Mikkel Birkegaard - The Library of Shadows

'That's why we will do everything we can, of course, to help find out what happened,' Clara went on. 'We've followed the latest events with concern. We have nothing to gain from anything that has occurred, least of all from the loss of your father.'

'What function did he serve in your group?' asked Jon.

'First and foremost, he acted as an ambassador,' replied Clara. 'Up until the very end he was trying to reunite the Bibliophile Society, and without his efforts, the relationship between transmitters and receivers would be even worse than it is.'

'It's hard to imagine the relationship could be any worse,' said Jon.

'Things have escalated lately,' Clara admitted. 'But before these events started, we were actually very close to a reconciliation. It's not easy to forget twenty years of hostilities and mistakes – that requires a great deal of diplomacy and a willingness to compromise. You might say that Luca had already spent years laying the groundwork by holding evening readings at Libri di Luca, which was regarded by both sides as a neutral zone with a permanent cease-fire. But for the Society's part, the cooperation hadn't yet begun.'

'What would it mean?' asked Jon. 'Why is it so important to be united when your powers are so different?'

'Even though you haven't been activated yourself, you still must have some idea of how effective an instrument the respective powers that transmitters and receivers possess can be. But it's only when these powers are combined that their true force emerges. If a transmitter is supported by a receiver, the result is much more focused and the effect on the listeners is so strong that few can resist.'

'So it's a matter of power?'

Muted protests came from all sides, but Clara raised her voice.

'Power over the story, you might say. We would never dream of misusing our talents. The goal is to present the story as faithfully as possible and convey the message of the text as effectively as we can.'

'And yet these attacks have been occurring,' said Jon.

'That's correct,' Clara admitted with a nod. 'But there's no evidence that any receivers are behind them. We realize that Luca's death bears the mark of being provoked by a receiver, but it's also possible that he died of natural causes, or that his heart attack was prompted by something else.'

'Like what, for example?'

'Poison, or possibly shock,' Clara suggested, though she didn't sound very convinced.

'But if we assume that a receiver was behind it,' said Jon calmly, 'and all indications point in that direction, could it happen without you knowing something about it?'

Everyone sitting around the table turned to look at Clara. For a moment she glanced up at the ceiling and then shrugged her shoulders.

'I can't rule it out,' she said. 'But I find it very unlikely. We're a very tightly knit group and an act of betrayal is unthinkable. Besides, we've all enjoyed Luca's company, not just because of his personality and wisdom, but also in a purely practical sense, by training with him. Without his cooperation as a transmitter, our powers as receivers would not have reached the high level they have. Katherina here is a good example. If Luca hadn't taken her under his wing and trained with her almost every day, she wouldn't be one of the most skilled Lectors that we have today.'

Katherina nodded in agreement.

'Could it be a receiver outside the group?' Jon suggested. 'Someone you don't know?'

'In theory it could be a "freelance",' Clara said after pausing to think for a moment. 'But as a rule freelances aren't especially well trained, so they're not strong enough to kill someone. You have to remember that they often have no idea what their powers are, never mind what they might be used for. Sooner or later they end up with us, provided they don't get institutionalized, or worse.'

'Could it happen by accident? If you say they don't know their own abilities, could a freelance kill someone by accident?'

'That's very unlikely,' Clara said hastily. Her gaze shifted for a moment from Jon to Katherina before she continued. 'It requires a gradual build-up in effect, which in turn presupposes a great deal of training and self-control.'

'And nobody has ever left your group after having achieved the requisite powers? Someone who might have reason to seek revenge?'

'No,' Clara replied firmly.

Jon looked at the people who were visible in the light from the lamp. Some of them were whispering to each other, some were waiting expectantly with their arms crossed, as if challenging him to come up with a new and better scenario.

'So if the motive isn't revenge or power,' Jon summed up, 'then what is it?'

There was complete silence in the room. Some of those seated around the table exchanged glances, but most directed their attention at Clara.

'I didn't exactly dismiss either revenge or power,' Clara began, for the first time with a harsh undertone to her voice. 'I simply said it would be exceedingly doubtful that any ofus would be driven by such a motive. In our opinion, this has to do with someone wanting to prevent the Society from reuniting. Someone who has something to lose, either in the form of power or prestige. The timing isn't coincidental. Only now, after twenty years of separation, did the attacks start up again because the prospect of reconciliation seems possible.' She took a deep breath. 'I wouldn't be surprised if the person or persons behind them also started the attacks twenty years ago. Someone who gained a certain status back then, and now is afraid of losing it.'

Jon fixed his eyes on Clara's. The woman who had earlier appeared so jovial didn't smile, just stared across the table at him without wavering. Those sitting around them studied first her, then Jon, as if they were betting on who would blink first.

'You mean Kortmann? That's a serious accusation,' Jon said at last.

'It's a serious situation. We're being threatened, and our very lives may be at stake.'

'So far it's the transmitters who have suffered the biggest losses,' Jon pointed out. 'Lee died last night. The police say it was suicide, but Kortmann thinks otherwise.'

Clara nodded, as if she already knew about it, but many of the members began whispering and casting looks of astonishment at others in the room.

'I'm sure he does,' she said. 'Even though we didn't know Lee very well, we're sorry about what happened, but that doesn't change our suspicions. Lee wasn't old enough to have taken part in the events back then, and that alone could present a risk for those involved. Maybe he got in the way.'

'Maybe he just took his own life,' Jon insisted. 'The police found a suicide note with his signature.'

'The question isn't really whether he committed suicide or not,' said Clara. 'Though it's very likely that he did. Kortmann is not the only one who has connections to the police.' She smiled. 'The real question is, what drove him to do it?'

'He didn't seem like the type who would allow himself to be pressured into something so drastic,' Jon emphasized.

'All the more reason to be sceptical,' said Clara and then she abruptly fell silent, even though her lips had been about to shape her next words.

Jon sensed there was something he had overlooked. Clara stared at him with an expectant, almost inquisitive expression, as if she'd given him the first part of a sentence that he needed to complete himself.

'You're forgetting that the man you're accusing was the one who initiated this meeting.'

'Not at all,' replied Clara, smiling wryly. 'What would suit him better than to get someone who doesn't belong to the Society to carry out the investigation, someone who isn't aware of his powers, someone he thinks he can influence?'

Jon was about to object when Clara stopped him by raising her hand slightly.