Snow White Must Die (Bodenstein & Kirchhoff, #4)(94)

He raised his head, and Pia had to swallow hard when she saw the expression of abysmal despair on his face.

“Why didn’t I see any of this? Am I really so arrogant? And how am I supposed to do my job if I can’t straighten out my own life?”

Pia regarded the sharp contours of his profile and felt genuine sympathy for him. What Hasse and other people interpreted as arrogance and smugness was just Bodenstein’s personality. He didn’t get involved, never took advantage of his authority. And even though he might be extremely curious, he would never dream of asking his subordinates indiscreet questions. That was not indifference, it was restraint.

“I didn’t know about Behnke’s bartending job either,” Pia said softly. “And the fact that Hasse stole the transcripts bowled me over too.” She grinned. “I didn’t even know about our secret relationship.”

Bodenstein uttered an inarticulate sound, somewhere between a laugh and a sigh. Then he shook his head, discouraged.

“I have the feeling my whole life is falling apart.” He was staring into space. “I can’t think about anything but the fact that Cosima is cheating on me with another guy. Why? What was she missing? Did I do something wrong?”

He leaned forward, propping his elbows on his knees and clasping his hands behind his head. Pia bit her lip. What should she say to him? Was there any consolation for him at all in this situation? She hesitated a moment and then put her hand on his arm and squeezed it gently.

“Maybe you did do something wrong,” she said. “But when there are problems in a relationship, it’s never the fault of just one person. Instead of looking for explanations, you should think about how you can fix things.”

Bodenstein rubbed the back of his neck and straightened up.

“I had to look at the calendar to remember when I slept with her last,” he said with sudden bitterness. “But it’s not easy with a small child who keeps running in.”

Pia was uncomfortable talking about this. Even though her own relationship in the past year had become much more intimate than before, she still felt it was embarrassing to talk about such matters with her boss. She got her cigarettes out of her jacket pocket and held out the pack to him. He took a cigarette, lit it, and took a few drags before he went on.

“How long has this been going on? How many nights have I lain beside her like a clueless dope while she was thinking about her other guy? The thought of it makes me sick.”

Ah, from despair gradually comes anger. That was good. Pia lit another cigarette.

“Just ask her,” she advised him. “It would be best to ask her right away. Then you won’t have to keep driving yourself crazy.”

“And then what? When she tells me the truth? Oh, shit! I’d like to … cheat on her too.” He broke off and ground the cigarette under his heel.

“Then do it. Maybe then you’d feel better.”

“Are you trying to give me advice?” Bodenstein looked at Pia in surprise, and a hint of a smile played around the corners of his mouth.

“It doesn’t seem like anyone else is giving you any,” she said. “In school I had a boyfriend who broke up with me. I wanted to kill myself, I was so unhappy. My friend Miriam forced me to go to a party with her, and some guy came over to me. He couldn’t stop complimenting me. So, okay. After that I felt better. There are plenty of fish in the sea.”

Bodenstein’s cell phone rang. At first he ignored it, but finally he took it out of his pocket with a sigh and answered.

“It was Fachinger,” he told Pia after he hung up. “Hartmut Sartorius called. Tobias has come home.”

He got up from the bench.

“I hope we can still catch him. Sartorius called two hours ago, but the detective on duty just told Fachinger now.”

* * *



The gate to the Sartorius place was wide open. They crossed the courtyard and rang the doorbell, but nothing happened.

“The door is ajar,” said Pia, and pushed it open.

“Hello?” she called into the house. “Mr. Sartorius? Tobias?”

No answer. She went a few steps into the hall and called his name again.

“He must have taken off.” Disappointed, she turned around and went back to Bodenstein, who was waiting outside. “And his father isn’t home either. What a pisser.”

“Let’s look around back in the yard.” Bodenstein pulled out his cell. “I’ll call for backup.”

Pia walked around the house. Tobias Sartorius had come back to Altenhain on the day of Laura Wagner’s funeral. He wasn’t at the cemetery, of course, but during the graveside ceremony the studio of Thies Terlinden had gone up in flames—with the help of an accelerant, as the fire department and the arson squad had determined. Didn’t it make sense that Tobias had set fire to the orangerie and then taken off?

“… no sirens, got it?” Pia heard Bodenstein say. She waited until he stood next to her.

“Tobias knew that the whole village would be at the cemetery and he could set the fire unobserved,” she told him her hunch. “I just don’t understand why his father called us.”

“Me neither,” Bodenstein admitted. He glanced around the barnyard. During previous visits the gate and all the doors had been carefully locked, which was understandable given all the threats and the attack on Tobias. How come everything now stood wide open? Just as they turned the corner of the house, they noticed a movement up in the farm area. Two men disappeared through the rear gate and a little later car doors slammed and an engine roared to life. Suddenly Pia had a bad feeling.