Berg confirmed this. She was following along in the papers and felt inadequate.
“Life in the home was austere. The father, Palle Ditlevsen, supported himself as a worker, a hired hand, if you will. Did some work under the table here, some small things here, seasonal harvesting, temporary positions for the county. Repaired bicycles, once also selling them—stolen bicycles. There are two police reports but no prison sentence or fines, so matters were probably settled amicably. The boys are neglected and occasionally the father enjoys the bottle too much. The county checks up on the family and things are not good. The file is brutal reading, there are five reports. The first from 1962, the last one from 1967. The boys ought to have been removed, but the need of the children takes second place to that of the taxpayers. The county takes their time and the brothers grow up.”
The Countess gave her passenger time to confirm the details. Berg turned the page and read, this time purposefully. When she had finished, she said, “That is all correct, go on.”
“Frank Ditlevsen gets an apprenticeship position and in 1971 he is a full-fledged lithographic printer. His life appears stable. The same employer until 1986, when the business might as well hang up the keys as new technology is devastating the industry. Ten years earlier, Frank Ditlevsen got married. The bride was a housecleaner from R?rvig. The couple’s only child was born later that same year. That was our singer from yesterday. Allan Ditlevsen follows his father’s footsteps, if I can call it that, apart from the fact that he doesn’t drink. From 1971 to 1993 he has records at the tax authorities with no less than forty-six different employers. Unfortunately, positions such as ‘teaching aide’ and ‘day-care assistant’ are on the list.”
“Smashing—that’s it, almost word-for-word. You are amazing.”
“The father dies in 1985. That same year, Frank Ditlevsen becomes an independent instructor and earns a degree in languages in record time, namely the time it takes him to falsify his educational credentials. He builds a solid little enterprise with a firm client base within larger companies in the Copenhagen area. No one questions his background.”
“Right. As far as I can tell, it’s only come out now during the course of the investigation.”
“Yes, his clients did not doubt him, or else they were simply satisfied. He appears to have been good at his job. Now, on with the report. In 1994, Frank Ditlevsen buys the house in Middelford and two years later he gets divorced. Mother and daughter move away. After he gets out of prison, Allan Ditlevsen gains more stability in his professional life by getting a job selling hot dogs and delivering newspapers in Allerslev, and the past few years there is not much to report. People who knew the brothers all describe a quiet life, but we haven’t been able to track down any close friends as of yet. They may not have had any.”
The Countess stepped abruptly on the brake and a fox barely escaped with its life. It disappeared into a thicket.
Berg had finally put two and two together. She asked skeptically, “When did you get this report?”
“At five this morning. I’ve had it for three hours, so you don’t have to feel stupid.”
“It’s impressive regardless of whether you’ve had time to prepare. I mean, you remember all those dates.”
“Perhaps I don’t. You can’t check everything.”
“Why didn’t you call me?”
“And wake you up? Why should I? But listen to this. We’ll be there soon.”
“Okay, shoot.”
“If you disregard Allan’s two charges and Frank’s unfortunate predilection for acquiring borrowed feathers, the brothers appear to be a genuine social-success story. Their start in life was far from promising, but little by little they got on solid financial ground and stable employment. The only red flag is that the two men’s finances don’t quite add up. Three experienced accountants have compared the contents of the house and the brothers’ bank statements with the household incomes. Going by Danish tax laws, the accounts make more sense if the two of them had additional income that the income tax authorities knew nothing about. But this is guesswork. We don’t have any concrete evidence.”
*