The pager vibrated stubbornly in the dark.
At first she thought it was just Benjamin snoring, but then she turned on the light and saw the little gadget dancing all over the nightstand. They’d only been sleeping for a few hours. Her whole body was heavy and limp; it didn’t want to give in to the unpleasant racket. Benjamin groaned and pulled the covers over his head. She grabbed the pager and read the illuminated message.
To the office immediately, bring Benjamin.
All at once she was wide awake; something wasn’t right.
Why both of them, and why in the middle of the night? It must have something to do with their relationship.
Her stomach knotted. She sat up and poked at Benjamin.
‘Oswald wants to see us. Right away.’
‘What? You mean you, right? Not me.’
‘No, both of us.’
Benjamin sat up in bed, also fully awake.
‘Shit! What could it be?’
‘No idea, but we’d better hurry.’
They didn’t bother with their uniforms and pulled on jeans and T-shirts instead. She racked her brains on the way up but couldn’t think of anything she and Benjamin had done that was against the rules.
They dashed up the stairs and were out of breath when they reached Oswald’s door. Sofia gestured at Benjamin — wait a minute. Oswald didn’t like when people came into his office still panting.
There was a glow at the bottom of the door. It was past three a.m. and this didn’t feel right at all.
*
Oswald had changed after Strid’s article, had become tougher. Sofia realized he was putting on a pleasant face for Gardell, but that he was furious about the article; he took some of that fury out on her. He was always looking for a reason to carp at her, and his whole nature had grown harder and more stubborn.
He had started touching her again, but there was no gentleness left in it. There had once been a tenderness to it, like when you can’t help touching a beautiful flower. These days it only felt vulgar. But it didn’t matter; her body still responded compulsively, as if he were striking a match.
One day when he was more annoyed than usual, he had crossed a line. Yet she hadn’t said a word. She realized that she had become afraid of him. He had spent that day insisting on her attention, asking her to perform tiny, silly tasks in the office. The sorts of things he certainly could have done on his own. He had also spoken so softly and quickly that she kept having to ask him to repeat himself, which annoyed him even more.
For a short time, she was absorbed in a text that needed editing and hadn’t noticed his eyes on her. He stood up, walked over to her, sat down, and folded his long legs under her little desk. She didn’t dare look at him.
Suddenly she found her thighs clamped between his own. He squeezed them so hard she let out a small groan. For an instant, it was dead silent.
She looked up and he slowly released her legs.
‘Do I have your complete attention now?’
She nodded. The air had rushed out of her lungs.
‘Good. You must become more intuitive, Sofia. Sense when I need something, so I don’t have to nag.’
‘Of course.’
Then he went back to normal, like nothing had happened. And that was the worst part — those abrupt endings. As if he was getting worked up about something else, something she didn’t quite understand.
*
Now they were standing outside his door at three in the morning, and Sofia did not have a good feeling about it.
She knocked cautiously, then opened the door. They stood in the doorway for a moment, waiting. Oswald was bent over a document on his desk. When he looked up, he looked tired and rather worn out.
‘Come in and have a seat.’
They gingerly sat down in front of the desk.
Oswald stared at Benjamin first, until Benjamin looked away.
‘I want you to find a hiding spot for the theses,’ Oswald said at last.
Benjamin raised his eyebrows as he always did when he was mildly confused.
‘There’s been talk of a police raid. But we have friends high up in law enforcement, so I’m sure nothing will come of it. At the same time, you can never be too safe.’
Sofia tried to think of a reason why the police would raid the manor in the first place. And how Oswald could know about that sort of police business.
‘No one must get their hands on the theses,’ he went on. ‘We will delete them from the computers and print them out on paper instead. Bosse will have to set up a system so guests hand them back once they’ve read them. There will not be any copies. I hope the guests were never allowed to keep them . . .’ He was talking to himself. ‘But we still have to find a hiding spot. Somewhere on the island. Not on the property. We need to write them down on paper that can handle being stored outdoors. What do you think, Benjamin?’
She wondered why Benjamin was there instead of Bosse, and assumed it must be because he knew the island so well.
‘Maybe the cave?’ Benjamin said, then gasped as if to pull his words back in.
Oswald raised his eyebrows.
‘What cave?’
Benjamin squirmed anxiously in his chair.
‘None in particular. I thought maybe we could find some cave here on the island; I heard there are some around.’
‘That’s a horrible idea. Think of all the storms and moisture and everything.’
Sofia was about to point out that the theses would be safe in that cave, but Benjamin gave her a look of warning and she closed her mouth again.
‘Oh well, that will be your project, Benjamin. Find the perfect hiding spot. And not a word to anyone else. Understood?’
‘Yes, sir. I’ll take care of it.’
‘Good, you can go. But Sofia, you stay here.’
Benjamin left the room. Oswald bent forward. He held her gaze for a long time, but she didn’t look away.
‘You haven’t found the leak yet, have you?’
‘No. Bosse has interviewed the whole staff. He really grilled them, but no one confessed. We’ve even promised to be lenient if they do confess.’
‘I thought as much. I think we have an infiltrator, Sofia.’
‘A spy?’
‘Right. Someone who was sent here by the press to report on us. Someone who wants to make my life hell. We have to rethink everything when it comes to security around here.’
‘Of course, what can I do?’
