Devil's Touch Part 35

She smiles. He smiles back but his smile is soon gone.

"I've seen her meet up with Eric. Very briefly. They always walked away a little and Eric came back alone a moment later."

He follows her movements attentively when she walks back to sit on bed and pulls one leg up under her.

"She was brought in just a little while ago."

"Are you telling the truth?"

"I'm too afraid not to. She collapsed at the airport, but got better in the ambulance, and they chose to take her directly up here for monitoring. It so happened that she was put in the room next to mine."

Evy points at the wall behind her.

"I saw them wheel her past my door and recognized her. I slipped in to check up on her. I had seen her before so I wanted to know what happened."

Evy picks at the covers in her bed as if she's removing something invisible.

"But it didn't last for very long. I was able to get through to her and our eyes met..."

Evy wets her lips and starts picking at the covers more intensely.

"I could hardly hear her voice. The only words I could make out were Eric, limo, driver and baby."

She rubs her upper arms as if she's freezing. Fredericsson is freezing too.

"I've never seen someone die. I always thought that they just closed their eyes and slipped away. But they don't."

She leans over toward Fredericsson.

"Her whole body was shaking. Her eyes looked into mine as if she could see directly into my soul."

Evy leans back a little and looks at the wall behind him.

"It didn't take long. I was still screaming when the nurses arrived. Then everybody came running into the room and someone grabbed me and took me out into the hall where she left me."

She takes a deep breath.

"I think she's still in there. I don't think they've taken her away yet."

Fredericsson hears steps from the corridor and turns around quickly. He looks at Evy and then gets up slowly and walks over to the door. He looks at her one last time before he walks into the corridor dragging his coat behind him.

"Hey, wait!"

Fredericsson runs down the corridor.

Fredericsson is out of breath after the short run and without explaining himself he lifts the sheet over the person's face and holds up the drawing.

"It's her all right."

Fredericsson nods.

"Carry on."

"What do you think you're doing?!"

Fredericsson holds up his badge and turns around and walks down the corridor shaking his head. When he pa.s.ses Evy's door, he sees that she's sitting in the same chair that he's just been sitting in. She's looking out the window, deep in thoughts. Fredericsson stops and looks at her for a while before he leaves the hospital.

Fredericsson slowly drives away. He scratches his nose and blinks hard and feels no need to speed up. He looks at the notepad and the phone on the seat next to him. "I'm lucky no one stole it." The fatigue he feels is overwhelming and, as he stops at a red light, he's afraid that he'll forget some important detail now that practically nothing is written down. He speeds up when the light changes and can't help thinking about how long the reports are going to end up being. He feels annoyed and even more tired when he hears the horn of the car behind him. It's close behind him but doesn't overtake him.

"Right, some guy with road rage. Just what I need."

He reaches out for his phone but can't reach it. When he looks up he sees the car behind him speeding up. He sees how it pulls over and tries again to reach his phone. The steering wheel jerks violently. Then there's the sound of metal against metal. His car is wobbling and suddenly Fredericsson isn't tired anymore. The adrenaline is shooting through his body. Another hard jerk and the metal between the two cars bends. He looks at the other driver who just smiles and waves at him. Then he steers away from Fredericsson only to hit him again even harder. This time Fredericsson can feel how the wheel is slipping through his hands and the car starts to change course. In his struggle to regain control, he doesn't see that the other car speeds up and drives away and quickly disappears in traffic. Fredericsson looks up and sees the concrete pillar in front of him. It seems to fill out his entire view through the windshield. He is gasping for air and prepares for the pain he knows will hit him in a few seconds. At that moment his instincts take over. He feels the resistance under his right foot when the brakes can't be pressed down any further and his police training helps him get control over the wheel. The sounds of traffic and cars honking seems like a soundtrack. He stares at the concrete, at the marks on it where the rain has run down and he can see the rust that has settled in the concrete. Under the bridge he catches a glimpse of a homeless person standing by his cart. Then he feels the car skid.

"What do you think you're doing?"

He sees two blue eyes staring into his and the moment after he hears the sound of the cart being thrown against the concrete pillar. A violent jerk and his phone hits him in the face when his car rolls over. Then it's quiet.

