.
After this came a great deal of filler on the history of Lowander Hospital. Typical archival material. The anonymous witness wasn’t quoted again in the article.
Irene felt shaken. Where had Kurt Hook gotten the story of the ghost nurse? He didn’t get it entirely correct; Tekla had in fact had died in the 1940s. So his information probably didn’t come from anyone inside the hospital.
Irene sat there for a long time thinking without coming up with any new ideas. Finally she gave up and finished her coffee and cheese sandwich.
She glanced at her watch. Quarter past twelve. It was time to pay Kurt Hook a little visit.
TRAFFIC WAS HEAVY on the E6, but apart from a bit of stop-and-go near the Tingstad Tunnel, there were no major obstructions. The newspaper complex’s great grayish white buildings towered above the side of the highway. Their lighted display showed that the outdoor temperature was -8 C, the time was 12:38 P.M., and people were encouraged to buy today’s GT.
Irene parked in a visitor’s space and got out, locking the door of her old Volvo. She entered through the triangular glass doors and was welcomed by the very proper middle-aged woman at the reception desk.
“Good afternoon. May I help you?” She had a friendly voice and was well made up.
“I’m looking for Kurt Hook. I’m Criminal Inspector Irene Huss.”
Irene held out her ID, and the receptionist took her time inspecting it. With a hint of a smile, she said, “Just a minute. Let me check if Kurt Hook is available.”
The receptionist phoned an internal line. It appeared that Irene was in luck. The woman nodded and pointed to the glass doors of an elevator across the entrance. “Go on up. Take the elevator to the third floor. Someone will meet you at the central desk and take you to Kurt.”
Irene headed for the elevators. She passed a splendid boat hull in many-colored glass mounted on a pedestal of black granite. Even the art on the walls indicated that this newspaper was a booming concern.
A harried-looking woman with blue-tinted hair and reading glasses far down her nose met Irene and brought her to Kurt Hook’s desk. None of the other journalists even looked up as Irene passed their desks.
Although Hook’s chair was empty, the woman with blue hair left Irene there. Hook’s computer was turned on, and the screen showed the article that Irene had just read during lunch. He didn’t seem to know that at three in the afternoon Superintendent Andersson was going to have a press conference and reveal the identity of the victim. Irene scanned the notes spread out over Hook’s desk in case there was a clue to the anonymous witness. She also kept one eye on the lookout and so was not surprised when Kurt Hook approached his desk. He gave Irene one of his charming smiles.
“Hi. I remember you. You’re that female officer that the Hells Angels beat up in Billdal a few years back. You look like someone got you again.”
This wasn’t the opening line Irene was expecting, but she kept her potentially poisonous rejoinders to herself and tried to appear friendly. The wounds beneath her bandages hurt when she tried to smile. “That’s right. I’m Criminal Inspector Irene Huss.”
“Of course. I can guess why you’re here. Sorry, the answer is no, unfortunately.” His apologetic words were combined with a twinkle in his eye.
“How can you say no before I’ve even asked the question?”
“I never reveal my sources.” He seemed to be trying to hide a smug expression.
Irene found it extremely irritating that he was fairly good-looking. She felt that the bandages on her face were the size of beach towels. “I understand, but you must realize that an eyewitness at the time of the murder is very important to us.”
“I do realize that, but my answer must remain no.”
Irene cocked her head and smiled slightly. “Maybe we can come to an agreement?” Hook looked uncertain, so she continued. “If I can find out as much as possible about your anonymous witness, I’ll make sure you have an inside scoop on the next stage of our investigation.”
Hook could hardly hide his excitement. “Concerning Lowander Hospital?”
“Yep.”
The journalist bit his lower lip as he considered this. Finally he said, “I assume you know that you are breaking the law when you ask me to identify a source, and I have no idea if what you’re offering would be worth it.”
Irene couldn’t blame him for keeping his cards close to his chest, when he didn’t know if she had any aces. She decided to tempt him further. “I realize that you can’t give me the name of your source, but perhaps you can give me some hints so that I can figure it out myself. On my end … the information has to do with another nurse at Lowander Hospital and what happened to her that same night. Of course I’ll reveal the murdered nurse’s name, too.”
The temptation was too much. Hook’s journalistic instincts took over. “All right. The ghost is yesterday’s news anyway. The headline sold well, but there’s nothing more I can get out of that witness.”
Irene remained silent. She knew that Hook was talking mainly to himself. He ran his fingers through his hair a few times, until it looked like it had been styled with an electric mixer. He gave Irene a distrustful look.
“This particular source is rather … special.”
Irene saw his hand move toward the tape recorder on his desk. He hesitated and looked at Irene. “Perhaps it’d be better if I gave you some background information first. Then you can listen to the tape. It’s actually not all that clear. Come with me.”
He picked up the tape recorder, and they walked over to a nearby closed office. Hook opened the door and looked inside. The room was empty, and he ushered Irene in, carefully shutting the door behind him.
Hesitatingly, he said, “This … source is … how can I put it? Unusual. I don’t know her name, and I don’t know where she lives.” He fell silent for a moment, then went on. “It started like this. A guy who’s given me some small tips before called me on my cell phone yesterday afternoon. He’d obviously overheard a conversation between two police officers. Since I was already in the neighborhood, I decided to hop on over and have a slice of pizza while I was at it. By the way, do you want a cup of coffee?”
“Yes, please,” Irene said without thinking. Afterward she wished she’d bitten her tongue. Why would she need coffee just when Hook was about to identify the witness? Her longstanding caffeine addiction had won out.
Hook left the room and returned with two cups of steaming-hot coffee in plastic mugs. “Where was I? The guy was just about to tell me this tip when the front door opened.…”
Hook stopped in the middle of his story. He swallowed some coffee before continuing. “The smell … the smell made me turn around and look at her. The pizza place had a plastic bag full of old bread ready for her, and she sat down on one of the chairs. We ignored her, and the guy began to tell me about overhearing two officers talking about a ghost nurse who’d supposedly murdered someone at Lowander Hospital. Can you believe it? But my source was certain that’s what they’d said. Then the old hag—I mean, the old lady—butted in and said, ‘I’ve seen her. Nurse Tekla. She haunts the place to get revenge on the people who killed her!.’ At first we didn’t pay attention. She kept nattering on that she’d seen the ghost with her own eyes. And then she said, ‘I watched her come and I watched her go. Blood was dripping from her hands.’ It sent shivers down my spine. And—”
Irene interrupted him. “Did she really say ‘Nurse Tekla’?”
“That’s right. You’ll hear it yourself. I recorded what she said. I’m going to leave the room while you listen to the tape. Here’s paper and a pen if you need to take notes. But don’t tell anyone where you found out about this.”
“I promise I’ll keep it confidential.”
He turned on the tape recorder. What followed was truly strange.
“My name is Kurt Hook. What may I call you?”
“Call me Mama Bird. All my friends call me that. All my lovely ones. All my children. All of Mama Bird’s children.”
