Snow White Must Die (Bodenstein & Kirchhoff, #4)(131)

“Oh yes, she did,” Bodenstein replied. “Anyway, she destroyed the paintings, because you would have realized at once that Nadia had lied to you.”

Stunned, Tobias stared at Bodenstein, then swallowed hard when he realized the full scope of Nadia’s lies and deceit. It was almost more than he could cope with.

“Everyone in Altenhain knew the truth,” Pia went on. “Claudius Terlinden didn’t talk, because he wanted to protect his own name and his son Lars’s reputation. Since he had a guilty conscience, he supported you and your parents financially and—”

“That wasn’t the only reason,” Tobias interrupted her. His rigid expression became animated again, and he cast a glance at his father. “But now I’m slowly beginning to get it. All he cared about was his power and…”

“And what?” asked Hartmut.

Tobias just shook his head mutely.

His father swayed. The truth about his neighbors and former friends was shattering for him. The whole village had kept silent and lied and selfishly watched as his livelihood, his marriage, his good reputation, yes, his very life were ruined. He sank down onto one of the plastic chairs next to the wall and buried his face in his hands. Tobias sat down next to him and put his arm around his father’s shoulders.

“But we also have some good news.” Only now did it occur to Bodenstein why he and Pia had come to the hospital. “Actually we were just on our way to see Amelie Fr?hlich and Thies Terlinden. We found both of them today in the cellar of a house in K?nigstein. Dr. Lauterbach kidnapped them and hid them there.”

“Amelie is alive?” Tobias straightened up as if he’d had an electric shock. “Is she okay?”

“Yes. Come with us. Amelie will be glad to see you.”

Tobias hesitated a moment but then stood up. Even his father looked up and smiled timidly. But seconds later his smile disappeared, and his expression contorted with hatred and fury. He jumped up and dashed with a speed that surprised Pia toward a man who had just entered the lobby of the hospital.

“No, Dad, no!” they heard Tobias shout, and only then did they recognize Claudius Terlinden, accompanied by his wife and the Fr?hlichs. Obviously they were on their way to see their children. Hartmut Sartorius grabbed Terlinden by the throat, trying to choke him, while Christine Terlinden and Arne and Barbara Fr?hlich stood by as if paralyzed.

“You pig!” Sartorius snarled full of hate. “You lying bastard! You have my family on your conscience!”

Claudius Terlinden’s face was flushed and he was desperately flailing his arms and kicking at his attacker. Bodenstein grasped the situation and moved to take action. Pia too wanted to intervene, but she was shoved roughly aside by Tobias. She collided with Barbara Fr?hlich, lost her balance, and fell to the floor. People had stopped, gaping at what was going on. Tobias had reached his father and tried to grab his arm, but at that instant Claudius Terlinden managed to escape from Hartmut’s grip. The fear of death lent him superhuman strength. He shoved Sartorius away. Pia got back on her feet and watched as if in slow motion as Hartmut Sartorius stumbled backward from the violent shove and crashed into an open fire door. Tobias started yelling and threw himself over his father. Suddenly there was blood everywhere. Pia reacted instinctively. She tore the scarf from Barbara Fr?hlich’s neck, knelt down next to Sartorius, ignoring the pool of blood that was fast becoming a lake. In the desperate hope of being able to stop the bleeding somehow, she pressed the bright blue pashmina scarf against the gaping wound on the back of Sartorius’s head. The man’s legs twitched convulsively and he made a gurgling sound.

“We need a doctor! Quick!” Bodenstein shouted. “Damn it, there must be a doctor here somewhere!”

Coughing and choking, Claudius Terlinden crawled a short distance away, his hands at his throat. His eyes were bulging out of his head.

“I didn’t mean to do it,” he kept stammering over and over. “That’s … that’s not what I wanted. It was … it was an accident…”

Pia heard footsteps and yelling as if from far away. Her jeans, her hands, her jacket were all soaked with blood. White shoes and pants legs appeared in her field of vision.

“Step aside!” somebody yelled. She scooted back a little, looked up, and met Bodenstein’s eyes. It was too late. Hartmut Sartorius was dead.

* * *



“I couldn’t do a thing.” Pia shook her head in shock. “It all happened so fast.”

She was still shaking all over and could barely hold the bottle of Coke that Bodenstein had pressed into her blood-smeared hands.

“Don’t blame yourself,” said Oliver.

“But I do, damn it. Where’s Tobias?”

“He was still there.” Bodenstein looked around, searching. The lobby was cordoned off, and yet there was a throng of people. Police, doctors with tense, shocked expressions, and the officers in their white overalls looked on as the body of Hartmut Sartorius was lifted into a zinc coffin. “Just stay right here.” Bodenstein put his hand briefly on Pia’s shoulder and got up. “I’m going to look for Tobias and make sure he’s okay.”

Pia nodded and stared at the sticky, dried blood on her hands. She straightened up and took some deep breaths. Gradually her heartbeat calmed down and she could think clearly again. Her gaze fell on Claudius Terlinden, who sat slumped on a chair, staring into the distance. In front of him stood an officer who was apparently trying to take down an account of what happened. The death of Hartmut Sartorius was an accident, there was no doubt about that. Terlinden had acted in self-defense and with no malice aforethought, and yet he seemed to be gradually comprehending the weight of guilt on his shoulders. A young female doctor squatted down in front of Pia.