The Sanatorium(52)

“Nothing definitive, but there are a few things that might be worth your looking into. I found a card for a psychologist in her office. My brother said she’d had depression. They might be able to give some insight into her recent state of mind.”

“Anything else?”

“I’ve found out that she has a second phone. It’s not connected to work, and my brother didn’t know anything about it. The night before she disappeared I overheard her outside, making a call. I couldn’t understand, because she was speaking French, but it was obvious that she was agitated. Angry.”

“You think she might have been using this second phone to make the call?”

“Yes.”

“I’ll request records from both the providers and we’ll also contact the psychologist. If you send me the details—”

Elin flips the call to speaker mode as he spells out his e-mail address. She taps it into her phone.

“Thank you,” Berndt says, “and please keep us informed if the situation changes. We’ll update you regarding the weather, if we can get anyone out to you, and if we get anything back from the information you’ve provided.”

They talk for a few more minutes and then Elin says good-bye. Despite her utter exhaustion, she feels a flicker of pride: I did it.

Several times, she’d felt it, like a shadow behind her—the claustrophobia of an attack closing in, but she’d overcome it, put the fear behind her.

But the flicker of euphoria is short-lived.

What’s happened to Adele has made finding Laure even more urgent. If the two are linked, and the killer is holding Laure like they had Adele, then it’s only a matter of time before something happens to her.

Like Adele, Laure’s abduction would be premeditated, and looking at Adele’s body, she’s got a good idea of what’s coming next.





41





Elin finds Axel in the lounge. He’s sitting apart from the group of staff at the table next to him, looking out at the dark sky, the falling flakes of snow illuminated by the outside lights. The coffee in front of him looks untouched, a milky skin lying on the surface.

His face is pale, expressionless, seemingly oblivious to the sense of suppressed panic in the room, the low murmur of chatter, but Elin’s seen that look enough times to know what it is. Shock.

Elin gently touches his arm. “Axel?”

“Oui?” he replies, barely looking up. When his gaze finally drags around to meet hers, she notices his eyes are bloodshot, the skin around them swollen.

“My name’s Elin Warner,” she starts, her words drowned out by another clap of thunder, a jagged bolt of lightning splitting the darkness.

She tries again. “Axel, I’m a guest here, in the hotel, but I’m also a police officer in the UK. Mr. Caron has asked me to make some inquiries about Adele’s death while we’re waiting for the police to arrive.”

He nods.

“Are you happy to speak in English?”

“It’s fine.” His hands are bunched up in his lap, fingers knotted together.

“I was wondering if you could tell me what happened before you found Adele. It’s important we record the details while your memories are fresh, so we’re able to share them with the police when they arrive.”

“I’ll try,” he says haltingly, pulling out the chair beside him.

Taking the seat he’s offered, Elin withdraws her notebook from her bag. “If you can begin with the moments before, what you were doing outside—”

“I was going to check the pools,” he starts, eyes still glued to the scene outside. “Make sure they were covered. The evacuation was nearly complete . . . management wanted the pool area secured.”

Elin nods encouragingly.

“I’d just done the main pool, was starting on the second. That’s when I saw her.” His voice is shaky. “I’d just set the cover going. It’s electronic, automatic. It was about a third of the way across when the wind gusted, stripped the steam from the pool.” His fingers twitch. “I didn’t even think it was a person at first, but then I could see her hair. Moving in the water.”

There’s a heavy silence.

“That’s when I ran.” Axel stops, puts his hand to his face. “I know what you’re going to say: Why didn’t I jump in, pull her out? I keep asking myself that, replaying it. If I’d just jumped in then, she might have had a chance.”

Elin puts a hand on his arm, ignoring the looks coming from the neighboring table. “Axel, people don’t always react in the same way,” she says gently, lowering her voice. “There’s no right way of dealing with something like this, and regardless, I really don’t think there was anything you could have done. I’m sure she was gone by the time you found her.”

From the look on his face, Elin knows he doesn’t believe her. He’ll live with this forever. Go over it in his head a thousand times a day. What if, what if, what if.

“And in the moments before you found her, you didn’t see anything suspicious around the pool area?”

“No, but then I wasn’t out there for long. I was helping with the buses. They were having problems in the car park because of the snow.”

“You didn’t see anyone else? Another member of staff? Guests?”