The Stranglers Honeymoon

25

‘Three weeks!’ said Reinhart. ‘Three bloody weeks since the girl was found out there on the beach! And we’ve got absolutely nowhere — did you hear that? Nowhere! It’s a scandal!’

He leaned forward over his desk and glared at all those present in turn: but nobody seemed to have anything to say in their defence. Moreno signalled to him by means of a glance in the direction of the woman sitting diagonally opposite her.

‘Ah, yes,’ said Reinhart, with a sweeping gesture. ‘You probably haven’t met the brains trust yet. . I’d like to introduce you all to Inspector Sammelmerk. She’s been transferred here from Saaren, to fill the gap left by deBries. About time, some might say — it’s been over a year. . Anyway, from left to right: Krause, Moreno, Jung, Rooth, Münster, and yours truly, Chief Inspector Reinhart. . Any questions?’

Nobody had any questions. Jung blew his nose into a paper tissue.

‘Welcome,’ said Rooth. ‘Although we met yesterday, didn’t we?’

Jung, Moreno and Münster joined in the welcome by nodding. Krause stood up and shook her hand, and Inspector Sammelmerk herself did her best to avoid looking embarrassed. She was quite a tall and well-built woman in her forties: she had asked to be transferred from Saaren for personal reasons, this Tuesday was her second day in the Maardam CID, and of course there was no reason to make a fuss about it.

‘Thank you,’ she said in any case. ‘I’m not usually difficult to work with — and I hope you aren’t either. Anyway, shall we get going?’

‘Excellent,’ said Reinhart. ‘We all have our pluses and minuses, of course, but several of us are fairly normal human beings. If you feel you’d like to make a good impression on us, we have just the case for you to take on. Let’s call it the Kammerle-Gassel case, for want of anything better. I thought of asking Inspector Krause to spell everything out — he’s the youngest and least depraved brain we have access to, and as I said, we haven’t exactly been making progress these last few weeks. Let’s hear it then.’

Krause moved over to the short end of the table and switched on the overhead projector.

‘Okay,’ he said. ‘Thank you for having faith in me. I’ve prepared a short presentation of this case: I thought I might run through it, and then we could discuss what to do next. .’

‘Off you go, then,’ said Rooth. ‘We’re all agog.’

‘Perhaps I ought to explain,’ Reinhart felt it necessary to mention for the benefit of Inspector Sammelmerk, ‘that when Inspector Rooth isn’t stuffing his face, things sometimes come tumbling out of his mouth instead. He doesn’t know any better. Carry on, Krause!’

‘Hey ho,’ said Rooth. ‘I’m misunderstood and slandered — but never mind: let’s hear what you’ve got to say.’

Krause inserted his first slide, which spelled out the case in chronological shorthand.

‘The first thing that happened — before anything started to happen, as it were — was that a certain Pastor Gassel paid a visit to our former Chief Inspector at the antiquarian bookshop where he now works. It’s the fifteenth of September. The pastor has something he needs to get off his chest, but Van Veeteren hasn’t time to listen to him. Just over two weeks later, on Monday, the second of October, Gassel falls — or jumps or is pushed — under a train in Maardam Central Station, and dies on the spot. No witnesses. At about the same time — we don’t have exact data — two women are murdered: Martina Kammerle and her sixteen-year-old daughter Monica. Both of them are strangled. The mother was probably strangled in her flat: her body was found there a month later, eleven days before Monica’s corpse was dug up by a dog in the sand dunes out at Behrensee. As far as the daughter is concerned, we haven’t the slightest idea about the location of the actual murder. Nor do we know why the murderer sawed her legs off.’

‘Her legs?’ asked Sammelmerk.

‘From the knees down, yes,’ said Krause. ‘It’s totally incomprehensible: but nevertheless there are a few other things that we do understand.’

‘You reckon?’ said Rooth, but Krause ignored him.

‘Unfortunately there is no conclusive technical evidence in either of these cases — no fingerprints, for instance. . And nothing else: although after a few days we did find a link between this Pastor Gassel and the murdered women. . Or the daughter, at least. She had written down his name in a notebook she kept in her room, and this link led us to conclude that in all probability she had met him on one or more occasions in order to discuss something specific. He paid a visit to the Bunge Grammar School at the beginning of term, on church business — and that might well have been when she made contact with him. There is reason to believe that the reason for Gassel’s visit to Van Veeteren was to do with Monica Kammerle — that is not definite, of course, but we don’t have a better theory. Needless to say, this presumes that the priest’s visit and the deaths of the women are connected.’

‘I can add to that,’ said Reinhart. ‘An analysis of the pastor’s estate produced no further evidence whatsoever. Le Houde and Kellermann completed their investigation into that yesterday — it was by no means easy to gain access to the place where his belongings were stored, it seems. But in any case, there was evidently no reference to any Kammerle anywhere at all.’

