The Lover's Children novel Chapter 50

KLEMPNER

Stanton blows out his cheeks. “Yes, I’ve spoken to Richard. He confirms your story for yesterday. That doesn’t mean you’re off the hook for today’s little performance. Your past record…”

“… has no bearing on any of this. I was there because…” I falter… Even in my head, it already sounds ridiculous.

“I’m waiting,” he growls.

Now what?

Whatever I say, I’m going to sound cracked…

I exhale. “I was there because yesterday I saw Borje…”

“Borje?” Stanton knits brows. “Borje Anderssen? What about him?”

“Yes, him. He was running towards your ‘scene of the crime’.”

He shrugs. “Hardly a surprise in that, given his position.” Stanton stills. “What’s your interest in Doctor Anderssen?”

“My interest in Borje is his interest in a friend of mine.”

“Who?”

“Does it matter?”

Stanton clicks his tongue. “Oh, I think so, yes. If you want to implicate Borje in something like this, you’d better have a good explanation.”

“Fair enough. The friend is James Alexanders’ daughter, Georgie. Borje…”

The door slams open. Borje strides in. “What the fuck are you trying to imply, Larry?”

“Doctor Anderssen!” thunders Stanton. “This is an official police interview.” He mellows, scrapes out the second chair, stabs a finger at it. “Sit.”

Borje dithers, scowls, then takes the chair, arms folded, jaw clenched.

I eye the mirror. “Were you out there just now?”

“I was, yes. I learned a thing or two from what I heard.”

“All of which,” growls Stanton, “is confidential. So…” He swings back to me… “Mr Waterman, the least you’re facing is a charge of interfering with a police investigation. And if you don’t satisfy me, I intend to offer Doctor Andersson here another opportunity to press charges.”

Borje fixes glacial eyes on me.

There are times to surrender the battle to win the war. I allow a note of apology to colour my voice. “It… wasn’t my intention to assault him. I was keyed up. I saw the blood on his hands. I reacted without thinking.”

“What was your intention?”

“As I said… I saw Borje in the crowd yesterday.”

The silver man stirs, but Stanton raises a silencing finger. “You might well have done. Doctor Anderssen is on our forensics team. If he was in the neighbourhood when the alarm went out, I imagine he would go running in to assist…” He glances to Borje, who shrugs, nodding agreement. “So, is that it? What’s that to do with you faking your way into the crime scene today?”

“Today, I… I was in the square. No particular reason. I’d only meant to stop for something to eat… But I saw someone. Something about him was… odd.”

“Odd?” Borje’s stance loosens a touch. “How?”

He subsides as Stanton silences him with a look, but I answer anyway. “It’s hard to describe. He was entirely too interested in what was happening.”

Stanton’s head tilts, the anger draining also from his expression. “The City’s full of nutcases. And voyeurs for that matter. What put it into your head to follow this one?”

“He was behaving suspiciously.”

Stanton’s forehead creases. “Suspiciously? What does that mean? Who was it?”

Borje snaps, “You followed him because you believed it was me?”

Stanton glances sidelong… “Are we still talking about Doctor Anderssen?”

“I didn’t see his face. I don’t know who it was. But he was watching the police enclosure. The activity. Everyone else around was either involved or pretending nothing was there. This man… He was enjoying the show. Spectating. His body language was way off for what you would expect. I tailed him, but I lost him at the last moment. But it was close by your compound entrance...”

“And from that, you deduce that he came inside?”

“I… wondered… And when I got inside, the first familiar face I encountered was Borje again.”

Borje’s expression hardens again. Stanton sucks in his cheeks, looks between the pair of us. “So, to summarise, you saw our forensic pathologist running in to attend a murder scene. And you stalked ‘person unknown’ because you didn’t like the way he was behaving?”

When he puts it like that…

I feel an idiot.

After a few moments silence, Stanton continues. “For the avoidance of doubt, Mr Waterman, do you believe that Doctor Anderssen here is the individual you were tailing?”

The word curdles in my mouth. “No.”

“No? Really? Why not?” Borje drips sarcasm. “What’s changed?” Stanton looks askance but doesn’t interrupt.

“The man I was following was shorter than you. And your clothes are wrong. He was wearing jeans, sneakers and a hoodie. But… I did see a very similar hoodie among the coats outside your marquee.”

“Half the male population under thirty wears a hoodie. I don’t. So, what’s your gripe with me?”

Mouth dry, I drop my face, shake my head slightly.