Free JF04 - The Carnival Master by Craig Russell Page B

psychotic misogyny or a sexually motivated resentment of women. Scholz clearly felt that this view explained the post-mortem disfigurement of the bodies: approximately half a kilo of flesh had been excised from the right buttock of both victims. Fabel could see the Cologne officer’s logic, but thought it premature. He suspected that there was more to this killer than met the eye.
    Fabel had lost track of time and realised he had been sitting going through the file for a couple of hours by the time Susanne came through, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.
    ‘I woke up and you were gone,’ she said, yawning. ‘What’s wrong? Another one of your bad dreams?’
    ‘No … no,’ he lied. ‘Just couldn’t sleep, that’s all.’
    Susanne saw the file open on the coffee table. The pictures spread out. Dead faces. Forensic reports. ‘Oh … I see. What’s this?’ There was more than a hint of suspicion in her voice.
    ‘I’ve been asked to look at a case in Cologne. Just to offer an opinion.’
    Susanne’s face clouded. ‘You cannot afford to get involved with another case, Jan. Roland Bartz has been more patient than anyone could reasonably expect. He’s not going to wait around for ever. But there again, maybe that’s what you’re hoping for.’
    ‘What are you talking about?’
    ‘You know damned well. You’ve dithered andfluttered about like some reluctant virgin. I don’t think you can go through with it. I think that’s what all this is about. You can’t commit to leaving the police.’
    ‘That’s crap, Susanne. I
have
committed to it. I’ve resigned. I even turned down an offer from van Heiden and the BKA today.’
    ‘What offer?’
    Fabel stared at Susanne for a moment. Her dark eyes burned in the soft light. He already regretted mentioning it.
    ‘It doesn’t matter.’
    ‘What offer?’
    ‘They want to create a new unit. A sort of Federal Murder Commission. A unit based here in Hamburg that could take on complex cases elsewhere in Germany. They asked me to set it up and head it.’
    Susanne laughed bitterly. ‘Great. Absolutely marvellous. I spend all my time worrying about your state of mind because of the crap you have to deal with here and you’re off discussing how to increase your workload by seeking out cases across Germany.’
    ‘I told you, I said no.’ Fabel had raised his voice. He took a breath and lowered it. ‘I said no.’
    ‘What’s the matter, Jan? Did you nearly lose your temper? Did you nearly lose control there?’
    ‘Susanne …’
    ‘Don’t you realise that that is your problem? You’re so buttoned up. You were never meant to be a policeman, don’t you see that? If it hadn’t been for the sainted Hanna Dorn being murdered it would never have occurred to you to become one. For the life of me I don’t know why you felt you owed it to her to throw away your future and choose a job that otherwise you would never haveconsidered. Everybody goes on about what a great detective you are. About all the cases you’ve cleared up. But it’s screwed you up. I hear it, Jan. Every other night. The dreams. The nightmares. Don’t you see that you’re as bad as Maria Klee? You witness all of that horror and the crap that people inflict on each other and you screw it down deep inside. And if you don’t stop, you’re going to crack up. Big time.’
    ‘You see the same things. You delve into their minds, for God’s sake.’
    ‘But don’t you see that’s different? I
chose
to be a criminal psychologist. I trained for it. Prepared for it. I took every step towards my career deliberately. I chose it because it was the direction in which my interests and skills took me. Not because I was diverted into it by some northern bloody Lutheran sense of crusade.’ Susanne paused. ‘The difference between you and me is that I can deal with it. I can keep it out of my private life.’
    ‘I don’t know why we’re having this fight …’ Fabel sat down again. His voice was tired.