Woman of the Dead

by Bernhard Aichner

  “Five . . . four . . .”

  “You have no idea who you’re dealing with.”

  “Three.”

  “He’ll kill you too.”

  “Two.”

  “He won’t hesitate for a moment.”

  “One.”

  “His name is Massimo. And he’s a police—”

  • • •

  Blum fires the gun. Her finger pulls the trigger and now his head is lolling to the side. His name is Massimo. A few seconds ago, he was breathing, and now he is dead. But Blum can still hear him. His name is Massimo. The name eats a hole in her, fast and deep, it hollows her out, takes away all she still has. His name is Massimo. Blum sits down. She can’t think; she feels sick. To think he said that name, Massimo, the last name she was expecting. Sitting on the floor, leaning back against the wooden wall, she hears it again. It echoes around her head, even though she has pressed Stop. His name is Massimo. Blum doesn’t move. She can’t do anything but sit there, looking at Ludwig’s corpse. She cannot grasp what he said. Reza is slowly kneeling down in front of her. He carefully takes her face in his hands. We can get through this, he says, his fingers on her cheeks. They keep her from falling.

  • • •

  Ludwig said He’ll kill you too. Reza kisses her on the forehead and stands up. Stay where you are. Then he sets to work on Ludwig the way they have planned it. Calmly, Reza dissects him and packages him up. All is quiet in the boathouse as the blood runs into the lake. Blum is lost for words, she can’t help Reza, she can’t move, because she can feel Massimo, deep inside her, his hands on her body, his tongue. Massimo who rooted around inside her, lied to her, stole into her. His name is Massimo. Her husband’s best friend was one of those five men. The clown was the worst of them all, Dunya had said. Blum had slept with him. Blum can’t move.

  • • •

  Reza saws off Ludwig’s leg. He is using a handsaw and an ax. It is heavy work; there is no current here, so he cannot use power tools. Reza is sweating. But he doesn’t mind that Blum can’t help him. I can manage, he says. The leg is wrapped tight with plastic wrap, then sticky tape, then it goes into a carton, then more tape. Arms, torso, head, Reza packages them all up. Then he will clean up and carry Ludwig to the car; they will leave the boathouse exactly as they found it. There will be nothing to show that a man died here. The blood is in the lake, there’s only a broken padlock that will be blamed on local youths. No one will suspect a thing. Ludwig is ready to be dispatched. The packages are addressed to the Funerary Institute; Reza has chosen a haulage firm close to the airport. They will pass it before leaving Ludwig’s car in the underground garage at the airport; they will wear gloves and leave no prints. Then they will get straight back on the motorcycle and return to Innsbruck. Tomorrow, Ludwig will arrive in the post. They will store him in the cool room, divide him between caskets, and before Massimo’s eyes, Ludwig will disappear without a trace.

  • • •

  Does he know it’s Blum? He must have seen Dunya in her house, he knows that she hasn’t let up in her investigations. Does he think she’s capable of it? She can’t say. Was the plainclothes officer in the car outside her house there to follow her, not protect her? Massimo has been checking up on her, for the last few hours her phone hasn’t stopped ringing. He spoke into her voice mail in tones of concern. Mark’s murderer sounded so friendly. But he has her in his sights.

  • • •

  Back on the highway, Reza rides the bike and Blum sits behind him. She puts her arms around his waist, her head rests on his back, under her helmet tears fall. She feels empty, she wants to get home and wash away the thought of Massimo. She can’t believe how simple it was, how stupid, how blind she had been. Everything is falling into place. Dunya disappeared after Blum slept with him. He must have taken another look in the children’s room; he must have seen her in Nela’s bed, the woman he had defiled for years. Dunya could have brought the whole house of cards toppling down, just like Mark could. So Massimo executed her too. He held her head underwater, and then he kissed Blum.

  Uma is on his lap. Nela holds him from behind. At first Blum thinks it’s Karl. She is surprised that they’re not upstairs with him, that he is in their room instead. She stole quietly along the corridor to surprise them, craving a brief moment of family life after all that has happened. She wanted to hear her children’s laughter, see their pink cuddly toys, feel their innocence wash over her. She wanted to be a mother, not a murderer.

