Roseanna Read online

  Afterwards he walked up one flight of stairs, opened a door, and walked into Kollberg's and Melander's office. They sat at their desks working, with their backs to one another.

  ‘Have you changed the furniture?’

  ‘It's the only way we can manage,’ said Kollberg.

  He was pale and red-eyed just like Martin Beck. The imperturbable Melander looked no different to usual.

  A copy of a report on thin, yellow paper lay in front of Kollberg. He was following each line with his index finger and said:

  ‘Mrs Lise-Lotte Jensen, sixty-one years old, has told the police in Vejle, Denmark, that it was a wonderful trip. That the smörgåsbord was wonderful, that it rained one whole day and one whole night and that the boat was delayed and that she was seasick the night it rained out in the lake, which was the second night. In spite of all that, the trip was wonderful and all the other passengers were so nice. She can't remember the nice girl in the picture. In any case they didn't sit at the same table. But the captain was charming and her husband said that it wasn't possible to eat all that good food so it certainly could have been possible that not everyone went to all the meals. The weather was wonderful except when it rained. They had no idea that Sweden could be so nice. Damn it, I had no idea it could be either,’ continued Kollberg. ‘They mostly played bridge with that charming gentleman from South Africa and his wife, Mrs Hoyt, who came from Durban. Of course the cabins were rather small and the second night — here's something — there was a big, hairy arachnida on the bed. Her husband had a great deal of trouble getting it out of the cabin. Well, does arachnida mean a sex maniac?’

  ‘A spider,’ said Melander without taking his pipe out of his mouth.

  ‘I love the Danes,’ Kollberg continued. ‘They have neither seen nor heard anything unusual and, “finally,” writes the policeman named Toft in Vejle who conducted the examination, “there is obviously nothing in the testimony of this delightful, elderly couple which can spread any light on the case.” His art of deduction is crushing.’

  ‘Let's see, let's see,’ Melander grumbled to himself.

  ‘Here's to our Danish brothers,’ said Kollberg.

  Martin Beck leaned over the desk and leafed through the papers. He mumbled something which was inaudible. After ten days of work they had managed to locate two-thirds of the people who had been on board the Diana. By one means or another they had contacted more than forty persons and in twenty-three cases, they had regular examination transcripts at their disposal. The results were meagre. Of those who had thus far been examined there was no one who could remember anything about Roseanna McGraw other than that they thought they had seen her on board some time during the trip.

  Melander took his pipe out of his mouth and said: ‘Karl-Åke Eriksson, one of the crew. Have we found him?’

  Kollberg checked one of his lists.

  ‘A stoker. No, but we know a little about him. He shipped out from the Seamen's House in Gothenburg three weeks ago. On a Finnish freighter.’

  ‘Uhum,’ said Melander. ‘And he is twenty-two years old?’

  ‘Yes, and what do you mean with that uhum?’

  ‘His name reminded me of something. You ought to remember it too. But he didn't call himself by the same name then.’

  ‘Whatever you remember must certainly be right,’ said Kollberg with resignation.

  ‘That devil has a memory like a circus elephant,’ he said to Martin Beck. ‘It's like sharing an office with a computer.’

  ‘I know.’

  ‘One who smokes the world's worst tobacco,’ said Kollberg.

  ‘I'll have it in a minute,’ said Melander.

  ‘Sure, I know. Damn it I'm tired,’ answered Kollberg.

  ‘You don't get enough sleep,’ said Melander.

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘You ought to see to it that you get plenty of sleep. I sleep eight hours every night. Fall asleep the minute I put my head on the pillow.’

  ‘What does your wife say about that?’

  ‘Nothing. She goes to sleep even faster. Sometimes we don't even get to turn out the light.’

  ‘Nonsense. No, in any case, I don't get enough sleep these days.’

  ‘Why not?’

  ‘I don't know. I just can't sleep.’

  ‘What do you do then?’

  ‘Just lie there and think about how dreadful you are.’

