“I’ll make sure he gets some other clothes.” He looked at Niels Hinrichsen once more. “I’ll be back tomorrow morning.”
Dr. Schubert just nodded, exhausted.
The witness, who had unexpectedly turned into a possible suspect in
the case, was a nervous wreck. Lina put a bottle of mineral water and a packet of peanuts in front of her. Franziska Leyhausen blew her nose, had some water, and, after hesitating at first, took a few peanuts.
When Franziska had calmed down a little, Lina asked, “Why did
you go to the forest today?”
Frau Leyhausen sat straight up. “I still have to map the area; I’m
far from finished.” She took some more peanuts. “When I arrive at
the spot where . . . where I last saw Philip, I find this strange guy, this gnome. He’s kneeling on the ground and has a little shovel and an
enchanter’s nightshade in his hand.”
“A what?” Lina asked, vexed.
“Enchanter’s nightshade, Circaea lutetiana. It’s a delicate plant of the evening primrose family with small white blossoms. It’s very common in Germany. So, the man’s holding the plant in his hand and it’s clear that he just dug it up and is about to replant it. I ask him why he’s doing that, why he’s transplanting it, and he tells me that he wants to save the plant. It’s growing so close to the path that people can easily step on it.” Franziska Leyhausen stopped to drink some water. “When
I look around, I see that he’s transplanted quite a few other plants 163
Maria C. Poets
already.” She looked at Lina. “Among them the Aaron’s rod which I had shown Philip, but that one he must have replanted some days before.
“I asked him whether he had transplanted it, and he nodded.
And at that very moment, you call me and tell me you’re investigating Philip’s murder and ask me whether I’ve noticed transplanted plants
lately. And in front of me is this man with the dug-up enchanter’s
nightshade in his hand.” She shivered. “The guy must somehow have
figured out that I’m talking with the police. Anyhow, he suddenly
yanks the cell phone out of my hand, throws it on the ground and
tramples on it. I panic and try to run away, but he grabs my sleeve and doesn’t let me go. He tells me I shouldn’t be afraid. He’s just watching over the forest and he likes the woods as much as I do. I ask him why he replanted the Aaron’s rod and he says that the man had mucked it
up and that I’d been mad at him about that, too. It took me a while to realize that he was talking about Philip. I hadn’t noticed that evening that he puked on the Aaron’s rod. I was just mad because he completely messed up my slacks.” Remembering the scene, she wrapped her arms
around herself. “I realized that this troll must have been in the woods on Thursday night also, and he must have killed Philip. I’m panicking again. I just want to escape, but he’s holding me back, and then things happen fast. I kick him and he grabs me even tighter, and then suddenly both of us are on the ground. He . . . is lying on top of me and I almost throw up because of his stench. Then there’s suddenly a stone in my hand. I want to scream but I can hardly breathe, and the man above me says something that I don’t understand, and I hit him. Something
warm is dripping on me. Then you are suddenly there and I think: So now I’ve killed someone. But it’s not true. I didn’t kill anyone.”
Lina and Alex exchanged glances. She obviously hadn’t killed Niels
Hinrichsen, but Lina could see in her colleague’s face that he hadn’t yet taken the woman off his list of suspects in the Birkner murder.
Franziska Leyhausen had been in the forest at the time of the murder and admitted that she attacked the victim at least once. Her claim that 164
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she went home afterward might be a lie. Lina bent forward to look at the biologist’s shoes—heavy hiking boots with mud still stuck to the sole.
“Did you wear these shoes last Thursday, too?” she asked.
Franziska Leyhausen nodded. “I went to the concert directly from
work in the forest.”
“Then I have to ask you, unfortunately, to take them off. For
forensics.”
Frau Leyhausen looked stunned. “But . . . these are my good hik-
ing boots. I need them for my work. And how am I supposed to go