  • • •

  Blum stands in the doorway. Mama is back, she cries. And then her voice dies away. She is rooted to the spot, staring at Massimo. He smiles at her and puts Uma down on the floor. Blum tries to smile back but panic has seized her. All the same, she reacts fast. What a surprise! She doesn’t move but opens her arms wide and gathers her children into them. Mama, Mama, Mama. Kneeling down, she hugs them, avoiding his eyes. She doesn’t know what to do, she thinks hard, she wants to get them to safety, away from this man. Out of the room, out of the house, far away. She sees his hands on her children but she knows he mustn’t suspect that anything is amiss, that she knows the truth. She must act as though nothing has changed. There must be no fear, no trembling until he has left the house. How nice to see you, then she stands up and gives him a hug. Her whole body shrinks from it, but she puts her arms around the man who killed her husband. She does it for the children. She’d have given anything for him to go away before showing his true colors, before turning into a beast. So she smiles and she pretends. She sits the children down in front of the television and leads him into the living room.

  • • •

  “What are you doing here, Massimo?”

  “Karl phoned. He had to go to the dentist.”

  “He didn’t mention it.”

  “You know that I’m happy to look after the girls. I enjoy their company.”

  “Karl was supposed to be looking after them.”

  “Like I said, I was happy to take the reins. But tell me, where have you been? I was worried sick.”

  “I had to get out of here. I just rode around on the bike—I had cabin fever.”

  “So you were away overnight?”

  “Yes.”

  “On your own?”

  “Yes.”

  “My colleague told me Reza was with you.”

  “I gave him a lift into the city. Then I went my own way.”

  “Where is he?”

  “Who?”

  “Reza.”

  “Why would I know?”

  “There’s something the matter with him. Where did you take him?”

  “Are you interrogating me?”

  “No.”

  “Then stop asking me so many questions. I only wanted a few hours on my own. Reza is fine.”

  “And I only want you to be safe, Blum. I told you, you’re probably in danger. How am I going to keep an eye on you if you run off like that?”

  “Nothing’s going to happen to me.”

  “Your children need you.”

  “I’m quite aware of that.”

  “Did you understand me, Blum?”

  “Yes.”

  “I don’t know how many times I called you.”

  “Sorry.”

  “I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

  “I have no intention of letting anything happen to me.”

  “I’ll look after you, Blum.”

  “I know you will. But now I must see to the girls. I’ll call you, I promise.”

  “When?”

  “Tomorrow.”

  “I’d like to spend some time with you, Blum.”

  “And I’d like to see you too.”

  “You would?”

  “Yes.”

  “What shall we do?”

  “Anything you like.”

  “Anything?”

  “Yes, but I wish you’d send your man home. You being here for me is quite enough.”

  “When tomorrow?”

  “Once
the girls are asleep.”

  “Where?”

  “I’ll call you. And—thanks for looking after them.”

  “Please don’t go running off again.”

  “No, I won’t go running off. I’ll stay at home like a good girl until you catch the villains.”

  “Blum?”

  “Yes?”

  “You know I’d leave Ute like a shot, don’t you?”

  “Yes, I know.”

  “Your children need a father.”

  “Let me mull this over.”

  “You’re so beautiful, Blum.”

  “But it’s time for you to go. Please.”

  “See you tomorrow?”

  “Yes, tomorrow.”

  • • •

  What a bastard. The way he grins, trying to crawl into her favor. The way he threatens her implicitly, letting her know he won’t let her out of his sight. Blum can hardly stay on her feet, she’s exhausted herself, suppressing her fury, dissimulating, saying things she hates herself for. The lying bastard. She pictures him going downstairs, the front door opening and closing. Blum runs to her children. He’s never going to lay a finger on Uma or Nela again. Blum is determined never again to fear for her children’s safety; Massimo will never set eyes on them again. Uma and Nela are absorbed in the screen; they want to stay in its colorful world, they barely notice Blum’s kisses. They have no time for anxiety, tears, or fear. Can we watch a little more, Mama? A little more, please. They are only children watching television, children untouched by the world, who think they have nothing to fear. This is a day like any other because Massimo is part of their lives, a family friend, a man whose lap they have sat on countless times. They kissed him good-bye on the cheek, then went back to the little penguins on the screen. Massimo has gone, he has left the house, and he’s never going to set foot in it again.

