Arrhythmia (22 page)

“Shall I show you the house?”

I nodded eagerly. “Oh yes, please.”

I was grateful for the distraction from my hysteria. My accusations were beginning to seem silly. Also, I was anxious to see how Desiderio lived.

Show me how you live and I will tell you who you are.

Yes, there was some truth in that saying.

I looked around the dining room with a design expert’s eye. Straight lines, modern furniture, everything in black and white . . . OK, OK, fine. So I had no idea what that was supposed to tell me about Desiderio; I didn’t have a degree in psychology, after all. All I knew was that the man had astonishingly good taste—if, as he assured me several times, he had truly chosen all the furnishings himself.

He led me next door to the kitchen, which was almost certainly larger than my entire apartment and definitely nicer. Here, too, everything was ultra modern and angular, which wasn’t exactly my cup of tea, but which impressed me enormously. The tall kitchen cabinets glistened in a glossy burgundy red, which went extremely well with the black countertops.

“Do you have a cleaning lady?” I asked and contemplated the high-end coffeemaker.

“Yes. Why?”

I pressed my hand on one of the cabinet fronts. When I removed it, it left behind a first-rate print. “That’s why.”

“Hm. Maybe you just need to wash your hands more often?” he said, and was punished with a soft punch.

We continued our tour.

“This is the pantry and this is the utility room,” Desiderio explained and let me peek inside. “Powder room. This is supposed to become a full bathroom one day, if I ever get around to choosing the tiles.”

Perhaps I might be of assistance?

Not wanting to be too intrusive, I said nothing for the time being and confined myself to marveling at everything and uttering a lot of oohs and aahs. It wasn’t too hard because the house really was amazing.

“The hallway isn’t finished yet either, by the way.”

“No? I thought all the brushes and cans of paint were a nice touch,” I joked.

“Aren’t they, though? Well, this is the last room on the first floor. The living room. You can get to the backyard from here.”

“Really? Awesome!”

The room wasn’t big; it was gigantic. One side consisted exclusively of windows so that even on a dark, rainy day, it was surprisingly bright. Elegance and modernity set the benchmarks here as well. The predominant colors were beige and gray, which offset some of the coolness of the hard lines. If there were a fire burning in the broad Scandinavian woodstove in the corner, this would be a great place to relax. I was most impressed by the floor-to-ceiling library that occupied one entire wall and was filled down to the last centimeter with books. It even had a sliding ladder. Fantastic! Fascinated, I walked along the shelves and looked over the contents. Everything from the classics to modern literature. And there it was: the entire Twilight series, neatly arranged. I tapped on one of the books with a grin, and Desiderio shrugged in feigned innocence.

I walked over to the huge windows and looked out. If I hadn’t been wowed before, I was now.

“Holy cow, the patio is enormous! And the backyard!” I pressed my nose against the windowpane in order to get a better look at everything. “And what is that? A pool?”

“Yes.” He stepped next to me and placed his hand on my back. “The water is heated, by the way. And before I forget, there’s a hot tub as well.”

I stared at him, baffled and delighted.

Desiderio did not disguise the pride he took in his home. It did seem a little conceited, but I couldn’t blame him for wanting to show it off. If he was trying to impress me, he succeeded.

“The water is heated? Like really warm? Can you go swimming in the winter?”

His answer was a smile.

Holy shit, I would like to get a look at that electricity bill. It must be mind boggling.

“Uh, Desiderio, I don’t want to be rude, but how can you afford all this? I mean, as a young doctor you probably have a pretty good income, but this much?”

“You’re not being rude. And yes, you’re totally right; this wouldn’t be possible on my current salary. I have to admit that I’m supported by an inheritance from my grandfather.”

“I thought he was a locksmith.” I smirked.

“Yes, my German grandfather was a locksmith. The inheritance comes from the Italian side.”

“My God!” I opened my eyes wide and asked softly, “Mafia?”

“What? No. Are you nuts?” He laughed. “My grandfather was managing director of one of the leading Italian banks.”

“Like I said, Mafia,” I quipped playfully. I was relieved. I’d heard many horror stories about the Cosa Nostra during my sojourn in Italy and had learned to fear them without ever having had anything to do with them.

