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.She appears to have had a very nasty shock—went out and sat in her car for two hours before reporting it to us.Bang was on duty, and received the call at 0111.”“That’s correct,” said Bang.“Van Veeteren and I got there just after twenty past,” said Bausen, “and it was obvious to us that our friend the Axman had struck again.Perhaps Detective Chief Inspector Van Veeteren might like to take it up from there?”“All right,” said Van Veeteren, taking the toothpick from his mouth.“The most interesting thing is the weapon, I assume.Forensics are still busy with it, but he left it behind this time, which might suggest that he’s finished now and doesn’t intend to chop anybody else’s head off.That’s only a hypothesis, of course.In any case, it’s a damn effective weapon—lightweight and easy to handle, and incredibly sharp.”“A child could kill with that thing,” said Bausen.“Rühme had been lying in the hall for quite some time when we arrived,” said Van Veeteren.“Is that a box of Danish pastries I can see behind Constable Bang?”“Mooser, would you go downstairs and order some coffee,” said Bausen, and Mooser departed without more ado.Bang opened the carton and sniffed noisily at the contents.“Today’s,” he said.“Anyway,” Van Veeteren continued, “even if Meuritz hasn’t delivered his last word yet, we can safely assume that Rühme had been lying there dead for at least twenty-four hours by the time we got to the scene.”“Late on Wednesday evening,” said Bausen.“I think we can take it that was when he struck.We have that witness as well—”“Mr.Moen,” said Beate Moerk.“I must say he seemed remarkably clearheaded, given the circumstances.”“Can we take the forensic details first?” said Bausen.“Kropke, I assume you’ve talked to the lab?”Mooser returned with a tray and started distributing mugs of coffee.“Yes,” said Kropke.“They’re not finished yet—with the weapon, that is.All the marks on the floor, in the blood, were almost certainly made by Miss Linckx.Footprints, the marks made by her suitcases—they haven’t found anything that didn’t come either from him or from her.As for the weapon, it appears to be a special tool used by butchers and is several years old, it seems.No manufacturer’s stamp or anything like that—he probably filed that away—but with a bit of luck we should be able to trace where it came from.in a few days, they thought.”“Why the hell did he leave it behind?” asked Bausen.“Can somebody tell me that?”“Hubris,” said Beate Moerk.“Wanted to prove he was cleverer than we are, that we’ll never catch him.”“Presumably correct,” said Van Veeteren, but Münster wasn’t clear which of Inspector Moerk’s assumptions he was referring to.“Let’s have a few more facts before we start speculating,” said Bausen.“How did it happen, Detective Chief Inspector?”“The blow came from above, in all probability,” said Van Veeteren.“Went in more or less in the same place as in the earlier cases.with the same result.He evidently died instantaneously.”“From above?” said Kropke.“Doesn’t that sound a bit unlikely? There were no signs of a struggle, were there? Or of resistance, as I understand it?”Bausen exchanged a look with Van Veeteren, then cleared his throat and leaned forward over the table.“We think,” he said, “the chief inspector and I, that you could do it more or less like this, and you can make up your own minds: One, the murderer rings the doorbell.Two, Rühme goes to open it.Three, he recognizes the murderer and invites him in.Four, the murderer crosses the threshold and drops something on the floor—”“A scrap of paper, a coin, could be anything,” said Van Veeteren by way of explanation.“—five, Rühme bends down to pick it up, and six, the murderer strikes!”Silence all around the table.The only sound to be heard was Constable Bang chewing away on a piece of Danish pastry.Inspector Kropke loosened his tie and looked doubtful.“Good,” said Beate Moerk eventually.“I think you’re right—but not a coin.It could have rolled anywhere.”“Correct,” said Van Veeteren.“Not a coin.In any case, he had time to pick up whatever it was before making his escape.”“He planted the ax in Rühme’s back as well,” said Bausen [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]