The Cruel Stars of the Night - Kjell Eriksson [124]
Driven by her will to get out of the basement she walked up the stairs again. It wasn’t so much the darkness that was frightening, nor the presence of the rats and a stinking corpse, but the feeling of imprisonment that made her increasingly panic-stricken. The darkness she could bear, the rats she could fight off, and she would get used to the smell of the corpse, but the captivity was intolerable.
She banged on the door.
“Laura! Let me out!” she screamed, astonished at how terrified and desperate she sounded. “I know it must have made you angry when I talked about your mother but I’m just curious. That’s all. We can talk about something else. Laura!”
She leaned against the door, breathed deeply, and tried to discern any sounds from the other side of the door.
“Laura! Listen to me!”
Not a sound. Not a sign that Laura had heard her. Lindell sank down on the uppermost step. She could hear the rats rustling in the woodpile. It appeared they had become more active since she had interrupted their macabre feast on Ulrik Hindersten’s remains. She assumed it was he who was packed in plastic.
What kind of a person can kill her own father and then set out on a murder spree? Or was it the case that Ulrik was the serial killer and that he, after committing the three murders had in turn been murdered by his daughter? Or by a third person?
Ulrik Hindersten had been reported missing at the end of September and judging by the stench the body had been there since that time.
The rats may not have found the body immediately but Lindell knew that once they had gotten a taste of the professor it wouldn’t take long until only the bones were left. Was it Laura’s intention that the rats should take care of the work of destroying the body?
During this time Laura had burned the entire contents of a household and had perhaps murdered three people. Now it was her turn. Would even she be left to rot and eaten by rats?
She banged on the door. It was still completely quiet inside the house. Lindell walked down the stairs. Had she missed anything? She was struck by the thought that perhaps there might have been a boarded-up window somewhere.
She groped her way along the corridor when the door was suddenly opened and light fell on the boxes that had braced her fall.
“You didn’t die,” she heard Laura say.
Lindell stood absolutely still and didn’t answer. She looked around for a weapon in the faint light, something to strike with. She wouldn’t hesitate for a second to use violence if only she could come closer to Laura.
“Don’t think I’m coming down,” Laura said. “I just wanted to tell you I’m leaving now to go see my man.”
Lindell walked out and placed herself at the foot of the stairs. Laura was standing in the doorway, lit from behind so that the light formed a halo around her dark hair. Lindell couldn’t help noticing how beautiful she was.
“You have to stay here, as a punishment. I wanted to confuse you, but I did not want you to come poking around here. That bitch who took my report at the police station treated me like dog shit. Do you understand? She sat there behind her desk and—”
“Are you talking about Åsa Lantz-Andersson?” Lindell said, breaking into her rapidly flowing speech.
“Is that her name? She’s such a nothing.”
Laura started to laugh.
“Why did you kill your father?”
“Oh, you found him, did you? I didn’t kill him. I strangled him.”
Her voice echoed in the basement.
“Did he abuse you?”
“You’ve already asked me that.”
“If that is the case then the repercussions will be much less severe. I’m sure you know that. Don’t make it worse now. You will not be able to get off entirely but someday will be able to live