Jonathan Taylor - Meyer-Hofmann AG

“No, thanks, Fredrik is getting all that shipped. I just wanted to make sure I didn’t leave any personal items behind.”

“Well, you are very welcome to check. I will be here if you need anything. I have only used the drawers and cupboards that were empty for our things.”

“Do you like the house?”

“Oh, I love it, especially what you have done with it. You have such great taste! The pictures, the furniture, it’s beautiful.”

“Thank you. Yes, we were happy here for a while, but our breakup had nothing to do with the house. You should take it. Fredrik doesn’t need it; he is better off in the city.”

“I will have to wait until my husband gets back from his business trip before we can make a decision. Is it okay with you if I make a few changes? Make it feel a bit more like our home?”

“Do whatever you like. I am done with it,” she said bitterly.

“Oh, that’s a shame. I am sorry!”

“Don’t be—water under the bridge.” A pained smile crossed Eva’s face, and she felt herself growing into the role.

“Look, it’s not my place but… ” Lisa hesitated.

“Please, whatever it is.”

“The other day. Well… the police were here asking for you. They said if I were to see you, I should tell them.”

“Did they say what it was about?”

“No, not really, something about the Company, I think? Sorry.”

“Never mind. I will get in touch with them. Did they leave a number?”

“Just a minute, they gave me a card.”

Lisa took off into the lounge, and Eva allowed herself a small smile. Returning with DI Müller’s card, she handed it to Eva, who thrust it into her Gucci handbag before moving to leave.

“Thank you. I will get in touch with them immediately. I am sure it is nothing serious, but I better get off. Goodbye.”

“But don’t you want to pick up your things?”

“Oh, yes, yes, maybe I can come back another time? This police business has made me a little nervous!”

“Yes, of course. I understand.”

With that, Eva was gone. Lisa sat down on the rattan patio chair, somewhat baffled by what had just taken place. Confused that Britt had not taken any of her things with her, she wondered at the fact that she had not even had a quick look around.

Maybe she was more concerned by the police’s visit than she wanted to admit? She thought.

Günther Müller got a call that Britt Petersen was waiting for him in the reception of the building the following morning. Motioning to Monika, who was sitting at a desk opposite him in the open plan offices, they both stood and moved towards the elevators.

“The Petersen woman is downstairs.”

“How did she know that we were looking for her?”

“Good question.”

Eva had decided to wait until the following morning before going to the police. It was almost 6:00pm before she had got back to Munich from Starnberg, and she didn’t fancy a grilling through the night. Now she was rested and ready for whatever the day may hold. She was sitting in an interrogation room, waiting for the investigating officer.

Nothing like you see in the movies, no two-sided mirrors on the wall, just a simple table and two chairs. Eva sniffed at the room and prepared herself with a deep breath.

She had been waiting for less than five minutes when the officers entered the room. The woman was carrying a chair that she put down opposite Eva’s.

“I am Detective Inspector Müller, and this is Detective Constable Keller. Mrs Petersen, thank you for coming in.”

“You are welcome. I was out at my house, and Mrs Jarvis said you had been looking for me, so I decided to come. How can I help you?”

The officers swapped a look of understanding before Günther addressed Eva again.

“Mrs Petersen, I must tell you that you are not obliged to talk to us, but if you do, anything you say may be taken down and used in evidence. Do you understand?”

“Am I under arrest?”

“No, we just have a few questions for you about a letter you sent to the Portland Police.”

“Yes, I understand. I haven’t got anything to hide. It was all a silly mistake.”

“Can we get you anything to drink?” Monika interjected.

“No, thank you.”

“Mrs Petersen, we have been made aware of the letter you sent to the Portland Police. Would you mind explaining the content? On what basis were you making these allegations?”

“Oh, yes.” Eva went to work, rolling her eyes, pulling nervously at her hair and biting her bottom lip. “It was a mistake. I shouldn’t have done it. I hope I have not caused any trouble.”

“Obviously, the fact that you are here today shows we are taking it very seriously.”

“I was angry; it wasn’t true, any of it.”

“Mrs Petersen, these are very serious allegations. You are a lawyer, you must know the consequences of such an action.”

“Yes, of course I do. Look, it was my husband. He has been working all the hours God sends for the last year and a half. He spends more time in the US than he does here, and I was sick of it! I told him to make a choice. The Company or me.”

“And he chose the company?”

“Yes.”

“And what was the point of the letter, if the allegations were unfounded?”

“Never heard of a woman scorned, Officer? Fredrik was always talking about Rahul—couldn’t stand him. When I heard about the family’s deaths, I thought immediately how convenient that would be for Fredrik.”

“You think Fredrik killed them?”

“No, of course not. He couldn’t kill a fly.”Günther pushed a copy of the letter across the table to Eva. Fortunately, it was not the first time she had seen it. Her father had somehow acquired a copy that she had been able to study in preparation for her role. She looked at it nonchalantly.

“I don’t need that. I know what it says—I wrote it.”

“I know you wrote it, Mrs Petersen, but I would like to go through it anyway. Now, first, you wrote that you had found information concerning Family Singh in your husband’s papers. Is that true?”

“Yes, that is true. But it was just an e-mail from the US telling him that the family had sadly passed away in an accident at home and that they would have to take steps to bridge the gap at the company. He was to go over immediately. That was the straw that broke the camel’s back. He had only been back a few days, and they were talking about needing him for months.”

“Your husband is also a lawyer, is he not?”

“Yes.”

“And what was his role at the company?”

“He specialises in international law, but more recently, he has become involved in the company’s daily business. Meyer-Hofmann wanted one of their men at the helm. Rahul Singh was made CEO by the company’s board, despite Meyer-Hofmann’s concerns.”

“What concerns did they have?”

“They just didn’t think he was suitable.”

“Because of the colour of his skin?”

“No. That was just me being mischievous.” She smiled, and made a silly chuckling sound.

“It is a little more than mischievous, Mrs Petersen. You accused the Company of plotting multiple murders.”

Eva stared at the table as if she could look straight through it at their feet, feigning discomfort.

It was all going to plan. They hadn’t even asked for identification.

She had shown the desk sergeant her fake passport, but he had only given it a passing glance, not even taking down the number.

It was slack policing—what was the world coming to! She allowed herself to relax a little and raised her head for the next round.

“Look, I know what I did is reprehensible, but I am here to put it right. You can take whatever action against me you think is appropriate. I won’t fight it.”Günther wasn’t buying it; this was all just a bit too rehearsed. He had dealt with many crimes of passion in the past, and none had taken this route. He was sure there was more to the deaths in America. DI Wilson had found evidence to support her accusations, even a plot to cover up the murders.