Run run as fast as you can (Emma Frost #3)

by Willow Rose

"Well maybe you could skip that for once, huh? I mean your wife's life is in danger so maybe … just MAYBE you could skip one game, huh? You think?"

  "Alright, alright. Don't have a fit here. I'll be there and I’ll bring the kids."

  Lisa hung up, then grabbed baby Margrethe and started feeding her the bottle. After half an hour, she packed her car with the baby and bags and drove off.

  The woman called Emma lived close to the beach at a great location, worth a lot of money. The house was big, but very old. The yard hadn't been taken care of for ages and looked like one big mess. Lisa sighed and helped Margrethe out of her car-seat. A police car was parked next to hers. The two officers inside of it followed her with their eyes. One of them got out when she had finally gotten Margrethe out and grabbed one of the bags from the car.

  "Lisa Rasmussen?" the officer said.

  "Yes. I was told to come here and bring my family."

  The officer lifted his cap and nodded. "Yes. We believe it’s the safest thing for you. Officer Bredballe will arrive shortly as well and stay inside the house for the night to make sure everyone is safe."

  Lisa tilted her head. "What a relief."

  And could you please tell me who is going to save us from all the germs and viruses we're going to be infected with in this old, dirty house?

  "Well, go on in. They're waiting for you inside."

  Lisa smiled, then walked towards the stairs leading to the front door. Emma Frost opened the door when Lisa rang the doorbell.

  "Welcome," she said with a smile. "I'm so glad you decided to come here. Let me grab that." Emma reached out for the bag, but Lisa held it close to her body.

  "You don't need to," she said and walked past the plump woman. "Where can I put it?"

  Emma walked up the stairs and showed Lisa into a room. Lisa walked in and breathed a sigh of anxiety. It wasn't clean, there was a lot of dust in the corners and fingerprints on the walls. How was she supposed to sleep in here?

  "Everything on the bed is clean. There are towels in the bathroom. I have another room ready next door for your older kids."

  There was a lot of screaming coming from downstairs. Children laughing, yelling, running up the stairs and past the room. Lisa felt dizzy and sat down on a chair with the baby on her lap.

  "Yeah. I'm sorry about that," Emma said with a grin.

  What's there to laugh about you fleshy monster with no self-control. Being chubby isn't cute, if that's what you think.

  "It’s kind of a madhouse today." Emma looked at Lisa. "Are you sure you don't need any help?"

  "I have more bags in the car," Lisa groaned. "I need them."

  "Just hand me the car keys and I'll go get them," Emma said.

  Lisa sat in the chair like she was frozen, making sure to not touch anything while Emma got her bags for her. When she handed her the car keys back, Lisa pulled out a bottle of hand-sanitizer and wiped them before she put them in her purse.

  Emma stared at her, then smiled awkwardly. Maybe it was just the way she looked. There was something awkward about her, Lisa thought. Maybe it was just the fact that she was wearing a very dirty apron smeared in dough and she had flour in her hair.

  "Let me know if there is anything else you need," Emma said.

  Lisa shook her head. "I'm fine. Thank you."

  "Okay. There will be freshly baked buns in fifteen minutes in the kitchen if you'd like to join us," Emma said with a horrendous smile on her chubby face. Lisa felt terrified to have to eat anything that woman had created.

  Probably stuffed with carbs and butter. Terrifying. And germs. Oh the horror.

  As soon as Emma left, Lisa opened one of her bags. Bottles of cleaning products tumbled out on the floor.

  48

  November 2013

  THE STRANGE WOMAN was cleaning her room. I could smell the cleaning products all the way into my bathroom where I had gone in to take a shower and wash off all the flour from baking. I could hear her scrub and splash water as I passed her door on my way down the stairs.

  I chuckled, then walked into the kitchen where Sophia was still sitting sipping coffee while baby Alma was playing on the floor, trying to stand upright by holding on to the handles on my drawers. Maya had taken the rest of the children outside to play in the yard, so it was almost quiet inside the house.

