Itsy Bitsy Spider (Emma Frost #1) (16 page)

"I hate to
leave
you like this when you've only just
arrived," I said to Dad and kissed his cheek.

He was sitting in an armchair by the fireplace
in the living room with a book folded in his lap that he had been reading to
the kids earlier. Now he had dozed off and was half asleep when I had to go.

"Pah. I'll be fine. Me and the kiddos will
have a great time. Besides I'll stay all week so you'll have plenty of time to
spend together." He grabbed my arm and held it tight. "Don't be like
your mother. Don't worry too much."

"She hardly seems like she worries about
anything lately," I said.

Dad shook his head. "Don't be angry with
her for wanting to have some fun. If this is what she wants, then let her have
it."

"Wow. That's really big of you," I
said.

He shrugged with a smile. "Well what can I
say? When you've been married this long all you want is for the other part to
be happy. Besides I'm doing fine on my own. Haven't learned to cook yet, but
who knows, maybe that'll come one day too, huh? Otherwise they have great
takeout places in Ballerup. I lack nothing."

He gave me one of those reassuring smiles that I
knew he didn't really mean, but told me he wanted me not to worry anymore.

I nodded and gave him another kiss. "Okay,
then. I'll be across the street if you need anything. Don't let the kids fool
you."

"Ha ha. I won't."

"Dinner is on the counter. Just microwave
it and you're good to go. Victor won't let you touch his food or cut it or
anything. He wants to arrange it first on the plate before he starts to eat. He
doesn't like any of the food touching each other. He's very particular about
that. It takes a while, but just let him ..."

My dad grabbed my arm and pulled me closer. Then
he kissed me. "Don't worry, honey. I got it. Even Victor. He'll be fine
with me. Go have fun at your neighbor's."

I exhaled. "Okay. I will. See you
later."

"Don't think I'll be waiting up for you
though. I'm beat."

"See you tomorrow, then."

My dad returned to his book and lifted his arm
in a small wave. I took one last glance at him, then walked out the door,
yelling at Maya and Victor that I was leaving.

"Good," my daughter yelled back.

I closed the door and walked across the street
thinking how surprisingly my children seemed to be doing much better now that
their granddad was in the house. I hadn't expected that at all. It felt good.
It felt like we were a real family again. I could get used to that.

I knocked at Sophia's door and she opened with a
wide smile. I showed her the wine I had brought.

"Nothing for me," she said and pointed
at her stomach. "Remember?"

"I do. But I thought that guy of yours
might like a glass or two."

"Sure. He would love to. Come on in,"
she said and almost pulled me inside. She whispered secretly. "He's in the
kitchen, cooking for us."

Sophia pointed through the half open door and I
spotted a tall muscular guy wearing a while apron looking like he was a
magician performing a very difficult trick. Sophia pulled me through the door.
"Our guest of honor has arrived," she said. "This is Emma. Emma
this is Stephan."

"Pleased to meet you," he said while
steam hit his face from the stove. He wiped his hand in the apron, and then
reached it towards me.

"Nice to meet you," I said and looked
at the many pots and pans cooking. "Looking good."

Stephan smiled, then threw some spices in a pan.
Sophia pulled me away. "Come. Let's talk while he cooks. The kids are all
in bed already. I managed to get them to sleep early tonight. Can you believe
it?"

"No. Not really," I said. I really
couldn't. Usually they were still running all over the place at this
time.  "Good for you."

"I know. I just have all this new energy.
It's like I have gotten a whole new perspective on life. I'm so much more
positive. Stephan has that affect on me. And on the kids. They are so happy
when he's around. You won't believe it. He even helped me get them to bed. Sit
down. I'll open your wine."

"Thanks," I said and found a chair to
sit in. Soon after Sophia arrived with a glass full of red wine.

"Now," Sophia said and sat down on the
other side of the table. "Let's chat. Now before you say anything. Let's
talk about Stephan. Isn't he handsome?"

"He is, yes, I guess." He was, but not
really my type. I couldn't put my finger on it, but there was something. Maybe
the tattoos or the big muscles. It was a little too much, I thought.

"I guess?" Sophia said with a smirk.
"Come on, woman. He's gorgeous!"

"Okay, then yes. He is very handsome. Good
for you."

"This kid is going to be stunning. I just know
it," she said and held a hand to her stomach. It still wasn't visible yet.

"I bet."

I drank from my glass and looked at my happy
friend. "So is he moving in soon, or what's going on?"

"Next week," she said with a huge
smile. She had a pretty smile. It was wonderful to see her this happy. "So
what's new with you?" she asked.

"My dad arrived today."

"That's good news, right?" Sophia
asked. "I mean you've wanted for him to come for a long time, right?"

"Yes. I'm really happy that he finally did.
The kids are ecstatic. Well mostly Maya, but still. It's great to see them with
him."

Sophia looked at me observingly. "But
something is bothering you, isn't it? You seem like you have something on your
mind."

I drank some more wine, then looked at Sophia.
"Well I figured something out. I haven't told anyone this before."

Sophia became serious. "Wow it sounds bad,
is it? Is it something bad?"

"I have a feeling that it might be. I don't
quite know how to wrap my head around it, but something is wrong."

"Well spill it sister."

