Page 31 of Anatomy of a Killer
‘And that’s why he. . . Andreas. . . ?’ Shocked, she slaps a hand over her mouth. ‘Oh my God.’
‘Could you tell me something about him? Please, Frau Steinhausen. Just like your husband, my father is the victim of a mix-up, and all of this is only because—’
‘Of him?’ Frau Steinhausen says, narrowing her eyes– a look of incredulity and why not? First the thing with her husband and now me, a complete stranger who’s appeared out of the blue, accusing her brother-in-law of multiple murders. I can see her mind working away, wondering if all this is really happening. It’s a feeling I know only too well.
‘Frau Steinhausen, I know this might sound totally absurd and—’
She interrupts me with a heavy sigh. ‘Or maybe not. You know. . .’ She rubs her brow. ‘When I think about it. . . oh God. Basically this man only ever caused trouble.’ I give her a moment to collect herself. ‘Andreas is just a year older than Marcus,’ she says eventually. ‘But as their father died when they were young, he was everything to Marcus: brother, father, a role model in every respect. People often think they’re twins, although—’
‘Look!’ Amelie squeals. Her chair scrapes noisily across the tiled floor of the café when she leaps up. In a flash she’s standing beside me, holding the mobile so close to my face that my vision goes blurry. ‘That’s Adrien. He’s a superhero too, just like Marinette, but she doesn’t realise even though they’re best friends. Silly, isn’t it?’ She grins at me. ‘Surely you’d notice that!’
‘Amelie!’ her mother says sternly. ‘Leave the woman alone and sit back down in your chair.’ We wait until Amelie obeys.
‘Twins,’ I say, reminding Susanne Steinhausen of what she was saying before we were interrupted.
She shakes her head. ‘Utter nonsense. Yes, they do look similar, but that’s mainly because Marcus always copied Andreas. Whatever haircut Andreas had, Marcus had his done the same way. Clothes, even some gestures and his laugh– Marcus seemed to imitate everything.’
‘Wow, that’s—’
‘Creepy? Sure is. In the early days of my relationship with Andreas, I didn’t take it so seriously, but increasingly it became a problem. It was like Marcus was studying him. Marcus was always there! Wherever we went, he wanted to be with us. If he knew we were going out to dinner, he’d suddenly appear at the restaurant and join us as if we’d arranged to meet there. Or at the cinema. It got especially bad after the birth of our first daughter. By then we had our own house, but he came to visit all the time and meddled in our life. Once I found him carrying the screaming baby on his arm, patting her back and saying something like, “It’s okay, Daddy’s here.”Daddy!Can you imagine?’ Yes, I can, because I’ve heard a similar story from Michelle, albeit not so extreme. ‘It got to the point where enough was enough, as far as I was concerned. I realised that my husband, as the big brother, felt responsible for him. And that he had a bad conscience because Marcus looked after their mother on his own. But it couldn’t go on like that. Eventually Andreas agreed to move, to Potsdam at least. That was far enough away to stop Marcus from turning up on the doorstep every day. As time went on, he did in fact come less often, but I expect that was because he’d found a girlfriend.’
‘A girlfriend?’ I almost knock my cola over in excitement.
‘Yes. What was her name again?’ Frau Steinhausen hesitates. ‘Oh, it doesn’t matter. I don’t suppose they’re still together anyway– I mean, it was ages ago.’
‘Are you saying you haven’t had any contact with Marcus for a long time?’
‘Not for years, no. I do know he spent some time in rehabilitation. Then he put my mother-in-law in a care home and vanished. We couldn’t even get in touch with him about the funeral because we didn’t have an up-to-date phone number for him.’ She clasps her cup with both hands and stares at her tea in silence for a few seconds. ‘To be honest, it never occurred to us to look for him. We were glad to be rid of him.’
‘But do you have an idea of where he might be? Even an inkling?’
When she looks up, her cold eyes pierce me. ‘He’s a rat. And rats always find holes to crawl into.’