‘No doubt he had it tucked away inside his head,’ said Rooth.

‘I’d have thought so,’ said Reinhart. ‘But it would be useful if we knew what it was. And what exactly was going on in Moerckstraat.’

Krause cleared his throat.

‘That is obviously the key to it all,’ he said. ‘Both the mother and the daughter led pretty solitary lives — we haven’t been able to find a single witness who could supply us with a bit more information about them. Martina Kammerle was a manic depressive, of course, and wasn’t fit and well by any stretch of the imagination. And the girl was a bit of a hermit as well. She didn’t seem to have any school friends. Neither of them apparently had any friends, no social life at all. The fact that nobody reported Monica Kammerle as a missing person seems to be connected with the fact that she changed schools — it’s pretty disgraceful that the authorities didn’t have a proper check on what was happening, but I suppose that’s life. In any case, it seems there was a man involved. Fru Paraskevi, a next-door neighbour in Moerckstraat, says she heard a man’s voice in the Kammerle flat several times in August, and a witness saw Martina Kammerle together with a man in Maardam. But we haven’t managed to obtain anything remotely close to a detailed description of him. Anyway, we’ve since established a possible link with a case in Wallburg some eighteen months ago — perhaps it would be best if Reinhart were to go into that?’

Reinhart produced a document out of a red folder.

‘By all means,’ he said. ‘It could well be relevant. And quite possibly is. On the fifteenth of June last year a woman by the name of Kristine Kortsmaa was strangled in Wallburg. Strangled in more or less the same way as our two victims. She met a bloke at a pub with music and dancing, and invited him back home. It seems pretty clear that he was the one who killed her. I’ve been through the case with Inspector Baasteuwel, who was in charge of it, but all we’ve concluded is that it. . shall we say probably?. . that it was probably the same murderer. The same bloody lunatic that we don’t know so much as a little fingernail about. No fingerprints, incidentally.’

‘A discreet type,’ said Rooth.

‘Extremely discreet,’ said Reinhart. ‘All we’ve managed to scrape together about him is that he must have very strong hands, that he’s probably somewhere between thirty and fifty — otherwise Kristine Kortsmaa would never have seduced him, according to her friends — and that he doesn’t have any unusual physical characteristics that would draw attention to him. Let’s face it, he spent an hour or more prancing around with his victim at that disco!’

‘Good luck,’ said Rooth. ‘He must have been incredibly lucky, for Christ’s sake.’

‘I’m sure you’re right,’ muttered Reinhart. ‘Let’s ignore this stupid perpetrator profile — at least for now. The man we’re dealing with is as weird as it gets when it comes to sex — that’s what we must bear in mind. He hasn’t had sex with his victims before or after killing them. But both Kortsmaa and the Kammerle girl had their knickers removed. Hmm. If any of you happen to know a bloke like this, I’d be most grateful for a tip-off.’

Nobody had any comment to make, and Krause fitted in a new slide. There were two names, and a question mark by each of them.

Benjamin Kerran?

Henry Moll?

‘Up to you now, Jung,’ said Reinhart. ‘Your turn.’

Jung nodded, and adjusted his posture so that he had eye contact with Inspector Sammelmerk.

‘Well, I don’t really know,’ he said. ‘What I have to say could be pure coincidence: and even if there’s more to it than that, it’s hard to see what the implications could be in the long run.’

‘Well said,’ said Rooth.

‘Shut up, Rooth,’ said Reinhart.

‘Thank you, Chief Inspector,’ said Jung. ‘Anyway, we discovered this name, Benjamin Kerran, when we were combing through the flat where the murder took place, Rooth and I. . It was the only one of the forty-six names in all that we couldn’t pin on a real person, if you see what I mean. So I did a simple search on the Internet, and discovered that this Kerran is a character in an English crime novel. The author’s name is Henry Moll, and Kerran is the murderer in the book. It’s pretty obscure, written in the thirties, but I managed to get hold of a copy from the university library and I’ve read it. I didn’t think much of it, I have to say, but it was fun reading a crime novel in working hours.’

Reinhart started filling his pipe.

‘I don’t doubt that for a moment,’ he said. ‘Anyway, what conclusions did you draw?’

‘None at all, to be honest,’ said Jung. ‘This Kerran character is a particularly nasty type. He’s a strangler, just like our own killer, but there’s no sexual motivation behind what he does. He’s driven more by religion. He wanders around the streets of London and strangles female drop-outs, mainly prostitutes — I suppose you could say he’s a variant of Jack the Ripper. But as I said, it’s a pretty awful book. And completely unknown. I’ve spoken to a few crime novel fans — Kevin A. Bluum among others — but nobody has ever heard of it. Nor have they heard of Henry Moll.’

