"I don't even know where to start, Inspector," Wronski muttered, clutching the mug of coffee Wojcik had made him. The three men sat in the small first-floor interview room. Farnicki perched against the wall, holding an ice pack to his bruised nose.
"Start at the beginning, Mr Wronski," Wojcik said. "The day you first met Agnes Gott."
Oliver gripped the mug tighter, as though it anchored him. "The day it all started. Agnes had just graduated and applied for an administrative post at Almain Chemie. I interviewed her. I liked her immediately — and I could tell the feeling was mutual. I cancelled the other candidates and hired her on the spot. Truth be told, we didn't really need another admin; we needed someone flexible, a jack-of-all-trades to clean up the messes no one else had time for."
"Fresh graduate, low pay, no complaints?"
"Exactly. Someone experienced wouldn't have accepted it — or stayed long. Over time I developed feelings for her. One day I asked her out. I was already married, with our first child. We kept it secret. Agnes fell in love — not with me, but with the idea of me. She said I looked like Fox Mulder. The nickname stuck. Karolina hates it. Eventually she found out. My wife has always been… temperamental."
"You don't say," Farnicki muttered.
"I'm sorry about what happened, Sergeant. Karolina's jealousy is like an illness. It nearly ended our marriage. We promised to change. I failed. I fell for Agnes and cheated."
"But Agnes wasn't the only one," Wojcik said. "Someone told me you were quite the ladies' man."
"Who told you that? Doesn't matter. Karolina never believed me, and I suppose that's why people think I'm a playboy. The truth is, I only loved Agnes."
"And your wife?"
"Karolina and I married young. We were both from wealthy families — it was the sensible match. I don't think I ever loved her. I grew accustomed to her. Her rages taught me to stay on guard. We had real physical fights when we were younger. She once broke my rib. I know I sound like the battered spouse, but that's our marriage. I ended things with Agnes, even though it tore me apart. I was terrified Karolina might hurt her. We broke up. Soon after, Agnes resigned."
"And then, as revenge, she sued your company for making her ill," Wojcik said.
"Yes — but you don't know the full story. The claim blindsided us. My lawyers, Martha, friends, family — all wanted to crush her. I stopped them. I insisted we pay the pension. That caused bad blood inside the company and with the shareholders. The board even voted to strip my authority. Somehow, I held on. So, you see, Inspector — I could have destroyed Agnes twenty years ago. I didn't. There was no reason to poison her or strangle Dominique, even if she recognised me from that vague newspaper description."
"Then why visit her a month ago? And why lie about it?"
"Because of Karolina, obviously. I was in the Old Town and remembered Agnes lived nearby. I felt this… pull. Like autopilot. I ended up at her door. She recognised me instantly. But she had changed — I wouldn't have known her on the street. She was pleased to see me, even called me Mulder again. She invited me in. The flat was… awful. I said nothing at first. We had tea, talked about old times. Then she accused me of being stingy. Said the pension wasn't enough, she could barely survive. I lost my temper — called her ungrateful, said if she wanted more, she shouldn't waste what she had. It hurt her. She cried, grabbed my collar, told me to leave. That was the last time I saw her."
"No wonder she threw you out," Wojcik snapped. "If I were her, I would have pushed you down the stairs. The autopsy showed a forty-year-old woman malnourished! She and her cats lived on chicken stock when money ran out. She was right — you're a tight-arse. With a mansion like yours, you could have spared a few hundred euros a month so she could afford cheese and ham once in a while. Typical rich boy: exploit a young woman, make her sick, sack her, then leave her to rot!"
"You bastard! How dare you!" Oliver lunged, fist swinging. Wojcik blocked; Farnicki shoved him back into the chair.
"I loved Agnes! I made sure her pension matched what she earned at Almain Chemie — around two thousand euros a month. It should have doubled by now! How is that not enough for a single woman?"
"We'll check the figures, Mr Wronski," Wojcik said coldly. "In the meantime, cool off while you wait for your lawyer." He nodded to Farnicki: interview over.
***
"What do you make of that story, sir?" Farnicki asked as Wojcik closed the door.
"I think Oliver's a piece of shit. He lied to us once; he'll lie as often as he needs to. Trying to paint Karolina as the mad, violent one tells you everything about him. But call Martha — ask for Agnes's pension statements. Then go to AlChemie. Find out who has access to hazardous chemicals. They must keep records."