The Exception: A Novel Part 13

Fine. Anne-Lise asks no questions.

Malene pushes the trolley along to the large meeting room. The board meets there every other month, but it too has gradually filled up with bookshelves and, despite its name, the room is mainly used by visitors who want to read in peace.

Frederik stops by Ibens and Malenes desks for a chat before going off with Malene to start on the boxes.

After lunch Paul turns up. He checks his mail in his office and then drifts back into the Winter Garden. They see at once his phony nonchalance and know it means trouble.

Look, Malene, weve got something to discuss, you and I. Why dont you drop in as soon as it suits you?

Malene gets up. Now, if you like.

Camilla is at her desk. Malene makes sure to close Pauls door.

Have a seat, Malene. One of Pauls hands moves toward his chin. Look, we made a deal yesterday.

Yes, we did.

Its now Anne-Lises responsibility to work directly with users on anything to do with the library.

Thats right.

Paul always speaks carefully when he has to step into his managerial role. Have you decided not to keep your promise?

Not at all. Only, Frederik and I have been working together a lot. I just wanted to help him.

Only Frederik. Then you have referred everyone else to Anne-Lise?

Not yet. We only agreed on this yesterday, but I will do it.

Paul says nothing, just looks at her.

Malene studies the backs of the photo frames on Pauls desk. They cast pale, angular shadows across the piles of paper. Then she looks up. You must have spoken with Anne-Lise?

No. I asked Frederik how the new system was working.

Malene thinks this sounds unlikely.

Then, in a different tone of voice, Paul says, What you achieved by contacting the Austrian foundations was really impressive.

Thanks. The emba.s.sy made a lot of good suggestions.

Then, without warning, Paul suddenly changes the subject again. I was under the impression that the door to the library was meant to be kept open. Right?

It will be, but we cant open it until Camillas desk has been moved. And that cant be done until Bjarne fixes the network links and all the plugs.

Paul inhales, a brisk little reverse puff.

Malene speaks quickly. Im not the one dealing with it.

I didnt think so, Malene. But have you told Camilla that the sockets and the rest of it must be done as soon as possible?

Actually, yes, I have. I didnt quite put it like that, but I did tell her. And I reminded her it should be soon. She says that its cheaper if we let Bjarne pick a day when hes not too busy. Presumably hes had a lot to do this week.

Paul starts sifting through some papers. Okay. Ill speak to Camilla about this.

After the meeting in Pauls office, Malene goes to the kitchen to make fresh coffee. Iben turns up, but so does Frederik: he wants to get hold of more court doc.u.ments from Poland.

The DCIG archive holds one of the worlds largest collections of doc.u.ments relating to the ethnic cleansing of Germans from the Polish regions. It is the result of Pauls sometimes rather unconventional methods of developing the Centers a.s.sets. Some two years ago he persuaded an academic friend of his to offer a years research fellowship to a Polish sociologist whom Paul had promised to help. In return, the sociologist was charged with driving around the Polish provinces and photocopying all the relevant papers he could obtain, mostly from town halls, courts, and churches.

Malene has met the Pole, a thin, opinionated man whose views put him well to the right of any Danish sociologist she has ever come across. He must have been photocopying for a year nonstop or made somebody else do it. His collection of material, never before archived in the same place, arrived inside 278 cardboard boxes, filling three containers. Some of the doc.u.ments looked remarkably like originals.

The Pole obtained a temporary work permit through inscrutable channels, and before it expired he found himself a Danish wife and went to live with her in Odense.

When Frederik announces that he needs additional doc.u.mentation, Iben and Malene exchange a quick glance.

Iben nods toward Malene, inviting her to tell him what has been decided. Malene explains quietly and precisely very properly that, from now on, all requests for books and doc.u.ments must be presented to Anne-Lise.

Frederik clearly finds the new order strange and says something to that effect.

Malene looks from him to Iben and back again before she speaks up, not minding if her tone is sarcastic. Well, thats what teamwork is all about: adjusting to what the other person needs or wants. She raises her mug in a kind of toast. The movement is so energetic that some of the coffee slops over. So, thats how its going to be.

Frederik leans against the kitchen counter and gives her a quizzical look. It sounds oddly formal to me.

Malene wipes the dribbles off the mug with her finger. We arent that formal, are we, Iben?

Guess not.

Malene touches Frederiks arm to steer him toward the door. Frederik, you go back to your reading. Ill go and tell Anne-Lise what you want and then sh.e.l.l bring it to you.

Thanks.

Not at all. From now on youll be working together with Anne-Lise. Just as we all try to do.

Later that afternoon Malene and Frederik get together in the meeting room to discuss the English version of the invitation to the conference. They sit side by side at the large table, scribbling changes on Malenes printout. Malenes green marker pen dominates the top of the sheet, while Frederiks additions in blue ballpoint snake around the lines in the last paragraph.

Anne-Lise knocks and enters the room. h.e.l.lo there. Am I disturbing you?

Not at all.

Oh, good.

Anne-Lise pauses briefly and looks at Frederik. Frederik, we have the doc.u.ments you want from the courts in Gryfice, Lobez, and Nowograd, but not from Koszalin.

Anne-Lise walks toward the table. She looks self-a.s.sured enough, but somehow her usually earnest expression seems about to disintegrate.

Places down there have several names, of course, so when I recorded the items in our Polish collection I took special care to enter automatic links into the database. The cross-referencing should ensure that everything is easy to locate, regardless of whether you search the German or the Polish name. Even so, I did take the precaution of starting a new search using the German name for Koszalin, which is Koslin, with a German o, and there are no doc.u.ments under that name either.

