He stared into Louise’s eyes. “I’m making sure she don’t get lonely.”
René’s wife turned pale. Her eyes darted over the furniture and the complete mess in the living room.
Louise followed her eyes and noticed several things that hadn’t been there before. An overnight bag beside the woodstove, a large, wide leather chair with footstool, an enormous flat-screen television.
So. Big Thomsen had moved in and taken over Gamst’s wife while he sat in Holbæk Jail. For a moment she stared at Bitten, trying to get a read on her thoughts.
“It won’t bother me one bit, you talking to her while I’m here,” Thomsen said. He walked over to the coffee table and picked up his iPhone. “But you can see for yourself that she’s fine.”
Bitten said nothing, her eyes glued to the floor.
Louise ignored Thomsen and kept watching her in the hope she would look up. She couldn’t believe that René’s wife had voluntarily allowed Big Thomsen to move in. On the other hand, it seemed as if she were resigned to the situation. But surely she had something to say. She knew Bitten had been having an ongoing affair with her husband’s friend, but it was her impression that the woman had been pressured into it, that Thomsen otherwise would have fired Gamst.
Thomsen worked for the Bistrup Forestry District besides owning three semis. Gamst drove for him. Louise had once asked Bitten why Thomsen even bothered working for the district. She’d explained that he just loafed around in the forest; he made his living from the trucks but was too lazy to drive long distances.
“Call me sometime today, okay?” she said. She headed for the door when Bitten didn’t answer.
“Why the hell should she?” Big Thomsen snapped at her. “Nobody here owes you a thing.”
“I’ve heard enough out of you.” Louise whirled around and glared at him. “Bitten can answer for herself.”
“You keep your nose out of our business,” he sneered.
Bitten’s expression was blank, her arms hanging limply at her sides.
“No!” Louise spat out. “There is no ‘our’ business. I will have nothing to do with you. You will not interfere with my work and you will stay out of my investigations. I couldn’t care less what strings you pull or who you try to shut up.”
She slammed the stall door and stood under the trees to calm herself. She breathed the morning air deep into her lungs. Damn it, she thought. She’d lost her temper. Not that she regretted it, but she’d just made things a little more difficult for herself. Especially if Thomsen started asking about this investigation he was supposed to stay out of. Her chances of asking Bitten about Sune, about why he was hiding in the forest, had also taken a hit.
The morning sunlight poured in from above the treetops. Louise was certain that Thomsen stood inside watching her, if he wasn’t already calling around on his phone.
She pedaled away, but her legs felt heavy, as if they held all her animosity toward him. She rode behind a mountain of firewood and stopped, leaned against the wood, and closed her eyes.
What the hell had happened to Bitten? She was thirty-one, with a young daughter. Despite that, she didn’t seem to realize she had the right to say no. Or was it Louise who didn’t get it?
What was going on around here? Not just with Bitten. Everyone seemed mixed up in something or with somebody, and Louise couldn’t connect the dots, didn’t understand the games they were playing. But even if she had to show up at Bitten’s job, she was going to pressure her and find out if there were problems between the butcher and his son. And if René’s wife knew anything about Klaus’s death, she would get that out of her, too.
Louise put Thomsen out of her mind and checked her phone to see how late she would be. She’d better call Eik, she thought. It annoyed her that he still considered a text to be something the devil thought up. If you needed him, you had to call.
Three
René’s wife turned pale. Her eyes darted over the furniture and the complete mess in the living room.
Louise followed her eyes and noticed several things that hadn’t been there before. An overnight bag beside the woodstove, a large, wide leather chair with footstool, an enormous flat-screen television.
So. Big Thomsen had moved in and taken over Gamst’s wife while he sat in Holbæk Jail. For a moment she stared at Bitten, trying to get a read on her thoughts.
“It won’t bother me one bit, you talking to her while I’m here,” Thomsen said. He walked over to the coffee table and picked up his iPhone. “But you can see for yourself that she’s fine.”
Bitten said nothing, her eyes glued to the floor.
Louise ignored Thomsen and kept watching her in the hope she would look up. She couldn’t believe that René’s wife had voluntarily allowed Big Thomsen to move in. On the other hand, it seemed as if she were resigned to the situation. But surely she had something to say. She knew Bitten had been having an ongoing affair with her husband’s friend, but it was her impression that the woman had been pressured into it, that Thomsen otherwise would have fired Gamst.
Thomsen worked for the Bistrup Forestry District besides owning three semis. Gamst drove for him. Louise had once asked Bitten why Thomsen even bothered working for the district. She’d explained that he just loafed around in the forest; he made his living from the trucks but was too lazy to drive long distances.
“Call me sometime today, okay?” she said. She headed for the door when Bitten didn’t answer.
“Why the hell should she?” Big Thomsen snapped at her. “Nobody here owes you a thing.”
“I’ve heard enough out of you.” Louise whirled around and glared at him. “Bitten can answer for herself.”
“You keep your nose out of our business,” he sneered.
Bitten’s expression was blank, her arms hanging limply at her sides.
“No!” Louise spat out. “There is no ‘our’ business. I will have nothing to do with you. You will not interfere with my work and you will stay out of my investigations. I couldn’t care less what strings you pull or who you try to shut up.”
She slammed the stall door and stood under the trees to calm herself. She breathed the morning air deep into her lungs. Damn it, she thought. She’d lost her temper. Not that she regretted it, but she’d just made things a little more difficult for herself. Especially if Thomsen started asking about this investigation he was supposed to stay out of. Her chances of asking Bitten about Sune, about why he was hiding in the forest, had also taken a hit.
The morning sunlight poured in from above the treetops. Louise was certain that Thomsen stood inside watching her, if he wasn’t already calling around on his phone.
She pedaled away, but her legs felt heavy, as if they held all her animosity toward him. She rode behind a mountain of firewood and stopped, leaned against the wood, and closed her eyes.
What the hell had happened to Bitten? She was thirty-one, with a young daughter. Despite that, she didn’t seem to realize she had the right to say no. Or was it Louise who didn’t get it?
What was going on around here? Not just with Bitten. Everyone seemed mixed up in something or with somebody, and Louise couldn’t connect the dots, didn’t understand the games they were playing. But even if she had to show up at Bitten’s job, she was going to pressure her and find out if there were problems between the butcher and his son. And if René’s wife knew anything about Klaus’s death, she would get that out of her, too.
Louise put Thomsen out of her mind and checked her phone to see how late she would be. She’d better call Eik, she thought. It annoyed her that he still considered a text to be something the devil thought up. If you needed him, you had to call.
Three
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