Tuesday, December 8, 2020
Debora had a stern expression on her face when they sat down. She always did, but this time the horizontal furrows on her brow were accompanied by two vertical ones that cut deep through the normal layer of worry with new emphasis.
“I’ve summoned you to go over what happened earlier today,” she said.
They all nodded.
“About the corona lockdown?” asked Martha.
Debora shook her head. “That too, of course. It doesn’t make the conditions for our mission easier. But it’s a far more serious matter: Eva has been arrested again, and this time it puts us in real danger.”
“Arrested?” Ragnhild shook her head. She had never met Eva, as she was the one who had replaced Eva in the group. “What for?” she asked.
“We don’t know exactly at this point, Ruth, but as far as I know, she was arrested today and charged with causing the death of a young man.”
Ragnhild looked at the other two. It was obvious that they were thinking the same. This did not bode well.
Debora nodded. “This means that from today on, we’ll have to cease our activities completely, and we can’t meet again before I summon you. We need to prepare ourselves for the eventuality that Eva might sell us out. We need to make sure the police won’t find anything here or at your own homes.”
“She won’t sell us out,” protested Sara.
“No, I don’t think so either, but if you have anything incriminating lying around that might reveal what you’ve been up to or intend to do in the future, you need to get rid of it immediately. I’m going to go over this place, destroy all possible evidence, and get rid of all fingerprints that might link any of you or Eva to this location. And most importantly”—she pointed her index finger in the air—“your lips are henceforth sealed! And if you feel the urge to start your own little crusades—think twice! It just cannot happen. Do you understand?”
They nodded, but Ragnhild was livid. Everything she was passionate about, everything that gave her life meaning had been made impossible now: the way she was with other people, the way she spent her free time, and, not least, her vigilante activities.
“You have to understand that Eva could convince the prosecutor to doubt her mental state. When they question her, she might claim to have been turned into a remote-controlled zombie by me and the two of you, Martha and Sara. Obviously this doesn’t affect you, Ruth, because you two have never met.”
Debora sat for a moment nodding to herself as she tried to grasp the entirety of the situation. Then she turned to them with a menacing expression.
“Not only is Eva probably the smartest among us, she is definitely the most cunning. So we have to be on our guard. Understood?”
“I think we need to know her real name so we can follow the press coverage on her,” said Martha. “Because her real name isn’t Eva, is it?”
Debora shook her head. “No, her name’s Tabitha Engstrøm.”
“You mentioned that things will end badly for those who can’t keep their mouths shut,” said Sara. “But what do you plan to do to Tabitha if it happens?”
“Have her neutralized if we can get to her. What choice do we have?”
Ragnhild was glued to her TV, but there was nothing about Tabitha Engstrøm because the COVID-19 restrictions and the steep increase in the number of infections was the only topic in the media. And while she was watching this endless stream of deliberations and debates regarding COVID, Ragnhild realized that this unusual situation might be the best protection Tabitha could have wished for. As long as the fear of a second wave made it impossible to get close to her in prison, they had to accept the risk that she might at some point see the benefit of informing on them and subsequently bringing down their group and activities.
That simply cannot happen, she thought. Ragnhild had never tried to kill anyone, but she was probably capable of it. She had certainly seen many pigs being slaughtered at her grandparents’ farm. The human aorta was just beneath the skin, and many objects were sharp enough to sever it. So that was no problem. The problem was getting close to this Tabitha Engstrøm while she was in custody and making an escape after the deed. And it was this last part that was the very essence of the perfect crime.
If she did go through with it, would her star not shine even brighter with Debora regardless of her warning about what they could or could not do? And if there was something Ragnhild longed for more than anything else, it was Debora’s acceptance and respect. On several nights after the meetings, she had stood outside Debora’s house waiting for the lights to go out in all the windows. Her imagination was piqued by what was going on in the darkness inside. She was not in love with Debora, as far as she knew, but Debora was their leader. She was the one who recruited them, the one who gathered knowledge about their activities, and the one who encouraged them to refine and expand their moral crusade of vengeance.
The one who had raised Ragnhild’s otherwise sad life to a state of euphoria.
Ragnhild stared at the TV screen, where the prime minister was sporting one of her usual smart jackets that she always wore during press conferences to project strength during times of crisis.
With her resolve to put the country on lockdown, how on earth were they supposed to stop Tabitha?
Ragnhild did not sleep much that night.