Hans Lahlum - Satellite People

I disliked Sandra Schelderup more than I could ever remember having disliked a woman. However it was difficult not to be impressed by her willpower. In sharp contrast to her violent behaviour the night before, and despite her bleak future prospects, the woman who gave a confession and explanation to me in one of the interview rooms at the main police station on the morning of 17 May 1969 was focused and calm. She had been offered legal assistance, but had declined as she did not see what help that would be at the moment. So she sat there alone with me and a prosecutor, and answered all my questions clearly and concisely.

Her husband’s death had been a shock. As had the shooting of his son two days later. She knew nothing about these deaths. The reading of the will had been a nasty surprise that made her furious on her daughter’s behalf, and the tense situation had caused her to have increasingly wild thoughts in the days that followed. She had seen an opportunity when Leonard Schelderup died. The number of heirs had been reduced to two and she had every hope that any new murders would be attributed to whoever was responsible for the first two. She had first hidden her late husband’s key ring and then reported it as missing. And she had kept Magdalena Schelderup’s ring so that it could later be planted as a red herring, as she had intended to do the night before. She admitted that she had taken the ring before Leonard Schelderup was killed, but claimed that she had kept it ‘just in case’ after the reading of the will, though at that point she had no concrete plans. I reserved some doubts, but moved on to the murder of Synnøve Jensen.

The details of Sandra Schelderup’s confession were both clear and convincing. She had sneaked out late that evening and driven to the top of the hill behind Synnøve Jensen’s house in one of the company cars, which was kept in a parking place relatively close to Schelderup Hall. She immediately identified the key on her late husband’s key ring. She had been prepared to change her plan at any point, but then the temptation was too great when she got there without meeting a soul and was let into the house. Her hatred for her husband’s mistress had been overwhelming. She had shot the secretary and waited for her to die in the hope that she could camouflage it as suicide, but then fled when she heard me coming.

Sandra Schelderup’s description of the ensuing chase was exactly as I remembered it. She had asked for police protection at Schelderup Hall to ensure an alibi for a possible murder, and then given in to temptation. The fight for her innocent daughter’s legacy had become an obsession and she saw an opportunity to secure an undivided inheritance for Maria Irene and to get away with it. Fredrik Schelderup had always hated her and she had nothing but scorn for him. He was a man without a family, who would just squander the money if he got it. So she had decided to carry out her plan when she saw that there were no policemen guarding the house, only to be outwitted by me.

To my question as to how she had managed to get in and out of her own home unseen, she replied that there was a concealed passage from the cellar. Magdalon had once mentioned briefly that he had built a secret passage after the war as a combined hiding place and escape route in case of a crisis in the future. He had, however, asked her never to look for it until after his death, unless there was a crisis situation. The night after her husband’s death she had gone to find it, as she no longer need fear her husband’s reaction and she wanted to see if he had hidden anything of value there. And she had found a collection of gold and dollar bills, a valuable diamond and three guns in a cavity in the wall. She had guessed that the gold, money and diamonds were easily transportable valuables in the event of a crisis. In the 1960s, Magdalon had on a couple of occasions quite exceptionally mentioned his fear of a Soviet occupation.

She discovered that all the registration information had been filed off the oldest and largest pistol. So she had taken this with her and left it behind after she had shot Synnøve Jensen. The second gun was the smaller pistol with which she had intended to kill Fredrik Schelderup. Her plan was to leave the gun at Magdalena Schelderup’s house later, if necessary. She had also taken the ring for this very reason, and had thought of leaving it behind as a clue. Magdalena was obviously in a vulnerable position and she was a cold-hearted old woman with no children, and in any case did not have many years left to live.

It was not a story to be proud of but, unfortunately, it was true, said Sandra Schelderup, wringing her hands without looking me in the eye. I had to agree with her, but assured her that the confession was registered and would be considered by the court. She thanked me with a wan smile, and then unexpectedly apologized for the situation this had put me in. She had been treated with distrust by the others in the family and their circle of friends and had come to hate them all, but she had nothing against me and only wished me well in my career. Her daughter had also expressed great sympathy and admiration for me, she added in a quieter voice. She now realized that what she had done was not fair on her daughter, and she hoped that she would be able to explain herself to her as soon as possible. I found this a suitable point to finish the interview.

It was by now nine o’clock in the morning of 17 May and I felt an enormous relief settle over me. I telephoned my boss, who was very pleased indeed that the case had been solved and looked forward to hearing more details tomorrow. I was just about to compose a press release when I realized that some details were still missing, and that I had to inform Maria Irene Schelderup of the night’s dramatic developments as soon as possible.

To my relief, all was calm outside Schelderup Hall. The policeman on guard had stayed awake all night. The dogs had barked loudly and been restless for a few minutes around midnight. However, no one had tried to get into or out of the house. I could rest assured that Maria Irene had been there. She had obviously slept badly and had been seen at the window two or three times during the night.

Inside Schelderup Hall, a forensics team was in full swing with an investigation of the cellar, where they had found a well-camouflaged door into the secret tunnel, as described by Sandra Schelderup. The cavity that she had mentioned had also been found and I was given a list of the remaining contents, which tallied well with her account.

Maria Irene had sought refuge in her room. I was nervous about how she would welcome me this time, but soon found that that my fears were ungrounded. She embraced me as soon as the door was closed behind us. She had slept badly and had therefore got up several times during the night, and was very concerned to discover in the early hours of the morning that her mother’s room was empty.

But the eighteen-year-old’s equanimity was impressive. She listened with concentration to my account of the night’s dramatic events, including my tussle with her mother. There was a touching moment when she cried: ‘You weren’t hurt, were you?’ She added that I must not think ill of her, even though her mother had done terrible things. I felt a great relief wash over me and happily assured her that children could not be held responsible for the actions of their parents.

I remarked that her mother had expressed a wish to talk to her as soon as possible. Maria Irene replied coldly that she would no doubt have to visit her mother in prison one day, but that it would not be for a good while after this. On the other hand, she hoped that I would be kind enough to come and see her again as soon as the official investigation was over. ‘After this, I need someone I can talk to and lean on more than ever,’ was her sad conclusion. ‘And this time, I can at least promise you that my mother will not disturb us,’ she added with a quiet little smile.