I sipped my wine again. Wonderful smells were
beginning to come from the kitchen. I was hungry, I realized. "I think
there is a serial killer on the loose on the island. I have checked the police
files and all the killings lately are all done in the same manner. All have
been opened up and their organs cut out while they were still alive."

Sophia looked at me and wrinkled her forehead.
"But I thought the police said there was no connection between the three
killings. Naturally I suspected that there was, I am not that big an idiot, but
why are they saying there isn't?"

"To not create panic. They're afraid of
scaring off the tourists."

"That would be bad, alright," Sophia
said. Without the tourists we would go broke, the entire island would go broke."
She inhaled deeply and leaned back. "So the police are covering up for as
long as it is possible, what's so bad about that?"

"There is more."

"I had a feeling there would be."

"My grandmother was one of the victims. The
killer has been painting numbers on the walls of his victims and I found a
number on Victor's wall as well. The house had been cleaned and it was almost
gone, but I could still see it. I found her file and realized she had been
killed the exact same way as the three others."

"Oh boy," Sophia said and grabbed the
wine bottle. "You need a little more of this, I think," she said and
poured some into my glass.

"Dinner is served," Stephan said and
poked his head into the living room.

"Oh boy," Sophia said again and got up
from her chair. "I've been waiting for this all day!"

Everything was
arranged so
nicely when we got back into the kitchen.
Stephan had set the table very neatly with yellow napkins and flowers. Every
plate had food on it, arranged nicely with a piece of meat, two potatoes and
some sauce, a small stalk of parsley, some roasted walnuts, soft fried onions
and pickles.

"It smells so good," I said and sat
down.

"It really does," Sophia said and
kissed Stephan on the cheek. "You're in for a real treat, Emma. Stephan is
the best cook."

It looked really intriguing and I was famished.
I hadn't had time for lunch because of all that cleaning I had to do. Stephan
poured me some more wine. I decided it had to be my last glass. Wine on an
empty stomach was never a great idea.

"So Emma. Sophia tells me you're a
writer." Stephan grabbed the chair across from me and sat down. I was so
hungry now I could hardly wait anymore. I wanted to dig in right away, but to
be polite I waited.

"Yes. Well I have mostly been a reporter
the last many years for various magazines. Before that I did a little TV as a
reporter for a few years, but I enjoy writing more than that."

"Let me get us all some water," Sophia
said and left the table to fill a jug with water from the tap.

"And you're writing a book now?"
Stephan asked.

"Yeah. Well ... uh I'm trying to. I haven't
quite started writing yet. Right now I'm mostly doing research."

"Sophia tells me it's about the killing of
Mrs. Heinrichsen?"

"Yeah. It is. Did you know her?"

"No. I have heard of her though. Sounds
like a nasty old hag to me. Probably deserved what she had coming."

I cleared my throat. "I hardly think anyone
deserves to be killed, no matter how horrible they have acted."

Stephan had taken a beer and was drinking from
it. "I completely disagree."

"I beg your pardon? How does killing them
make it better?"

"Who says it's supposed to make anything
better. It's not. It's all about revenge, them getting what they deserve. I
don't feel sorry for anyone like her."

"So I guess you're in to death penalty and
that kind of stuff?"

He drank from his beer and nodded. "I sure
am. An eye for an eye, I always say. If someone kills a person they should be
killed themselves. It's as simple as that."

"Here is the water," Sophia said and
started pouring into our small glasses.

I drank a little thinking about saying something
more, but I didn't want to ruin the atmosphere by starting a discussion. The
man had a right to his own opinion even if I didn't agree.

"Now dig in," Stephan said.

I picked up my knife and fork and cut out a
piece of the meat. It tasted heavenly. The sauce with mushrooms in it was like
an explosion in my mouth.

"Wow, this is good," Sophia said.
"What is it? I can't detect what kind of meat is it?"

Stephan lifted his head and smiled. "It's
actually two types of meat. A real delicacy. It's heart and liver in a creamy
mushroom sauce."

Sophia had just taken a big mouthful and now she
was spitting it all out on the plate. I felt the meat grow in my mouth and
chewed for a long time until I finally sank it with much discomfort. I flushed
it down with a big sip of wine.

"Are you kidding me?" Sophia yelled
and washed her mouth in water, gurgling and splashing it around inside the
mouth like she was cleaning her teeth at the dentist.

"What?" Stephan said.

I poked my meat with my fork and pushed it
around on the plate. I really didn't feel like eating any more.

"You serve us organs?" Sophia asked
enraged.

"It's good. It's considered to be a
delicacy. Didn't it taste good? Emma?" Stephan looked at me for an answer.
It was starting to be awkward.

"It is great," I said. "I'm just
not really into eating organs. My mother used to serve liver to me as a child,
and I've kind of hated it ever since. Sorry."

Stephan threw his fork at his plate and pushed
his chair backwards making a loud sound. "Well suit yourselves," he
said with an angry tone.

"I'd better get back to my dad and the
kids," I said and got up. I wiped my mouth in the napkin and emptied my
wine. I sensed it was time to get out. Stephan wasn't happy with us and the
atmosphere was way too tense for me to stay.

Sophia walked me out. "I'm so sorry about
that," she whispered.

"It's okay. He didn't know. Thanks for
dinner. See you soon," I said and gave her a hug before I left.