‘Who the hell posted him on the net, then?’ wondered Rooth.

‘The publisher,’ said Jung. ‘They’ve listed every single name in every book they’ve published since 1912. Don’t ask me why.’

‘We’ll pass the book round,’ said Reinhart. ‘Nobody will be deprived of the pleasure of reading a crappy crime novel in working hours. I take it you’ve still got it?’

Jung nodded.

‘And there’s nobody else called Benjamin Kerran?’ asked Moreno.

‘Not as far as we know,’ said Jung. ‘It’s possible there might be somebody of that name, of course; but we haven’t found anybody in the whole of Europe so far.’

‘But nevertheless one of our victims wrote down his name in her notebook,’ said Reinhart. ‘A literary strangler — how about that?’

Münster, who hadn’t said a word so far, spoke up at last.

‘She can’t have read the book,’ he said. ‘That would be too improbable. And do we take it that there’s no other information apart from the name? Nothing about her relationship with him, so to say. .?’

‘Nothing,’ said Jung. ‘If we’d had an address or telephone number, all we’d have needed to do was to bring him in.’

‘Yes, indeed,’ said Münster. ‘Of course. But in any case, there could well be a connection — I have to say I find it highly likely. Our unknown strangler has given her that name somehow or other — as a sort of perverted joke, I expect: he’s not normal, we have to take that for granted. It could even be that he called himself by that name. Don’t you think?’

He looked around the table, but there was no response. Neither positive nor negative.

‘I’ll bet you anything that’s what happened,’ said Münster. ‘He called himself Benjamin Kerran.’

‘Very possible,’ said Rooth.

‘Where does that get us if it’s true?’ wondered Moreno.

Münster thought for a moment.

‘Nowhere at all for the moment,’ he said. ‘We’re still standing on square one, but at least we know which direction to go to find square two.’

‘I’m most impressed by the brilliant imagery our colleagues are using today,’ said Reinhart with a tired sigh. ‘Switch off the respirator, Krause. You don’t have anything else to show us, do you?’

‘Not at the moment,’ said Krause, switching off the overhead projector.

Reinhart stood up.

‘I’m going out now for a smoke, and to arrange for a tray of coffee and goodies from fröken Katz,’ he said. ‘We’ll assemble here again ten minutes from now, and I’ll tell you what the future has in store.’

‘Ooh, a real Sibyl,’ said Rooth.

‘Shut up, Rooth,’ said Reinhart for the second time this Tuesday morning.

‘The fact is that I’ve sold us to the mass media.’

There was silence all round the table. Inspector Rooth took the opportunity of swallowing half a bun.

‘You what?’ he said. ‘What the hell do you mean?’

‘Crime and Punishment,’ said Reinhart.

‘Dostoyevsky?’ said Moreno.

‘Good God no, not him. The crime series on Channel Five, Crime and Punishment.’

‘Oh, that,’ said Jung. ‘I didn’t think it was one of your favourite programmes.’

Reinhart growled.

‘It’s not. But in any case, they are going to feature the Kammerle-Gassel case. It’ll be on the day after tomorrow, between nine and ten, in case you’re interested. I shall be interviewed, and so will the chief of police. They’ll be recording it tomorrow.’

‘Hiller?’ exclaimed Münster, and couldn’t help but smile. ‘What the devil is Hiller going to do on a programme like that?’

‘Perhaps he has a new suit he wants to show off,’ Jung suggested.

‘Perhaps he wants to calm down the general public,’ said Rooth.

Reinhart scratched himself between the eyebrows with the stem of his pipe.

‘It was Hiller who persuaded me to take part,’ he said. ‘Maybe it won’t be a complete waste of time. We haven’t exactly excelled ourselves lately, and there’s always a chance that appearing in the spotlight and getting a bit of publicity might lead to a breakthrough. We haven’t had much help from the general public so far, but you never know.’

‘How on earth did he persuade you?’ Rooth wondered. ‘Hiller, I mean. Did he threaten to give you the sack?’

Reinhart seemed to be wondering whether or not to spit out a sour apple.

‘It was even worse than that,’ he said eventually. ‘He wanted to invite me to dinner. So that we could discuss the case face to face.’

‘Ugh,’ said Rooth.

‘Exactly,’ said Reinhart. ‘Anybody who dares to laugh will receive a punch on the nose. Anyway, they are going to devote half the programme to our strangler. I’ve been given an outline of how they propose to proceed, and I’ve decided to be liberal and drop any misgivings I have. I just wanted you to know that: we’ll probably get lots of tips as a result of the broadcast.’

‘I hope they’re not going to go on about the case in Wallburg,’ said Moreno. ‘That could cause a few problems if they do.’