Anne-Lise must have prepared this little talk for her first customer since Pauls directive. Malene notices that her eyeliner has been freshened up, probably just before she came in.

With an obvious effort, she turns to Malene. So, I went on to phone a string of offices in Koszalin. I was told that all the papers in the town had been taken to the German Bundesarchivs Ostdok division in Bayreuth. I phoned Bayreuth and got them to give me the details of where the Koszalin doc.u.ments are stored. Look, Ive written down the phone number and I have an e-mail address for you as well.

Malenes arms are stretched across the tabletop. One elbow obscures some of the text that she and Frederik have been working on.

She hesitates, then glances at Frederik. I couldve sworn the doc.u.ments were here. How strange.

Anne-Lise sounds more certain now. But theyre not. Ive checked everything carefully. Im quite sure.

Right, of course. If you say so.

Anne-Lise puts a sheet of paper on the table. On it shes written a few names, a phone number, and an e-mail address.

Sh.e.l.l get your doc.u.ments. I just wanted to keep you informed. Ill phone these people myself.

Frederik has also placed an elbow on the conference printout. He looks up at Anne-Lise and sounds a little confused.

Did you say all the papers in the town a moment ago? You do know, dont you, that I wasnt looking for papers from the town of Koszalin?

Anne-Lise blinks. What do you mean?

Koszalin is the name of a province as well as a town. Its the doc.u.ments from the small county courts in the province that I need.

In the province ?

Malene picks up the piece of paper with the address written on it. Oh, Frederik, look! Its Ilonas address!

Frederik casts an eye on the paper. Is it? I cant remember.

Yes, of course it is!

Before Frederik has time to reply, Anne-Lise speaks up: Malene! Didnt you tell me to look for the Koszalin court?

No, I didnt. Malene looks at her blandly. I never said that. I know very well that we havent a single doc.u.ment from a town of that size. What I said was the doc.u.ments from Koszalin and from the courts in Grufice, Lobez, and Nowograd.

One of Anne-Lises heels taps audibly against the linoleum-covered floor.

Maybe you said I did say the doc.u.ments from Koszalin.

Anne-Lise purses her mouth. Her lips tighten. She seems on the verge of saying something aggressive, but apparently thinks better of it.

The room is filled for a moment by the dull rumble of a bus pa.s.sing in the street.

Malene breaks the silence. Im one hundred percent sure of what I said, you know.

Anne-Lise doesnt answer.

Malene tries a smile. Anne-Lise, I can understand perfectly well how irritating it must be to have picked up the wrong end of the stick. Maybe I shouldve expressed myself more clearly, but it seemed much more complicated to say it all. We have doc.u.ments from five courts in the province of Koszalin. Their names are Bielograd, Darlowo, Swidwin, Zlocieniek, and Kolobrzeg.

In the street outside another large diesel engine follows the bus.

Then Malene continues: But youre the one whos spent weeks and weeks typing all the information into the database. It simply didnt occur to me that you wouldnt know. Malene breaks off at that point.

Frederik tries to be just as sympathetic. Dont worry about it. It doesnt matter.

Anne-Lise is no longer looking at either of them. She straightens up and appears determined.

Ill find what you want at once. Now that I know exactly what to look for, itll take no time at all.

Malene clutches one of her hands in the other. Great. Youll manage just fine.

chapter 15.

on Wednesday evening one of Rasmuss old friends turns up to talk. Malene fidgets about elsewhere, in the bedroom, the kitchen, the hallway.

She cant help thinking about the office. I did say the doc.u.ments from Koszalin, she tells herself bad-temperedly. Then, suddenly, the evening is over. By the time Rasmuss friend leaves, she has already taken a tablet for her headache.

Both Malene and Rasmus are tired. They sit leaning against the sofa cushions, one in each corner, with their feet in each others lap. Malene does her finger exercises.

She asks Rasmus what Jonas wanted. It seems Jonas has problems at work.

The sound of the clock radio. Toes on the tiled bathroom floor. Toothpaste. Wafts of damp air from the shower. The smell of Rasmuss deodorant. Cotton wool. Low-fat yogurt. Coffee.

When Malene turns up at the Center on Thursday morning, the others are all in the Winter Garden, standing around Camillas chair. Malene glances quickly at Camilla and sees that she must have been crying.

Even before Malene puts her bag down, Paul explains: Camilla has received one of the e-mails too.

He hands Malene a printout.

ANYBODY WHO HOSTS OR GIVES HELP TO OUR ENEMIES IS OUR ENEMY. YOU, CAMILLA BATZ, WILL DISCOVER THAT COLLABORATORS WHO THINK THEMSELVES INNOCENT OFTEN DIE TOO.

The e-mail was sent yesterday evening, at 9:57 p.m. The sender, as before, is

Malene is outraged. She looks up from the printout and stares at Anne-Lise, who avoids her eyes.

Anne-Lise is leaning against Camillas filing cabinet and resting one of her hands on top of it, next to the postage machine. She doesnt seem as tense as you would expect. How accomplished a liar is she? A good one, to be sure. Just think of how she managed to hide the fact that she hates her colleagues for months. Besides, she might have blanked out writing the e-mails, like the cases of split personality Grith told them about. Maybe shes dimly aware of having done it, as if it were a dream. Malene cannot bear even to look at Anne-Lise, and turns her back to engage with what the rest of the group is saying.

Camilla points at the bottle of whiskey in front of her. Ive had two shots already.

The bottle was a gift to Paul after a lecture. He has brought it over, together with a few small tumblers. Camilla gives a nervous laugh. Its impossible to tell what she is feeling.

Malene wants to tell Camilla how very fond of her she is, but cannot think of a way to put it. Have you called Finn?