The air in Helene Eriksen’s small office was thick with grief. Mia was grateful to Munch for giving the manager and the other residents time to digest the sad news. The tall woman sitting in front of them was so distraught she was almost incapable of stringing a sentence together.
‘First, I would like to thank you for seeing us at such short notice.’ Munch cleared his throat and unbuttoned his coat. ‘And then, of course, for your help last night. I understand that this has come as a shock to you, and I’m sorry that we now have to trouble you with questions you might consider irrelevant in the light of the tragedy that has occurred. For us, it is obviously important to start the investigation as quickly as possible, and I know that it won’t bring Camilla back, that it can’t cancel out the grief you all now feel, but whoever did this must be found.’
‘Yes, of course.’ Helene Eriksen gave a slight nod.
It was clear to Mia that this woman was in charge here. Even the way she sat at her desk showed authority.
‘Good.’ Holger nodded. ‘We’ve already had lists of all staff and clients out here from your assistant …’
‘Paulus.’
‘Yes, Paulus. Thank you.’ Munch smiled. ‘What we also need is more detailed information about the patients—’
‘Residents,’ Helene Eriksen corrected.
‘Yes, of course, sorry. More details about, well, the residents here. Right now, we only have their names, but we also need access to medical records, case histories, more details about who they are, what they’ve been through, why they ended up out here, if you know what I mean?’
Helene Eriksen looked as if she was debating this for a moment, but at length she nodded.
She’s protecting her girls.
Mia Krüger felt a growing respect for the woman.
‘Good.’ Munch smiled and flicked through his notepad. ‘So, let’s just get this out of the way. You reported Camilla missing on 19 July, but a few days later you contacted us and retracted the report. Why?’
‘I feel like an idiot now, of course I do. But Camilla has always been like that. I mean … she was like that.’
Helene Eriksen sat very still for a moment, and Mia could see her struggle at having to talk about Camilla Green in the past tense.
‘What was she like?’ Munch said, coming to her rescue.
‘Unstable.’
‘In what way was she unstable?’ Munch said kindly, to help her back on track.
‘No, not unstable. I’m sorry, that’s not the right word. Special. Camilla was special,’ Helene Eriksen continued. ‘She hated rules and authority. She would often run away, but she always came back when she was ready. Everything had to be on her terms, that was just the way she was, if you know what I’m saying?’
‘I do.’ Munch nodded. ‘So, she was reported missing, but then …?’
‘The rules here are quite strict,’ Helene Eriksen said. ‘Some people like it, others don’t, but it’s just the way it is, it’s how we live here. In order to get something you have to give something, you understand?’
Helene gave them a faint smile.
‘So … she …?’ Munch said.
‘Camilla failed to turn up for the late shift on 18 July, and she wasn’t in her room when we checked the following morning, and then I reported her missing.’
‘And the reason you withdrew the report was?’
‘A few days later she sent me a text message.’
‘What did it say?’ Munch asked.
Helene Eriksen sighed and shook her head. ‘That we shouldn’t look for her. That she was fine. That she had gone to France to see her father.’
‘And you believed her?’ Mia spoke now, realizing immediately that she might have come across as rather brusque. ‘I mean … was there anything about the message which made you suspect that something might be wrong?’
Helene Eriksen looked to Munch now, wavering for a moment. ‘No, I …’
‘No one is accusing you of anything. That goes without saying,’ Munch said.
‘Perhaps I should have known,’ Helene Eriksen said, shifting her gaze to the desk in front of her. ‘But she tended to be a little …’
‘Unstable?’ Munch said.
‘No, no … Like I said, I used the wrong word … wilful,’ the blonde woman said, looking up at them again. ‘“Wilful” is better. Camilla didn’t like people telling her what to do.’
‘So the message felt genuine?’ Mia said.
‘Yes.’
‘Do you have any idea who might have done this?’ Mia went on.
‘No, absolutely not,’ Helene Eriksen stammered, looking towards Munch again.
‘None of the residents here, or the staff, no one with a traumatic background? Someone who has had such a difficult childhood that they might take pleasure in posing Camilla on a bed of feathers and putting a flower in her mouth?’
‘No … I mean, how would I be able to …?’ She had a frightened expression in her eyes now.
‘No gut reaction?’ Mia pushed on, ignoring the look Munch was giving her.
Helene Eriksen fell silent for a moment and glanced swiftly at Munch before fixing her gaze on the desk again.
‘No,’ she said softly, then raised her head and looked up at them. ‘No, of course not.’
Munch glared at Mia again, and looked as if he was about to say something when they were interrupted by a knock on the door and a curly-haired young man popped his head in.
‘Helene, we need to—’
The young man stopped halfway through the sentence when he realized that Helene Eriksen was not alone.
‘Oh, I’m sorry, I …’
‘That’s quite all right, Paulus.’ Helene Eriksen smiled. ‘What is it?’
‘Some of the girls, they … well, I didn’t know that …’ the young man began, taking another look at Mia and Holger.
‘Can we do it later?’
‘Yes, of course we can, but …’
‘We can wait.’ Munch nodded. ‘It’s not a problem.’
The young man in the doorway looked at Helene, and glanced anxiously at Mia and Munch again before turning his attention back to his boss.
‘It would be good if … well, now would be good. If that’s all right?’
‘Are you sure you don’t mind?’ Helene Eriksen said, looking at both Mia and Munch.
‘Of course not,’ Munch said. ‘We have all the time in the world.’
‘Great, thank you.’ She smiled and rose from her chair. ‘I won’t be long.’
There was the sound of the door closing behind her, and suddenly they were alone in the small office.
Munch looked at Mia and shook his head.
‘What?’ Mia said with a shrug.
‘Don’t you think you were a little harsh?’ Munch said.
‘She knows something.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘I’m sorry about that. Where were we?’ Helene Eriksen said as she came through the door and sat down in her chair again.
‘Patient records?’ Munch said, a little embarrassed.
‘Residents,’ Helene Eriksen corrected him again.
‘Yes, of course, sorry,’ Munch said. ‘When do you think we can access them?’
‘I just need to talk to our lawyer first,’ Helene Eriksen said. ‘Just to make sure that we’re doing everything right, that we don’t reveal any information we shouldn’t.’ She smiled at them, her eyes brighter now.
‘Good.’ Munch nodded, flashing Mia a short, sharp look before scratching his beard and turning to the next page in his notepad.