got a loan from a building and loan association?” She managed to say it with a straight face.
“A building and . . . No, of course not.” Katja Ansmann just barely
avoided turning up her nose. “My parents helped us out. My father
owns the Ansmann & Son Bank.”
Lina wore her poker face. “And what about Herr Birkner? Did he
also contribute?”
“With what? His firm was doing quite well, but he had absolutely
no assets.” She grimaced. “And then there was the bankruptcy.” It was apparent how much she had resented that. Lina could imagine its
effects on their domestic life—so soon after the boy was born.
“Well, fortunately he found a job quickly,” Lina said with a smile.
Was it her imagination or did Katja Ansmann actually blush? “One
of my business partners was looking for a new associate at the time. I made the contact.”
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“And Herr Birkner really didn’t inherit anything unexpectedly? He
didn’t win the lottery?”
“I don’t know what you’re driving at, but I can assure you that
he didn’t contribute anything to the apartment. Yes, his firm landed some lucrative assignments”—the right corner of Katja Ansmann’s
mouth drooped slightly, as if she pitied Lina, who never saw the kind of money she herself dealt with every day—“but he could never have
afforded this apartment with his income.” With a quick laugh, she said,
“He invited me to dinner, every now and then . . . or to the opera.”
Lina studied Katja Ansmann again without saying anything. Could
this woman have laundered the money her partner got for sabotaging a client? After all, she had lied, without blinking an eye, about her activities on Thursday night. And she had managed to keep her affair with
another woman secret for four years, which pointed to some facility
with deception. Maybe this woman had other secrets. On the other
hand, would she have needed money from a data theft to bankroll this apartment? Two years ago, her father wasn’t close to bankruptcy yet.
Or was he?
“Have you thought about what you’ll be doing with the life insur-
ance money?” she asked amiably at last. Finally Katja Ansmann seemed stumped. Her face turned pale, then red, and she opened and then
closed her mouth. Lina couldn’t deny that she felt satisfied.
Katja Ansmann took a deep breath. “No, I don’t know yet,” she
said tersely. “It’s a little early for that.”
“Early? Lukas Birkner, the brother of your deceased friend, told me
that you had asked him about the life insurance this morning.”
Frau Ansmann laughed contemptuously. “Oh, did he? I’d called
Philip’s parents to discuss the funeral, but he picked up. He never liked me; the feeling is mutual. During the conversation, I remembered the life insurance, and so I asked him about it.” With a mocking smile,
she added, “After all, he was the one who forced the policy on us.
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Eventually Philip relented and said we should sign it so his brother would leave us alone and collect the few euros of his commission.”
Lina nodded. “How was the relationship between your partner
and his brother? Did they get along?” She wanted to find out whether Philip really would have shared his secrets with his brother, as Lukas Birkner seemed to assume.
“I have no idea.” Katja Ansmann shrugged. “I don’t think they saw
each other very often. A few times Philip asked me to say he wasn’t
here when Lukas called on the landline instead of on the cell phone.
Or he simply forgot their appointments.” She thought for a moment.
“Lukas was his little brother,” she said as if that said it all, as if little brothers were a necessary evil. Then she looked at her watch. “Do you have more questions, Frau Svenson? Otherwise I’d suggest we continue another time. Unless there’s something important . . .” With a weak
smile, she continued, “You can imagine that my girlfriend and I don’t have much time together. It’s really annoying to lose some of it.”
Lina nodded slowly and put her notepad away. She got up and put
her knapsack on her shoulders. She smiled when she was saying good-
bye at the door, but then—her hand already on the door handle—she
asked, “Before I forget, is it true that your father’s company is about to go bankrupt?”
Katja Ansmann’s reaction was even more violent than when Lina
had asked her about the life insurance. She turned and had to hold on to the wardrobe. She staggered, saw that Lina was staring at her, took a deep breath, and straightened her shoulders. She opened her mouth to reply, but Lina gestured that it wasn’t necessary.
“That’s all right, Frau Ansmann. It was just a question.”