Free Metro by Steen Langstrup Page A

kitchen and a sour-smelling bathroom. I can’t say why I haven’t found a better place to stay—or made Maja arrange something. It wouldn’t have been a problem. I guess I just didn’t feel the need. Because of my job, I tend to spend every other night in hotel rooms around the world.
    The kids. I ought to see more of them. Emil and Victoria. It’s not like I never get to see them; I took them to Tivoli this summer. I just don’t have much time to do stuff like that. I got my promotion right before the divorce, and I had worked so hard to get it, struggled for years, almost to the point where my eyes would bleed, made enemies along the way—and then Betina left me…
    VANLOSE 7 min.
    Didn’t it just say four?
    “You’re in all the papers, William.”
    “I am?” I shake my head. “How the hell did I end up in the papers?”
    There were newspapers on the plane, but I didn’t get around to reading them as I had work to do.
    “You are actually on the front page.”
    “What?”
    “Aren’t there some freebie papers at the Metro station?”
    “What’s this regarding? Maja, goddammit, talk to me!” Jogging for the newspaper stands, I scan the platform. No newspapers lying around. The stands are empty. “There are no papers here.”
    “It’s a case of mistaken identity. It’s one big mistake. You weren’t even in the country when it happened.” Now she is babbling along, I can’t keep up. Hearing soft steps in the deserted hallway behind me, I turn to see a very young woman pulling a pink suitcase. I spot the white cords of her iPod wriggling down her neck. “It’s really kinda silly, but you need to talk to the police tomorrow. You gotta call the police and tell them… No, maybe you should even call them tonight, William. I almost called them myself, but—”
    “Stop!” I say in a firm voice. “Maja, you are not making sense. I have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about. Get to the point and make it short. I am not in the mood for this.”
    “Okay.” I can hear her drinking something before she continues. “You are wanted for rape.”
    “What?”
    “There have been a number of violent rapes in Copenhagen the last few weeks. Yesterday, the police published a frame from the surveillance recordings in the Metro. The last rape occurred late Monday night not far from the DR-Byen Metro station. The victim recognized you on the recordings from the surveillance camera.”
    I hesitate a few seconds, looking into my own eyes in the reflection of the glass walls—then I laugh.
    “It’s not a joke, William. I don’t know how this happened, but your face is on the covers of all the newspapers. I’m watching you on the TV2-News as we speak, dammit!”
    “Maja, Maja.” I am still laughing. “Do I have some anniversary that I’ve forgotten? Are you guys sneaking up on me with cakes and balloons?”
    “No!” The shout quiets me. “No, this is for real. I’m not kidding.”
    “But…how can it be me on those recordings? Didn’t you just say I was in Miami this past Monday?”
    “I did. I have no idea what happened. Maybe there’s someone who looks just like you, a doppelganger, maybe they got the recordings mixed up. I don’t know. All I know is that this picture in the papers looks too much like you for comfort.”
    “Then why haven’t the police showed up here to arrest me?”
    The young woman passes me on her way to the standing bench. I can hear the rhythms from her iPod. Still, I lower my voice. I have this strange feeling inside. A turmoil I haven’t felt in years. Nerves? “Surely, you can’t be the only one who’s recognized me.”
    “They might be waiting for you at your home. I don’t know. I think, you should call the police right now, make them clear the error. You don’t need something like this tainting your name.”
    “You’re right, Maja. I’ll call them as soon as I get back home. Thank you. And now, get some sleep. I’ll see you at the office