Easy as One Two Three (Emma Frost) (12 page)

"Let me show you where it is," I said, as we walked to Mads' lifeless body. I hated the sound of all the monitors and pumps keeping him alive. There was just something about this whole thing that felt really bad to me. Maybe it was just being face to face with death like this, face to face with the fact that life was so short, so fragile.

I pulled the covers off of him again and pulled his gown up to show the bruise. The doctor leaned over and examined it closely.

"I do believe you're right," he grunted. "It looks like an injection bruise instead of a bruise cause by a blow. But it is very hard to tell. They're very similar. There appears to be an injection hole, though, which indicates it might have been made by an injection, yes."

"Do you know if any of your nurses could have done this?" I asked.

Doctor Faaborg shook his head and looked at me with a compassionate smile. "I really couldn't tell. We have so many nurses coming in and out of here all day."

I exhaled, disappointed. I had hoped for a more direct answer. What we got was nothing certain, but a maybe that brought us nowhere.

"Okay. Well thank you for your time," I said.

Morten was about to shake the doctor’s hand, when he suddenly made a strange shriek. "Did you see that?"

"See what?" I asked.

"It looked like his finger moved!" Morten looked at me like he had seen a ghost.

The doctor put his glasses on and went to the other side of Mads' body to look more closely.

"Right there," Morten said and pointed. "The pinky. It was only the tip, but I am positive he moved it."

The doctor stared at the pinky for a long time, but nothing happened. My heart was beating faster now.

"I saw it too," I said, full of hope. Could he really have moved it on purpose? Was he trying to tell us something? Could he be alive after all? "When we were in here earlier."

"Hm," the doctor said and examined Mads' hand and arm. He let it fall flat back on the bed. "Still seems lifeless." He took off his glasses and looked at me. "It's probably just reflex muscle jerks or twitches. It's not unusual."

"But what if it’s not?" I asked. "What if he’s alive?"

Doctor Faaborg chuckled. "No. He’s not alive. Of that I'm certain. He's completely brain-dead, but I will run a few more tests to be certain."

30

April 2012

T
HEY DIDN'T DARE TO
stay in Alanya. Not so much because they were afraid of the police coming after them for killing those men in the street. No, they were scared of the family members and friends of those they had killed…other gang members coming after them to avenge their deaths. Someone could have seen what happened. There were eyes on every corner of streets like those.

So as soon as Signe felt good enough, they booked a plane out of there. They decided to go to Monaco. The small kingdom by the Mediterranean Sea occupied by casinos and multi-million-dollar-yachts. It was Mads' idea. He had been there once before with his friends when they just turned eighteen and were allowed inside the casinos. They booked a suite at Hotel Hermitage Monte-Carlo and soon threw themselves onto the king-sized bed. Mads was smiling happily. These were his kind of people; he felt at home while Signe felt estranged. Like she didn't belong. She was certain the snobbish man behind the counter downstairs had seen it on her when they checked in. He looked at her bruises like she was some hooker Mads had bought for the night.

"Have you seen this view?" Signe asked and pulled away the heavy curtain. She had never been in a place quite like this. The building itself looked like something a Russian Czar could have built. "Is that the ocean?"

Mads chuckled and came up behind her. He hugged her and held her tight. She froze. Physical affection had always been hard for her. She never knew what he wanted out of it. She wondered if he was going to have sex with her now and prepared herself mentally for it. But he didn't try anything. He didn't pull her pants down and bend her over the bed and force himself on her like she expected. He never did anything like that and it made Signe nervous. She never knew how to react. Was it because he didn't desire her enough? Wasn't she desirable? It wasn't that they didn't have sex. It was just so different than what she was used to. She didn't like it. It made her insecure. And since she’d been sick from the beating, Mads hadn't tried to get close to her, not even once in almost a week. It was breaking her heart. She wasn't used to men being careful with her. Her dad never was. Even if he had badly bruised her, he would still force himself on her. It was her own fault, he had told her back then…for making herself so desirable. He constantly wanted her and that had made her feel like she was loved. He told her himself that it was because he loved her so much that he wanted to be close to her.

