“Occupation?”
“Teacher of German and English at Bunge High School.”
“You are a colleague of Janek Mitter and Eva Ringmar, is that correct?”
“Well. . I am a colleague of Mitter’s. I was a colleague of Eva Ringmar’s.”
“Of course. Are you. . were you. . closely acquainted with either of them?”
“No, I wouldn’t say that. I’ve been working at the school for about as long as Mitter, but we teach different subjects.
We’ve never had much to do with each other.”
“And Eva Ringmar?”
“She joined the staff two years ago, when Mr. Monsen retired. We both worked in the modern languages department.”
“Were you close?”
“No, certainly not. We attended the same planning meetings, shared some examinations, stood in for one another when one of us was sick, the usual kind of thing in the languages department.”
“But you didn’t socialize in your spare time?”
“With Eva Ringmar?”
“Yes.”
“No, never.”
“Do you know if Eva Ringmar used to meet any of the other teachers-outside working hours, that is?”
“No, I don’t think anybody did-apart from Mitter, of course.”
“Naturally. Miss Traut, I’d like you to inform us about an incident you told the police about, that happened on September thirtieth, three days before Eva Ringmar was murdered.”
“You mean the episode in the staff workroom?”
“Yes.”
“By all means. It was after the last lesson of the day. I’d set a test in German for year two, and we’d overrun our time slightly. It was probably around a quarter past four when I got to the languages room, where we have our desks. I thought I’d be the last one there, but to my surprise I saw Eva Ringmar sitting at her desk. It’s not usual for either of us to stay on after the last lesson. You feel so tired after six or seven lessons that you simply don’t have the energy to do any work; it’s better to take home whatever needs marking and spend half the night on it. That’s the way it is for teachers. . ”
“I understand. But on that particular day, Eva Ringmar was still there?”
“Yes, but she wasn’t working. She was just sitting with her head in her hands, gazing out of the window.”
“Did you speak to her?”
“Yes. I asked her if she wasn’t thinking of going home, of course.”
“What did she say?”
“At first she gave a start, as if she hadn’t noticed me coming into the room. Then she said. . without looking at me. . she just kept on staring out of the window. . she said that she was scared.”
“Scared?”
“Yes.”
“Can you recall her exact words?”
“Of course. She said: ‘Oh, it’s just you, is it, Miss Traut?
Thank goodness. I’m so scared today, you see.’ ”
“You’re sure those were the very words she used?”
“Yes.”
“Did you say anything else?”
“Yes, I asked her if she was afraid to go home.”
“And how did she answer that?”
“She didn’t. She simply said, ‘No, it’s nothing.’ Then she took her bag and left.”
“Miss Traut, what conclusions did you draw from what she said? What was your first impression?”
“I don’t know. . Perhaps that she sounded more resigned than scared, in fact.”
“Did she seem to have been expecting to see somebody else rather than you? The way she expressed herself seems to have suggested that.”
“Yes, I think that’s right.”
“You interpreted it as meaning that she was pleased to see it was you, rather than one of her other colleagues?”
“Yes, it sounded like that.”
“Who might that have been?”
“Is there more than one possibility?”
“You are referring to the accused?”
“Yes.”
It was only now that Ruger made his objection.
“I insist that the last five questions and answers be erased from the proceedings! My learned friend is encouraging the witness to guess! To speculate on things she hasn’t the slightest idea about. .”
“Objection overruled!” said Havel. “But members of the jury should bear in mind that the witness drew her own con-m i n d ’ s e y e
clusions on the basis of meager observations. Does my learned friend have any more questions for this witness?”
“Two, My Lord. Do you know, Miss Traut, if Eva Ringmar had any relationship, apart from a purely professional one, with any of your male colleagues? With the exception of Janek Mitter, of course.”
“No.”
“Did you see, or hear, about any other man, apart from Mitter, in connection with Eva Ringmar, during the two years she was working alongside you?”
“No.”
“Thank you, Miss Traut. No more questions.”
Ruger didn’t even bother to stand up.
“Miss Traut, do you know anything at all about Eva Ringmar’s private life?”
“No, there was no. .”
“Thank you. Do you know anything about the relationship between Ringmar and Mitter?”
“No.”
“If there were any other men in Eva Ringmar’s life, then, there is no reason, no reason at all, why you should know anything about it?”
“Er, no.”
“Thank you. No more questions.”
“Full name and occupation?”
“Beate Kristine Lingen. I work as a beautician at the Institut Metre in Krowitz, but I live here in Maardam.”
“What was your relationship with the deceased, Eva Ringmar?”
“I suppose you could say I was a friend of hers, although we didn’t meet very often.”
“How did you get to know Eva Ringmar?”
“We were in the same class at high school. In Muhlboden.
We graduated at the same time. Saw a bit of each other afterward as well.”
“And then?”
“Then we lost contact. We moved to different towns, got married, and so forth.”
“Are you married now?”
“No, I’ve been divorced for five years.”
“I see. When did you catch up with Eva Ringmar again?”
“Just after she moved here. That was two years ago, more or less. We bumped into each other in the street, and arranged to meet-we hadn’t seen each other for over fifteen years.
