The Inspector and Silence by Håkan Nesser Page B

your tasks here at the camp?
UF:
We share all the work. Cooking, washing up, laundry and cleaning. We assist Yellinek, of course.
VV:
Do you partake in the teaching of the girls?
UF:
Yes, at times.
VV:
In what way?
UF:
I’ve no intention of talking to you about that kind of thing.
VV:
Why not?
 
[Five seconds of silence.]
VV:
Has Yellinek forbidden it?
 
[Silence.]
VV:
How long have you been a member of this sect?
UF:
I’ve been in the Pure Life since 1987.
VV:
Are you in a sexual relationship with Yellinek?
 
[Silence.]
VV:
If you continue refusing to answer my questions, I’ll take you away from here and subject you to an entirely different kind of cross-examination.
UF:
That’s up to you, Chief Inspector.
VV:
Is it true that you dabble in driving out devils?
UF:
Those are your words, not mine.
VV:
What the hell do you mean by that?
UF:
I’d be grateful if you didn’t swear in my presence.
VV:
Yellinek was found guilty of indecency and illegal compulsion six years ago. What do you have to say about that?
UF:
It was an unjust verdict. There is a higher authority.
VV:
Can you explain this principle of purity?
UF:
I don’t think you would be receptive to my teaching.
VV:
But your little girls are receptive?
 
[Silence.]
VV:
Is it not the case that Yellinek’s ideas are so infantile that they are most suited to children and the mentally retarded?
UF:
You are insolent. I had expected more correct behaviour.
VV:
Now listen here. Your church is based upon three principles. Prayer, self-denial and purity. I ask you to explain one of these principles, and you choose to remain silent. What the hell do you expect me to think?
UF:
You can think whatever you like. It’s up to every individual to decide how to deal with the big questions, and what to make of their lives.
    The chief inspector reached out his hand and switched off the tape recorder.
    Why do I lose control so quickly? he wondered.
    Is it just the heat and the feeling of impotence, or is there more to it? He pressed fast forward; the rest of the conversation with Ulriche Fischer had proceeded with neither of them trusting the other, he was well aware of that, and nothing had emerged that could support the theory that a girl had disappeared.
    It took him some time to find the right place on the tape. Before continuing he finished his simple meal and lit a cigarette. Adjusted the pillows and leaned back in order to concentrate better on the conversation with Mathilde Ubrecht. It was a bit more fruitful, he suspected. But perhaps not so much.
    It depended what you were looking for, of course.
MU:
My name is Mathilde Ubrecht. Thirty-six. I work for the Pure Life church.
VV:
Thank you. Do you know why I want to talk to you?
MU:
I think so.
VV:
The police have been tipped off that a girl has disappeared from the camp. Do you understand that we have to investigate that information?
MU:
Yes. But nobody has disappeared.
VV:
You’re sure of that?
MU:
Yes.
VV:
May I ask you a hypothetical question?
MU:
Please do.
VV:
If it was in the interests of your church, would you feel able to tell lies in a police cross-examination or in a court?
MU:
I don’t understand the question.
VV:
All right, I’ll re-word it. If Oscar Yellinek urged you to say certain things to me, would you do so even if you knew they were lies?
MU:
I don’t believe that Yellinek would do such a thing.
VV:
What do you think of Oscar Yellinek?
MU:
He’s a great man.
VV:
What do you mean by that?
MU:
He is in contact with Eternal Life and the One True God. It is a blessing to be in his vicinity.
VV:
Do your fellow sisters think the same way?
MU:
Of course.
VV:
I see. And your confirmation candidates?
MU:
I’m sure they do. You notice it as soon as you come into close contact with him.
VV:
Really? Can you give me an idea of the form the teaching takes?
MU:
Yellinek talks to the girls. We pray together. We try to cast out evil thoughts and purify ourselves.
VV:
How?
MU:
In various ways. By means of certain