Bad Wolf by Nele Neuhaus

Author:Nele Neuhaus [Neuhaus, Nele]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Thriller, Mystery, Contemporary
ISBN: 9781250043993
Amazon: 1250043999
Barnesnoble: 1250043999
Goodreads: 17910156
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Published: 2012-10-01T05:00:00+00:00

Monday, June 28, 2010

It was already almost nine o’clock, and Corinna had scheduled a meeting in the administration building for nine. Emma dreaded the upcoming celebration on Friday. It was the last time she would have to see Florian, so she would put on a good front and not ruin her father-in-law’s birthday party.

She took the shortcut across the lawn, which was still damp from the rain last night. The doctor at the hospital had assured her that Louisa was doing fine. The caseworker at the child-protection agency had left a message asking for a return call from Emma, who was firmly determined to see that Florian was officially prevented from any contact with Louisa.

The conversation with the therapist had done nothing to allay Emma’s concern; instead, it had reinforced her worst fears. She’d told the woman about the hospital doctor’s suspicion and about Louisa’s altered behavior in the past few weeks, which Florian had called a normal developmental phase for a five-year-old. The therapist had been cautious with her assessment. There might actually be a completely different explanation for why Louisa had cut up her favorite plush animal, alternated between tantrums and exhausted lethargy, and displayed unusual aggression toward Emma. In any event, it was very important to keep a vigilant eye on her behavior. Sexual abuse by fathers, uncles, grandfathers, or close friends of the family was, unfortunately, much more widespread than commonly believed.

“Little children understand instinctively that what is being done to them isn’t right. But when the abuse comes from someone they trust, they don’t try to defend themselves,” the therapist had told Emma. “On the contrary: the perpetrator usually succeeds in making the child complicit. ‘This is our secret, and you can’t tell Mama or your brothers and sisters that I love you so much, or else they’ll be sad or jealous.’ Something along those lines.”

When Emma asked how she ought to react in the future, and what she could do in the next few weeks, after the new baby was born, the therapist could offer no particularly constructive advice. Her only suggestion was that Emma stay with someone she trusted.

Great. Emma trusted Corinna and also her in-laws, but how could she prevent them from allowing Florian to see Louisa? Her only recourse was to tell them about her suspicions. Emma couldn’t imagine what sort of reaction his family would have if she accused Florian of molesting his own daughter. They’d probably think she was hysterical or just plain vindictive.

Deep in thought, she walked past the rhododendron bushes, which over the past decade had turned into a veritable jungle.

“Hello,” somebody said, and Emma jumped. On a wrought-iron bench sat an elderly woman in a white smock, smoking a cigarette. She wore a hairnet over her white hair, and her bare feet were stuck into a pair of plastic sandals.

“Hello,” Emma replied politely. Only now did she recognize Helga Grasser, whom she knew only by sight. She was the mother of the Finkbeiners’ factotum Helmut Grasser.

“So,” said the old woman, stepping on her cigarette to grind it out.

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