After the murder of Senta Berger, the media had been divided. Was it an accident or a murder? Was there a concrete link between Berger and the previous hit-and-run attempt on Michelle Hansen? The TV stations and one of the tabloids had mentioned the possibility, but that was all it had come to.
This time, things were different. Not only was Michelle Hansen’s death plastered all over the front pages of the online newspapers, but when Anneli turned on her TV she saw that it was being covered by all the TV news channels.
Thankfully, the police didn’t seem to have much to go on about the driver, but as usual that didn’t stop the news anchors from peddling their theories, and as the day went on, their analyses and theories grew wilder and wilder. Eventually, Anneli was overcome by a rather irrational feeling of being overlooked. Weren’t they sitting in the studio linking the robbery the night before with the hit-and-run murder today? Were they completely blind?
She poured herself another glass of wine and considered the situation.
Of course she ought to be pleased that they were looking in the wrong place, but that didn’t change the fact that Anneli’s mission was not accomplished. Her power over life and death had entered her like a drug, and her desire to continue exterminating these superfluous existences was almost greater than her excitement at the thought that she might have gotten away with it.
Would she be able to stop killing? That was the real question.
Last night she had followed the girls’ taxi closely from the parking lot in front of the apartment in Stenl?se to the nightclub, even though a couple of red lights should have stopped her. She had parked the car across from the nightclub and waited patiently for the girls to come out of the club. As the events of last night came to light, she had a pretty good idea of what she had witnessed. These vain, smug tarts had without doubt committed crimes so serious that they would have been executed in any dictatorship. She had seen Denise and Jazmine sneak into the nightclub while Michelle had distracted the bouncer, whom she recognized as Michelle’s boyfriend.
Later, she had seen the girls reappear and hide in the alleyway behind the club. So it wasn’t hard to put two and two together when the TV stations said that the robbery was committed by two young women.
She also knew something about the shooting of Birna. She had been surprised when the terrible girl turned up at the club and had watched her reaction as Jazmine and Denise shortly after disappeared into the alleyway. Birna had followed them, and Anneli had seen Michelle walk in the same direction a little later. There were a few minutes when Anneli didn’t know what was going on. She had tried to hear their conversation, but the noise from the nightclub drowned out their voices, and the only sound that rose above the beat was a dull sound that Anneli couldn’t place. When Denise, Michelle, and Jazmine reappeared, they were having a heated discussion while dragging Birna’s lifeless body and leaving it under a streetlamp.
After that, the girls had crossed the street in the direction of Anneli’s car, so she had to lean back in the seat to avoid the light from the streetlamps. Close-up, she had noticed how expressionless their faces were. It seemed as if Michelle had looked straight in her direction. But had she? And had she noticed who was in the car? Anneli didn’t think so because the windows were steamed up and her face was well hidden in the dark.
And yet, could she be sure?
They say that the order of the factors does not affect the product, but was that also true in this case? What if she decided to put a stopper in her plans and left it to the news sharks and police to work themselves into a frenzy, linking this stupid group of girls to something larger and more organized? It wasn’t too hard to imagine them interpreting the deaths of Michelle Hansen and Senta Berger as the result of internal fighting. That would certainly nullify her involvement. But if she just remained passive, didn’t she run the risk of Denise and Jazmine talking to the police if they were caught? And wouldn’t they tell the police that Michelle had named the driver of the red Peugeot who had tried to kill her the first time? That was what Jazmine had hinted at last time she came to Anneli’s office.
No, it wouldn’t do. If the girls said anything, the police would develop new theories about the course of events and come to the conclusion that the crimes were in fact not connected.
Suddenly, all Anneli’s euphoria was replaced by doubt and an increasing pain in her breast, which had otherwise subsided somewhat. Anxiety could suddenly manifest itself physically. She had heard about that before, but what did it mean that she was suddenly in so much pain? Was something wrong?
She took more painkillers than she was meant to and gently massaged the scar from the surgery. When that didn’t help, she added to the calming effect of the painkillers with a few more glasses of wine.
Anneli did not like the dilemma she had ended up in at all.
—
The following morning her head felt woozy and heavy—the result of too much wine and a sleepless night. And what was even worse was her complete lack of resolve.
Most of all, she wanted to pop some more pills and just stay in bed. At the same time, she also wanted to jump about and vent her frustration. Smash some crockery on the kitchen floor, tear a few pictures off the wall, and throw everything off her desk.
Basically, she wanted to do anything other than what she knew she ought to do: take it easy and let things run their own course before making any new decisions.
I’ll go to work today after the radiation therapy and see what happens, she decided after considering all her options.
—
Her colleagues greeted her relatively politely when she turned up at the office. There were a few awkward smiles, but mostly she was met with neutral expressions and reserved nods.
She informed the reception desk that she was ready to see her clients, as they were expected to call the scroungers.
Anneli looked around her office. She could tell that someone had been there because her table had been cleared of paperwork and the flowers that had been withering on the windowsill were now in the trash can. Had they thought that she would just quietly disappear?