What was I wearing?
Bausen:
Yes. How were you dressed?
Wollner:
I can’t really remember… Hat and coat, I think.
Moerk:
And when you killed Ruhme?
Wollner:
Tracksuit.
Bausen:
Why did you leave the ax in Dr. Ruhme’s body?
Wollner:
He was the last.
Bausen:
The last? Aren’t there any more evil people?
Wollner:
Not as far as I’m concerned. I’m prepared to take my punishment.
Bausen:
You’re not thinking of murdering anybody else?
Wollner:
No.
Kropke:
Why have you come here today of all days?
Wollner:
I was forced.
Bausen:
Forced? What is your job, Mr. Wollner?
Wollner:
I’m a janitor.
Moerk:
Where?
Wollner:
At The Light of Life.
Kropke:
The church, do you mean?
Wollner:
Yes.
Pause. Whispers and the scraping of chairs.
Bausen:
Is there anybody who instructed you to commit these murders, Mr. Wollner?
Wollner:
I have a mission.
Bausen:
Given to you by whom?
No answer.
Moerk:
God, perhaps?
Wollner:
Yes.
Silence.
Bausen:
We’ll take a break here. Mooser, get rid of this bastard and lock him up again. We’ll erase this tape later.
“Well,” said Bausen. “What do you think?”
“As mad as a hatter,” said Kropke.
“He’s lying,” said Moerk.
“What about the details, though?” said Kropke. “How could he know so many details?”
Beate Moerk shrugged.
“The media, presumably…”
“Have the papers printed anything about the clothes?” wondered Mooser.
“Dunno. We’ll have to check. But they’ve certainly printed quite a lot.”
“It wouldn’t surprise me a bit if it turned out to be him,” said Kropke. “The Light of Life crowd are as weird as they come.”
“No doubt,” said Bausen. “But how weird? They’re not in the habit of wandering around killing people, are they?”
“Where are our guests today?” wondered Kropke, trying to look knowing.
“DCI Van Veeteren is questioning some relative or other of
Ruhme’s, I think,” said Bausen. “No doubt Munster will turn up soon.”
Beate Moerk coughed.
“I’ll wager fifty guilders not a word’s been published about the clothes,” said Kropke.
“Why do you think I asked him,” snorted Bausen.
“A religious lunatic,” mumbled Beate Moerk. “No, I don’t believe it. Anyway, isn’t it usual for loonies like this to turn up?
Confessing to anything and everything?”
“I assume so,” said Bausen. “We’ll have to ask our experts, when they eventually appear.”
“Good morning,” said Munster, walking in through the door. “Has anything happened?”
“Nothing much,” said Beate Moerk. “We have an Axman locked up in a cell, that’s all.”
“It’s not him,” said Van Veeteren two hours later. “Let him go or send him to the loony bin. But present him with a bill for wasting police time as well.”
“How can you be so certain?” asked Kropke.
“I’ve been around for a while,” said Van Veeteren. “You get to know these things. But go ahead and grill him if you need some practice. What does the chief of police think?”
“I agree with you, I suppose,” said Bausen. “But I’m not a hundred percent convinced…”
“He seems to know too many details,” said Moerk. “How can he know what Ruhme was wearing?”
Van Veeteren shrugged.
“I don’t know. There are lots of possible explanations.”
“What, for example?” asked Kropke.
“Well, the usual tendency to talk accounts for a lot. Miss Linckx might have been gossiping to somebody, for instance.”
“Doubtful,” muttered Kropke. “I still think we should look into this a bit more closely first. We’ve been on this case for several months now, and when a suspect eventually turns up, I don’t think we should dismiss him out of hand.”
“Do what you like,” said Van Veeteren. “I have other more important things to do, in any case.”
“OK, OK,” said Bausen. “We’ll give him another grilling then.”
…
“Hi!” said Bang. “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize there was an interrogation in progress. Hi, PM!”
“Hello,” said Wollner.
“What the hell?” groaned Kropke.
“Are you two acquainted?” asked Bausen.