“Maybe a little,” Desiderio said and kissed me lightly on the forehead. “The upstairs is still mostly chaos, but if you want to see, I’ll show it to you.”

“Yes, of course I want to.”

Uh, obviously I want to go upstairs. I still haven’t seen the most important room!

I followed Desiderio up, my eyes focused on his delectable behind. I was almost disappointed when we reached the top of the stairs so rapidly.

However, one look into the bathroom and my disappointment was forgotten.

This place was like some kind of spa! Double sinks, a mega bathtub with jets, a rain forest shower with attached sauna cubicle . . .

I reacted like any normal woman and was completely blown away. If I’d had my druthers, I would have torn off my clothing right then and taken a relaxing bubble bath.

Desiderio gently led me out of there and down the hallway. We passed three empty rooms before we at last reached his bedroom. He opened the door and gestured for me to enter.

And there I stood with my mouth gaping open.

The room was completely different from the rest of the house.

Everything was done in Tuscan style with warm brown tones and dark wood. What stood out most was the massive four-poster bed covered with a gauzy, white material. The room stood in stark contrast to all the minimalist modern furnishings I’d just seen.

“This is your bedroom?” I asked incredulously.

“Yes?” He didn’t seem to know what to make of my question.

“And you’re planning to renovate in here as well?”

“No, this is all new. Does that mean you don’t like it?”

“Oh no, no,” I quickly reassured him. “It’s just so . . . different.”

He looked confused. “What do you mean?”

“Well, I mean different from the rest of the house,” I tried to explain. “In terms of style, that is.”

“That’s true. But do you like it?”

“It’s wonderful,” I gushed, meaning it, and looked around. “How on earth do you get up every morning? I mean, that bed looks so comfortable that I would probably never get out.”

Desiderio cocked his head roguishly. “Now, that sounds promising.”

“That’s not what I meant!” I backed away a little.

“Still, I wouldn’t mind trying it out.”

“Uh, we could . . . uhhh . . .”

He took one step and, before I knew what was happening, I was lying crosswise on the bed with Desiderio on top of me. Before I could think to protest, he covered me with tender kisses.

Mmm. His lips are so soft and his skin so smooth and his muscles so hard and . . .

I was obsessed with him.

I pressed myself against him and demanded more. He acquiesced to my urges and slowly pushed my shirt upward. Far too slowly! I took deep breaths and allowed him to pull the shirt over my head.

He stopped briefly and looked at my body as if it was a precious gift. My whole body tingled with excitement while, without taking his eyes off me, he unbuttoned and took off his shirt.

My God!

I felt almost reverent as I extended my fingers toward him and traced the lines of his muscles. He shivered slightly and leaned over again to kiss me. I wrapped my arms and legs around him, held on to him, and enjoyed the heat of his hands as they explored my body.

Desiderio’s lips kept wandering down. Kissing my neck, my shoulders, my breasts . . . everything. I stretched with a moan and simply enjoyed his touches.

Lena, what in the hell is this turning into?

Well now, what did it look like?

I was about to give in to my desire, to
him
, and sleep with him. That is what I wanted at that moment.

Is what you’re doing really right?

Of course it was. How could something wrong feel so right at this moment?

Hormones . . .

All right, my superego was right to preach caution. So long as these terrible fears about Desiderio’s motives lingered in me, I needed to put off the next step.

We had to stop.

Now.

Before it was too late.

Stop!

But I couldn’t. My body just wouldn’t listen. The flames of passion were raging and had engulfed me.

Desiderio’s hand was opening the button of my pants, and I let him.

My cell phone rang.

I opened my eyes wide and blinked under the white canopy. It was as if I was awakening from some kind of trance and needed a moment to come to.

What the hell am I doing?

“My phone!” I gasped.

“Leave it,” said Desiderio and pulled down the zipper of my jeans.

“No, I just need to see who it is,” I babbled nervously and grabbed the phone in my pants pocket.

Desiderio tried unsuccessfully to disguise his disappointment. He propped himself up and waited quietly while I managed to retrieve my phone and took a look at the display.

“Wollbach Police Station,” I read out loud and sat up.

“Well, go on. Answer it,” he insisted.