  • • •

  Blum is breathing steadily in and out. For a moment she just stands there, wondering how she will do it and where, and what must happen first. She wonders what she is going to say to the fat little man in the red trunks, because he’s still there, parked outside her house, and he is still demanding money. As she goes downstairs she searches for the words that will make him go away. While the girls watch TV, spellbound, she will take care of that little problem. Blum goes through the front garden, down the drive, and into the road where Mark died. Schrettl is in his car: she will tap on the window and tell him that she will kill him if he stays where he is.

  • • •

  Just one sentence will do because she is furious enough to leave havoc in her wake, because Massimo touched the children, because she slept with him, because Mark is dead, because nothing is as it was. She was happy before that car came along. She doesn’t wait for a cue, she simply leans in and tells him she will kill him. If you don’t clear out I’ll kill you, in a voice as cold as ice. He knows that she means it, it is written in her eyes, in her mouth. She isn’t joking, she will carry out her threats. She sees his confusion, his uncertainty. Schrettl and Blum look at each other for ten seconds, then Blum removes her head from the car window and leaves without a backward glance. Behind her an engine starts. Schrettl’s car glides down the street.

  • • •

  Blum goes upstairs and sits down with the children. Her head is almost bursting with noise. She must act fast. She sits on the sofa with the girls and stares ahead. Maya the Bee is flying across the screen and Massimo is a murderer. Blum must talk to Reza and they must get rid of Massimo. Because he suspects Reza and because she saw doubt in his eyes. He may know more than he admits and she cannot bear for him to live a day longer. His presence is like poison. He took Mark away from her, he tore out her heart with his bare hands.

  • • •

  Blum remembers everything she knows about the clown. Dunya told her he was the worst, the most sadistic, the most violent. He had joined about a year after it started, and his arrival made the cellar an even more brutal place. Four tormentors became five. And Dunya was more afraid of him than of the others. Massimo, the kindly police officer, the helpful family friend, Blum’s admirer, the unhappy husband—no one would ever have thought that he could beat and rape a pregnant woman until she was about to lose her baby and die of pain. Dunya had told them, first Mark and then Blum, how he punched Ilena in the stomach with his fist again and again, punching the child, perhaps even his own. Every last detail had been recorded on Mark’s phone. The clown humiliated and beat them. Sometimes he didn’t rape them, he just beat them, laughing crazily, a man out of control. He would take Dunya’s head and slam it on the floor when she didn’t go along with what he wanted or give him a smile. Give me a smile, slut. I said you have to give me a smile. Do you think you’re too good for me? He would take her by the hair and smash her head on the plush red carpet until Dunya would lose consciousness and he would walk away.

  • • •

  Massimo, the kindly soul, the man who upheld the law. He spent nights on end in the garage with Mark, drinking beer, slapping him on the back, relaxing after work. Blum still couldn’t comprehend why Massimo had sought the company of Jaunig, Schönborn, and Puch. And Ludwig. Why he had gone off to a cellar with those men, how he could have been capable of those things.

  • • •

  The filthy bastard. Blum couldn’t call him anything else. The epithet kept rising to her lips while Maya’s friend the lazy bee Willy was sucking up honey on the screen. While Uma and Nela giggled and nestled close to her. Filthy bastard. Massimo. I’ll see you dead if it’s the last thing I do.

  Slowly she opens her eyes. Very slowly, because she knows what is coming. She doesn’t want to see what’s there but she can smell it and hear it. The disinfectant, the sound of the cooling unit, the buzzing of the old neon tube above her head to the left, the crane they use to lift corpses into caskets. Blum knows exactly where she is. She doesn’t know how she got there, but she knows she is in the preparation room. She knows that someone has knocked her out, undressed her, and tied her to the table. The aluminum is cold against her skin. She tries to reconstruct what has happened and work out what is going to happen next. She can move only her head. She turns it one way then the other, looking around for help. She tries to scream, but all she hears is groaning; her lips are covered in tape. She doesn’t want to take it in; doesn’t want to see him there beside her.

