Devil's Touch Part 34

The word seems to hang in the air in front of him.

"When is it from?"

"The day before yesterday according to the dating. The cover letter is signed by one of the owners. The letter must have been sent after midnight, otherwise it would have been here yesterday."

Fredericsson sinks down deeper in his seat and slides his hands over his eyes.

"Are you sure?"

Fredericsson speaks in a low voice. The line is quiet before she finally answers.

"This makes no sense."

Fredericsson breathes heavily.

"Yes, now I'm sure."

"About what?"

Petra's voice is just a faint whisper.

"That Nathan killed himself."

Fredericsson can't hear Petra, but he can sense her breaths that come out in small bursts. When she finally speaks, he can hear the pain in her voice.

"I mean, he's sick. Sorry, was sick. He had several appointments with his doctor. I was afraid it was cancer which also killed his wife. Not that I had any proof that it was cancer. And maybe I just a.s.sumed it was cancer because that's what his wife died from."

"What's the name of his doctor?"

"Doctor Brian Holten, downtown."

Fredericsson carefully writes down the name.

"Who inherits him?"

"One moment... You want me to open the will itself?! Isn't that...?"

Fredericsson takes a deep breath and tries to think.

"Open it. People are dropping like flies around me. I need to know who inherits him so I can prevent more people from dying."

It's quiet again and Fredericsson waits impatiently beating the tip of his pencil against the paper. He stops when Petra starts to talk in a surprisingly firm and professional voice.

"I do, a little. It's actually enough so I don't need to work anymore if I'm careful. He must have gotten the idea from Stuart Pettersson, when Evy Schmidt inherited him."

"I really don't want to say any more. This is not right."

He rubs his eyes again.

"OK. OK. If that's the game you want to play. Just one more question. Who else inherits him?"

She doesn't say anything, but he can hear her breathing.

"You didn't get this from me... Evy Schmidt."

"How much?"

"The rest."

"The rest?!"

Fredericsson's thoughts stumble over each other.

"Is it a lot?"

It's quiet again.

"Yes."

"Yes?"

He repeats.

"Quite a lot, actually."

"She inherits Stuart Pettersson...?"

Petra breathes in before she answers.

"Yes, enough to live a normal life, if I can call it that."

"Oh, sure, that's the kind of life I have. So go ahead."

Fredericsson can hear the sarcasm in his own voice.

"And now she inherits Nathan who commits suicide."

Fredericsson's takes a deep breath.

"I'll drive over to you. I'll be there in about half an hour."

Fredericsson breaks off the call before Petra has time to object.

Chapter 27.

"She'll have to wait."

Fredericsson throws the phone and the notepad on the seat next to him, puts the car in gear and speeds up. As he swings out onto the road, a couple of cars honk their horn at him, but he doesn't care and pulls over to the fast lane and speeds up even more. He breaks the speed limit several times but he's too tired to care. He parks illegally in front of the hospital and puts the drawing that he has just been to the station to fetch in his pocket, and then he purposefully steps into lobby.

"Wait!"

His voice reverberates in the lobby and a frightened woman holds the door for him. When they are both in the elevator, the woman looks at Fredericsson in the mirror. She looks down when he looks up at her. Fredericsson gets out before the door is fully open and only a few steps later he's standing in Evy's room.

"You're one lucky woman."

Evy is sitting on the edge of her bed with her back to him, and it takes a while before she reacts. She hesitates and seems as if she's far away when she answers Fredericsson without turning.

"I'm not sure that someone trying to cut my throat can be called lucky."

"Hmm, maybe not that part of it exactly."

Fredericsson walks over to the chair by the window and sits down so he can see her face.

"You inherited Stuart."

He studies her and slowly realizes that she looks older than she really is. He is sorry that he hasn't yet had the time to study the details of the case. He suddenly realizes how much he eventually needs to put in his report.

"And now you are to inherit Nathan Wilkins."

She opens her eyes wider as he leans back to enjoy her profile. He realizes how beautiful she is. Without any make-up it's not so obvious, but her features become sharper the more he looks at her. They are delicate, almost absent but form a whole that brings out her eyes, her dark lashes and her round lips. She slowly turns to face him and her red lips form a beautiful contrast against her pale skin.

"The lawyer?"

He nods slowly.

"But I don't know him. I only met him two days ago. You must be mistaken."

He shakes his head.

"You're wrong."

She repeats and turns her face away from him.

"Eric Taylor was killed last night."

She stares at him intensely.

"How?"

"Someone beat his head in with a champagne bottle."

He looks out the window.

"The doorman saw a woman who came to visit him. She had been there before and yesterday she was with him for longer than usual."

He puts his hand in his pocket and pulls out the drawing and hands it to Evy.

"Do you recognize her?"

Evy can't reach the drawing from the bed. She looks at him for a while before she gets up and walks over to him. She pulls the drawing from his hand with a determination that surprises him. She swallows and gives it back to him. Then she walks over to the window. He looks up and down her body, trying to determine her physical strength.

"Yes, I recognize her."

She touches her bandages lightly. He watches her as she seems to examine the view of the city carefully.

"It itches. They say it's because it's healing."

She's standing so close to the window that it clouds over when she speaks. Fredericsson looks at it and wonders why he hasn't noticed that the weather has gotten colder. Suddenly he's actually sweating and he is overwhelmed by how tired he is. He gets up and takes off his coat.

"James Schmidt did this to me."

She has turned around and points to her neck. He stops.

"And I'm scared."

"James Schmidt!"

He lowers his voice.

"Why? I mean, what is your relations.h.i.+p to him?"

Evy looks at him for a long time before she lowers her eyes.

"Men sometimes need company."

He lets his coat fall to the floor and hears the sound of metal. "The gun. It's in my pocket." He slowly leans back in the chair as he picks up the coat and places it in his lap.

"You hide it well. I suspected it but even after my many years in the job I wasn't sure. You're good, but let's stick to the truth so I can help you."

"I met the woman in the drawing."

She raises her eyes and looks at him.

"Eric and I... and some others often went out together."

"Did they know that you...?"

She shakes her head almost imperceptibly.

"You're good. Don't get me wrong..."

"I won't. Not after all my years of..."