Snow White Must Die (51 page)

Pia ignored them. She was lost in her own thoughts.

“Why was the cellar door sealed with silicone?” she asked as she went down the stairs, shining the flashlight in front of her. After ten steps she stopped in her tracks.

“Shit!” she swore. She was standing up to her ankles in icy water. “A water line broke! That’s why we got a short circuit. The circuit breaker must be down here.”

“I’ll call the water company,” said one of the officers. “They’ll have to shut off the main line.”

“And they’d better call the fire department too.” Bodenstein was keeping a wary eye out for more rats. “Come on, Pia. Lauterbach isn’t here.”

Pia wasn’t listening to him. Alarm bells were going off in her head. The house was empty and belonged to Daniela Lauterbach, who in the past week had suddenly canceled appointments for potential buyers to see the house. And not because she wanted to hide out here herself. Since her shoes and stockings were already wet anyway, Pia went farther down the steps. The water glugged and the cold hit her like a shock.

“What are you doing?” Bodenstein called after her. “Come on out of there!”

Pia bent over and shone the light around the corner in the dark. The water was up to less than ten inches below the ceiling. Pia went down another step, holding on to the railing with one hand. Now she was up to her hips in water.

“Amelie!” she yelled, teeth chattering. “Amelie? Hello?”

She held her breath and strained to listen; the cold was bringing tears to her eyes. Suddenly she froze. A jolt of adrenaline shot violently through her body, as if from an electric shock.

“Help!” she heard over the steady rush of the water. “Help! We’re in here!”

*   *   *

Smoking impatiently, Pia paced up and down in the entry hall. She hardly noticed her wet clothes and shoes, she was so excited. Bodenstein preferred to wait outside in the falling snow until the flooded cellar was accessible. The thought of spending any time under the same roof with an armada of rats gave him the creeps. The water company had turned off the main line, and the men from the Königstein Volunteer Fire Department were pumping out the cellar with all the hoses they had, sending the water down the hill into the overgrown park. Thanks to an emergency generator they now had lights. Three ambulances had arrived, and the police had cordoned off the property.

“All the air shafts through which the water could have drained out were blocked and sealed with silicone,” the fire captain reported. “Incredible.”

But true. For Bodenstein and Pia there was no doubt who had done it.

“We’re going in now,” announced one of the firemen, who like two of his colleagues was wearing waterproof waders that reached to his navel.

“I’m coming with you.” Pia tossed her cigarette carelessly on the parquet floor and stamped it out.

“No, stay here,” Bodenstein called from the doorway. “You’ll catch your death.”

“At least put on some rubber boots.” The captain turned around. “Wait, I’ll get you some.”

Five minutes later Pia followed the three firemen through the knee-high standing water into the cellar. In the light from the flashlight they opened one door after another until they found the right one. Pia turned the key in the lock and shoved against the door, which opened into the room with a piercing screech. Her heart was pounding hard enough to burst, and her knees buckled from relief when the cone of light from the flashlight revealed the pale, dirty face of a girl. Amelie Fröhlich blinked, blinded. Pia stumbled down the last two steps into the lower room, held out her arms, and grabbed hold of the hysterically sobbing girl.

“Calm down now,” she murmured, stroking Amelie’s matted hair. “Everything is going to be all right, Amelie. You don’t have to be scared anymore.”

“But … but Thies,” Amelie gasped. “I … I think he’s dead!”

*   *   *

Everyone at the Regional Criminal Unit felt enormous relief. Amelie Fröhlich had come through her ten days in the cellar of the old villa in Königstein without serious injury. She was exhausted, dehydrated, and had lost a lot of weight. But from a physical point of view she hadn’t suffered any ill effects from the terrible ordeal. She and Thies were taken to the hospital. The prognosis for Terlinden’s son was not good. He was in poor condition and was suffering from severe withdrawal symptoms. After the meeting in K-11 Bodenstein and Pia drove to the hospital in Bad Soden and were rather surprised to encounter Hartmut Sartorius and his son Tobias in the lobby.

“My ex-wife came out of her coma,” Sartorius declared. “We were able to talk with her briefly. She’s doing well, considering.”

“Oh, that’s great.” Pia smiled. Her gaze fell on Tobias, who seemed years older. He looked ill, and there were dark circles under his eyes.

“Where have you been?” asked Bodenstein, turning to Tobias Sartorius. “We’ve been very worried about you.”

