Snow White Must Die by Nele Neuhaus

parked his car at the side of the road and walked in amazement across the bridge over the former harbor basin carrying a bouquet of flowers. A few yachts were bobbing up and down in the black water by the boat docks. Late that afternoon Nadia had called and invited him to her place for dinner. Tobias hadn’t felt much desire to drive all the way into the city, but he owed Nadia something for the steadfast loyalty she had shown him over the past ten years. He had showered and left in his father’s car at seven thirty, with no idea what changes awaited him. It started with a brand-new traffic circle at Tengelmann supermarket in Bad Soden; the Main-Taunus shopping center had also grown. And in Frankfurt he couldn’t find his way at all. For someone who wasn’t used to driving, the city was a true nightmare. He was forty-five minutes late when he finally located the building with the right number.
    “Take the elevator to the eighth floor,” Nadia’s cheerful voice told him over the intercom. The buzzer sounded and Tobias entered the foyer of the building, which was extravagantly adorned with granite and glass. The glass-enclosed elevator whisked him in seconds all the way to the top, with a fantastic view of the Frankfurt skyline across the water. The city had certainly changed in recent years. There were many new skyscrapers.
    “There you are!” Nadia welcomed him radiantly as he stepped out of the elevator on the eighth floor. He clumsily handed her the bouquet wrapped in cellophane, which he had bought at a gas station.
    “Oh, you didn’t have to do that.” She took the bouquet, grabbed his hand, and led him into the apartment, which took his breath away. The penthouse was gigantic. Huge picture windows all the way to the shiny parquet floor offered spectacular views in all directions. A fire crackled in the fireplace, the warm voice of Leonard Cohen filtered from invisible loudspeakers, and discreet lighting and burning candles lent the already spacious rooms even more depth. For a moment Tobias was tempted to turn on his heel and run away. He was not an envious person, but the sight of this dream apartment made him feel even more like a pathetic failure and tied his throat in knots. He and Nadia were worlds apart. What the hell did she want from him? She was famous, she was rich, she was beautiful—surely she could spend her evenings with other prosperous, amusing, and stimulating people instead of with an embittered ex-con like him.
    “Let me have your jacket,” she said. He took it off and instantly felt ashamed of the cheap, shabby thing. Nadia proudly led him into the big kitchen that opened onto the living room. A butcher’s block stood in the middle, granite and stainless steel predominated, and the stylish appliances were by Gaggenau. There was a tantalizing aroma of roast meat, and Tobias could feel his stomach growling. He had spent the whole day slaving away at the farm sorting trash, hardly taking time for a break. Nadia took a bottle of Moët & Chandon out of the gleaming stainless steel refrigerator as she told him that she had acquired the apartment only as a pied-à-terre for the times when she stayed overnight in Frankfurt—she couldn’t stand hotels. But for now it was her main residence. She poured champagne into two crystal flutes and handed him one.
    “I’m happy you could come,” she said with a smile.
    “And I thank you for the invitation,” replied Tobias, who had recovered from the initial shock and was able to return her smile.
    “To you,” Nadia said, clinking her glass softly against his.
    “No, to you,” Tobias answered seriously. “Thanks for everything.”
    How lovely she was. In the past her almost androgynous face with the sweet freckles had always seemed a bit angular, but now it had softened and her bright eyes sparkled. She had pulled back her honey-blond hair into a knot, but a few strands had come loose, hanging in tendrils against her lightly tanned neck. She