Postcard killers

Chapter 70

At 8.30 that evening, Sylvia Rudolph volunteered that she had new information for the police. The interrogation resumed at her own request.

Her face was paler now, and she had obviously been crying.

"I don't real y want to say this," she said, "because I don't like gossip. But I can see we're in a serious situation here, and I can no longer protect…"

She fel quiet, hesitating about whatever she was going to say next.

"Who are you protecting?" Sara Hoglund said gently. "You have to tel us now."

Sylvia Rudolph discreetly wiped away a tear. Then she took a deep breath.

"I didn't tel you the whole truth earlier," she said, and Jacob and all the others in the control room leaned toward the screen at the same time.

"We didn't set out for Europe just to look at art. I had to get away from Los Angeles, and Mac offered to come with me."

Mats Duval and Sara Hoglund waited in silence for her to go on.

"There's someone who wants to hurt me," she said in a very quiet voice.

"He's an old boyfriend, although if you ask him, he'l say we're stil together.

He just can't accept the fact that I am finished with him. He… used to hit me.

He can't stay away from me."

Sylvia Rudolph started to cry softly.

Sara Hoglund put a reassuring hand on her arm.

"It feels awful to say something so bad about another person," the young woman went on, taking the police chief's hand and squeezing it.

"But I real y think Billy is capable of doing anything if it would hurt me.

He might have followed me to Europe."