Deadly Communion

41

FRAU HARRER ARRIVED AT Rainmayr’s studio with her two daughters, Fränzel and Gusti. She was about to follow them inside when Rainmayr stopped her with a raised finger.

‘I’d rather you didn’t. There’s no need.’ Before Frau Harrer could object, he produced some coins and pressed them into her moist palm. ‘You can expect more, in due course.’

She took the money and called after the girls: ‘Fränzel, Gusti. Do whatever Herr Rainmayr says. Understand?’

Rainmayr had first seen Frau Harrer and her daughters in a queue, waiting to be given a free bowl of soup by workers from a women’s charity, and had offered to buy them a more substantial meal in a nearby coffee house. Frau Harrer had not required much persuading and while she and her daughters were bolting down their food Rainmayr had made his proposal. He was never in any doubt that Frau Harrer would accept.

‘Come back this afternoon,’ said Rainmayr, closing the door.

The two girls stood awkwardly in the middle of the studio. The eldest, Fränzel, was probably about fifteen. She had long straight hair and sharp angular features. Gusti, who Rainmayr judged to be a year younger, was obviously related, although her face was less severe.

‘Now,’ said Rainmayr, clapping his hands together. ‘Go behind that screen and take off your clothes.’

‘All of them?’ asked Fränzel.

‘Yes.’

‘But it’s cold.’

‘Don’t worry about that, I’ll light the stove in a minute. Besides, you won’t be entirely naked. I have some new clothes I want you to wear. Pretty clothes.’

He had learned from experience that a businesslike manner was more likely to produce compliance.

The two girls went behind the screen and Rainmayr rummaged in a bag for some garments and accessories. It was a condition laid down by his patron that the commission he was about to begin work on should feature ‘partially clothed models of youthful appearance’.

Fränzel stepped out first, her arms positioned to cover her breasts and genitals. She glanced at Rainmayr nervously, before hissing at her sister: ‘Come on — you have to.’ Gusti appeared a few moments later. Her head was bowed and she was looking at her feet.

‘Over here, you two. Don’t be shy.’

They crossed the floor, leaving a trail of footprints in the charcoal dust. Rainmayr’s eye was immediately drawn to their jutting hip bones and skeletal prominences. Their skin was perfect for his purposes: white and transparent enough to offer tantalising glimpses of internal structures. For Rainmayr, nudity was not simply about the removal of clothing. His aesthetic sensibility demanded a form of nudity that advanced one step further, satisfying a need for deeper and deeper levels of exposure. Not every model could be naked in the way that Rainmayr wanted. The opaque exterior of a well-fed woman held no interest for him.

Rainmayr opened the bag wide and showed the girls what was inside.

‘See. Pretty things.’ He then shook it for good measure.

He picked out a choker and placed it around Fränzel’s neck. Then he found a stocking.

‘Stand on one leg.’

Rainmayr knelt down, slipped the stocking on Fränzel’s foot and pulled it up to her thigh.

‘Now, the other one.’

The girl reached out to steady herself with the hand that she had been previously using to cover her genitals. Rainmayr glanced up and was pleased with what he saw.