Part 27 (2/2)

Why didnt I put the wallet in my handbag? I was just about to. Now its there, right under Camillas nose.

When Anne-Lise no longer hears voices in the corridor, she sneaks out of the bathroom and slips away. After turning a few corners and pa.s.sing through two sets of fire doors, she reaches the top of a staircase that leads down to the bas.e.m.e.nt.

Below, the hallways seem even more confusing. She has no idea where she is in the maze. The lighting is uniform and everywhere looks the same. She searches her memory for markers: a fire hose wound up in a drum, anything, but theres not the smallest piece of graffiti, not a single discarded mailbag. Nothing at all to go by.

After turning several corners, she spots a darkish trail on the light floor. It looks like a skid mark. She cant recall having seen it before. Next, she comes across one of the metal staircases. She runs up it and finds a large door.

If she pushes it, will the alarm go off?

Somewhere down here they keep money and valuables worth millions; security guards must patrol these corridors around the clock. What if shes arrested and dragged away in front of the choir, including Camilla?

She stands still and listens. The door looks heavy. Presumably sounds wouldnt penetrate it easily? She listens but cant hear a thing. No barking of guard dogs. No voices.

She reaches for the handle and pushes it down.

No alarm, but the door is locked. She feels like hitting something, anything, but orders herself to calm down.

Walking noiselessly, she retraces her way along the corridor. Is it the same one? Impossible to be sure.

If only she could make her way to the reception area. Then she could spy on the choir through the gla.s.s wall and see when Camilla leaves. And once shes gone, Anne-Lise could run back through the corridors, praying that she wont meet Camilla on the way, and retrieve her coat before anyone starts going through its pockets and discovers shes not Brigitte. Anne-Lise knows that she will have to be improbably lucky to succeed. Still, what other option does she have? She could try finding the route the postal vans take into the complex there must be vehicle access somewhere but that wouldnt solve the problem of her wallet.

She comes to another metal staircase and the door at the top is not locked. It leads to a small anteroom with three doors two of them locked, the third with a large triangular sign saying ALARM pinned above it. She doesnt dare try it and returns to the bas.e.m.e.nt.

How long has she been down here? Twenty-five minutes, according to her watch, but that doesnt feel right. It must be longer.

She hears breathing somewhere nearby. Panting. Possibly the sound made by one no, two dogs, excited at picking up a scent and pulling impatiently on their leads.

Anne-Lise stops and takes off her shoes. Then, after turning a corner, she spots a half-used roll of paper towels on the floor. She recognizes it. It tells her that she is not far from the staircase leading up to the entrance door.

She hurries again now, trying all the doors to find one that isnt locked. All the time she hears the panting noises coming from somewhere behind her. At last, one of the doors opens. Behind it is a cupboard full of boxes, bottles, and cleaning equipment. Its dark but she wouldnt dare put the light on even if she could find the switch.

A little later she hears two men walk past. She holds her breath and sits perfectly still on the floor, hugging a vacuum cleaner. The men are speaking an unrecognizable foreign language. Could it be Serbian? Bizarre conspiracy theories flash through her head. It occurs to her, when their voices have died away, that one of them could easily have been Pauls, but that doesnt make sense. Everything is so unfamiliar, almost otherworldly down here in the darkness.

She picks up the strong smell of ammonium chloride.

Then she hears a voice outside calling. Brigitte! Brigitte! Its the woman with the navy scarf. Maybe she got lost on the way back from the restroom?

Another voice replies: You know as well as I do that its Vibekes fault. I dont know why she has to be like that. Remember when we were with that Swedish choir in Malmo and she Their voices gradually fade away.

Anne-Lise persuades herself that the panting is probably not dogs but a defective pump somewhere in the ventilation system. She listens for people talking. Not a sound.

After stealing back out into the corridor, Anne-Lise follows it for a few more turns. Another metal staircase and, at the top of it, a small anteroom. She pulls at one of the door handles, but this one has an alarm and a siren goes off. The sound is like the piercing noise of a giant dog whistle.

Anne-Lise looks around her. She is in the reception area. The choir is staring at her from behind the gla.s.s wall.

This is the end.

How can she tell Henrik that she has been fired? Now h.e.l.l have to put up with her languis.h.i.+ng at home for years: another drunken, useless Jutta. And the children will suffer as their mother slowly falls apart.

Pernille opens the door leading into the rehearsal room. It doesnt matter, now that the alarm has been set off.

Oh, good. There you are!

Anne-Lise cant answer. She tries to muster the courage to stand in front of them, exposed as a liar.

Someone calls out. Hey, Camilla! Your old cla.s.smate has found her way back!

Tess has joined Pernille. Weve been quite worried about you, Brigitte.

Anne-Lise scans the room for Camilla. She cant see her anywhere.

Another voice from the back of the group.

Camilla?

Others join in.

Goodness, where did she go? We keep losing people today.

Camilla? Camilla, where are you?

Look, her bag is gone! It was here a moment ago.

Anne-Lise quietly collects her coat and umbrella. She smiles vaguely at no one in particular.

She hears someone mention how Camilla reacted when she heard about Brigitte. Even after all these years, Camilla was so upset that she sneaked away without anyone noticing.

Anne-Lise excuses herself. Id better leave too.

The women look sympathetically at her.

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF EVIL I.

Interest in the psychology of perpetrators is growing rapidly. Past research in this area is summarized in this and the next issue of Genocide News.

BY IBEN HJGAARD.

In the Old Testament whole populations are described as being wiped off the face of the earth on twenty-seven separate occasions. The phenomenon of genocide is integral to not only Western but also non-Western cultures.

For thousands of years genocides have been known to take place in just about every location on earth, and we know that during recent centuries the number of killings has been increasing steadily. In the course of the twentieth century, more than 100 million people have died in genocides and wars. This is more than five times the number killed in this way during the nineteenth century, and more than ten times the corresponding number in the eighteenth century. At present there are no signs to suggest that the rate will level off without active intervention.

Genocide is always committed by the group holding power at the time. The first time psychologists were able to do research into the mechanisms driving those who plan and carry out ma.s.s murder came after the defeat of the n.a.z.is at the end of the Second World War.

THE NUREMBERG MILITARY TRIBUNAL.

After the defeat of the n.a.z.i regime in Germany, an Allied military tribunal was set up in Nuremberg to examine the legal cases brought against twenty-two high-ranking n.a.z.is accused of crimes against humanity.

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