I nod. Marcus Steinhausen, the rat. The monster. I thank his sister-in-law and say goodbye, but not without first giving her my telephone number, which she punches straight into her mobile. In case she thinks of anything else that might be of use to me. This happens far more quickly than expected– as I’m walking out of the café.
‘Ann!’ she calls out behind me. I turn around and wander back. ‘It began with M. Melanie, Manuela. . .’
I shrug; I’ve no idea what she’s getting at.
‘The name of his girlfriend!’ she explains. ‘I remember now. It began with M.’
‘M?’ I gasp. No way. That can’t be true. I ask to borrow Susanne Steinhausen’s mobile, which forces her to engage in another little battle with Amelie, who’s still watching her video. The child only relents with the promise of an ice cream. I start by going on the internet. Because my battery’s empty I can’t access my phone book, and I don’t know Ludwig’s number off by heart. The landline at his home address is unknown; he must have disconnected it seeing as he spends most of his time as a gentleman of independent means in Poland. But there is an entry under the name of his housekeeper, who still works sporadically for him when he’s staying at his old place in Berlin, like now. Her husband answers, then passes me to her, who’s known me for years– little Anni, how lovely to get a Christmas call from you. She asks how I am, but I don’t have time for small talk, especially as I don’t want to spend too long using someone else’s phone. I ask her for Ludwig’s mobile number which, somewhat surprised, she gives me. Finally I get through to Ludwig. Sounding puzzled, he asks me what number I’m calling from. I promise to explain it all later, but for now: ‘I have to see you, right away. Outside police headquarters.’
‘What?’
‘I can’t go on my own, I need your support. It’s essential we speak to the inspector responsible for Dad’s case.’ When he doesn’t respond, I add, ‘There was an incident today at a construction site in Henningsdorf, Ludwig. Something bad.’
‘What? What sort of incident? Are you all right?’
‘Marcus Steinhausen’s brother was seriously injured and my friend Eva. . .’ My voice cracks; I clear my throat. ‘I was there, Ludwig. I’m a witness and I have to make a statement. We’ll meet at police HQ, okay?’ I hang up. I finish by ordering a taxi, then I thank the patient Frau Steinhausen and hurry out of the building.
Us
Sarah, Sarah, sweet little Sarah. So alone, so sad. You’re shivering, you poor thing. Come with me, don’t be afraid. We’ll go and play in the woods. It’s a fairy-tale game. You like fairy tales, don’t you? Of course you do, all children love fairy tales. And, do you know what? You’re the main character! Do you want to hear your story? Then listen carefully. Once upon a time, there was a little girl who was born with a heart of pure gold. Or at least that’s what people said in the village where she lived. One day an evil dragon heard about this and decided he would steal the girl’s heart. He wanted to destroy it because everything that was good and beautiful stirred his hatred. It reminded him that he himself was just a nasty old dragon. The girl had to flee. She ran as fast as she could to escape from the dragon. . . Go on, sweetheart, run! Run faster and don’t turn around! Did you hear that? The cracking in the bushes? That’s him! He’s close on your heels! Come here, let’s hide, right here behind this thick tree trunk. Shall I tell you a secret? Dragons don’t always look like dragons. Not all of them are huge and black or dark green, with spines and scales and spouting fire from their huge mouths. Some are masters of disguise. They look like perfectly normal people, like men or women. They lead you astray and then to ruin. Some of them, with a bit of magic, can transform themselves so they don’t just look human, they actually become human. Others can’t do that as the evil inside them is too strong. They are lost souls. Are you afraid? No, no, don’t be afraid. You’re safe with me. I’ll take you to a secret place, a magical place. It’s a castle, and in the castle lives another girl with a golden heart, a princess. Would you like to meet her? Yes? I thought so. She wants to meet you too, she’s been looking forward to it. We’ll go and see her now, okay? But beforehand we have put out a few of the red ribbons I brought with me, look. What are they for? Oh, it wouldn’t interest you, sweetheart. Let’s just say it’s a surprise for the dragon.
Ann
Berlin, 26 December 2017
