Chantal van Mierlo - Julia Menken

“Is something wrong?” Diego asked.

“No, everything is fine.” She put down her cutlery. “I was just thinking about the case.”

“Good point,” he noted. He moved his chair backwards and stood up. “Sorry, we have to be off again. I’ll make it up to you tomorrow, then I’ll cook.” He planted a kiss on Janet’s forehead and said goodbye to his children. “Be good for mummy and goodnight for later on.”

Julia had already gone outside. She stayed on the step by the back door for a little while and looked out across the fields stretched out in front of her. She had to talk to Daniel, they needed to work on their relationship. Perhaps they just needed to do something fun together again. She couldn’t remember the last time they had been out to dinner with just the two of them. She wanted to make sure her own children also knew the warmth of a loving home.

*

Diego called Justus and Julia into his office on Friday to discuss any progress with the case. Justus decided to ignore her, as per usual: the intruder, the unwanted competition.

“So, where are we at the moment?” Diego started the conversation.

“That seems rather clear to me,” Justus said. “It looks like I was right all along, the clues are getting stronger.”

“Can you explain that?” Diego asked.

“That mutilation. The pathologist said it was possible that an object needed to be removed from the rectum. I still say this is the work of a paedophile ring, evidence needed to be destroyed.”

“That seems ever so short-sighted,” Julia said.

“Listen, I’m simply asking the question: Why did he never arrive at the doctor’s surgery? Had someone realised he was trying to make his way to the doctor? Of course they couldn’t allow that to happen, as it would instantly give them away. This concerned an object which would lead them straight to the perpetrator, like a mobile phone, for example. It’s no secret mobile phones with a vibration function are used for sex games, especially in the gay environment.”

This was heading in a completely wrong direction. So many wild assumptions were being made.

“So what exactly are you saying, what’s your theory?” Julia said.

“I think Brian was systematically being abused. Some object had been inserted into the rectum the day before the murder, something which would betray the perpetrator. The evidence needed to be destroyed when Brian wanted to go and see the doctor. And that was done with surgical precision.”

“But how did they know he wanted to go to the doctor?”

He looked at her with a meaningful glance. “Exactly what I would like to know. I think that father seems rather suspicious.”

Julia also thought Gert Huisman had been withholding information. But handing his own son over to a paedophile ring?

“The information about the planned doctor’s visit leaked somehow and that could have happened via the dad. Maybe not even on purpose. We know from earlier cases that there are plenty of parents who would do that to their children. Financial need is a motive,” Justus said.

Julia thought about the expensive things they had found in Brian’s room. Were these just plasters for his wounds, things to keep him sweet and make sure he kept his mouth shut?

“But why didn’t he simply cut that phone out, why remove the genitalia? It doesn’t make sense,” she said.

“To make it look like a sadistic murder. The true motives were obscured, it was a diversionary manoeuvre.”

“So, what are you proposing?”

“That we arrest the father as a suspect.”

“You really think he could have done this?”

“No, I don’t think so. But I think he’s an accomplice and that he can lead us to the perpetrator.”

Diego leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms above his head. He seemed to be considering taking Gert Huisman into custody.

“OK,” Diego decided. “Go and get him. I’ll inform the Public Prosecutor.”

Justus got up with a smile and was the first to leave the meeting room. Julia remained in her seat. What a mess. None of the reasoning was based on any solid foundations. What was she actually still doing here? Even Diego didn’t seem to want to use her expertise as a profiler, so she might as well go home. The disappointment was weighing down on her as she stood up.

She sat down behind her computer and opened up the crime scene photographs. She didn’t believe in the paedophile theory. Too many assumptions were being made and this had created a story which seemed like the reconstruction of the events, but was actually no more than a detective’s fantasy.

There were gaps in her investigation. So many things which were still grey areas to her. Who was Brian? What was he doing in the Rietgrachtstraat? What was his dad hiding? She constantly went back to the fact that the murder had been executed in far too a professional manner. The neat pile of clothes, the lack of any clear traces or clues; everything was pointing to a meticulously planned act. This perpetrator was playing a game. Everything she knew about him so far was pointing in the direction of a serial killer.

She had only asked Justus about this yesterday, but there were no old cases which could be linked to Brian’s case. She may need to go out looking herself, perhaps in Germany too. Arnhem was close enough to the border. She took in a deep breath. She couldn’t rely on Justus, he preferred to either ignore her or sneer at her if she asked for any information.

Her phone was ringing. It was Karel.

“How’s it going?” he asked.

“It’s going alright. There aren’t as many clues as I would like, but on the other hand there are also plenty of things pointing in a certain direction.”

“That doesn’t sound too bad.”

“The problem is that the investigation team is thinking along completely different lines than I am. They think a paedophile ring is behind the murder. So a group of people, who planned this murder in order to destroy evidence.”

“And you see things differently?”

“I think the perpetrator acted from a sadistic motive and that it was all about the murder itself, the ritual. We’re a long way from where we need to be. The team’s theories are far too premature.”

“So what now?”

“They’re just continuing to focus on that one theory.”

“But isn’t the whole point of you being there to avoid this kind of tunnel vision?”

“Yes.” She hesitated for a moment. If she admitted she hadn’t been able to get through to the team, she’d be responsible for her own demise.

“Come on, Julia. Show them your added value within the team, you being drafted in for this case was certainly no coincidence.”

“Yes, of course. I’m working on it. The problem is that I can’t really come up with much better arguments myself.”

“But you can. In fact, you just did.”

She stayed where she was for a long time, focussing on the white wall in front of her. Then she poured herself a coffee and took her steaming mug over to Diego’s office.

“Have you got a minute?” she asked.

This was going to be tricky. She sat down and warmed her hands up on the mug which was resting in her lap. She was sat here because she had to prove herself to Karel, he wanted her to show she was a fully-fledged and worthy member of the team. She had an increasingly strong feeling that her future depended on this case. Which is why she now had to show them her worth.

“I am worried about ...,” she stopped mid-sentence. This didn’t sound clear enough. “I feel the investigation is heading in the wrong direction. Theories have been worked out based on assumptions and these truly make no sense at all.”

“That’s quite some statement. So you think the investigation team is completely on the wrong track.”