Read Online Psycho Thrill--Girl in the Well by Vincent Voss - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Vincent Voss
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something, parents dragging their children away. Johanna is too short to see over them.
“Professor Ludemann!” Henning gasps beside her. The tall man staggers along the sidewalk by the river, he is waving his arms around and passersby are trying to calm him down.
“Keep going Henning! Don’t slow down.” They’re a few hundred feet away from the professor. They keep running. They keep an eye on him. He screams, but they can’t understand what. He is flailing his arms around, as if to drive away something in the air.
“Professor Ludemann!” she calls out, halfway there. Passersby turn to her with concern in their eyes.
“Professor Ludemann!” The circle around the professor opens up in her direction. Two men are trying to subdue him, trying to hold him down. He is unresponsive. His long body is jerking back and forth, up and down. His face is covered in sweat.
“NO! NO, LEAVE ME ALONE!” he hisses. He seems to be fighting something invisible. Just a few more steps.
“Do you know that man? Does he have diabetes?” someone asks as they approach the professor.
“NO!” he shouts unexpectedly, tearing himself away from the two men tending to him. He lurches forward to the green strip between the pedestrian walkway and the river. A dog barks, and the people around him back away in fright.
“No!” Johanna cries out and she and Henning rush forward to stop him.
“GO AWAY!” Professor Ludemann screams, flailing his arms. The momentum spins him around. He looks up at the sky, staggers, stumbles down the short slope, and falls into the river. But before he hits the water, they hear a sound as if someone were slamming his head against a door. Too late! Professor Ludemann is drifting on the river.
“NO!” he shouts again. His battle is not over. Henning jumps into the water and another man follows.
“Mom, Mom, it looks like someone is pulling the man under,” a boy remarks, standing mesmerized on the riverbank. Johanna watches, stunned. Yes, that’s exactly how it looks, she thinks. Henning and the other man swim quickly to the drowning man, who is now well aware of his situation.
“Help!” Professor Ludemann cries out, his arms reaching up in the air. And then he disappears. Henning and the other helper search the surface of the water. The people around Johanna gasp. Someone calls the police.
But Professor Ludemann doesn’t resurface. Only Johanna notices the flies that briefly emerge from the river and then fall back into the water.
She is thankful to see Henning return to the shore.
They leave Lubeck that evening, pull over at a rest stop, and drink a coffee in the car. Henning smokes a cigarette. They’ve already described their relationship with Professor Ludemann to the police, and he has still not been found by the police divers. They told the officer about Lukas Falkner and about the case they are working on. They will be contacted as necessary, but the man’s reaction implied that he didn’t take Johanna and Henning seriously.
Sleeplessness has made things more difficult for both of them. Henning can scarcely concentrate on driving. And the professor’s death is taking an even greater toll. It seems unreal, drinking coffee at a rest stop and people-watching travelers just after a man they knew has been killed by a supernatural force.
Henning flicks his cigarette and picks up his coffee with trembling hands.
“This is not an anthropological case anymore, Jo.”
“We told the police everything, Henning. They won’t do anything, they don’t believe us,” she replies irritably.
“That’s not what I meant. I mean that everything isn’t rooted in a supposedly foreign universe of belief, which we’re exploring. I am well versed in voodoo, and in syncretic concepts, but everything here looks more like a … Christian case. Ancient Hebrew, flies, abuse of Christian holidays.”
“And?” Johanna’s eyes linger on a couple she watches distrustfully as they head to the
“Professor Ludemann!” Henning gasps beside her. The tall man staggers along the sidewalk by the river, he is waving his arms around and passersby are trying to calm him down.
“Keep going Henning! Don’t slow down.” They’re a few hundred feet away from the professor. They keep running. They keep an eye on him. He screams, but they can’t understand what. He is flailing his arms around, as if to drive away something in the air.
“Professor Ludemann!” she calls out, halfway there. Passersby turn to her with concern in their eyes.
“Professor Ludemann!” The circle around the professor opens up in her direction. Two men are trying to subdue him, trying to hold him down. He is unresponsive. His long body is jerking back and forth, up and down. His face is covered in sweat.
“NO! NO, LEAVE ME ALONE!” he hisses. He seems to be fighting something invisible. Just a few more steps.
“Do you know that man? Does he have diabetes?” someone asks as they approach the professor.
“NO!” he shouts unexpectedly, tearing himself away from the two men tending to him. He lurches forward to the green strip between the pedestrian walkway and the river. A dog barks, and the people around him back away in fright.
“No!” Johanna cries out and she and Henning rush forward to stop him.
“GO AWAY!” Professor Ludemann screams, flailing his arms. The momentum spins him around. He looks up at the sky, staggers, stumbles down the short slope, and falls into the river. But before he hits the water, they hear a sound as if someone were slamming his head against a door. Too late! Professor Ludemann is drifting on the river.
“NO!” he shouts again. His battle is not over. Henning jumps into the water and another man follows.
“Mom, Mom, it looks like someone is pulling the man under,” a boy remarks, standing mesmerized on the riverbank. Johanna watches, stunned. Yes, that’s exactly how it looks, she thinks. Henning and the other man swim quickly to the drowning man, who is now well aware of his situation.
“Help!” Professor Ludemann cries out, his arms reaching up in the air. And then he disappears. Henning and the other helper search the surface of the water. The people around Johanna gasp. Someone calls the police.
But Professor Ludemann doesn’t resurface. Only Johanna notices the flies that briefly emerge from the river and then fall back into the water.
She is thankful to see Henning return to the shore.
They leave Lubeck that evening, pull over at a rest stop, and drink a coffee in the car. Henning smokes a cigarette. They’ve already described their relationship with Professor Ludemann to the police, and he has still not been found by the police divers. They told the officer about Lukas Falkner and about the case they are working on. They will be contacted as necessary, but the man’s reaction implied that he didn’t take Johanna and Henning seriously.
Sleeplessness has made things more difficult for both of them. Henning can scarcely concentrate on driving. And the professor’s death is taking an even greater toll. It seems unreal, drinking coffee at a rest stop and people-watching travelers just after a man they knew has been killed by a supernatural force.
Henning flicks his cigarette and picks up his coffee with trembling hands.
“This is not an anthropological case anymore, Jo.”
“We told the police everything, Henning. They won’t do anything, they don’t believe us,” she replies irritably.
“That’s not what I meant. I mean that everything isn’t rooted in a supposedly foreign universe of belief, which we’re exploring. I am well versed in voodoo, and in syncretic concepts, but everything here looks more like a … Christian case. Ancient Hebrew, flies, abuse of Christian holidays.”
“And?” Johanna’s eyes linger on a couple she watches distrustfully as they head to the
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