Didn't Mads love her anymore?

Signe turned and kissed him passionately. "Take me," she whispered. "Fuck me right here."

"Not now," Mads said and pulled away. "You're still healing, remember? I don't want to hurt you."

Signe frowned. "You don't want to hurt me? Why not? Don't you love me?"

"What on earth do you mean?" Mads asked.

"You don't want to be with me."

He grabbed her shoulders and looked into her eyes. "Signe, I love you. That's why I want to take care of you and make sure you're not hurt. Don't you understand?"

She shook her head. "No. I want you to fuck me." She grabbed his belt and started to undo it. It had always worked on her father if he was angry or upset. She pulled Mads' pants down and took it out. It was just hanging there. Signe gasped. It wasn't even erect. It was true then. He didn't desire her anymore. He didn't love her.

"Signe, not now," Mads said and pulled his pants back up.

She shook her head in desperation. A knot of tears grew in her throat. She tried to swallow it, but could hardly speak.

 "I…I…." She turned her back on him then stormed out on the balcony where she burst into tears.

Mads came out after her. He handed her a cigarette. "Here," he said with a smile. She looked up at him.

"Care for a smoke?"

She sniffled and took one. She felt confused as she drew in the smoke. Mads was so nice to her. Why was he being so nice? What did it mean?

"I was thinking we could hit a couple of casinos tonight," he said, blowing smoke out into the fresh salty air. "Have a little fun again, huh? It's been a while since I've seen you smile. I know you like to have fun. Let's spend an insane amount of money and make my mother really angry once she finds out, huh?"

Signe smoked and felt better. She liked the idea. It did always make her feel better to spend money. She didn't care that they would probably end up using all the money they had been given to buy the house. She never felt like it was hers anyway.

"Okay," she said. "Let's rock and roll."

"Now there’s the smile I’ve missed so much."

31

April 2014

"
W
E’VE BEEN TRYING TO
track down Signe Schou while you guys were gone," Rebekka said, as we came back to the office. "But we haven't found out much so far. Only that she never showed up at the theater. I talked to her mother on the phone, but she told me she hasn't seen Signe in two years. Not since they were married and went on their honeymoon. I don't know if she was telling the truth, though. She didn't seem like the most dependable type, if you know what I mean. She could be lying…maybe to protect her daughter."

I rubbed my forehead and sat down on a chair. Morten poured me some coffee.

"Thanks," I whispered and received a gentle smile in return.

Morten sat down as well. He could sense my tension. I couldn't bear the thought that another day was almost gone and I still hadn't come much closer to finding Maya. I kept looking at my phone, expecting her to call or text at any moment. If she was alive and hiding, she would contact me eventually, wouldn't she? I was afraid she was too scared. Maybe she thought I would be angry with her or something. I couldn't stand not knowing.

"So, what did you get out of your visit to the hospital?" Rebekka asked.

I exhaled sharply. "Not much really. It looks like he had some sort of injection in his thigh, one that left a bad bruise, but the doctor couldn't tell if it had happened at the hospital or at another time. It was really ugly though and didn't look very professional. It had been bleeding too. There was a lot of dried up blood surrounding it. But I don't know what it means or if it is really important."

"It could explain his limp," Sune said without looking up from his computer screen. "If the person who attacked him injected something and caused the bruise."

"That’s what I thought too," Morten said.

"Yeah, well it doesn't explain where Maya is," I said with another deep sigh. I was starting to lose hope and that wasn't good. I sipped my coffee, trying hard not to imagine Maya in trouble somewhere. I had closed my eyes for a second when my phone suddenly rang. I grabbed it. It was my dad's cell. He called every day at this hour when Victor came home from school. It was important for Victor that it was at the exact same time every day.

"Hi sweetie," he said. "How are things? Getting any better?"

"I can't say they are. How’s everything at home? How's Victor?"

