Mikkel Birkegaard - The Library of Shadows

'I feel as if I've just run a marathon,' he said in between bites. 'My body is completely drained.'

'Do you remember anything?' asked Katherina.

Iversen shook his head as he finished chewing.

'The last thing I remember is starting to read Mann.' He nodded towards the bedside table and the book Jon had taken from him. 'I think I'll wait a while before I try that one again,' he added, winking at Katherina.

'Pau brought it for you?' asked Jon.

'Yes, I rang him and asked him to come over with some reading material.' He laughed. 'Isn't it ironic? Every day you collect all sorts of books that you have the best intention of reading when you can find the time – and when you finally do have a chance, this happens.' He shook his head before he took another bite of the sandwich.

'I sure miss pizza,' he said after finishing his meal. The tray in front of him was covered with crumpled food wrapping. 'A good pepperoni with extra mushrooms.' He sighed. 'All right, so tell me what you've been doing.'

Katherina and Jon took turns telling him about what had happened since the fire – about visiting Kortmann, the meeting at the library in Шsterbro, Lee's apparent suicide and the meeting with the receivers. During the whole report Iversen listened attentively with a solemn expression on his face. When they were done, he sat there for a moment, shaking his head.

'Pau told me about Lee when he was here. It's terrible.'

'What do you think?' asked Jon. 'Did he commit suicide?'

'If the question is, did he take the overdose, then I think the answer is yes. It's what happened beforehand that's interesting.' Iversen's eyes flickered from Jon to Katherina. 'What clouded his mind to such an extent that he would choose to commit suicide?'

'According to the police, he was a prime candidate: single, a loner and slightly paranoid,' said Jon.

'No doubt,' said Iversen. 'He may have been predisposed in that direction, but he still needed a big push before he would kill himself. What was he reading?'

'Kafka,' said Jon, sounding surprised. 'Kortmann asked the same question.'

Iversen nodded. 'Kafka can be read in many different ways. Some people read his books as satire, others as nightmarish descriptions of society. You don't have to look very hard to find dejection or helplessness in Kafka's texts, and if the right places are reinforced, it's not difficult to feel rather depressed.'

'Reinforced by a receiver?' asked Jon.

'In principle a transmitter can do the same during a reading,' replied Iversen. 'But that would mean Lee wasn't alone. For a receiver it would be much easier. The person in question wouldn't have to be present in the same room, and if it was done subtly enough, Lee probably wouldn't notice he was being manipulated. He would feel himself becoming exceedingly depressed – so much so that he chose to take his own life.'

'Because of Kafka?'

'In actuality, almost any text could be used, but Kafka has that underlying melancholy that makes it possible to influence the reader in a much less noticeable way than if he were readingWinnie the Pooh, say.'

Katherina hadn't said a word during the conversation. She surmised where it was heading, and even though she didn't like to admit it, the discussion confirmed her own suspicions. There was no longer any doubt that a receiver was involved in the events. That had become crystal clear for her when she saw Iversen sitting in bed with no control over his body. With Iversen's theory of Lee's suicide, she had to admit that it pointed in the same direction, which in turn settled any doubts surrounding Luca's death, at least for her. In her mind she listed all the receivers she knew, one by one, and evaluated their motives and ability to pull off something like this, but she came up empty.

'By the way, Clara is mistaken with regard to freelances,' said Iversen, as if he had read her thoughts. 'I know of at least one receiver who was thrown out of the group.'

Jon could see from Katherina's reaction that this was news to her too. She sat up straight and leaned forward in her chair in order to hear better.

'Who?' asked Jon and Katherina at the same time.

'Strange that I didn't think of this before,' said Iversen, with a slight shake of his head. He closed his eyes for a few seconds. 'Tom,' he said, opening his eyes again. 'His name was Tom. Nшrregеrd or Nшrrebo, or something like that. Tom was a receiver, quite a good one, but a bit of a loner, as far as I remember.' Iversen nodded towards Katherina. 'It was before your time. In fact, it must have been around…' He opened his eyes wide and looked at Jon. 'I think it was more than twenty years ago. While your mother was still alive, I'm sure about that.'

'What happened?' asked Jon. 'Why was he thrown out?'

'It had something to do with a woman,' said Iversen, shaking his head. 'Sorry, but my memory isn't what it used to be, and it happened a long time ago. As far as I remember, he misused his powers as a receiver to get in bed with a woman. According to rumour, there was more than one, but in any case he got caught and was thrown out of the Society. He was a close friend of Luca's, and Luca was actually the person who exposed Tom and who assumed the heavy responsibility of banishing him.'

'Banishing? That sounds a little harsh,' said Katherina.

Iversen shrugged. 'It was a matter of repeated offences, and in a group like ours it's essential that we trust each other.'

'But wasn't it more dangerous to have him running around loose?' asked Jon. 'What if he gave himself away? What if he revealed his powers, or even put an end to the Bibliophile Society?'

'Luca thought it was best,' replied Iversen. 'And back then no one ever questioned his word. At that time Luca was the head of the Society, and apparently he succeeded in persuading Tom that he was in the wrong. Partly because no one but your father trusted him, and also because, according to Luca, Tom was so embarrassed by how he'd behaved that he could no longer look us in the eye. We never saw him again.'

'It doesn't sound as though he was particularly vindictive,' Katherina pointed out.

'No, that was my impression too,' said Iversen. 'Luca, who was the last person to speak to him, didn't say that Tom was especially angry or bitter, but the timing seems almost too coincidental.'

'So what would he want today?' asked Jon. 'He may have felt disappointed back then, but what about now? Why would he suddenly stop the attacks, only to start them up again twenty years later?'

They looked at each other, but none of them had an answer.

'Nшrreskov,' Iversen exclaimed so suddenly that Katherina gave a start. 'His name was Tom Nшrreskov.'

'We'll have to see if we can locate him,' said Jon. 'There can't be many guys in Denmark with that name.'

'It's even possible you might recognize him when you see him,' said Iversen. 'He spent a lot of time at Libri di Luca when you were still living with your parents.' He turned to look at Katherina. 'He was gone long before you came into the picture. What surprises me is why Clara didn't say anything about him. She must remember what happened.'

'I've never heard any mention of people being banished,' said Katherina. 'Maybe it's just one of those things that people don't talk about, like the family's black sheep.'

Iversen nodded. He suddenly looked tired as he sat there in bed with his arms crossed on his stomach and his head resting on the pillow. Jon sat up straight.

'Maybe we should let you get some sleep, Iversen.'

He tried to protest but Katherina agreed with Jon and they both stood up.

'We'll be right next door,' said Jon, pointing to the wall.

'Absolutely not,' retorted Iversen. 'Get out of here, both of you. You've got more important things to do than keep watch over a tired old man.' He raised his hand as if swearing an oath. 'I promise not to open a book until you get back.'