I did, and then I listened attentively to what Sergeant Niederhuber had to tell me. I hung up with a pale face and looked at Desiderio.

“They’ve got him.”

Chapter 26

We arrived at the police station within fifteen minutes. I had been silent the whole way over, because I had no idea how I would react to Snake Tattoo. Over the last two weeks, I’d mostly managed to suppress and not deal with my memories of the attack, but now they were threatening to catch up with me.

My helplessness, his ridicule, his putrid breath, the knife in front of my eyes . . . All of it came back to me in such detail it was as if it had happened the day before.

I began to feel nauseated and dizzy and tried with all my might to hide behind a neutral expression. The entire time, Desiderio’s hand rested between my shoulder blades. He gently guided me through the station until we arrived at Niederhuber’s desk. Within a matter of seconds, two steaming cups of coffee were on the desk in front of us.

“Ms. Berger,” the officer said with a great deal of cheer, “we’ve arrested the guy. I’m sure you’re happy to hear that, right?”

I nodded weakly.

“He was nabbed trying to steal a car, and the fingerprints match those on the weapon used during the attack on you. Still, you’ll need to identify him. A mere formality.”

I swallowed hard.

“I have a few photos here. Our sketch artist seems to have done a great job; the guy fits the sketch to a T. But, as I said, we need you to make a positive identification. You too, Doctor.”

Niederhuber pushed a folder in front of me. I squinted at it.

“He’s not here, then?” I asked with some relief.

“Oh no. He’s in jail over in Traunstein. That’s where he comes from, and that’s where he tried to steal a car. I don’t suppose he reckoned he would end up in a ditch with it, hee-hee.”

I took a painful look at the file and forced a small laugh.

Desiderio placed a supportive hand on my thigh.

My fingers were numb as I thumbed through the file, and I took quiet breaths to keep calm.

That was my assailant. Without a doubt.

Just as ugly, with the same look of insanity that I remembered. His eyebrow showed a fresh scar with a bright red color. I took some grim pleasure in that fact.

While I was staring at the picture, Niederhuber was merrily relating Snake Tattoo’s tale: “Albert S., twenty-eight, unemployed. He’s been making trouble for some time—we were able to trace a series of car thefts and burglaries to him. In addition, we’ve already been able to connect him to two other rapes, thanks to his DNA. Thank God we caught this guy; who knows what else he would have gotten up to. He’ll definitely be going away for a long while.”

Disgusted, I turned away from the picture and handed it to Desiderio.

“Yes, that’s him,” I said to Niederhuber.

Two other rapes? That meant I was right about it not being his first time.

The photo alone had been enough to send shivers of fear down my back. How would I have reacted if I’d had to stand directly in front of him? I would have either run away or bitten off his balls.

Meanwhile, Desiderio was confirming the identity of the suspect. Since I was unable to speak, he took over the conversation with the officer.

“So what happens now?” he asked.

“You should each find an attorney to help you. They’ll take care of everything. And don’t worry—you won’t incur any cost yourselves, as this is a clear-cut case. But a trial is necessary according to the law, and we have to abide by it, right? Hee-hee.”

I just couldn’t deal with Niederhuber’s cheerfulness that day. The whole thing suddenly seemed too grotesque. I was sitting in front of a jubilant police officer and needed to hire an attorney as soon as possible? Me? Really? Were there even any attorneys in Wollbach? Surely no one here ever needed an attorney? And what car, exactly, was this Albert trying to steal anyway?

“Is that it?” Desiderio wanted to know. He stroked my leg as soon as he noticed the trembling that had taken hold of me.

“Well . . .” Niederhuber began.

“How is it that someone with a name like that can turn into such a degenerate?” I burst out. “I mean, Albert? That’s not possible, is it?” I laughed nervously and looked at the officer. “Have you ever arrested an Albert before?”

Niederhuber played with his pen. “Really . . . I—”

“We’ll be on our way now,” Desiderio interrupted him with determination.

“Sure. If you need anything, just let me know,” the officer said with a dubious look at my manic face.

Desiderio took my elbow and gently pulled me out of the seat. I followed him without question while I quietly chuckled.

