The Weeping Girl (20 page)

H
No. We studied at different universities, and lived in different places. But we resumed our friendship when we ended up as teachers in the same school. About
three years ago.

V
Would you claim to know Maager well?

H
Yes, I think one could say that.

V
Think?

H
I know him well.

V
His wife as well?

H
No. We have only met once or twice.

V
Once or twice?

H
Three times, I think. We acknowledge each other if we meet in town.

V
Do you have a family?

H
Not yet. I have a girlfriend.

V
I see. You know what has happened, I take it?

H
Yes.

V
You know that Maager had a relationship with a schoolgirl, and that the girl is dead?

H
Winnie Maas, yes.

V
Did you teach her as well?

H
Yes.

V
In what subjects?

H
Maths and physics.

V
What marks did you give her?

H
Marks? I don’t see what relevance that has.

V
You don’t? Please answer my question even so.

H
I gave her a six in physics and a four in maths.

V
Not especially high marks, then.

H
No. I still don’t see the relevance.

V
Was she pretty?

H
I beg your pardon?

V
I asked you if Winnie Maas was pretty.

H
That’s not something I have an opinion about.

V
Did Arnold Maager think Winnie Maas was pretty?

H
/No answer/

V
I suggest you make an effort to answer that question. In all probability you’ll be asked it again during the trial, so you might as well get used to
it.

H
I don’t know if Maager thought that Winnie Maas was pretty.

V
But you know that he had an affair with her?

H
I’d hardly call it an affair.

V
You wouldn’t? What would you call it, then?

H
She offered herself up to him on a plate. He made a mistake. It only happened once.

V
So you think his behaviour is defensible, do you?

H
Of course I don’t. All I’m saying is that you could hardly call it an affair.

V
Were you present in the flat when Maager and Winnie Maas had intercourse?

H
No.

V
But you know about it?

H
Yes.

V
Did you know about it before the girl’s death as well?

H
Yes.

V
How and when did you hear about it?

H
Some colleagues talked about it.

V
Who?

H
Cruickshank and Nielsen.

V
Two of those who were present at the party after the disco on the tenth of June?

H
Yes.

V
And they said that Maager had sexual intercourse with Winnie Maas?

H
Yes.

V
When was that?

H
A few days afterwards. The last week of term. Maager said so himself not long afterwards.

V
In what connection?

H
We’d gone out for a beer. At the very beginning of the summer holiday – round about the twentieth.

V
Where?

H
Lippmann’s. And a few other bars.

V
And that was when he told you that he’d had intercourse with a pupil?

H
He told me a bit about how it had happened – I already knew about the basic facts.

V
What did he say?

H
That he’d been as pissed as a newt, and regretted what had happened. And he hoped there wouldn’t be any repercussions.

V
Repercussions? What did he mean by that?

H
That neither he nor the girl would get into trouble as a result, of course.

V
I see. But the other pupils must have known what had happened?

H
I assume so. Although I didn’t hear anything about it from pupils. But then it was just before the summer holidays, of course.

V
So perhaps the main thing was that none of the parents got to hear about it?

H
That’s one way of looking at it, yes.

V
Anyway, let’s go on. This wasn’t the only time you discussed the Winnie Maas business with Maager, was it?

H
No.

V
Let’s hear details.

H
We met in the middle of July as well.

V
When and where?

H
We made a trip out to the islands. One Saturday afternoon. It must have been the fifteenth or sixteenth, I think. Arnold rang me and said he’d like to have
a chat. I had nothing else on at the time.

V
So what was it all about this time?

H
Winnie Maas. She was pregnant. Maager had just heard.

V
What sort of state did he seem to be in?

H
He was worried, of course. More than just worried, in fact. Winnie evidently wanted to have the baby.

V
And what about Maager?

H
You’d have to ask him about that.

V
We already have done. Now we want to hear what you have to say, herr Heller. No doubt Maager made his own views clear during your trip to the islands.

H
He wasn’t his normal self.

V
I didn’t ask you if he was his normal self. I want to know what he said in connection with the fact that the girl was pregnant.

H
He wanted her to have an abortion, of course. That’s understandable, surely. She was too young to be a mother, and he was worried about how his wife would
react.

V
Really? So he hadn’t told her about his, er, indiscretion?

H
No, he hadn’t.

V
Was he afraid that Winnie Maas might do so?

H
That’s possible. I don’t understand the point of all this. Why are we sitting here, discussing whether—

V
It doesn’t matter whether you understand or not. The police have to do their duty, no matter what. Do you think there was anything else that Arnold Maager
was afraid of?

H
Such as what?

V
Think about it. What did you talk about, in fact?

H
Everything under the sun.

V
How many islands did you visit?

H
Doczum and Billsmaar. We just sailed round them. We didn’t go ashore at all.

V
Did you come up with a solution to Maager’s problems?

