When the radio news was over, the Countess turned it off and poked Simonsen, who was sitting in the front passenger seat.
“Why have you posted guards? Isn’t that overkill?”
“If you mean the officer in front of the school, he’s there to learn.”
“To learn what? That it’s cold at night in October?”
“To treat people nicely.”
Troulsen elbowed his way between them from the backseat.
“Look, you two, you’ve got to listen to me. If none of us ordered the pizzas and none of the teachers did, then who was it? Someone must have done it. They were all paid for and the bill was over two thousand kroner. You have to agree it’s a bit mysterious.”
The Countess tried to placate him by agreeing that it was strange. She wanted to hear more about the guard.
“Listen, the pizzas were apparently ordered for a party, and we sure wouldn’t have ordered them for a party. The staff doesn’t know about any party either. The school secretary was sure about that.”
Simonsen suddenly became alert and almost shouted, “A party, you say. When was the order placed?”
“Well, at first I assumed it was sometime today but the delivery boy said they were out of pineapple, so three of the pizzas were different than ordered, and that indicates that they were ordered earlier. Otherwise they would have had to choose something other than pineapple when the initial order was placed.”
“Look into it, Poul. You, personally. Find the pizzeria, where it is, when they open.”
Troulsen had been struggling all evening to get his pizzas taken seriously, and now they were being taken almost too seriously. He answered meekly, “Okay, Simon. I will.”
The Countess wasn’t on board.
“What’s all this about?”
“About criminal foresight, I believe. But let’s wait for further discussion until the morning.”
Which made no one the wiser.
CHAPTER 10
Helle Smidt J?rgensen doesn’t scream. It doesn’t help any.
Instead she whimpers like an abused puppy, a soft little Labrador with black fur; she buries her face in the fur to hide; the dog sleeps with her; the dog always sleeps with her, it’s her dog; she dreams that she wakes up; she’s drenched in sweat and her nightgown is damp; she tosses the pillow aside, she has no use for it; one Sunday in summer, a family breakfast in the community garden; the table is set outside in the beautiful weather; the flag is raised; everyone is happy except her, her and the dog; they have to wake up and go; they have to get out of bed and find the pills; psychopharmaceuticals; fear is a normal reaction; Uncle Bernhard is sitting at one end of the table; the children are playing on the grass; she is not playing; she is grown-up; fifty-three years old, a fully trained nurse, nurse Helle Smidt J?rgensen, that’s what it says on the name tag; anxiolytika; fear is made up of psychic, bodily, and behavioral symptoms; she hunches over and smiles because she is an adult, a grown-up nurse; Uncle Bernhard is assistant mayor, a grown-up assistant mayor; the dog lies down next to her; the dog is hers; you can bury your face in a dog; benzodiazepine; fear is an important survival mechanism when the organism is faced with danger; she is not in danger; she has the rest of the group; Stig ?ge Thorsen and Erik M?rk protect her; Per Clausen slays fear; the Climber murders the night; Grandfather suggests that they sing, everyone loves to sing; she tells Grandfather that he is dead; and Uncle Bernhard is dead; and the dog is dead; her dog who sleeps next to her; and everyone is enjoying themselves; and Uncle Bernhard gets the banjo; Lexotan; anxiety disorders can be mitigated with psychopharmaceutical treatment.
They sing; Uncle Bernhard sings baritone; everyone likes Uncle Bernhard; Uncle Bernhard sings beautifully; Uncle Bernhard becomes mayor; Uncle Bernhard is handsome; everyone knows that Uncle Bernhard is handsome; three milligrams three times a day; she wakes up, goes out into the kitchen, the glass is on the shelf, she has to have three milligrams, three times three milligrams, three times three times three hundred milligrams, now! quickly, as soon as she wakes up; before the singing, she has to get up before the singing; everyone is quiet; everyone is looking at her; Uncle Bernhard is smiling, Uncle Bernhard smiles sweetly; Uncle Bernhard is nice when he smiles; Uncle Bernhard sings her song; it is a foreign song; only she and her uncle Bernhard understand foreign; Uncle Bernhard sings her foreign song; only she and Uncle Bernhard understand her song.
Be my life’s companion and you’ll never grow old.
She is grown. Fifty-three years old.
I’ll love you so much that you’ll never grow old.
She is a nurse. She is strong.
When there’s joy in living you just never grow old.
She doesn’t need to be afraid. She has pills.