“Can you believe it? Albert!” I cackled as we walked up to the black Alfa.

I didn’t expect an answer and received none.

On the way back to Desiderio’s place, my giggles finally subsided. Most of the time, I just shook my head and cracked my knuckles.

There was a quiet voice inside me telling me that I was suffering a nervous breakdown.

It sure was a strange thing, a complete shutdown of the brain . . .

Throughout it all, Desiderio was silent. He quietly led me into his house. He placed me on the giant couch, sat next to me, and waited.

I have no idea how long we sat there. At some point, the suppressed emotions broke out.

Anger, hatred, and, most of all, relief made me break down. Especially when I realized that the perpetrator had been running around free all that time.

Desiderio never left my side. He consoled me just by being there. I clung to him gratefully and let my feelings run their course.

It felt so good just to let go.

I bawled for a long time before I finally said, “Everything will be all right now. He can’t hurt me anymore.”

Eventually, the deep sobs turned into subdued sniffles. I sat up and clumsily wiped my face. Desiderio conjured up a handkerchief from somewhere and handed it to me.

“Thank you,” I mumbled and tried to clean myself up. “I’m sorry.”

He laid his head on the back of the couch and looked at me. “Tell me, Lena. What exactly are you sorry for?”

“Huh?”

“How come you’re always sorry for reacting exactly like any sane person would?”

Unable to answer, I played with the edges of the crumpled-up handkerchief.

“I have no idea,” I finally replied. I stared at a piece of lint on my knee before flicking it away. “I honestly don’t know.”

“You’re the most fascinating person I’ve ever met,” he said solemnly.

My stomach began to tingle, although I didn’t quite know whether to regard the remark as a compliment or view myself as a freak of nature.

“What time is it anyway?” I inquired, even though it was completely irrelevant. I couldn’t think of anything else to say.

Desiderio looked at his watch. “Just past seven. Are you hungry?”

I briefly listened to my stomach, which answered me with a slight cramp.

“Yes.”

“OK. Come with me and let’s see what the fridge has to offer.”

He took me by the hand, and I padded after him. Somehow, I suddenly felt lighter. I supposed that I hadn’t realized how much the suppressed fear had been weighing on me these past weeks. Snake Tattoo was behind bars. He would pay for his deed. Now everything was going to be OK.

Desiderio and I quickly discovered that the fridge didn’t have anything to offer at all. That was the first indication that this was the home of a single male. If it had been packed with fresh, healthy foodstuffs, I might have begun to worry that Desiderio was hiding a family somewhere.

“Darn, somehow I thought the situation wasn’t this dire,” Desiderio said a little sheepishly and scratched his head.

I looked at the strawberry jam and the six-pack of beer and chuckled. There was no way this could be used to conjure a three-star meal. “Don’t you have any pickles? They would go great with this.”

He tried to give me an angry look but couldn’t make it convincing. I closed the fridge with a laugh while he hurried out of the kitchen.

I heard loud clattering, and soon Desiderio returned with a whole heap of frozen food. He proudly displayed his loot on the kitchen counter. “Not bad, huh? Take your pick.” Chicken wings, french fries, spring rolls, stuffed potato pancakes, lasagna . . . a veritable frozen-food bonanza!

I looked at Desiderio with a frown. “What do you mean? Take my pick? Looks like a decent portion to me.”

For a moment, he seemed confused and looked a little horrified.

I heaved an exaggerated sigh. Then I pretended to resign myself to my fate and sorted the chicken wings and french fries from the rest of the herd. “This should be enough for the first course . . . but you’ll have to turn on that thing over there yourself.” I pointed to the ultramodern stove. “I’m sure you need a degree in IT to operate it. It doesn’t even have buttons!”

“Whatever became of housewives?” Desiderio mused. He touched a small display that I had not noticed until then and, as if by magic, the oven began to hum softly.

“Fascinating,” I said.

I wondered how much the thing had cost. I didn’t ask because I was sure the answer would depress me. It didn’t matter; an oven was an oven.

Desiderio handed me two baking sheets and parchment paper, and I got started layering our meal on them. When it came to preparing frozen food, I was a real pro, if I said so myself.

Once we had heated the oven and put the food in, we stood waiting for it to cook.

