Conspiracies

6. Live to tell.

I put the envelope on the desk. I leaned back in the big chair, and my gaze was fixed on the ceiling. Doubt and dismay seized my mind. The first thing I started to think about was who it could have been. My list of suspects was reduced to two people: Brita and Jannik, although I opted more for the second. I picked up the magazine and looked at it again. The only thing I was paying attention to was the image on the cover. Lasse's sister sleeping with Congressman Larsen. I threw it on the desk and picked up the note. "I warned you." Nothing more. Straightforward. I put it all in the envelope and left the office to show it to Lasse. 

The house was in almost total darkness. The only thing that brought a little light came from upstairs. Lasse had the bedside lamp on. I climbed the stairs, guided by the attractive light. When I got to the room, I saw that Lasse was on the phone. His gaze quickly found the envelope that I held in my hands. 

"I'll call you now." He hung up. 

"What's that?"

"If you don't know ..." I snapped. I lay down next to him on the bed and gave him the envelope. He took it strangely and opened it. The surprise was reflected on his face. He swallowed hard and looked back at the cover of the magazine and the note.

"Where was it?" His voice had a hint of nervousness.

"On your desk."He fell silent, staring at the photo. He did not blink. He put everything back in the envelope with extreme delicacy. "I know how to fix this." 

"What the hell was this doing in your office, to begin with?"

"I will take care of it."He picked up the phone and left the room. 

I was quiet for a few moments, thoughtful, staring at the wall. I was tremendously exhausted. I gave up and turned off the light, falling asleep as soon as I laid my head on the soft pillow.

The endless noise of the alarm roused me from my sleep. I turned it off as fast as I could. I snorted and changed sides. I reached out, trying to find Lasse, but he wasn't there. I opened one eye and did not see him. I got out of bed and went down to the kitchen. He was already gone. I went to his office to see if the envelope was there, but it wasn't. I searched the rest of the house for it to no avail.

I had breakfast quickly and in silence. I showered and got ready in just twenty minutes and stormed out of the house. I was going to stop by the newsstand and buy all the magazines Lasse's sister was in if they hadn't already been sold. Two streets down were the nearest kiosk. I parked and started running towards it.

Today was a simple cloudy day with no air. Although there were remains of snow, the city council had already taken care of removing most of it. My heels made a loud clicking noise as I ran toward the corner with my purse in hand. When I arrived, I saw a copy of the magazine. But with a different cover. Lasse's sister and the congressman were no longer on it. Now the cover was occupied by a popular celebrity couple who had just broken up. I looked at the other newspapers and magazines, but nothing about Lasse's sister was in them. I went to two more kiosks, and there was nothing either. I felt a great interior relief, but at the same time, I was quite confused and surprised. Where did that copy come from? I thought.

I drove to work while my head began to create all kinds of hypotheses. No matter how many questions I asked myself, I couldn't find any answers. As soon as I got to the office, the first thing I was going to do was talk to Jannik and Bergitte. Five minutes before arriving, I got caught in a traffic jam and what at first was a few moments turned into twenty minutes, and I almost didn't make it.

The newsroom got underway with the usual movement of papers and phone calls. I got to my office, unpacked my stuff, and went straight to Jannik's office. I saw him sitting behind his tiny desk, typing furiously.