"He's good. A little trouble at school, but we'll talk about it when you get back. Focus on what's important now. He wants to say hi to you."

"Put him on."

"Hi mom," he said, sounding all of a sudden so grown up. He was about to turn nine soon, so I guess he was growing up as well. I just had a harder time letting go of him than Maya, since he had always taken so much of my attention. I suddenly wished that he would never get older, that he would always stay my sweet innocent Victor.

"Hi, sweetheart. How was your day?"

"You asked me this yesterday," he answered.

"Yes, but today is a new day. How was this day?"

"I really don't like answering the same question again. Can't you come up with a new one?"

"Okay," I said. I couldn't help smiling. Victor never changed and I was suddenly so thrilled he didn't. "So how about you tell me how it is to be with Grandpa and Grandma?"

"It's good, I guess. They're nice."

"Aren't you going to ask me how I'm doing?"

"Why?"

"Because that's the polite thing to do. It shows you're interested in others."

"But I'm not," he said, like it was the most natural thing in the world.

"Okay, buddy. I'm glad to hear you're doing well," I said.

"Thank you."

"That was very polite."

"I know. Can I go now?"

"Okay, buddy. Put your granddad back on."

"So, no news about Maya?" my dad asked as soon as he was back.

"Not yet. It's getting really hard."

"I know. But you have to hang in there. You can't give up. It'll all be fine. I know it will…Wait a second, Victor looks odd." My dad's voice became weaker. I could hear him talking to Victor in the background. Then my dad returned. "Victor is saying something. I don't quite grasp it, but he says it’s for you."

"What is it?"

"He said to tell you he likes rats? That's what he said.
Tell her I like pet rats
."

I chuckled. "Tell him we'll discuss it when I get back."

32

April 2014

"
S
O WHAT ELSE DID
you find out about Signe Schou?" Morten asked, when I had hung up and put the phone down.

"Anything we can use?"

Rebekka looked through her notes. "We know she had a terrible childhood and that Mads' mother tried to pay her off, but that’s pretty much it. She went to the local high school for just a few months, then was thrown out and had to work to earn money until she met Mads and married him."

"They were married in 2012, right?" I asked.

"Yes," Rebekka said.

"So what has she been doing since?"

Rebekka threw her arms out. "Beats me. Everyone we have spoken to tells us she married Mads and then they never saw her again. They went on a honeymoon to Egypt for a month or so. Neither the mother nor her few friends have seen her since."

"But she was active on Facebook recently," I said.

"That's right," Rebekka said and sipped her coffee. "Maybe she’s just been enjoying life and spending her husband's money."

"What about Mads? What has he been doing?" I asked.

"He’s been working in his dad's company since mid-May 2012, according to the company's profile. He’s supposed to take over when his dad retires. Lundbit. It's a pharmaceutical company. Lots of money involved."

"Wasn't there a scandal once?" Sune asked.

"Yes," Rebekka replied. "They were accused some years ago of trying to bribe doctors to select their medicine above other brands. It's illegal in this country, you know. Nevertheless they’ve been accused of owning some doctors in the Danish hospitals. But those are just rumors. They’ve never been convicted of anything."

I looked at my phone again, hoping and praying for Maya to call me and for this nightmare to be finally over. Things were getting too complicated and I felt like we were getting further and further away from my daughter. I was scared that we were using our energy on the wrong things here. We had to focus on what happened after they all ran out of the theater. Who was that woman who followed Mads and pushed him in front of the car?

"I know what you're thinking," Rebekka suddenly said. "And believe me I know how it feels. You're worried that we're focusing on the wrong things, right? Well, I think we're on to something. I think that in order to find this woman who pushed Mads into the street, we need to figure out why she attacked Mads. It might have something to do with his wife, who also seems to have vanished. So I don't believe we're wasting our time, even if it seems so, okay? Trust me on this."

I finished my coffee. "You're right," I said with a thick voice.  I fought hard to pull myself up and concentrate on the task ahead. "We need to work with what we've got."