

  P: We were crowded. Anyway, I can't see that it's any business of yours.

  K: You were good friends, weren't you?

  P: Yes, of course.

  K: I have a report from the police in the third district from the record on April 8, 1962. At ten past two in the morning several tenants in the building at 62 South Street complained of screaming, loud arguments and continuous noise from an apartment on the fourth floor. When police officers Flynn and Richardson got there ten minutes later they were not let into the apartment and had to get the superintendent to open the door with a pass key. You and Miss McGraw were found in the apartment. Miss McGraw had on bathrobe, and you were dressed in high-heeled shoes and what Flynn described as a white cocktail dress. Miss McGraw was bleeding from a scratch on her forehead. The room was disorderly. Neither of you would make a complaint, and order was restored—at least that's what it says here—and the policemen left the apartment.

  P: What do you mean by bringing that thing up?

  K: The next day Miss McGraw moved to a hotel, and one week later found her own apartment a few blocks up the same street.

  P: I'm asking you again. What do you mean by bringing up that old scandal story? As if I haven't had enough unpleasantness already.

  K: I am trying to convince you of the necessity of answering our questions. It's also a good idea to tell the truth.

  P: Okay, I threw her out. Why not? It was my apartment.

  K: Why did you throw her out, as you put it?

  P: What difference does that make today? Who would be interested in a three year old fight between two girlfriends?

  K: Anything that has to do with Roseanna McGraw is of interest just now. It seems—as you see in the papers—that there's not much to write about her.

  P: Do you mean to say that you can blow up this story for the newspapers if you want to?

  K: This report is a public document.

  P: In that case isn't it odd that they haven't already gotten hold of it.

  K: That's partly because Sergeant Romney got hold of it first. The minute he sends it back to the central archives anyone is free to take any part of it.

  P: And if he doesn't send it back?

  K: Then it's a different story.

  P: Will the record of this examination also be available to the public?

  K: No.

  P: Can I depend on that?

  K: Yes.

  P: Okay, what do you want to know? Hurry up, though, so I can get out of here before I become hysterical.

  K: Why did you force Miss McGraw to leave your apartment?
/>   P: Because she embarrassed me.

  K: In what way?

  P: Roseanna was trash. She was in heat like a bitch. And I said it to her face.

  K: What did she answer to that?

  P: My dear Lieutenant, Roseanna didn't answer such commonplace statements. She held herself above them. Just lay naked on the bed as usual and read some philosopher. And then she would look at me. Large-eyed, uncomprehending and indulgent.

  K: Was she very temperamental?

  P: She had no temperament at all.

  K: What was the direct cause of your sudden breakup?

  P: You can try to figure that one but yourself. Even you ought to have enough imagination for that.

  K: A man?

  P: A slob she wanted to sleep with while I sat and waited for him in some hole about thirty miles from here. He had misunderstood in some way—he was pretty dumb too—and thought that he was to pick me up at home. When he got there I'd already left. Roseanna was home, naturally. She was always home. And so whatever happened, happened. Thank God that slob had left by the time I got back. Otherwise I would have been behind bars in Sioux City at this point.

  K: How did you find out what had happened?

  P: Roseanna. She always told the truth. I asked her why she had done it. She said, 'Now, Mary Jane, I wanted to do it.' And besides she was logical: 'Now, Mary Jane, it only shows that he isn't worth putting stock in.'

  K: Would you still state that you and Miss McGraw were friends?

  P: Yes, oddly enough. If Roseanna ever had a friend it was I. It was better after she moved and we didn't have to see each other day in and day out. When she first came here—from college—she was always alone. Her parents had just died in Denver at almost the same time. She didn't have any brothers or sisters or any other relatives or any friends. She was also short of money. There was something muddled about her inheritance and year after year went by without it being settled. Eventually she got the money, right after she took that apartment.

  K: What was her character like?

  P: I think that she suffered some kind of independence complex which had some unusual expression. One of her attitudes was to dress sloppily. She took a certain pride in looking horrible. At best she went around in slacks and a large, baggy sweater. It was hard for her to force herself to put on a dress to go to work. She had a lot of strange ideas. She almost never wore a bra and she needed to more than most of us. She hated to wear shoes. In general, she said she didn't like clothing. When she was at home she often ran around naked the entire day. She never wore a nightgown or pajamas. That irritated me terribly.