Bad Wolf (6 page)

Emma had slipped off her shoes as soon as she got in the car. Her ankles and feet swelled up every day in this heat wave, and in the afternoon it was almost unbearable to wear shoes. The wooden steps creaked under her weight. Behind the milky-glass triptych of panes in the front door she could see a glimmer of light. She quietly opened the door and tiptoed inside. Florian was sitting at the kitchen table in front of his laptop. He was so lost in concentration that he didn’t notice her come in. Emma stood in the doorway for a moment, observing the sharp contours of his profile. Even after six years, she still found the sight of him fascinating.

In the beginning, there had been no love lost between them when they first met at the camp in Ethiopia—she was the technical leader of the project, he her medical counterpart. From the first instant, they had done nothing but argue. Nothing happened fast enough for him, and she was angered by his arrogance and pushiness. It was no simple task to transport medicines and technical gear hundreds of miles on the country road. Yet they were working for the same cause, and although she had been terribly annoyed by him, as a doctor he had impressed her deeply. He worked on behalf of his patients until he was utterly exhausted, sometimes seventy-two hours at a stretch, and in emergencies he was quick to improvise so that he could help and heal.

Dr. Florian Finkbeiner never did anything halfway; he was a doctor through and through, and he loved his profession. Anytime he could not save a human life, he regarded it as a personal defeat. It was the contradictory nature of his personality that slowly but surely had cast its spell over Emma: on one side the sympathetic humanitarian and on the other the worrywart doubter who could sound almost cynical. Sometimes he sank into a deep melancholy that bordered on depression, but he could also be witty, charming, and downright entertaining. Besides, he was probably the best-looking man she had ever met.

Emma’s colleague had given her a warning when she admitted that she’d fallen in love with Florian. “Keep away from him if you don’t want to make yourself unhappy,” she’d said. “He lugs the problems of the whole world around with him.” Then she added mockingly that maybe he was exactly the right man for someone like Emma, with her need to help everyone. Emma had immediately suppressed the doubt that these words aroused in her. She would always have to share Florian with his job and his patients, but what was left over for her was enough. Her heart overflowed with tenderness when she saw him sitting there. The curly dark hair, the shadow on his cheeks and chin, the warm dark eyes, the sensitive mouth, the tender skin on his throat.

“Hello,” she said softly. He gave a start and turned to stare at her, then slammed his laptop shut.

“Good God, Emmi! Do you have to sneak up on me like that?” he blurted out.

“Sorry.” She flicked on the ceiling light. The halogen lamp bathed the kitchen in a gleaming white glow. “I didn’t mean to.”

“Louisa’s been whining all evening,” he said, getting up. “She didn’t want to eat, said she had a stomachache. Then I read her a couple of stories, and finally she fell asleep.”

He took Emma in his arms and kissed her on the cheek.

“How was the reunion? Did you have fun?” he asked, placing a hand on her stomach. He hadn’t done that in a long time. Just a little more than five weeks and this pregnancy, which had not had the most fortuitous start, would be over. Florian hadn’t wanted a second child—and she actually hadn’t, either, but somehow it had happened.

“Yes, it was really interesting to see everybody after such a long time. In some ways, they’ve hardly changed at all.” Emma smiled. “And I met my best friend from those days. I haven’t seen her since we graduated.”

“That sounds great.” Florian smiled, too, then cast a glance at the kitchen clock above the doorway. “Is it okay if I go over to Ralf’s for a beer?”

“Of course. You deserve it after an evening of putting up with Louisa.”

“I won’t be late.” He kissed her again on the cheek, then put on his loafers, which were standing next to the door. “See you in a while.”

“Okay, see you. Have fun.”

The door closed behind him, and the light went on in the stairwell. Emma heaved a sigh. The first few weeks after he got back from Haiti, Florian had acted strange, but now he seemed more like himself. Emma was familiar with his dark phases, when he acted cold and introverted. They usually passed after a couple of days, but this time it had taken a lot longer. Even though it was his idea to stay in Falkenstein until the baby was born, it had to feel odd for him to be suddenly back in Germany, living in his parents’ house—the house he had fled almost twenty-five years ago.