"Are you crazy?! All my stuff!"

It's quiet again and then he hears steps slowly approaching.

"Are you OK?"

The blue eyes stare at Fredericsson again and he slowly manages to focus.

"Are you OK?"

Fredericsson swallows and his brain registers the metallic taste of blood.

"Hmm."

"Are you OK?"

Fredericsson sniffs and looks up in the rearview mirror. Blood is streaming down his face from a broken nose and a big red mark on his cheek bone tells him that he'll have a black eye tomorrow.

"Are you OK?"

Fredericsson looks at the man's dirty face but can't seem to find any words. He looks away.

"Where's my phone?"

"Are you OK?"

"If you keep asking me that, then..."

He shakes his head "I'm too tired. I need to get off this case."

He looks at the dirty face.

"This was no accident."

The man stares at him without saying anything. Fredericsson examines his face.

"How old are you? In your mid-thirties?"

The man looks surprised and pulls away.

"Who are you? The cops?"

"Hmm."

The man takes another step back.

"Did you see what happened?"

The man stares at him "Maybe."

Fredericsson tries to smile, but the pain from his nose makes him stop.

"How much?"

"Enough."

Fredericsson nods.

"Pick up your stuff. Then I'll call someone who can pick us up."

"On that phone?"

The man's dirty finger points at the phone that's lying 15 feet away in a thousand pieces. Fredericsson sighs and collapses in his seat as he opens the seat belt. He turns to look at the man who has started picking up his things one by one.

"How much?"

He stops and they look at each other. Then he shakes his head and throws the green sleeping bag into the cart. They keep looking at each other for a long time before he finally gives the cart a push and starts moving up the slope. When he reaches the top he point back the way Fredericsson came from. Fredericsson feels how a slow fear creeps up on him and he looks in the rear view mirror.

"A police car."

Fredericsson's voice is no more than a sigh and his body collapses while he follows the car closely in the mirror.

Chapter 28.

A cold gust of wind fills the lobby and several of the people visiting the hospital pull their jackets tighter around them. The receptionist is trying to keep her papers from flying away. The wind also reaches Evy and she can feel the cold running over her skin even though she's wearing a new set of clothes that she has bought in the small hospital shop. Today she had realized that she has no one she can call. No one who can bring her some clothes, no one to pick her up. There's a dark, painful void where her family should have been, and she realizes all too clearly that she is all alone. She pulls her jacket closer around her body and pulls up the hood on her new hoodie over her head.

"But I promise I'll come back."

"I want my money now, or I'll call the cops."

Evy sighs.

"But I can't give you that. My money is in my flat. For G.o.d's sake, I've just come home from the hospital. Someone tried to cut my throat five days ago. It wasn't like the paramedics closed the door neatly behind them and gave me a key. I have to call to get the key first."

"Then make the call now while you're here in the car."

Evy stares at him and nods while she turns on the phone praying that there's enough power left so she can call the doorman. The phone switches on, but there's disturbingly little power left on it. She lets out a loud sigh when she hears the voice on the other end. She avoids having to explain what happened five nights ago and before long Henderson is standing next to the cab and opens the door for her.

"I want my money."

"Then you can come up with me."

Evy is obviously irritated.

"What is the problem?"

"I don't have any money on me. When the ambulance came for me I didn't think to bring my bag."

"Hang on."

After Evy gets out, Henderson gets in the back and takes out some notes from his pocket. Then he gets out and slams the door hard.

"There, now we don't have to worry about him anymore. Let me take you up."

"I'll give you the money when we're in my flat."

"You can just pay me back when you want. It doesn't have to be today."

"Thank you."

They walk in silence and when the elevator doors close behind them she can feel the fear taking hold on her. The elevator is slower than usual and she feels how Henderson is watching her. When they reach her front door he puts the key in the door and looks at her.

"You know that no one has cleaned your place up, right? It's just as the police left it."

The air seems bitterly cold and Evy starts to shiver and is trying hard not to faint.

"Are you OK?"

Evy manages to focus on Henderson.

"No one has cleaned up?"

Henderson shakes his head.

She leans against the doorframe.