Chapter Text
Stairs are good exercise. It’s good to have a change from sitting behind the desk. Stairs are good exercise. As much as Anneliese tried to convince herself by repeating this little mantra, the truth was she was climbing these stairs for the umpteenth time that day and she had enough. She stopped for a moment to give her lungs a break, thinking that maybe it wouldn’t hurt if she slowed down. But then again, the whole Police station was mayhem. There was a mass murderer running free in Vienna, leaving corpses behind every other day with no lead to track him down. The phones wouldn’t stop ringing, media coverage was far from helpful and everyone had his hands full. She hoped they would catch him soon, there were too many victims already. Yes, time to go. Back to picking up the phones, ugh. She wanted to move on to her office (which was on the top floor, because of course it had to be there), when she noticed a dog approaching her.
“Oh, hi, darling, what are you doing here?” It was not just any dog, Rex was part of the homicide unit at Kriminalpolizei of Vienna for quite some time already. He, being a good boy, helped to solve cases assigned to Moser and his team. That’s why she would expect him at Moser’s office and not here on the corridor. Especially since he was carrying a bag with ham rolls, the favourite snack of the always-hungry team. Rex put it down to her feet and sat down.
“Is that for me? Are you sure?” The dog barked at her, which she supposed was an affirmative. Weird. Why would they not want them? For as long as she knew the boys, they never refused a ham roll before. And Rex seemed somehow sad, too. “Let’s go, we’ll check them up and then I’ll take you to the park, what do you say,“ she petted Rex. The phone calls will have to wait. It’s not like there was anything new to say anyway. Plus, there was also her older colleague who was trying to send her on a lunch break for an hour now and she still didn’t take it.
“Hello, everyone,“ she greeted her favourite colleagues the moment she opened their door, happy to have an excuse to see them that day. She liked to visit them in her free moments, their mutual banter always made her laugh. Sadly, there weren’t many reasons to smile lately. The atmosphere in the whole building was heavy, almost suffocating.
The policemen acknowledged her only vaguely, deep in thoughts. There was also a woman who she unintentionally interrupted, when she stepped into the office. She didn’t know her so she asked, “Guest?”
Inspector Moser looked up from the papers he was holding in his hands and introduced the women shortly, “This is Master Neuhold from the psychologist's office, and this is Liese.“
“You forgot PhD there somewhere,“ Liese muttered and forced herself into a smile, not liking one bit the arrogant way this woman sized her up. She now remembered the boss mentioned agreeing to hire external help with this disturbing case. That must be her, then.
“Like I said. The killer doesn't take many risks. He behaves normally, but is suffering from a strong conflict or delusion. He may have been treated by a psychiatrist before.”
Liese raised her eyebrows. The way this woman just refused to acknowledge her presence was ridiculous. She watched her for a while, listening to what she had to say about the murderer’s modus operandi. She guessed Master Neuhold was few years older than her. Her clothes gave off an expensive vibe and she was also surprisingly sure of herself, judging by her body language. She also noticed the way she fawned over the boys, especially Moser. She couldn't say she was happy about that. Distraction was the last thing he needed now. If anybody could crack this case, it was him. Before she had any more chance to ponder about the situation, Rex reminded her of her promise by soft tugging on her sweater.
“Yes, darling, we’re going,“ she dropped the bag with ham rolls on Höllerer’s table after she took one out (she decided she deserved it) and left without bothering to say bye to anyone. She didn’t have an impression they would notice her leaving with Rex anyway. Moser, Böck and Höllerer, all three of them were almost literally hanging on the lips of that all important Master. She snorted. Master. Who does she think she is.
If you've got a girlfriend, I'm jealous of her
But if you're single that's honestly worse