'Could it have been a break-in?' he asked over Katherina's shoulder. 'I mean, the gate was open, so anyone could have got in.'
Henning shook his head. 'It seems unlikely. As far as I could tell, nothing was missing.'
Jon noticed that Katherina gave a start when Pau got out of the car to join them.
'So much for your theory that he was part of the Shadow Organization, huh?' said Pau.
Henning was just as surprised to see Pau as Katherina was, and he turned to Jon with an indignant look on his face.
'What's he doing here?'
'It appears he has changed his mind,' replied Jon.
'I didn't feel like being Kortmann's errand boy,' Pau interjected. 'But I guess now I won't be.' He shook his head. 'Poor old guy.'
Henning looked intently at Pau but said no more than, 'We can't stay.'
Katherina was shivering. 'Take me away from here,' she said.
'Let's go back to Libri di Luca,' suggested Jon. 'Iversen and the others will be there soon.'
Henning nodded and cast one last look at Pau before he got into his car and drove away.
There were lights on in the windows of Libri di Luca when they got back. Katherina had regained her composure, although she hadn't said much on the drive from Hellerup. Pau hadn't spoken either, merely muttered to himself and sighed.
Henning had already arrived, and he'd obviously told Iversen what had happened, because the old bookseller looked shaken as he sat in the armchair behind the counter holding a glass of cognac. He looked up with distress as Katherina and Jon came into the shop; there was no trace of a reaction on his face when he saw Pau behind them. Clara was there too. She had been Iversen's driver when they were tailing Remer, and she now stood leaning against a bookcase with her arms crossed and a serious expression on her round face.
'I think I could use one of those myself,' said Henning, motioning towards Iversen's cognac. 'Anyone else want one?'
Katherina nodded while the others declined. Henning reached behind the counter and pulled out two glasses, filling each with a generous portion. Katherina accepted the drink gratefully, holding the glass in both hands as if the contents might warm up her fingers.
'You're sure it was Kortmann's chauffeur?' asked Clara after Henning had explained why they'd gone out to the villa in Hellerup.
'Absolutely sure,' replied Katherina in a hoarse voice. She took a sip of her cognac and grimaced as she swallowed the liquor.
Clara nodded solemnly.
'Then there's no longer any doubt,' she said. 'This Remer is somehow involved in what's been happening, and most likely there is some sort of larger organization behind it all. An organization that won't stop at committing murder to reach its goal.'
Everyone except Pau agreed by nodding or murmuring their assent.
'You're all crazy,' Pau declared, taking a step towards Iversen. 'Can't you see this is part of their plan? They're trying to divert attention from themselves. Who's the only person who actually saw Kortmann's chauffeur?' He pointed at Katherina without looking at her. 'A receiver. And who benefits from murdering Kortmann?' He pointed the other hand at Clara. 'The receivers. Can't you see it? They're manipulating us just like they've been doing all along.'
'You're forgetting that Kortmann never would have allowed a receiver inside his house,' Jon pointed out.
Pau raised his arms towards the ceiling. 'Not voluntarily, of course. They could have forced him to do it, caught him by surprise while he was reading and made him open the gate for them.'
'Would that be possible?' asked Jon.
'No,' said Clara firmly. 'We can't steer people by remote control like that; the most we can do is affect their emotions and their attitude towards whatever they're reading.'
Pau had let his arms drop. 'We only have your word for it that it's not possible. None of us knows what you can really do.'
'Rubbish,' said Iversen. 'You're grasping at straws now, Pau. Those of us who have been part of the Society for a long time know that it's true. As Clara said, we need to accept that the Shadow Organization is a reality, and the sooner we do that, the better we can fight back.'
Pau opened his mouth to object but was cut off by Iversen.
'Sit down, Pau. Take a moment to think about what has happened, and you'll come to the same conclusion.'
Sulking, Pau walked over to one of the bookcases and sat down on the floor.
'As I was about to say,' Clara began, casting a quick glance at Pau, 'we must be getting close since they're reacting so violently. It's no coincidence that just as the Society is being reunited, Kortmann ends up murdered. His role was done – they had no more use for him.' She sighed. 'We need to acknowledge that Kortmann was their man, in the sense that he was under the influence of his chauffeur, whom we have to assume is a receiver. So they've known all along what the transmitters were doing, and they were even able to get Kortmann to make decisions that fitted in with their plans.'
'Which first and foremost concerned keeping their own organization secret,' said Iversen. 'But when I think back, I'm sure that Kortmann has had that chauffeur for only seven or eight years. That's still a long time, but it doesn't explain Kortmann's involvement in the break-up twenty years ago.'
No one said anything for a while. Jon could sense a despondent mood. His own emotions were mixed. He too was shocked by the murder, but he and Kortmann had not really cared for each other. From that moment at the funeral when they met for the first time, Jon had felt a certain wariness on Kortmann's part, as if he were sizing up a competitor. In that sense, Jon could have better accepted the situation if Kortmann had proved to be their adversary. But now, when it looked as if he was innocent, things were murkier than ever. What was still worrisome, and what no one was saying out loud even though they were probably all thinking it, was that since the Shadow Organization had been able to get so close to the leader of the transmitters, it was impossible to know who else might be involved, either directly or indirectly. Wasn't it naive to think there were no spies among the receivers?
'So what's left that we need to work on?' asked Iversen, breaking the silence. 'What's the next step?'
Everyone in the shop glanced at each other.
'The school,' suggested Jon. 'The Demetrius School. It must mean something, since that was where Remer went to meet Kortmann's chauffeur.'
'There's something I forgot to tell you,' said Katherina. Everyone turned to look at her. 'When I was sitting alone in the car, while Henning was out surveying the neighbourhood, I tried to pick up if there was something going on inside – if anyone was reading, and if so, what they happened to be reading.' She took another sip of her cognac. 'I was able to pick up several reading classes, words mostly from easy-to-read books, but there was something else – a number of voices that were different, that stood out because the reading was more focused and had a bigger impact.'
'Do you mean…' Clara didn't finish her sentence.
'I'm convinced it was a group of transmitters,' said Katherina.
'How many?' asked Iversen.
'Maybe four or five.'
'So is the Demetrius School the Shadow Organization's recruitment centre for Lectors?' said Clara. 'Have any of you heard of the place before?'
Jon shook his head. Katherina and Henning did the same.
'Demetrius?' said Iversen to himself, tilting his head back to look up at the ceiling. 'Isn't that the name of a character in a Shakespeare play? FromA Midsummer Night's Dream, as far as I recall. Demetrius drinks a love potion and falls in love with the wrong person.' He lowered his eyes. 'That doesn't exactly fit with our situation.'
'Under any circumstances, the school is our best lead,' said Jon. 'I'd like to propose that I go out there and take a closer look at the place. If the school is the centre for the Shadow Organization's activities, there must be something inside the building that will prove it.'