Bernhard Aichner - Woman of the Dead - A Thriller

‘So all these people have been reported missing?’

‘Yes.’

‘And you suspect the disappearances are connected?’

‘I’m beginning to wonder whether you might have been right all along.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘About that woman you saw in the forensics lab.’

‘What about her?’

‘I promised you I’d look into it again.’

‘Yes, so you did. And was she murdered?’

‘She died of natural causes. But I’ve dug out the records from back when we interviewed her, and recent events cast a very different light on her story.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘She was talking about a priest, a photographer and a cook.’

‘So it’s beginning to make sense?’

‘I don’t know, but I must look into it. It looks as though Mark was right to follow his hunch. Maybe he was right all along, and everything the woman told us was true.’

‘What did she tell you?’

‘You know that already, Blum.’

‘How would I know?’

‘Mark recorded his conversations, and you listened to them.’

‘Oh – yes.’

‘I can put two and two together, Blum.’

‘But perhaps too late in the day.’

‘I know I should have trusted your gut feeling.’

‘So Mark was right.’

‘It would seem so.’

‘But what happened? Who killed the priest? Where are the missing people?’

‘I don’t know, Blum, but someone is hell-bent on revenge.’

‘Revenge?’

‘Yes. You know what went on in that cellar. If what the woman said is true, then someone has their reasons.’

‘But who would do something like that?’

‘The woman.’

‘Her name was Dunya.’

‘Suppose she killed the three men and then committed suicide?’

‘Is that what you think?’

‘Can you think of another explanation?’

‘No.’

‘There’s something else, Blum.’

‘What?

‘It’s possible that Mark’s death wasn’t an accident.’

‘What do you mean? If it wasn’t an accident, what was it?’

‘Murder. And you could be in danger.’

‘Me?’

‘You’d better be careful, Blum.’

‘Meaning?’

‘Meaning someone may be out to get you.’

Someone may be out to get you. Blum can still hear Massimo’s words ringing in her ears. She is at the lake with the children, who are gurgling with laughter as they splash around in the water surrounded by water balls and toy ducks. Her phone is wedged between her chin and her collarbone. She was holding Nela above the water while Massimo was on the phone. He sounded genuinely concerned. He really did think that Blum was the next target of the killer who had beheaded Jaunig, who might be responsible for the disappearance of Schönborn and Bertl Puch. But she was safe. Wasn’t she?

Nela is making her first attempts at diving. Uma is playing with a green plastic crocodile. Blum has ended the call and is sitting on the side of the children’s pool, watching the girls. How carefree they are, what fun they are having in the water. A fat man in red trunks sits down beside her. Suddenly he is there, his skin almost touching hers. His voice is quiet, little more than a whisper. He is Gustav Schrettl, private investigator, he says, and tells her that he saw some interesting things in the course of his last assignment. He tells her what he knows, while Nela splashes him with water and giggles. That fat man sitting beside Mama is a greedy little fellow, he has dollar signs in his eyes. You have a lovely villa , he says. You have a really nice life. You don’t want that nice life to end, do you? No, I’m sure you wouldn’t want it to end . It is such an improbable place for blackmail, this lake. Schrettl is wearing only bathing trunks, no one would think he was threatening Blum, trying to ruin everything. It’s absurd. If this were a scene in a film, Blum would have laughed. What nonsense , she would have said. But Schrettl is real, and he isn’t going away. He says he saw Bertl Puch, Puch briefly tried to sit up before he died. He didn’t take a photo of that, but he saw Puch lying in the coffin, still moving, before she struck. Schrettl is dangling his feet in the water. He wants her to pay him half a million euros. He is sneering. You can always sell your nice house. Or your smart American hearse. Or you can ask your friend the policeman for help. I’m sure he’ll understand your situation . Schrettl grins. A smug little leech in red trunks.

Blum says nothing, but lets him talk. Somewhere deep inside her she knew that something like this would happen, that old Schönborn couldn’t call off the man who took the photos just like that. Schrettl wants his share, it all makes sense. A bent detective witnesses a crime; instead of clearing the matter up he wants money for his silence. This half-naked joke of a man is demanding half a million euros. If you want to make a fool of yourself, be my guest, go to the police . She leans over and looks him in the eye. Her face is close to his, her voice is clear and distinct. Now leave me alone , she whispers. He has no evidence. He is a leech who has sucked his fill of blood. Now she will take the leech and throw him back into the water.

Blum stands up, gets her children and leaves. She doesn’t want to sit beside him any longer, smelling his breath, hearing his voice. She wants to get away from him; she would like to hold his head under water and cut off his legs so he couldn’t pursue her any more. What a greedy little bastard. But he doesn’t pose a serious problem, she thinks, he only wants a piece of the cake, he wants to peck up a few crumbs she has left on the ground. Blum turns round, walks away and drives back to the city. She isn’t going to feed him. Whatever happens, Schrettl will play no part.

His car is down in the street. For the last two days Blum has been looking out of the window, standing behind the curtain, thinking about what will happen next. She doesn’t know how she will pull it off. Wherever she goes, he follows. And he too is followed, by the man in the police car who always parks five cars behind. Massimo insisted on police protection for Blum. The men outside the house are preventing her from getting to the man she is after. Benjamin Ludwig.

Reza discovered the actor’s identity while Blum was at the lake. He nodded when she got home and led her to the computer. Reza had clicked his way through countless videos on YouTube, excerpts from his films and interviews – the man was certainly in the public eye. Austrian television had done a feature, At Home with Benjamin Ludwig . And there was the face of the man who took off his mask just for a moment, that familiar face, that voice. Everyone can see him in his living room, singing O sole mio . He beams at the camera, his wife and two children beside him. Benjamin Ludwig, the leading television actor, is at home with his family putting on a show for the cameras, a show about his perfect world. How very different it is from the videos recorded in the cellar. But the song is the same, performed with the same ardour. For the past two or three years he has been playing the part of a forester. Every Thursday evening, he walks through the woods with a broad grin on his face, in a tale of love and pain which attracts millions of viewers. His star is in the ascendancy and his ratings are high. This is the huntsman who aimed his gun at Youn. Who embraces and kisses his wife for the camera. Soon they will go and get Benjamin Ludwig, they will find a way.

But Blum is stuck. There’s Schrettl in his car, and there’s the policeman in his car. Massimo is penning her in because he wants to protect her. Dear Massimo. Even if their relationship has cooled off now, he is still there for her, having her guarded round the clock. Until he discovers the truth, the police officer will watch over her. She takes him coffee. The police officer unwittingly prevents Schrettl from harassing her any more. Everything is at a standstill. For the last two days she hasn’t left the house. But at least Blum has had time to think. She and Reza spend two days planning their next step. They have found out where Benjamin Ludwig lives, the location of the villa from the TV programme. It is an idyllic spot on a hill, set apart from the other houses; they have seen it on Google Earth. And they have found out that he is not filming at the moment, he is at home with his family, the media reports. Reza and Blum have made calls, telling lies, they have spent two evenings on the sofa planning their next move, their trip to Munich, down to the last detail. What to do about Schrettl and the policeman. What to do with Benjamin Ludwig. It’s a crazy adventure, but that’s how Blum likes it. Reza is standing beside her. She looks down at the street and says Let’s go .