“Do you want to stand around here staring at the oven, or shall we watch a DVD?” Desiderio asked me.

“What? Is there anything more exciting than watching a piece of frozen chicken getting crisp?”

He punished me with a disdainful look.

“OK, OK,” I laughed. “What did you have in mind?”

“You choose. The DVDs are in the cabinet to the right of the TV. I’ll be right there.”

To the right of the TV . . . what TV? Did he mean the huge black area on the wall? Yup. On closer inspection, it turned out to be a huge flat screen.

I opened the cabinet and immediately my jaw dropped.

What is this? A private video store? There have to be at least two hundred movies in here!

My eyes wandered over the most diverse titles.

Wait, he doesn’t have them all alphabetized, does he?

He did. Unbelievable! I considered myself an organized person, but I would never have had the notion to alphabetize my DVDs. Granted, my collection was negligible in comparison.

“Find anything?” Desiderio inquired, looking over my shoulder.

“Did you buy all these yourself?” I asked instead of answering his question.

“Most of them.”

By now, I’d reached in and pulled out
Gone with the Wind
. I held it out toward him with a frown. “Including this one? Seriously?”

“No,” he replied with a laugh. “My cousin Susi got me that one. She was convinced that no collection was complete without it.”

“Hm. I wouldn’t exactly agree . . .”

“Well, neither would I, but whatever. By the way, my cousin is your age. I think you two would get along well.”

I held up the DVD and looked at him. “You think?”

“Yes, I do. You might not go to the movies together, but otherwise . . .”

I replaced the movie in its designated spot, though for a brief moment I was sorely tempted to mess up the orderly collection. “Where does Susi live?” I asked, perusing the endless rows of plastic covers.

“In Munich.”

“So, from the German side of your family?”

“Yes, my aunt’s daughter.”

“Hm. And do you stay in touch?”

“In the past, we did, yes. We grew up like siblings, actually, when she still lived in Wollbach. These days, we don’t see each other much, but we talk a lot on the phone.”

“That’s too bad.” I found something and handed him my choice. “What does she do in Munich?”

“She’s studying fashion design . . . I see.
Death Proof
.
We’re staying loyal to Tarantino, then.” He winked at me.

This guy just never forgot anything, did he? All right, all right; I remembered out first shared night shift and
Kill Bill
just as vividly, so who was I to talk?

“Well, his films are simply brilliant. I could watch them all day.”

“And do you know this one as well?”

“Sure. It’s one of my favorites.”

“That’s what I thought,” Desiderio said wisely.

“Why?”

He shrugged. “It’s just that the story suits you.”

“Is that a good or a bad thing?”

“Everything having to do with you is good, little warrioress.”

I received a kiss on the temple and found myself on cloud nine once again.

Fast food, soda, a DVD, and the most fabulous man in the world. The perfect combination for a perfect evening.

We sat cross-legged on the couch and stuffed ourselves while, on the monster screen, a madman slaughtered girls with his stunt car until a group of strong women banded together to turn the tables on him. A completely crazy story, worthy of Tarantino.

Having gorged myself on junk, I fell into a lateral recumbent position and placed my head on Desiderio’s thigh. Now and again, he played a little with my hair, each time turning me into one big goose bump.

I felt incredibly comfortable with him. There was no shyness or awkwardness between us. It was as though we had never done anything except spend a quiet evening together.

By then, it was pitch-black outside. The wind drove big raindrops against the large windows, which only made the couch even cozier.

At some point, I got so relaxed that I passed out, which was completely out of character for me. The nervous breakdown must have exhausted me more than I’d realized.

“Come on, Lena. Let’s go to bed.”

Huh?
Bed?
Wasn’t that where I already was?

I looked up at him in surprise.

No, I wasn’t in bed. Certainly not in my own. I was lying in Desiderio’s lap, the epitome of coziness. Couldn’t I just stay here?

“Come now, little one. Let’s go upstairs.”

Without thinking, I scrambled to my feet and padded upstairs, half-asleep. As though it were a normal part of my daily routine, I shuffled into his bedroom and began to undress.

I was slipping off my bra when Desiderio came in. His jaw dropped when he saw me in nothing but my panties.