Dead Woods - maria c. poets Page 0,38

now. Finally the woman said, “I was with my girlfriend.”

At first, Lina was disappointed. That was it? What a lame explana-

tion. On the other hand, what had she expected? A confession that she shadowed and killed her partner? The admission that she loved someone else? Then the lightbulb lit up.

“By that you mean . . . a woman with whom you have a

relationship?”

Katja Ansmann nodded silently.

Lina scrutinized her. It was the first time she noticed a touch of

vulnerability. But why? Was it such a big deal to be a lesbian? We have gay mayors and a gay foreign minister. Who cares if two women . . .

But that’s how she thought. Maybe Katja Ansmann saw it differently,

and that was the only thing that counted when trying to explain her

motives. “I’ll need the name and address of the woman,” she said.

Katja Ansmann paused. Then she looked toward the door and

shouted,“ Could you please come here, Evelyn?” Steps sounded in

the hallway and then a slender woman appeared, older than Katja

Ansmann, but as perfectly groomed as the management consultant.

She wore wide-legged trousers and a tight top that oozed elegance and quality. Lina thought she knew the face from somewhere but wasn’t

sure. Leon trotted along, holding her hand.

“This is Evelyn Riemann.” Frau Ansmann sighed. “Councilor of

State in the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Innovation. Please keep this confidential.”

Lina nodded slowly, not because she wanted to assure Frau

Ansmann of her discretion, but because she now realized why Philip

Birkner’s partner had kept the affair secret. In Hamburg, a councilor of state had no one above her other than the senator. But senators were quickly exchanged, while councilors often stayed in office for years and might have had even more possibilities to influence matters than senators, their formal superiors. Evelyn Riemann’s high position obviously 96

Dead Woods

made the affair a delicate matter, but was it sensitive enough to warrant lying to the police?

Lina let it slide for the moment and asked the official how one

could reach her, very discreetly, of course. Evelyn Riemann gave her the number of her cell phone.

“How long . . . have you known each other?” Lina asked, looking

at the boy.

The two women exchanged a glance. “We’ve been friends for about

four years,” Frau Riemann finally said.

“Oh,” replied Lina, looking at Katja Ansmann. “So you’ve known

Frau Riemann longer than Herr Birkner?”

“Yes.”

“Interesting.”

After exchanging another look with Katja, the councilor left

with the two-year-old boy. Katja followed them with her eyes as they returned to the child’s room and said, before Lina could ask, “Philip knew that . . . that there was someone other than him, but he didn’t know who. Evelyn didn’t want him to.” She looked at Lina. “Philip and I had a very open relationship. I know that he, too, had an occasional lover.”

Lina studied the woman. She knew two couples who lived in open

relationships, who satisfied their sexual needs with several partners while at the same time being committed to each other and acknowledg-ing their bond. However, she’d never have expected such an arrange-

ment from Katja Ansmann. This was a woman who, by all appearances,

met all social conventions to a tee, a woman operating within a very conservative environment that frowned on deviations from the norm.

“Why did you lie when asked where you were Thursday night?”

Katja Ansmann shrugged. “Out of habit. Evelyn and I don’t want

our relationship known. Whenever we meet, we always have an alibi—

a lecture, an event—for the family, for friends, for strangers. I didn’t 97

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know that the IHK lecture was canceled. Otherwise I’d have told you

the truth then.”

Or you’d have looked for another event on the Internet, Lina thought.

It was possible that the lesbian management consultant with the stellar Hamburg family background indeed had reasons to provide a bad

alibi, but Lina was not prepared to remove her from her list of suspects.

She looked at her silently. If her father’s hint was true and the Ansmann

& Son Bank really was going under, the consulting firm, a daughter company, would be affected, as well. That gave Katja Ansmann a strong motive to kill her domestic partner in order to cash in his life insurance policy. When Frau Ansmann impatiently cleared her throat, Lina

pointedly looked around the room. “I’m sure this apartment doesn’t

come cheap. Do you own it or lease it?” Lina asked.

Katja Ansmann seemed taken aback, as if such a question were

inappropriate. “We bought the apartment about two years ago, shortly before Leon was born.”

Lina nodded slowly. “When one buys real estate, some owner’s

equity is usually required. I assume you