back and stuffed a pillow under his neck. Lina handed him one of the cups.
“Was that your boss?” he asked.
Lina took a sip. “More or less. Either way, I’ve got to be on my
way again.”
Lutz didn’t say anything, but his expression spoke loud enough,
and Lina couldn’t blame him. She had also imagined a leisurely day.
Maybe a walk to the Elbe, where they could watch large container
ships creating huge waves, run into old acquaintances, have a coffee—
or two, or three—at one of the beach bars and then . . . just while the day away, watch time stand still.
But now she couldn’t get Katja Ansmann out of her mind.
She left the house at a quarter to ten. The subway was pleasantly
empty and cool, and police headquarters on Bruno-Georges-Platz also
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gave the impression that half of the people who usually worked there had been swallowed by the big hole that was summer.
Neither Hanno nor any of her other colleagues were in their offices.
She remembered that Hanno had mentioned a family celebration yes-
terday, a mother-in-law’s birthday or something similar. Sebastian
might be watching the security videos, or not. And Max? All she knew about Max was that he lived somewhere in Winterhude and that he
was single. So why the hell wasn’t he working today?
She turned on her computer with a sigh. While the system came
to life and connected her to the server, she got herself some coffee from the vending machine in the hall. After checking her e-mail, she logged into the police database and typed “Ansmann, Johannes.” She
got the information that was on file at the residents’ registration office: Johannes Ansmann, fifty-nine years old, married, two daughters, one
son. Occupation: banker. Johannes Ansmann lived in Blankenese. Lina
was familiar with his street there, quiet, with huge, partly visible lots where large mansions hid from view. Those homes looked out on the
Elbe. Other than a few recent speeding tickets, there was nothing in the police computer about her father’s friend. She tried “Ansmann,
Katja,” but found nothing more than she already knew. She entered
both names in various search engines and networks. Near the top of the results, she saw Katja’s name on the homepage of Hamburg’s Chamber
of Commerce, IHK Hamburg. Lina clicked on the link and found out
that Katja had given a lecture at the IHK at the beginning of the year.
“Personnel Management and Social Networking.” It started at 7:00
p.m.
Hadn’t Katja claimed she was at an IHK lecture on Thursday eve-
ning? But she came home around half past twelve in the morning.
To Lina it seemed quite a long time for a midweek talk. She clicked
on the program page and looked for Thursday evening. “Corporate
Culture and Social Media” with Sonja Richter. Lina frowned. Above
the announcement, there was a comment in red: “Lecture Postponed,”
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Maria C. Poets
and also, “We apologize for any inconvenience the short notice causes.
If you subscribe to our newsletter, you will be informed as soon as a replacement date is set.” Well, well! Lina thought. So, good old Frau Ansmann lied. And if she only came home at half past twelve, as her
babysitter confirmed, she’d have had time to kill her partner in the woods.
Lina leaned back in her chair, swayed left and right, and further
developed her thought. Philip Birkner had a date with his lover on
Thursday, Katja suspected that much, and spied on him. To us she
used the IHK lecture to explain why Philip had to attend the concert alone. She sees him with the other woman, follows them, and in the
heat of passion kills the father of her child. But what does the unknown woman do in the meantime? Does she just stand there and watch? And
who created the other footsteps at the scene of the crime?
No matter how she twisted and turned the evidence, something
didn’t add up. It could be that Katja killed her partner in a fit of jealousy, even though Lina didn’t get the impression that Katja had very strong feelings for Philip Birkner, positive or negative. She didn’t even seem to realize that he never came home on Thursday. Did that happen often? Was it because they had separate sleeping arrangements,
with her in the bedroom and him in the study? But Lina was mainly
stumped by the two tickets that Philip had reserved for the concert.
Did he originally plan to attend with his domestic partner or with his lover? But if his lover Tanja and the unknown woman were the same
person, why did he then order two tickets and only get one, while she came with a girlfriend?
She picked up the phone