Emma opened the fridge, got out a bottle of mineral water, and poured herself a glass. Then she sat down at the kitchen table. After all the years of their gypsy lifestyle, which had taken them to the most remote places on earth, she found the idea of finally settling in and putting down roots very tempting. Next year, Louisa would be going to school, and that would be the end of living in some camp somewhere. Florian was an excellent surgeon, and any clinic in Germany should be glad to take him on. Besides, at forty-six he was no spring chicken. Most of his bosses, as he had mentioned recently in a discussion of this very topic, were younger than he was. But he couldn’t imagine having to face on a daily basis the degenerate and overfed victims of the affluent society at a hospital. He had made this statement with the same vehemence that he used to describe his own goals, and Emma understood that nothing would change his mind.

She yawned. Time for bed. Emma put her glass in the dishwasher and turned off the light. On the way to the bathroom, she looked in on Louisa, who was sleeping soundly and peacefully, surrounded by her stuffed animals. Emma’s gaze fell on the book that Florian had been reading to the little girl, and she had to smile. Who knows how long he had to read out loud, she thought. Louisa was crazy about fantasy stories and fairy tales. She knew them all by heart: Hansel and Gretel, Rapunzel, Snow White and Rose Red, and Puss in Boots. Emma gently closed the door. Florian would get used to his new life soon enough. Someday they would have their own house and be like a real family.

*   *   *

The soccer field was empty now, but sensation-seeking onlookers still crowded in behind the fence blocking off the sluiceway, and members of the press had arrived by now, as well. Pia tried one more time to reach her boss. No luck. His cell was turned on, but he didn’t pick up. She did get through to Detective Superintendent Kai Ostermann, who picked up at once.

“Sorry for bothering you,” Pia said. “We just retrieved a body from the river in Eddersheim, near the locks. I could use your help.”

“No problem,” Kai replied, without a word about the late hour. “What do you want me to do?”

“I need a warrant for an autopsy, tomorrow morning early. And maybe you could check the list of missing persons. A girl between fourteen and sixteen years old. Blond, very thin, dark brown eyes. Henning thinks she’s been dead for a few days.”

“Got it. I’ll drive over to the office right away.”

“Oh, and please try to reach the boss.” Pia ended the call and sent Bodenstein a text. He’d been away for four days now, but last week he’d told her that he’d be back Thursday night.

“Ms. Kirchhoff!” called a man with a camera marked
Hessen TV
on his shoulder. “Can we get a couple of shots?”

From force of habit, Pia wanted to say no, but after thinking a moment, she changed her mind. A spot on TV might be very helpful in clearing up the identity of the dead girl.

“Sure, go ahead,” said Pia. She asked one of the patrol officers standing at the cordon to accompany the camera people and reporters to the site where the body had been found. HR, SAT1, RTL Hessen, Antenne Pro, Rhein-Main TV. All of them would rather listen to the police channels than to music on the radio.

One of the ambulances had left with the dead-drunk kid, and a hearse had pulled up.

Pia knocked on the side door of the other ambulance, and it was opened at once.

“Could I talk to the young woman?” she asked.

The EMT nodded. “She’s still in shock, but we’ve got her stabilized.” Pia climbed into the vehicle and sat down next to the young woman on the folding seat. She had a pale but pretty childlike face with wide eyes, in which Pia saw fear and horror. What she had just experienced was going to haunt her for the rest of her life.

“Hello,” said Pia in a friendly voice. “I’m Pia Kirchhoff from Kripo in Hofheim. Would you please tell me your name?”

“A … Alina Hindemith.”

She smelled unpleasantly of alcohol and vomit.

“She just told me her name was Sabrina,” the assistant EMT interjected. “And her ID says—”

Pia cut him off. “Would you mind leaving us alone?”

“I … I can explain everything,” whispered the young woman, staring at the ceiling of the ambulance. “It … it was stupid of me, but … but I borrowed my big sister’s ID. We … we look a lot alike.”

Pia sighed. Unfortunately, this trick worked in almost every supermarket in Germany.

“I … I used it to buy some booze. Vodka and slivovitz.” She started to cry. “My parents are going to kill me when they hear about it.”

“How old are you, Alina?”

“Fif … fifteen.”

Fifteen years old with a blood-alcohol content of .20 percent. A brilliant achievement.

“Can you remember what happened?”

“We climbed over the gate. Mart and Diego knew the place and said nobody would bother us there. And then … then we just sort of sat around and … and drank.”

“Who else was with you?”

