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mar s private life?
 No, there was no . . .
 Thank you. Do you know anything about the relationship
between Ringmar and Mitter?
 No.
 If there were any other men in Eva Ringmar s life, then,
there is no reason, no reason at all, why you should know any-
thing about it?
 Er, no.
 Thank you. No more questions.
 Full name and occupation?
 Beate Kristine Lingen. I work as a beautician at the Insti-
tut Mètre in Krowitz, but I live here in Maardam.
 What was your relationship with the deceased, Eva Ring-
mar?
9 7
 I suppose you could say I was a friend of hers, although
we didn t meet very often.
 How did you get to know Eva Ringmar?
 We were in the same class at high school. In Mühlboden.
We graduated at the same time. Saw a bit of each other after-
ward as well.
 And then?
 Then we lost contact. We moved to different towns, got
married, and so forth.
 Are you married now?
 No, I ve been divorced for five years.
 I see. When did you catch up with Eva Ringmar again?
 Just after she moved here. That was two years ago, more
or less. We bumped into each other in the street, and arranged
to meet we hadn t seen each other for over fifteen years.
Well, we met occasionally after that, but not all that much.
 How often?
 Well, I suppose we saw each other about once a month,
perhaps. No, maybe not as often as that. Probably about ten or
twelve times in all over the last two years.
 What did you do?
 When we met? Er, it varied. Sometimes we just sat
together at her place or mine, sometimes we went out, to the
movies or to a restaurant.
 Did you go dancing?
 No, never.
 Were you, shall we say, on intimate terms?
 Yes, I suppose you could say that. Maybe not completely,
though.
 Do you know if Eva Ringmar had any other women
friends, or even one other woman friend, with whom she was
on intimate terms?
 No, I m quite sure she didn t. She liked to be on her own.
m i n d  s e y e
 Why?
 I think it had to do with what she d been through. The
accident involving her son I suppose you know about that?
 Yes. You mean that she chose to live a rather solitary life?
 Maybe not solitary, but she didn t seem to need to be
together with other people. Er, she used to say something
along those lines, in so many words.
 What about her relations with men?
 I don t think she had any. Not before Mitter, that is.
 You think?
 I m pretty sure.
 She never mentioned anybody?
 No.
 But you did talk about men?
 Sometimes. There are more interesting topics, you know.
 Really? Anyway . . . during the time you used to meet,
those ten to twelve occasions, did you ever notice anything to
suggest that she was having a relationship with a man?
 No.
 Do you think you would have noticed, if that had been
the case?
 Yes. And she d have told me as well.
 Really?
 Yes. She told me about Mitter, after all.
 When was that?
 In May. Around the tenth, if I remember rightly. I rang her
to ask if she wanted to go to the movies, but she said she didn t
have time. She d met a man, she said.
 Did she say who it was?
 Yes, of course.
 Did you speak to her, or meet her again after that?
 Yes. She phoned in the middle of September. Said she d
got married, and wondered if we could meet.
9 9
 What did you decide?
 I was about to leave for Linz I was going on a course for
two weeks but I said I d be in touch when I got back.
 But it was too late by then?
 Yes.
 How did you think she sounded, when you spoke to her
in September?
 How she sounded?
 Yes, did you notice anything special? Did she seem happy,
or worried, or anything else?
 No. I didn t notice anything unusual.
 Were you surprised that she d got married?
 Yes, I suppose I was.
A brief pause. Ferrati leafed through his papers. The blue-
bottle woke up after having slept for four days. Buzzed around
the courtroom but found nothing of interest and retired once
more to the ceiling. The judge watched it for a while, as he
wiped the back of his neck with a colorful handkerchief.
 Miss Lingen, said Ferrati eventually,  during the two
years you associated with Eva Ringmar, did you ever have any
reason to suspect that she might be having a relationship with
a man other than Janek Mitter?
 No.
 Did she have any . . . enemies?
 Enemies? No, why on earth should she?
 Thank you, Miss Lingen. No more questions.
Rüger remained seated this time as well.
 Miss Lingen, does the name Eduard Caen mean anything
to you?
 No.
 Nothing?
m i n d  s e y e
 No, nothing at all.
 You re sure?
 Yes.
Rüger stood up. Took a folded sheet of paper from out of
his inside pocket and handed it to Havel.
 My Lord, may I present the court with this list of dates on
which Eva Ringmar met Eduard Caen from October 15, 1990,
to February 20, 1992. Fourteen meetings in all. The dates are in
chronological order and confirmed by Mr. Caen himself. I
have no further questions.
17
He woke up at twenty past five.
Stayed in bed for a while and tried to go back to sleep, but
that was impossible. Old images and memories of every possi- [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]