  Kollberg grabbed his letter basket. Melander knocked the ashes out of his pipe and gazed at the ceiling. Martin Beck, who knew him, realized that he had just fed new material into that priceless memory where he stored everything he had ever seen, read, or heard.

  Half an hour after lunch one of the girls from the administrative office came in with the translations.

  Martin Beck took off his jacket, locked his door and began to read.

  First the letter. It read:

  Dear Martin:

  I think I understand what you mean. The transcripts of examinations which I am enclosing have been typed directly from the tapes. I haven't made any changes or shortened them in any way. You can judge the material for yourself. If you would like me to, I can dig up a few more people who knew her but I think that these two are the best. I hope to God that you get the devil that did it. If you get the guy, don't forget to give it to him for me too. I am enclosing a collection of all the biographical data I could get hold of and a commentary on the transcripts.

  Sincerely

  Elmer

  He laid the letter aside and took out the transcripts. The first one contained the heading:

  Examination of Edgar M. Mulvaney at the office of the District Attorney, Omaha, Nebraska, 11 October, 1964. Examining Officer: Detective Lieutenant Kafka. Witness to the Examination: Sergeant Romney.

  KAFKA: You are Edgar Moncure Mulvaney, thirty-three years old, living at 12 East Street here in town. You are an engineer and have been employed for one year as an Assistant Department Head at the Northern Electric Company in Omaha. Is that correct?

  MULVANEY: Yes, that's right.

  K: You are not under oath and your testimony will not be registered with a notary public. Some of the questions that I am going to ask you have to do with intimate details of your private life and you may find them unpleasant. You are being examined for information and none of the things that you say will be made public or will be used against you. I cannot force you to answer but I want to state the following: by answering all the questions fully and truthfully and as explicitly as possible, you can make a contribution which will help to see that the person or persons responsible for the murder of Roseanna McGraw are captured and punished.

  M: I'll do my best.

  K: You were living in Lincoln until eleven months ago. You also worked there.

  M: Yes, as an engineer with the Department of Public Works, the section that took care of street lighting.

  K: Where did you live?

  M: In a building at 83 Greenrock Road. I shared an apartment with a colleague. We were both bachelors then.

  K: When did you get to know Roseanna McGraw?

  M: It was nearly two years ago.

  K: In other words the autumn of 1962?

  M: Yes, in November.

  K: Under what circumstances did you meet?

  M: We met at the house of one of my colleagues, Johnny Matson.

  K: At a party?

  M: Yes.

  K: Did that Matson go around with Roseanna McGraw?

  M: Hardly. It was an open house party where a lot of people came and went. Johnny knew her slightly from the library where she worked. He had invited all kinds of people. Lord knows where he got hold of all of them.

  K: How did you meet Roseanna McGraw?

  M: I don't know. We simply met there.

  K: Had you gone to the party specifically looking for female company? (Pause)

  K: Will you kindly answer the question.

  M: I'm trying to remember. It's possible. I didn't have a particular girl I was going with at that ti
me. But more likely I went there because I didn't have anything better to do.

  K: And what happened?

  M: Roseanna and I met by sheer chance, so to speak. We talked for a while. Then we danced.

  K: How many dances?

  M: The first two. The party had hardly begun.

  K: Then you met right away?

  M: Yes, we must have.

  K: And?

  M: I suggested that we leave.

  K: After only two dances?

  M: More exactly, during the second dance.

  K: And what did Miss McGraw answer?

  M: She said: ‘Yes, let's go.’

  K: Without any other comment?

  M: Yes.

  K: How did you presume to make such a suggestion?

  M: Do I have to answer questions like that?

  K: If you don't, this conversation is meaningless.

  M: Okay, I noticed that she was getting excited while we were dancing.

  K: Excited? In what way? Sexually?

  M: Yes, naturally.

  K: How did you know?

  M: I can't (pause) exactly explain. In any case it was obvious. It was her behaviour. I can't really be more precise.

  K: And you? Were you sexually excited?

  K: Yes.

  K: Had you had anything to drink?

  M: One martini, at most.

  K: And Miss McGraw?