“Nadia left him behind in a mountain cabin in Switzerland,” Hartmut Sartorius replied. “My son had to walk through the snow to the next village.” He put his hand on Tobias’s arm. “I still can’t believe that I was so wrong about Nadia.”

“We’ve arrested Ms. von Bredow,” Bodenstein said. “And Gregor Lauterbach has confessed to murdering Stefanie Schneeberger. In the next few days we’re going to demand that proceedings against you be reopened. You will be acquitted of any wrongdoing.”

Tobias Sartorius merely shrugged. It didn’t matter at all to him. The ten years he’d lost and the ruin of his family could never be repaired by any belated acquittal.

“Laura was still alive when the three boys threw her in the underground tank,” Bodenstein went on. “When they suddenly developed scruples and wanted to pull her back out, Lutz Richter stopped them by covering the tank with dirt. He was also the one who started a militia in Altenhain and made sure that everyone kept their mouths shut.”

Tobias didn’t react, but his father turned deathly pale.

“Lutz?”

“Yes.” Bodenstein nodded. “Richter also organized the attack on your son in the barn, and he and his wife were behind the graffiti on your house and the anonymous letters. They used all means possible to prevent the truth from coming out. When we arrested his son, Richter shot himself in the head. He’s still in a coma, but he’ll survive, and then he’ll be called to account in court.”

“And Nadia?” Hartmut Sartorius whispered. “I suppose she knew about all of this, didn’t she?”

“Yes, she did,” said Bodenstein. “She was an eyewitness when Lauterbach killed Stefanie. And earlier she had convinced her friends to throw Laura in the tank. She could have averted Tobias’s conviction, but she said nothing. For eleven years. When he got out of prison, she wanted to make sure he didn’t come back to Altenhain.”

“But why?” Tobias’s voice sounded hoarse. “I don’t understand. She … she always wrote to me and waited for me and…”

He fell silent, shaking his head.

“Nadia was in love with you,” said Pia. “But you always rejected her. She found it very convenient that Laura and Stefanie vanished from the scene. She probably didn’t think they would actually convict you. When you were sent to prison, she decided to wait for you and win you for herself. But then Amelie showed up. Nadia saw her as a rival, but more than that, she was a genuine threat, because Amelie had obviously found out about something. Nadia disguised herself as a police officer so she could look for Thies’s paintings at the Fröhlichs’ house.”

“Yes, I know. But she didn’t find them,” said Tobias.

“Oh yes, she did,” Bodenstein replied. “Anyway, she destroyed the paintings, because you would have realized at once that Nadia had lied to you.”

Stunned, Tobias stared at Bodenstein, then swallowed hard when he realized the full scope of Nadia’s lies and deceit. It was almost more than he could cope with.

“Everyone in Altenhain knew the truth,” Pia went on. “Claudius Terlinden didn’t talk, because he wanted to protect his own name and his son Lars’s reputation. Since he had a guilty conscience, he supported you and your parents financially and—”

“That wasn’t the only reason,” Tobias interrupted her. His rigid expression became animated again, and he cast a glance at his father. “But now I’m slowly beginning to get it. All he cared about was his power and…”

“And what?” asked Hartmut.

Tobias just shook his head mutely.

His father swayed. The truth about his neighbors and former friends was shattering for him. The whole village had kept silent and lied and selfishly watched as his livelihood, his marriage, his good reputation, yes, his very life were ruined. He sank down onto one of the plastic chairs next to the wall and buried his face in his hands. Tobias sat down next to him and put his arm around his father’s shoulders.

“But we also have some good news.” Only now did it occur to Bodenstein why he and Pia had come to the hospital. “Actually we were just on our way to see Amelie Fröhlich and Thies Terlinden. We found both of them today in the cellar of a house in Königstein. Dr. Lauterbach kidnapped them and hid them there.”

“Amelie is alive?” Tobias straightened up as if he’d had an electric shock. “Is she okay?”

“Yes. Come with us. Amelie will be glad to see you.”

Tobias hesitated a moment but then stood up. Even his father looked up and smiled timidly. But seconds later his smile disappeared, and his expression contorted with hatred and fury. He jumped up and dashed with a speed that surprised Pia toward a man who had just entered the lobby of the hospital.

