‘What do you want me to do?’
‘First I want you to talk to me, then I want you to talk to Arne Pedersen and the Coun… Nathalie von Rosen. You know them both already. And after that I want you to talk to a school counsellor. And in each instance I want you to tell not just the truth, but the whole truth.’
‘And if I do, you won’t show that photo to my mum?’
‘If you do, I won’t show that photo to your mum, that’s correct.’
‘What if you’re lying and you show her anyway?’
‘In that case I’m lying. All you can do is trust me.’
She thought about it for a second and accepted the logic.
‘Why should I talk to that counsellor guy?’
‘Because you drink too much, not to mention snorting a line or two when you can afford it. You keep all the wrong company, Maja. Moreover, if you need money, you prostitute yourself. That’s why. And because you’re seventeen and need help before your life really starts going wrong.’
Tears glistened in the corners of her eyes.
‘Will I be punished?’
‘That depends on what you’ve done. If you’ve done anything at all, that is. But to me you look like a young girl who needs help more than punishment. So what do you say? Yes or no?’
‘Yes.’
He excused himself and went to the gents, informing her that she was free to go if she wanted. His aim was twofold: first, and most importantly, it meant he couldn’t be accused at some later point of keeping her against her will, and secondly it gave her a chance to think. He didn’t need a slash, so he splashed some water on his face, dabbed himself with a couple of paper towels and counted to thirty. When he got back she was sitting where he’d left her, staring vaguely at the window. He sat down and went straight to the point:
‘Jørgen Kramer Nielsen, Johannes Lindevej number twenty-seven, Hvidovre. Sunday, January the twenty-seventh, ten a.m.?’
Her reply was barely audible.
‘It was the first time I was there on my own. Without Tobias, I mean. I was scared stiff.’
‘Tobias Juul?’
‘That’s right. Until then, I’d only ever… tried it… at his place. He’d invite a friend of his round…’
She made air quotes on the word ‘friend’.
‘Or maybe two, but there were always two of us girls there. I had to let one of them get off with me, but I knew that. Afterwards, I got half the money and Tobias kept the other half for himself. I usually made a couple of thousand out of it, three if we were lucky. Sometimes he paid it in dope or coke, but he was always good with me and never tried to pull one over.’
That depended on the way you looked at it, Simonsen thought to himself. He went on in the same quiet tone:
‘But with Jørgen Kramer Nielsen it was different?’
She nodded.
‘He was paying six thousand and all I had to do was be there at home with him, watch TV, chat with him, eat… ordinary stuff, only with no clothes on. Then in the evening I could go home. That was it.’
‘Is that what you did?’
‘To begin with I wanted nothing to do with it. It sounded creepy, and he was old. But Tobias talked me into it and promised it was just a few photographs, nothing more. Jørgen wouldn’t even touch me, and he kept all his clothes on, Tobias guaranteed he would. So eventually I gave in and went there.’
‘Sunday the twenty-seventh of January, in the morning?’
‘It sounds right.’
‘Tell me what happened.’
‘There’s not much to tell. It didn’t work out. He talked to me for a bit, only then he sent me away again. I was there less than half an hour.’
‘Didn’t he like you?’
‘It wasn’t his fault, really. He’d asked for someone over eighteen, but I was only sixteen at the time. Tobias told me to lie if he asked, so I did. I told him I was eighteen, in my second year at upper secondary, but he sussed me out straight away. Asked me about subjects and stuff, and I didn’t know what to say, did I? So he sent me home. Not in any unpleasant way, he was quite nice, really. He gave me two thousand for my trouble and paid for a taxi on top.’
‘Did he tell you why he wanted you to go around naked for him?’
‘No, we never got round to it.’
‘Did you get the impression Tobias Juul was procuring other girls for Jørgen Kramer Nielsen?’
‘I think so. Otherwise he couldn’t have known what he knew. But I’m not certain.’
‘How did Tobias Juul and Jørgen Kramer Nielsen know each other, have you any idea?’
‘Tobias once had a student job at the same post office where Jørgen worked as a postman. It’s in Rødovre, I think. But that was a long time ago.’
It was true, so the girl was probably telling the truth. Simonsen stared into her eyes before speaking again.
‘Jørgen Kramer Nielsen was arrested yesterday. We suspect him of carrying out at least seven rather brutal attacks on young girls.’
The blood drained from Maja’s face. She went white as a sheet. He knew it was the sort of reaction that was impossible to fake. Once she’d digested the announcement, she said:
‘I won’t say he hurt me, because he didn’t.’
Konrad Simonsen told her what had really happened then, explaining why he had needed to test her and apologising. Then he asked her another batch of questions, the answers to which left him none the wiser.
He wrapped up proceedings by praising her.
‘Well done, Maja. Two more interviews, and that’s it. If you’re as truthful then, everything will be all right.’
‘I’ll do my best, but… can you stay here when the others come?’
‘They’re not coming here, you’re coming with me to Police HQ. No need to be nervous, it’s all going to be nice and relaxed. Perhaps we should get you something to eat on the way. And, yes, I’ll be there, if you want.’
On their way to HQ Maja was silent, speaking only twice, the first time when they returned to the car with their brown paper bags from McDonald’s.
‘I really did think he shot all my classmates. I was convinced I saw him do it with my own eyes, mow them down like that. But it didn’t happen, did it? I can’t understand it.’
Simonsen believed her. He felt sure she had been in no doubt that she’d seen what she’d told them she had just after getting out of the classroom at Marmorgades Skole. Under extreme pressure the brain often creates its own versions of reality. He tried to explain it to her, but couldn’t.
‘Was that why you shot Robert? Because of what I said?’
‘Absolutely not. We shot Robert Steen Hertz because there was no other way. It had nothing to do with you.’
He squinted at her and could tell she didn’t believe him. She changed the subject.
‘I’m sorry about what I called you in the pub.’
He dismissed it. He’d been called worse.
After they got in the car, Maja spoke again.
‘There’s something I forgot to say before.’
‘Go on.’
‘It’s a bit… I don’t know. Maybe I should wait.’
She blushed slightly, and he guessed:
‘Until there’s a woman you can speak to?’
‘Yes. Well, no, it’s all right, I suppose. When I went to Jørgen’s, when he took my photo, it was important I was hairy. He didn’t want me shaved, if you understand what I’m saying. We had to wait until… well, until I was.’
‘Interesting,’ said Simonsen, and meant it.
No one in Homicide was in any doubt that Maja Nørgaard was not the only girl Tobias Juul had run as a prostitute, nor were they under any illusion that she was the only girl Jørgen Kramer Nielsen had met. In that respect, the seemingly wanton attack on the postman in 1996 had perhaps not been entirely without motive after all.
Konrad Simonsen spotted the woman he was looking for on a bench at the far end of the children’s playground, where she sat engrossed in a women’s magazine, rocking a pram with her free hand. Now and then, she glanced across and smiled at a little girl lying flat on her stomach in the sandpit, energetically digging a hole with a toy spade.