  M: Roseanna never drank liquor.

  K: So you left the party together? What happened then?

  M: Neither of us had driven there. We took a taxi to the house that she was living in, 116 Second South Street. She still lives there. Lived, I mean.

  K: She let you go with her just like that?

  M: Oh, we made some conversation. The usual stuff, you know. I don't remember the words. Actually, they seemed to bore her.

  K: Did you get close to one another in the taxi?

  M: We kissed.

  K: Did she object?

  M: Not at all. Anyway, I said we kissed.(Pause)

  K: Who paid the taxi driver?

  M: Roseanna. I didn't have time to stop her.

  K: And then?

  M: We went into the apartment. It was very nice. I remember that I was surprised. She had a lot of books.

  K: What did you do?

  M: Aw …

  K: Did you have intercourse?

  M: Yes.

  K: When?

  M: Almost immediately.

  K: Will you please give an account, as carefully as possible, of what happened.

  M: Say, what the hell are you doing? Is this some kind of private Kinsey Report?

  K: I'm sorry. I want to remind you of what I said at the beginning of our conversation. This can be important.(Pause)

  K: Are you having difficulty remembering?

  M: God, no.(Pause)

  M: It feels strange to sit here and talk about a person who hasn't done any harm and who is dead anyway.

  K: I understand your feelings. If I keep on insisting it's only because we need your help.

  M: Okay, ask.

  K: You came into the apartment together. What happened?

  M: She took off her shoes.

  K: And then?

  M: We kissed.

  K: And then?

  M: She went into the bedroom.

  K: And you?

  M: I followed her. Do you want the details?

  K: Yes.

  M: She undressed and lay down.

  K: On the bed?

  M: No, in the bed. Under the sheets and blankets.

  K: Was she totally undressed?

  M: Yes.

  K: Did she seem shy?

  M: Not at all.

  K: Did she turn out the lights?

  M: No.

  K: And you?

  M: What do you think?

  K: Did you have sexual intercourse then?

  M: What in hell do you think we did? Crack nuts? Yes, I'm sorry but…

  K: How long did you stay?

  M: I don't know exactly, until one or two. Then I went home.

  K: And this was the first time that you saw Miss McGraw?

  M: Yes, it was the first time.

  K: What did you think of her when you left there? And the next day?

  (Pause)

  M: I thought… first I thought that she was just an ordinary, cheap tramp although she had not given that impression at all in the beginning. Then I thought that she was a nymphomaniac. One idea was crazier than the other. Now, here, especially since she is dead, it seems absurd that I ever could have thought either of those things.

  (Pause)

  K: Listen to me, my friend. I assure you that it is just as painful for me to ask these questions as it is for you to answer them. I would never have done this if there hadn't been a purpose. The worst part of it is that we are not through yet. Not by a long shot.

  M: I'm sorry that I got upset just now. It's just that I'm not accustomed to the situation and the surroundings. It seems so crazy to sit here and say things about Roseanna, things I have never said to anyone, with detectives running around outside the room and while the tape recorder turns and turns and the sergeant just sits over there and stares. Unfortunately, I'm not exactly a cynic, particularly when it has to do with …

  K: Jack, close the Venetian blinds over there. Then wait outside.

  (Pause)

  ROMNEY: Goodbye.

  M: I'm sorry.

  K: You have nothing to be sorry about. What actually happened between you and Miss McGraw? After your first meeting?

  M: I telephoned her two days later. She didn't want to see me then, she said so quite directly. But she said to call again if I wanted to. The next time I called her — it must have been about a week later — she invited me up.

  K: And you …

  M: Yes, we slept together. Then it continued like that. Sometimes once a week, sometimes twice. We always met at her apartment. Often on Saturdays, then we were together on Sundays if we were both free.

  K: How long did this go on?

  M: For eight months.

  K: Why did it break up?

  M: I fell in love with her.

  K: I am afraid that I don't really understand.

  M: Actually it's quite simple. To tell the truth I had been in love with her for a long time. I really loved her. But we never talked about love, so I said nothing.