“No, Dad, no!” they heard Tobias shout, and only then did they recognize Claudius Terlinden, accompanied by his wife and the Fröhlichs. Obviously they were on their way to see their children. Hartmut Sartorius grabbed Terlinden by the throat, trying to choke him, while Christine Terlinden and Arne and Barbara Fröhlich stood by as if paralyzed.

“You pig!” Sartorius snarled full of hate. “You lying bastard! You have my family on your conscience!”

Claudius Terlinden’s face was flushed and he was desperately flailing his arms and kicking at his attacker. Bodenstein grasped the situation and moved to take action. Pia too wanted to intervene, but she was shoved roughly aside by Tobias. She collided with Barbara Fröhlich, lost her balance, and fell to the floor. People had stopped, gaping at what was going on. Tobias had reached his father and tried to grab his arm, but at that instant Claudius Terlinden managed to escape from Hartmut’s grip. The fear of death lent him superhuman strength. He shoved Sartorius away. Pia got back on her feet and watched as if in slow motion as Hartmut Sartorius stumbled backward from the violent shove and crashed into an open fire door. Tobias started yelling and threw himself over his father. Suddenly there was blood everywhere. Pia reacted instinctively. She tore the scarf from Barbara Fröhlich’s neck, knelt down next to Sartorius, ignoring the pool of blood that was fast becoming a lake. In the desperate hope of being able to stop the bleeding somehow, she pressed the bright blue pashmina scarf against the gaping wound on the back of Sartorius’s head. The man’s legs twitched convulsively and he made a gurgling sound.

“We need a doctor! Quick!” Bodenstein shouted. “Damn it, there must be a doctor here somewhere!”

Coughing and choking, Claudius Terlinden crawled a short distance away, his hands at his throat. His eyes were bulging out of his head.

“I didn’t mean to do it,” he kept stammering over and over. “That’s … that’s not what I wanted. It was … it was an accident…”

Pia heard footsteps and yelling as if from far away. Her jeans, her hands, her jacket were all soaked with blood. White shoes and pants legs appeared in her field of vision.

“Step aside!” somebody yelled. She scooted back a little, looked up, and met Bodenstein’s eyes. It was too late. Hartmut Sartorius was dead.

*   *   *

“I couldn’t do a thing.” Pia shook her head in shock. “It all happened so fast.”

She was still shaking all over and could barely hold the bottle of Coke that Bodenstein had pressed into her blood-smeared hands.

“Don’t blame yourself,” said Oliver.

“But I do, damn it. Where’s Tobias?”

“He was still there.” Bodenstein looked around, searching. The lobby was cordoned off, and yet there was a throng of people. Police, doctors with tense, shocked expressions, and the officers in their white overalls looked on as the body of Hartmut Sartorius was lifted into a zinc coffin. “Just stay right here.” Bodenstein put his hand briefly on Pia’s shoulder and got up. “I’m going to look for Tobias and make sure he’s okay.”

Pia nodded and stared at the sticky, dried blood on her hands. She straightened up and took some deep breaths. Gradually her heartbeat calmed down and she could think clearly again. Her gaze fell on Claudius Terlinden, who sat slumped on a chair, staring into the distance. In front of him stood an officer who was apparently trying to take down an account of what happened. The death of Hartmut Sartorius was an accident, there was no doubt about that. Terlinden had acted in self-defense and with no malice aforethought, and yet he seemed to be gradually comprehending the weight of guilt on his shoulders. A young female doctor squatted down in front of Pia.

“Shall I give you something to calm your nerves?” she asked with concern.

“No, I’m okay,” replied Pia. “But could I maybe wash my hands somewhere?”

“Yes, of course. Come with me.”

Her knees shaking, Pia followed the doctor. She kept an eye out for Tobias Sartorius, but didn’t see him anywhere. Where was he? How would he cope with this horrible occurrence, seeing his father die right before his eyes? Pia was usually able to keep a cool head and remain composed even in a crisis, but the fate of Tobias Sartorius had shaken her to her core. Little by little he had lost everything that a human being can lose.

*   *   *

“Tobi!” Amelie sat up in bed and smiled in disbelief. She had thought of him so often during the past horrible days and nights; she had talked to him in her mind, imagining how it would be to see him again. The memory of the warmth in his sea-blue eyes had kept her from going crazy, and now he was right here in the room. Her heart skipped wildly with joy. “Oh, I’m so happy that you came to visit me! I’ve wanted so much…”