The girl glanced at Pia and then frowned. She seemed to be having trouble remembering.

“Mart and Diego and … and me. And Katharina and Alex … and…” Alina’s voice tracked off and she looked at Pia in terror. “Mia! I … I don’t know exactly what happened. I … I blacked out. But then I saw Mia lying in the water. Oh God, oh God! And Alex was so drunk, I couldn’t wake him up!”

Her face contorted, and then the tears streamed down.

Pia let her cry for a moment. The girl from the river couldn’t be Mia, who’d been drinking with Alina and her friends. Henning was seldom mistaken, and the wounds from an outboard motor corroborated the fact that the dead girl had been in the river a long time. Pia’s cell rang; it was Kai Ostermann. Unfortunately, all he could tell her was that so far his queries had produced no results. Pia thanked him and ended the call.

She asked the girl for the last name and address of the unconscious boy, then for his parents’ phone number. After jotting them down, she climbed out of the ambulance and spoke briefly with the EMT.

“She’s stable, so we can let her go home,” he said. “Tomorrow, she’ll probably have a huge hangover, but there’s nothing to be done about that.”

“What about the boy?”

“He’s already on his way to Höchst. I’m afraid he’s got more than just a pounding head in store for him.”

“Good evening, Ms. Kirchhoff,” somebody said. Pia turned around, to see a dark-haired man with a three-day stubble, who was wearing faded jeans, a T-shirt, and well-worn moccasins. He seemed vaguely familiar. It took a few seconds before she recognized Dr. Frey, the state attorney.

“Uh … hello, Dr. Frey,” she stammered in astonishment, almost blurting out “What on earth happened to you?” She’d never seen him wear anything but a three-piece suit and tie, and he was always clean-shaven, his hair slicked back with gel. He looked her over with the same mixture of curiosity and amazement.

“I was at a class reunion when Dispatch called,” she said with a hint of embarrassment.

“And I was at a backyard barbecue with friends and family.” Even the SA seemed to consider it necessary to justify his unusual attire. “They told me about the discovery of the body, and since I was in Flörsheim anyway, I volunteered to handle the case.”

“Ah, that’s … that’s good.” Pia was still a bit confused by this unexpected metamorphosis of the SA; she couldn’t have imagined that he had friends or would enjoy a relaxing evening barbecuing. He smelled slightly of alcohol with a hint of peppermint. Apparently, he wasn’t completely immune to worldly pleasures. It was a whole new side of this notorious Calvinist noted for his iron discipline and workaholic tendencies. In her eyes, he existed only in his office or a courtroom.

“Are you going to call the parents of the two drunk kids?” The EMT slammed the side door of the ambulance shut.

“Sure, I’ll take care of it,” said Pia.

“They told me you’re in charge of the investigation.” State Attorney Frey took her arm and pulled her aside so that the ambulance could move past.

“Yes, that’s right,” Pia said with a nod. “My boss is still on vacation.”

“Hmm. So what exactly happened here?”

Pia briefly explained the situation. “I considered it proper to grant the press access to the site where the body was found,” she said, concluding her account. “My colleague could find no record of any missing person’s report that might be linked to the victim. Perhaps the public can assist in identifying the dead girl.”

The SA frowned but then nodded in agreement. “Clearing up a fatality. It’s always preferable to resolve a homicide as rapidly as possible,” he replied. “I’ll take a look at the case. We’ll probably be seeing each other later.”

Pia waited until he had vanished in the darkness, then tapped in the phone number that the girl had given her. A light breeze had come up, and she shivered. The reporters returned.

“Do you think we could get another brief statement from you?”

“Just a moment.” Pia walked away a few yards toward the riverbank so she could talk in private. An extremely alert male voice answered. “Good evening, Mr. Hindemith. My name is Pia Kirchhoff, from Kripo Hofheim. It’s about your daughter Alina. Don’t worry, she’s fine, but I’d like to ask you to come to Eddersheim. To the locks. You can’t miss it.”

The men from the undertakers came down the footpath carrying a body bag on a stretcher. The cameras started flashing at once. Pia went over to Kröger’s vehicle, which, as usual, was unlocked, grabbed the fleece jacket from the backseat, and slipped it on. Then she gathered her hair into a ponytail, using an elastic to hold it in place. Now she felt more like herself and ready to face the TV cameras.