  • • •

  It is Reza’s blood on the table, pooling around his headless torso. Reza is dead, Reza can no longer help her. Only flesh remains. She thinks of the last thing he said. He was still embracing her, their hands had touched. Now Reza’s limbs are strewn on the floor. He has done to Reza what she did to others, he has mimicked her. Blum screams but no one can hear her from under the sticky tape. She tosses her head back and forth, trying to catch a glimpse of him, but she can’t. If he’s in the room she should be able to hear him, but silence reigns. He’s in the house, she knows it, he’s waiting for her to wake. He’s with the children, with Karl. Blum pictures what he is doing to them. She tries to break free, she can’t bear the thought, she must protect her little angels. This can’t be happening—she hears him. He is in the room. He is getting up from his chair and coming towards her.

  • • •

  His footsteps approach; the sound of his breathing comes closer. He is taking his time; he wants to torment her, wants to make her suffer. He stops, pausing to watch her rib cage rise and fall. He is toying with her, listening to her heart beat faster and faster, seeing her wrists twitch as her fingers try to find an escape. Blum is naked on the table, her skin and breasts exposed. How long has she been lying here, Blum wonders, how long has he been staring at her? What has he done to her while she’s been asleep? He has taken off her clothes, cut them from her body. Perhaps he has packed them up like a present. Every thought hurts now she is at his mercy, now she is no longer at the helm. The boat is drifting on a shark-infested sea.

  • • •

  Blum knows she is going to die
. Her mind has reached a still point, she is submitting to what will happen next. She no longer tries to escape, she just lies there, staring at the ceiling, trying not to think of the children. She won’t, she can’t. The children are okay, he won’t hurt the children. There’s only the buzz of the cooling unit, the hum of the neon tubes, the white of the ceiling, and her memories. Never mind what’s coming, never mind what happens to her, she will think of the good times. She will think of Mark, his hands on her belly just before Uma was born.

  • • •

  “I’m afraid, Mark.”

  “What of?”

  “Of what’s inside me.”

  “There’s nothing to fear. We’re in this together, Blum. Nothing bad will happen.”

  “But everything’s about to change.”

  “Change is good.”

  “Why?”

  “When winter is over the trees turn green.”

  • • •

  It does her good to think of Mark, of what he said and how he looked at her three years ago. The trees turn green. And how he kissed her. Never mind what happens next. Mark is beside her, very close. Never mind what happens, he holds her in his arms.

  • • •

  She looks away, to the ceiling, because he is coming closer now. The broad grin looms over her, the brightly colored plastic mouth. Only his eyes say she reacted too slowly, that the tables have been turned. Massimo is two eyes and a mask. He has won. She sees him approach, whispering softly, just loud enough for her to hear. None of this had to happen, Blum. None of it, do you understand? Everything would have been all right. We could have been together. There’s just her fear and his familiar voice as he bids her farewell, almost lovingly, as he tells her it is over. He loved her, he says, he would have done anything for her. She watches as he removes the mask and takes her face firmly in his hands. For twenty long seconds, he presses his lips onto the tape which covers her lips. Then he stabs her. Blum does not move.

  Blum has spent all night here on the preparation table, not moving but breathing. Her rib cage rises and falls and her eyes are open wide. She has spent a night imagining what he might do to her, tormenting herself. She spent the afternoon with the children, ate supper with them and Reza, then she came down here, locked the door, and lay down with her thoughts. She imagined the worst: Massimo twisting the knife into her, dissecting Reza. What it would be like, what he would do to her: a nightmare that will come true if she doesn’t act at once. She can’t wait any longer, she can’t risk it. She doesn’t want to find out what he knows and what he doesn’t know. She can’t give him the chance to investigate, to become suspicious of Reza. She must end it all before his lips come down on hers. Blum will have to call him and arrange a meeting. She will speak to him as soon as it is light in two hours’ time. She must keep the upper hand, strike before he can. She and Reza will move faster or else they will both die.