Deadly Rescue by Kate Parker

Author:Kate Parker
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: JDP Press
Published: 2022-08-30T22:57:48+00:00

Chapter Seventeen

I decided Andersen could hold the key to the murder, since he seemed to be closer to the Jørgensens than the rest of the chemists. Leaving Michelle, I walked back to the music room. I found him sitting on a straight-backed wooden chair, doing nothing, his hands hanging by his sides, staring at the far wall. “Why did you do it?”

He glanced up at me. “Kill Braun? I didn’t. I might have wanted to, but I would never kill him. And he knew it. He was much braver than me.”

“It doesn’t take bravery to kill someone. It’s much more difficult to deal with someone as cruel as Braun without resorting to violence.”

He gave a snort. “No. It only takes fear.”

“What were you afraid of?”

He was silent for so long I thought he wouldn’t answer. Finally, he said, “I made a mistake in a calculation in a series of experiments. The mistake, which I didn’t catch, made the results look better than they were. In itself, the error makes no difference and the product was unimportant, but this was the paper that convinced Dr. Jørgensen to take me on. If he knew, he’d throw me out in disgrace.”

“You’re certain he doesn’t know?”

“He would tell me if he knew.”

“But Braun knew?”

“I don’t know how. Only three or four people ever read that paper. But he came to me and pointed out the error. I went back and checked, and he was correct.”

“So, you made a mistake. Why…?”

He turned around in the chair and faced me, his tone now strong and defiant. “I’ll tell you why. Because Braun promised to make a big deal out of how shoddy work was part of the institute’s legacy. How it would reflect badly on Jørgensen. How he’d have to throw me out to save his reputation.

“I begged him not to. He agreed, if I’d undertake certain tasks for him.”

“So not only were you doing your experiments, you were doing his two or three days a week while he saw his wife and his girlfriend and Katrine. That had to hurt.”

“It did. And then we received word of the invasion on Thursday. By Friday, I’d had it with Braun and his master race and his secrets and lies. And you and Mikkel came to help the Jørgensens escape. That’s when I told him I’d tell Katrine and Jørgensen about his wife.”

“You knew about our true purpose in coming here?” So much for that secret.

“Mrs. Jørgensen told me.”

Why had she done that? “And that’s when he threatened to kill you?”

He nodded, hanging his head.

“And the next day, he was dead.”

He raised his head and looked straight into my eyes. “But I didn’t kill him. I couldn’t. I haven’t the nerve. And you certainly don’t think I killed Greta. I had no reason to. Plus I’d never break into the Jørgensens’ home.”

I hoped it was the truth. “Where did you get the courage to tell him you’d had enough and would tell the Jørgensens?”

“I decided to leave. To give up my position here and flee to Sweden or England before Tuesday.

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