  "What's so funny?" Sophia asked, when she noticed my expression.

  "That woman. That Lisa character. She brought her own cleaning products and now she is up there scrubbing down the entire room."

  Sophia laughed loudly. "Yes. That sure sounds like something she would do."

  I took the buns out of the oven and called the kids. It felt like I was caught in a whirlwind. All five kids stormed into the kitchen and threw themselves at the buns, ate and drank their chocolate milk greedily, then stormed back out. Maya looked like she’d been in a tornado.

  "Are you okay?" I asked. "Can you handle them?"

  "Sure," she said with a smile. "But you owe me big time for this."

  "I have a feeling I will pay for it one day," I said.

  "Oh you will," Maya said with a mischievous smile, then disappeared through the kitchen door.

  "I owe her too, you know," Sophia said. "And you."

  I buttered a bun and took a bite. "Nah. What are friends for? I'm just glad to help you."

  "How's the book coming?"

  "It's not," I said. "It's not coming at all. I need something good to happen soon. It can't just be a book about parents searching for their kids if they don't find them. I need a positive success story."

  "It'll come. I'm sure you and Morten will be able to find one of these girls soon," Sophia said and finished her coffee.

  Someone was at the door. I walked out to open it. A man with two children was standing outside.

  "You must be Lisa's family," I said, and shook the husband's hand.

  I showed them upstairs and helped them get settled in their rooms. The children wanted to play in the yard as well, so I showed them outside. A few minutes later, Lisa's husband, Christian came down and asked if there was a TV somewhere that he could watch his game on. I helped him find his game on my TV, then walked back to the kitchen where Sophia helped me prepare dinner for the entire bunch.

  A little after seven, all the children had eaten and we threw them in bed so they were all asleep by eight. Lisa had hardly touched any of her dinner and seemed to be wiping everything with her sanitizer while her husband was yelling in the living room at his favorite soccer team.

  Sophia and I sat in the living room for a couple of hours and talked after baby Alma had gone to sleep as well. Sophia seemed to have forgotten the threat to her life slightly and she seemed much more relaxed and comfortable. We had a great evening and I enjoyed her company a lot, even if I was constantly looking at the clock, wondering what was holding Morten up, since he’d told me he would come over and spend the night to make sure we were safe. I had expected him for dinner, but all night, he hadn't even answered his phone. I was worried and a little anxious. It had been dark for several hours now and with all the big panoramic windows in my house, it felt like anyone could stand outside and look in. I didn't have curtains on all of them, but those that did, I closed to make sure the killer wasn't outside spying on all of us, waiting to make his move.

  Finally, around nine-thirty, someone knocked on the door. I got up and walked out to open it while the rest of the people in the room watched me fearfully.

  "Will you relax?" I said, before opening the door. "The killer probably won't knock on the door, now will he?"

  Morten looked very serious when I opened the door and let him in. He walked straight to the living room. "You're all here. That's good," he said.

  "What's going on?" Sophia asked nervously.

  "There has been another one, right?" I asked.

  Morten exhaled. "Two," he said.

  The entire room gasped. Even Christian, whose game was finally over, turned off the TV.

  "Two?" I as
ked. "How? Who?"

  "Nora," he said with a heavy voice. "Nora was found sitting in a car downtown. The car was on fire. I guess the killer wised up about trying to drive her into the ocean. He probably knew we were observing the area, waiting for him to show up."

  "Oh my God!" I exclaimed.

  "Yes. She is dead. The firefighters pulled her out of the car, but it was too late."

  "That is terrible," Sophia said.

  "Hardly a surprise," Lisa said.

  I stared at her for a second, then decided to ignore her remark. "Who was the other?" I asked.

  Morten looked at me. His eyes had grown so serious the last couple of days. This case was really getting to him. "Per Egon. The librarian."

  "The guy who’s running for City Council?" Sophia asked. "Oh my God. Why would the killer choose him?"

  Morten shrugged. "Why would he kill anyone here? We have no idea of this killer's motive so far. We only know that all the women have been in the same mothers’ group."

