[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
Eva Ringmar. Appointed by us on September 1, 1987.
Taught French and English. Resigned at her own request on
May 31, 1990.
She closed the folder and returned it to its place.
What was your impression of her?
My impression? Good, of course. I interviewed her per-
sonally. There was nothing about her to object to. She lived up
to my expectations of her, and carried out her teaching and
other duties impeccably.
Other duties . . . What do you mean by that?
She had certain duties as a class teacher and house
matron. We are a boarding school, as you may have noticed.
We don t only look after the girls in the classroom, but we
take care of the whole of their upbringing. Fostering the
m i n d s e y e
whole person is one of our principles. Always has been from
the very beginning. That s what has created the good reputa-
tion we enjoy.
Really?
Do you know how many applications we receive at the
beginning of each academic year? Over two thousand. For
two hundred and forty places.
Van Veeteren lowered his shoulders and tried to curve his
back inward.
Did you know Miss Ringmar s background when you
appointed her?
Of course. She d had a hard time. We believe in people,
Chief Inspector.
And are you aware of what has happened, that both she
and her husband have been murdered?
We are not isolated in this school, don t think that. We
read the newspapers and keep abreast of what s happening in
the world. More so than many others, I would suggest.
Van Veeteren wondered if she was well up on the reading
habits of police officers, but had no desire to ask her to com-
ment on that. He took out a toothpick instead. Put it into his
mouth and made it move slowly from one side to the other.
Di Barboza slid her spectacles to the tip of her nose and
observed him critically.
Before long she ll be demanding to see my identity card
again, he thought. It s preposterous, the extent to which a bit
of a pain in the back restricts your abilities.
Well, what else do you want to know, Chief Inspector? I
don t have all day to spare either.
He stood up and walked over to the window. Stretched his
back and gazed out at the mist-filled grounds. Several other
buildings could be glimpsed through the trees, all of them in
the same dark red brick as the refectory, which was where
1 8 3
di Barboza held sway, and the head-high wall that surrounded
the whole establishment. In Anglo-Saxon style, this barrier
was topped by broken glass. It had made him smile as he drove
in through the gates smile and wonder if the symbolic bro-
ken glass was meant to deter outsiders from breaking in, or
inmates from breaking out.
He certainly did have prejudices against this place. He was
full to the brim with prejudices, and he was slightly irritated to
find that they had not been reinforced by what he had seen
and heard that morning, despite di Barboza s willingness to
show him around. He had taken lunch in the large dining
room in the company of a hundred or so women of various
ages, mainly young women, of course; but nowhere had he
been able to discern the oppressed sexuality or sexual frustra-
tion or whatever it was that he thought he would sense. Per-
haps it was just a matter of the good old fear of women, the
realization that despite everything, it was the opposite sex that
had the best prospects of coming to grips with life.
At least, that is how his wife would have diagnosed the situ-
ation; he didn t doubt that for one second.
If I d been born a woman, he thought, I m damned if I
wouldn t have turned out more or less like di Barboza!
Well? said di Barboza.
Well what?
What else do you want to know? I m starting to run out of
time, Chief Inspector.
Two things, he said. First of all, do you know if Miss
Ringmar had a relationship with a man while she worked
here. . . . She lived in, I believe, is that the case?
She had a room in the Curie Annex, yes. No, I don t know
if she had a relationship. Was that one question or two, Chief
Inspector?
He ignored the correction.
m i n d s e y e
Can you give me the name of a colleague, somebody who
was friendly with her, who might be able to answer some
more detailed questions?
The headmistress slid back her spectacles and thought that
one over.
Kempf, she said. Miss Kempf has the room next to the
one Miss Ringmar used to live in. I believe they were good
friends as well. In any case, I saw them together occasionally.
You don t mix with the other teachers yourself, Miss
di Barboza?
No, I try to keep a certain distance. We respect one
another, but we cannot ignore the fact that we have different
responsibilities. Our statutes define the role of the headmistress
as the person in overall charge of the school, and the responsi-
bilities that entails. It s not up to me to question those statutes.
She checked the watch that was hanging on a chain around
her neck. Van Veeteren remembered something Reinhart had
said not so long ago: I normally steer well clear of women
who wear a watch around their neck.
Van Veeteren wondered what it meant. Perhaps it con-
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]