Page 28 of Anatomy of a Killer
Meller doesn’t kill Steinhausen.
He kills Eva.
RECORDING 03
Berlin, 7 May 2021
You must have wondered about killing at some time or other.
Of course. That’s why I’m asking you about your emotions. I can imagine that you sort of– how can I put it?– get into a different state of mind. A kind of intoxication, ecstasy. And fury, fury must be in the mix too, because you need strength to kill like you did. Either fury or a profound conviction. Something, at any rate, that gives you this strength.
Hmm. I think it’s more likely the latter. I’m not an angry person. How about you? Do you have angry outbursts?
I can get angry, sure. I mean, everyone does, don’t they?
Not me.
Maybe you just don’t realise it.
That’s possible.(grins)But, to be honest, it didn’t require that much strength, at least not to overpower the girls. They were in a state of total shock. My attacks came as such surprises that very few of them put up anything like resistance. I threw them to the ground and sat on them, clamping their arms with my knees. That’s not hard when their bodies are so small and delicate. Only the cuts required a bit of strength, that’s true. Human skin is very elastic. It’s like pigs’ skin, did you know that?
Yes, I think I’ve heard that before.
Indicative, isn’t it? Humans, pigs. Continue.
Continue?
What do you imagine it’s like to kill? Come on, make a bit of an effort!
Well, I assume it might have something to do with power too? That. . . oh, I don’t know, you feel like God when deciding about another person’s life?
Careful, you’re slipping into cliché now.
Isn’t it right what I’m saying?
Is that how it would be for you? Would you like to play God for a time?
Not in this way, no.(clears throat)Can we talk about Larissa now?
In a minute. There’s one thing I’d like to know first. Who would you kill if you knew there would be no consequences. . . ?
I don’t think—
Come on, be bold. You’ve got a free pass.
Do you want to hear me say I’d killyou? Make me realise that everyone’s capable of murder? That’s ridiculous.
It is. Particularly as I wouldn’t have to make you realise it, you know it yourself. And you feel caught out. I can see it in your face and in the way you’re clenching your fists. Are you here because of the murders? You want to know how and why it all happened? You’ve had so much time to prepare for me– and what do you do? You get distracted and ruffled like a little girl. Likethoselittle girls. How did the killer manage to keep abducting children without anyone noticing? I’ll tell you: just like that! I didn’t have to go hunting children, I could pluck them like apples from a tree. Be friendly, tell them a story or promise to buy them an ice cream or show them a special place. You distract people by giving them your undivided attention, making them feel that everything is about them. Some people are flattered, others unsettled, but either way it always leads to the goal.
How did you lure Larissa?
Larissa? With an excursion. I told her I was going to the Weiher but couldn’t remember the way. She agreed to show me and asked if we could take her bike. You see, she didn’t dare ring the bell at home to put it in the hall, as her mother was just having a siesta. But she didn’t want to leave it outside, either, because her old one had recently been stolen, which got her into big trouble with her stepfather. Poor girl.
A poor girl you took advantage of.
I see it differently.
How?