  "Was it the same as the others?" I asked. "Was he bitten by animals and shot like the women were?"

  "That's the tricky part. No he wasn't. He was found in a closet at the library. Locked in, stabbed to death."

  "So it could be someone else, then?" I asked.

  Morten shook his head. "I have no idea anymore. This case is so strange. No matter how hard I try, I can't connect the dots."

  "Maybe you need some sleep," I said. "What do the investigators from Copenhagen say?"

  "That it is very likely the same killer. This many killings at the same time in the same town is rarely coincidental. It has to be connected somehow."

  "Maybe the librarian got in the way of the killer somehow?" Lisa suggested.

  Morten looked at her and nodded. "Maybe," he said pensively. He looked at me. "Could I have a word with you in private?"

  "Sure."

  We apologized then walked into the kitchen where Morten grabbed my face between his hands and kissed me. "Sorry," he said when he was done.

  "Don't be. I'm not sorry."

  "I just needed to kiss you; that was all."

  I blushed. "It's okay."

  "There is one thing I wanted to tell you that I couldn't say out there."

  "And that is?"

  "Lisa Rasmussen was seen at the library today. Per Egon's wife, who also works there, said she arrived earlier with her stroller and then left out the back door. She went to talk to Per Egon. Apparently, she’s the one who last saw him alive."

  I felt like laughing but stopped myself. "Lisa? Do you really think she could have hurt him?"

  "I don't know. But I have to look at the facts. The wife found him in the closet an hour after Lisa was there to talk to him."

  "So you think Lisa is the killer?"

  Morten shrugged. "She knew all the other victims. Plus, her house was the last one the plumber was supposed to visit."

  "Wow," I said. "Shouldn't you arrest her or something?"

  "I can't do anything right now. She needs to be taken to the station for questioning. I'll do that in the morning. Just because she was there right before the man was killed, doesn't mean she is the killer. I mean, how is she supposed to have planted Nora in the middle of town in a burning car when I assume she has been here all evening?"

  "Yeah, she arrived around five o'clock."

  "There you go. Unless she is really smart or maybe has someone helping her, she can't be the killer. It's not that easy."

  "So what are you saying here?"

  "I'm saying that, right now, it could be anyone. Including anyone in this house."

  49

  November 2013

  THE ATMOSPHERE IN the living room was tense when we returned from the kitchen. Sophia and Lisa had started to fight.

  "What the hell is going on here?" I asked.

  "Lisa is being obnoxious," Sophia said.

  "We can't all be as common as you," Lisa said with a snort. "Some have to rise above the crowd and set new standards."

  I looked at the two women, not understanding fully what was going on, but understanding enough to know that this was going to be a long night. I, for one, wasn't going to go to bed. Not after what Morten had told me. If Lisa turned out to be the killer, I was going to keep a close eye on her all night.

  "Now let's all sit down for a little while and calm down," I said with the same authority I used to split up my kids when they were fighting. Lisa and Sophia obeyed. I sat down on a chair in the corner while Morten lit a fire in the fireplace. No one spoke for at least twenty minutes. It felt awkward and a little horrifying. I kept staring at Lisa wondering how she had done it. How could she kidnap her friends and kill them by shooting them? Then I looked at her husband, wondering if he was her accomplice. Was he the one who had taken care of Nora while Lisa came to my house to excessively clean it? Was he the strength behind this while she was the brains?

  "Anyone care for a glass of sherry?" Christian asked, all of a sudden. "I brought some just in case we needed it. And I do have a feeling we need it now."

  Christian pulled out his briefcase from the hallway and opened it. He showed us the bottle with a grin. "This should make the evening more bearable."

  Sophia got up and found glasses for all of us in the kitchen. Christian poured some in them and Sophia handed the glasses out.

  "I really shouldn't," I said.

  "Don't be boring, Emma," Sophia said. "You need it as much as any of us."

  I took the glass and stared into it wondering if they had drugged it. Then I watched Christian lift his, toast and guzzle it down.