H
Solution? What kind of a solution?

V
If you spent several hours on the ferry, you must surely have discussed this and that? Toyed with various thoughts?

H
I don’t understand what you’re talking about.

V
I’m talking about escape routes. Possible escape routes to enable Arnold Maager to wriggle out of the awkward situation he found himself in. I hope
you’re not pretending to be more stupid than you really are – I thought you had a university degree.

H
/No reply/

V
Surely that’s why he wanted to meet you? To get some help.

H
He didn’t only want to talk. He was desperate, for God’s sake.

V
Desperate? Are you saying that Arnold Maager was desperate when the pair of you made that trip round the islands on Saturday, the sixteenth of July?

Vrommel:
Did you have any further contact with Arnold Maager during the weeks before Winnie Maas’s death? After July the sixteenth, that is.

Heller:
He phoned me a few times. Before it happened, I mean.

V
A few telephone conversations. What did you talk about?

H
All kinds of things.

V
About Winnie Maas as well?

H
Yes.

V
And what did Maager have to say?

H
He was worried.

V
Explain.

H
What do you mean, explain?

V
Did he say anything about what he intended to do? How did you assess his state of mind?

H
He said he was having trouble sleeping. He didn’t know whether or not he should tell his wife.

V
Did you give him any advice?

H
No. What could I say?

V
Did you think he was unbalanced during these telephone calls?

H
Not really unbalanced. Worried and tense, more like.

V
Do you know if he had much contact with the girl?

H
They’d talked things over. He’d tried to persuade her to have an abortion. He’d offered to help her out financially.

V
And what did she say to that?

H
She stuck to her guns, it seemed. She wanted to have the baby.

V
And what about the financial side?

H
I don’t know.

V
You don’t know?

H
No.

V
All right. When you heard what had happened, that the girl had been found dead on the railway line, how did you react then?

H
I was shocked, naturally.

V
Yes, naturally. We were all shocked. Were you surprised as well?

H
Of course I was surprised. It was horrendous.

V
So you hadn’t expected that development?

H
No, of course I hadn’t. He must have taken leave of his senses. It’s horrendous.

V
Do you think it’s surprising that he took leave of his senses?

H
/No reply/

V
I’ll ask you again. Bearing in mind all the circumstances, do you think it’s surprising that Arnold Maager took leave of his senses?

H
I don’t know. Perhaps not.

V
Thank you, herr Heller. That will be all for now.

19 July 1999

For a brief moment – just a fraction of a second – she thought he was going to hit her.

But nothing happened. Not even a gesture. But the very fact that such an image appeared in her mind’s eye must mean something, of course. Not necessarily that he was that type of man
– somebody who would start using his fists when he’d run out of words: but something nevertheless. A suspicion? A warning?

Or was it just a distorted figment of the imagination? A projection of her own dodgy emotional life?

In any case, it stayed there. And would continue to stay there, she knew that even before the moment had passed.

‘You did what?’ he snarled through gritted teeth.

‘I left it up there and took a taxi instead,’ she said.

‘You left my car up there in the forest? Without arranging for anybody to see to it?’

She shrugged. He’s got a point, she thought. I wouldn’t be exactly pleased in those circumstances either.

‘A Trabant,’ she said. ‘I didn’t think it was worth bothering about.’

He ignored that comment. Drummed with his fingers on the table, and stared above her shoulder. The skin over his cheeks became taut.

‘So now what?’ he said.

‘I’ll sort it out,’ she said with a sigh. ‘If it’s so damned important for you to have a car at your disposal, maybe you could hire one for the time being.
I’ll pay. Unfortunately a lot of other things have happened, and I haven’t time to worry about such trivia at the moment.’

He allowed a few seconds to pass before he asked.

‘What exactly has happened?’

‘Maager has gone missing. Things were hectic, and I didn’t have an opportunity of looking for a garage just then.’

‘Gone missing? Why?’

‘I’ve no idea. He hasn’t been seen at the home since Saturday.’

‘So both the father and the daughter are missing now?’

‘So it seems.’

‘Do the police know about it?’

Moreno took a sip of juice and made to stand up.

‘If they do, they haven’t got round to doing anything about it yet,’ she said. ‘Those layabouts up at Sidonis reported it a few hours ago. Despite the fact that
he’s been gone for two days. No, I really must talk to Vrommel and Vegesack about this – it’s high time for them to wake up now.’

Mikael leaned back and looked at her with a trace of a smile on his lips. She wasn’t sure how to interpret it.

It was rather easier to interpret what he said.

‘So, Inspector Moreno is back on duty now, is she?’

Moreno leaned back and thought for two seconds.

‘I’m moving out this evening,’ she said. ‘Thank you for the last few days here.’

His smile seemed to freeze, but before he had a chance to say anything she had stood up and left the table.