Page 49 of Whispers at Dusk
“Called herself Mandy today,” Della added.
“Whoever she is, she is in on it. What? Do you think they needed one woman to lure others? Or as a second? But as far as we know, she is the only female involved.”
“She was talking about this kill being the one that put her in some special place,” Della said. “I’m trying to remember exactly what she said. So many kills would put her on the path to immortality.”
“And they turned on each other like rabid dogs when they were caught,” Mason noted. “Well, hopefully, that will make them willing to throw one another under the bus, so to speak.”
He was quiet.
“What’s bothering you?”
“They never used a name. They just talked about the Master. ‘The Master will come for you. This last kill was for the life-giving blood.’ And so on. Whoever the Master is, he’s created a rite or a religion. So many successful kills, and you’re supposedly on the way to immortal life. Like any strange cult or religion, a leader preys on those who are vulnerable. Or in this case, maybe just people he believes will be easy because they might have the desire to kill in them already. Maybe he strikes at people who believe the world has treated them badly. But... I think we’ve stopped something. You’ve stopped something. But I don’t think we’re near the end of this.”
“You think they don’t even know who they were really serving?”
“Maybe not.”
“These two are guilty of murder. Of how many, I don’t know.”
“And they will rot in prison. I know Wilhelm will see to that.”
Della shook her head. “Norway doesn’t have the death penalty, nor do they have what we consider to be life sentences. They are all about reforming prisoners. And they do have one of the lowest crime rates in the world.”
“I don’t think they’ve seen events like this often. But our killers may be wanted in other countries. Including the United States.”
“But they may have only been the pair to kill here, in Norway.”
He nodded. “We’re going to need to find out just where they’ve been lately.”
They arrived near the police headquarters and Mason parked. He glanced over at Della.
“Wilhelm wanted to get them processed—and then alone in interrogation rooms for a bit. Give them time to stew awhile, so—”
“Time to stew or think up some good stories,” Della said.
“He asked us for a little time. And it’s getting late again. Let’s do the tea thing they do here. We’ll slide into that café and have tea and open-faced sandwiches. Sound good?”
“Sure.”
It might be teatime, but Della opted for coffee. They were putting in long hours, and she wanted to be awake and aware for any discussions they were going to have. Mason went with coffee, too, and they ordered a sharable plate of little open-faced sandwiches with all kinds of toppings.
They chose a small table out on the walkway, and Della thought again that Lillehammer was truly a beautiful place.
Mason must have been thinking the same. “Strange,” he said.
“What’s that?”
“We’re in the land ofNorthmen. Once upon a time, Vikings were the savage rage of the seas. ‘From the fury of the Northmen, deliver us, oh, God!’ And it’s one of the most beautiful and peaceful places I’ve ever been.”
“Well, remember, Vikings came from all over what we now call Scandinavia, and they collected warriors sometimes wherever they went.”
“And slaves.”
“Right. Well, the world was brutal. It can still be brutal, we know that. But it is kind of cool that things could change so much, right? This is beautiful. Crime is low. Norway is amazing.”
He nodded. “Agreed. And the Viking era was long, long ago.” He shrugged. “We still have despots in the world, though. And I tend to love being in Germany—great people. Yet it wasn’t that long ago Hitler practiced genocide. And I’m sure a good majority of the people didn’t believe in killing. They were just terrified for their own lives if they spoke out. Anyway...” He paused, looking at his watch. “We can head over soon, I think.”
“Okay. This was nice,” Della said. She hesitated. “And thank you. I mean, thanks for telling me about your feelings. It’s bizarre to think we only met a few days ago because...”