  "Give me one of those," Lisa said, and grabbed a glass out of Sophia's hand. Then she drank it greedily.

  If they can do it … I thought, and lifted the glass and sipped from it. Sophia drank hers as well while Christian poured himself another one. Morten didn't touch his and left it on the table. The alcohol warmed my stomach and made me calmer. Sophia handed me another and had one more herself. She had stopped breastfeeding just a few days ago and I guessed she was enjoying the fact that she could have a couple of drinks now. I drank one more, then told them I had enough. The alcohol made me dizzy, but very, very relaxed. Morten seemed troubled. I felt like hugging him and letting him know how much I liked him. Christian and Lisa were drinking heavily now. They were laughing and pouring more into their glasses. I couldn't help staring at them, wondering how many they had killed. Imagining how and where they had done it and wondering if they were planning on attacking us while we were asleep.

  Freaking Bonnie and Clyde in my own house.

  I looked at the half empty bottle of Sherry on the table. Maybe that was why Christian had taken out the bottle? It wasn't that it was drugged. No it was just to make us fall asleep, wasn't it? Were they going to kill all of us? Or just some? Would they kill one then come back for more? Would they hurt the kids?

  The thought made me clench my fists. I decided I wasn't going to let them do anything to anyone. I was going to stay awake all night and keep both my eyes and ears open. Nothing was going to come past me.

  If they planned anything this night, then they'd have to deal with me first. Well me, and hopefully, Morten.

  50

  March 2013

  THEY TRIED GOING to the police, but no one believed them. Thomas watched through a window when they showed an officer the note and the coffin, but he told them Thomas was dead and he even had a death certificate to prove it.

  It had to be someone else. Maybe it was just a joke.

  Ellen and her handsome husband left the police station in Nordby while Thomas followed them. He jumped inside his car and followed them down the road, leaving a couple of cars between them in order to not be seen. He had become an expert at remaining hidden.

  From afar, he could tell they were fighting in the car. The handsome husband was yelling and gesticulating heavily while Ellen only got a word in here and there. They continued like that until they reached the shopping district downtown and the husband s
topped the car in front of the liquor store. Thomas could tell Ellen didn't want him to go in there. She pulled his shirt and appeared agitated. Thomas drove past her car and parked down a side street, where he was able to stay hidden and still see when the husband came out of the store.

  A minivan drove up on his side and stopped for a red light. Thomas turned and looked inside. In it, he spotted five women. They seemed to be arguing as well. The lady driving was yelling and screaming at the ones in the back seat. Thomas stopped looking at them and turned his head to look at Ellen again, when he realized she had decided to get out of the car.

  Where are you going?

  Next to Thomas' car was a bakery. Was she heading for the bakery? She did have a bad habit of overeating when she was upset. Something that had started to show on her hips.

  You know you'll regret it.

  That was when it dawned on Thomas. This was it. This was his moment. It would be the easiest thing in the world. He could walk right up there to her and grab her before anyone saw it and put her in his car. It would be a piece of cake. He could pretend he had a weapon, a gun in his pocket, and she would follow him without a word.

  Yes, yes. That is it. It's now or never Thomas. This is your moment to shine.

  Thomas felt exhilarated. He clapped his hands and looked at Ellen as she walked across the street. Thomas exited his car as well and started walking towards her. She was crossing the road. A sound startled Thomas and he turned just in time to see the minivan miss him. He looked in the van in the split second it drove past him and noticed the woman driver was still yelling at the women in the back and not watching the road at all. Panic hit him and his heart stopped.

  Ellen!

  Tires screeched, then a thud followed and everything went quiet inside of Thomas. He saw people staring at the minivan with open mouths, while others covered their eyes with their hands. The minivan finally stopped further down the road and all the women got out of the car. One of them kneeled on the ground and threw up. Another stood with her mouth open like she was screaming but Thomas couldn't hear her. He heard nothing, not even the handsome husband's screams when he came running out of the liquor store to throw himself at Ellen's dead body on the asphalt.