‘I’ve put a stop to that,’ said Reinhart. ‘No, it’ll be mainly narrators in the background, pictures from the places where the bodies were found, the occasional pedagogical explanation and a hell of a lot of speculation. And an interesting little introductory sequence in blood-red: “When will the Maardam strangler strike again?” I tried to put a stop to that as well, of course, but Hiller rather liked it. He reckons the police will be granted more money if we have the odd lunatic murderer on the loose. .’

‘Brilliant,’ said Rooth. ‘Thus spake a true strategist.’

‘Very true,’ said Reinhart. ‘But it seems he’s going to promise that we’ll have the murderer under lock and key within a month.’

‘Excellent,’ said Münster. ‘Presumably he’ll have to take his suit off and roll up his shirtsleeves. Incidentally, Chief Inspector, have you got anything impressive to wear? A uniform, perhaps?’

‘I grew out of that twenty years ago,’ said Reinhart with another sigh. ‘I thought I’d wear a pair of overalls and my usual understated charm. Anyway, shall we pack up now and get on with what we each have to do? Or does anybody have anything sensible to say?’

Nobody had. Not even anything stupid to say.

Moreno opened the door to Irene Sammelmerk’s office.

‘Hi! Do you mind if I come in?’

‘Of course not,’ said Sammelmerk with a smile. ‘I hoped you might pay me a call.’

Moreno stepped inside and closed the door behind her.

‘Really?’ she said. ‘Why?’

‘Well. . Why do you think?’ said Sammelmerk, somewhat hesitantly. ‘How many women are there in this police station?’

‘Not many,’ said Moreno. ‘But now there are two of us on this floor, at least. I’m pleased about that — and I hope you’ll like it here.’

Sammelmerk gestured towards the piles of books and unopened packing cases that lined the walls.

‘I’m sure I shall,’ she said. ‘Once I get all this stuff sorted out. But I have the rest of today to make this room liveable in. I get the impression the team is pretty good — am I right?’

Moreno sat down on the window ledge and thought that over.

‘Yes,’ she said. ‘I think so. But then, I’ve hardly ever worked with anybody else, so perhaps I shouldn’t pass judgement. Why did you apply to transfer here?’

Sammelmerk shrugged.

‘Nothing dramatic, I’m afraid,’ she said, ‘if that’s what you’d hoped. My husband got a job in Maardam, it was as simple as that. As a computer geek at Dixnerland. We’ve been living apart for six months, so it’ll be nice to start living as a family again.’

Moreno nodded.

‘Children?’

‘Three,’ said Sammelmerk. ‘Six, nine and twelve. As regular as clockwork. What about you?’

‘Not yet,’ said Moreno, looking out through the window at the dull grey landscape. ‘But I reckon it’s about time I got started.’

‘I can recommend it,’ said Sammelmerk. ‘Assuming you have a bloke.’

‘That would help, of course,’ said Moreno.

Sammelmerk laughed.

‘Things acquire the right level of importance when there are children involved — you can’t cheat any more. . Incidentally, this case involving the mother and her daughter seems absolutely horrendous. Please feel free to fill me in a bit more on the details. Assuming I’m going to be involved in one way or another. Although I suppose there is other business as well. .?’

‘There certainly is,’ said Moreno. ‘But I’m afraid I must dash off. I just wanted to say I’m thrilled to bits that it’s a woman who has moved into this office. . And I’d like to suggest that we should have dinner together once you’ve got sorted out. Then I can fill you in on this case, and lots of other things besides.’

Sammelmerk seemed to be quite touched.

‘My God,’ she said. ‘To tell you the truth I’m over the moon to discover that there’s another woman in the team. I’ve spent the last ten years working exclusively with male colleagues. You have to sort of tune in to another wavelength every damned morning before you start work. . Well, you know what it’s like. And of course we must go out and have a meal together — just give me a week or so to sort out the family.’

‘That goes without saying,’ said Moreno. ‘Just let me know when you’re ready.’

Sammelmerk nodded. Moreno felt an almost irresistible urge to give her a hug, but didn’t dare. It’s not yet time for CID officers to start hugging one another, she thought.

Instead she gave her a slightly awkward wave, and slunk out through the door. She had barely closed it before the image of Intendent deBries appeared in her mind’s eye. And she was reminded of what she had discussed with Münster — how quickly we forget all about people who are no longer around.

And how certain people — like Martina and Monica Kammerle, for instance (and perhaps also Tomas Gassel?) — took up so little space in this life that nobody noticed their absence when they vanished from the face of the earth.

Apart from the fact that a large number of CID officers were doing their best to track down the monster who had murdered them of course.

A paradox, a paradox, a most ingenious paradox, Moreno thought. I wonder if we shall ever find him?

Benjamin Kerran? No, put me right at the bottom of the list of those waiting to read that book.