‘First I want Tom to taste my food before he serves it to me. You must be there to watch. Just go down to the kitchen. And make sure he always uses fresh goods and doesn’t take shortcuts when he’s preparing my meals.’
Tom was Oswald’s personal chef; he made meals and snacks just for Oswald.
‘Sir, surely you don’t think he’s trying to poison you?’
‘Don’t be so naïve, Sofia. He arrived on the island just about when our problems began. I just want to be sure. The kitchen is full of idiots I don’t trust.’
‘Okay. I mean, I’ll take care of it.’
She was beginning to feel uneasy. There was something creepy about all of this. The theses and the food. The idea that someone had it in for him.
‘Then I want you to get lids and straws for my glasses. You can order them from the mainland, those little paper lids that protect your beverage from germs, dirt, flies, and things like that.’
And poison, she thought, but she just nodded.
He thought for a moment, gazing out the window at the darkness. She didn’t want to disturb him, so she waited until he turned toward her again.
‘Was there anything else?’
‘Yes, one more thing. Talk to Bosse tomorrow and make sure all the rules I wrote down a few weeks ago are still in force. People on Penance need to wear their caps and the computer should be turned off. Everything we discussed.’
‘Yes, sir.’
Why this, all of a sudden? Carmen Gardell had left the island a few weeks ago, noticeably disappointed that she hadn’t got Oswald into bed. But she had worked hard, interviewing and photographing the staff, all dressed up and wearing makeup, and she promised to put together a lovely brochure for them.
But Oswald was nervous. Really nervous.
‘You can go now. See you tomorrow.’
As she left the room, he was staring out the window again, deep in thought.
*
Benjamin was sitting on the bed and waiting for her. He looked concerned and a little pale underneath his tan.
‘Sofia, you must never say a word about the cave.’
‘Wait a second. You’re the one who mentioned the cave, not me.’
‘It just slipped out. It was stupid of me. Please, never talk to Franz or anyone else about that cave, promise me.’
‘Why are you acting so weird? What is so secret about that cave?’
‘It’s my hiding spot. I want to keep it for myself.’
‘Are you nuts? It’s just a cave!’ Her voice had risen half an octave, and this would turn into a fight again if she didn’t check herself. They’d been arguing a lot in recent days, but she wasn’t sure why. There really wasn’t anything to disagree about. All they did was eat, sleep, and work, yet they were always on each other’s nerves.
Her whole body ached with exhaustion. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d gotten a full night’s sleep. Her head was heavy and her eyes burned.
Maybe that’s why we fight so much, she thought. We’re so tired and irritated that we just snap at each other.
She didn’t even have the energy to hang up her clothes, so she tossed them on the floor and crawled under the blankets. Benjamin’s back was to her; he was already breathing heavily.
The cool pillow felt nice against her cheek. She knew it would only take a few seconds for her to fall asleep. But just as she was dozing off, her pager vibrated again.
To the office. Just you.
‘I have to go back to the office,’ she said, but Benjamin was already asleep. She turned on the bedside lamp, pulled on her clothes, and looked in the mirror, which showed her a pale face with sunken eyes.
*
Oswald was in the same position as when she’d left him.
‘One more thing, Sofia. You’d better sit down.’
She slowly sank into the chair in front of him, afraid of what was coming.
‘I want cameras installed in every room and office. Surveillance cameras. The kind no one can see. I think that’s the only way to catch the infiltrator. I’ve contacted a security company, and they’ll be here the day after tomorrow. I want you to help me when they get here.’
‘All the rooms?’
‘Right. The panel of screens will be here in the office. No one must know, not even Bosse and his idiots. I think we’ll send the whole staff out to pick blueberries in the forest while we do it. Are blueberries ripe right now?’
She nodded even though she had no idea. She still wasn’t sure she’d heard correctly.
‘So you want cameras in every room, even the bedrooms?’
‘Yes, what did you think I meant?’ he snapped. ‘Do you think this bastard sends in his reports in front of the whole staff?’
She wanted to ask if cameras were truly necessary. Or even legal. She didn’t think they were, but what would be the point in asking? He would only find someone else to help him, and send her to Penance.
‘A gang of technicians will come by to set it up. I’ll take care of the main building and you can be in charge of the annexes and the classrooms. Maybe the basement too. Can just anyone go down there?’
‘Yes, I think so.’
‘Good. Then that’s settled. And we don’t need cameras in the guests’ rooms, just the dining room, the staff work areas, and the classroom. That way we can keep an eye on them while they’re doing the theses. That’s all we’re interested in.’
‘What do we say if the guests ask what we’re doing?’
Oswald grinned, looking satisfied.
‘I’ve already thought of that. An obligatory study day in the dining room for all the guests: they’ll be reading a new, groundbreaking briefing I wrote. Hurtig will be there and Anna will prepare sandwiches before she leaves the grounds. But they don’t know about any of this. Only you and I know about the cameras. Understood?’
Sofia nodded.
He stood up and opened the cabinet on the wall, where all the keys to the estate hung. He took down a fat key ring and handed it to her.
‘These are the keys to all the buildings outside the manor house. It’s best I give them to you now so I don’t forget. I’ll talk to Bosse about the blueberry picking. Go to bed now, it’s late.’
Just as she was about to open the door, he said, ‘If you tell anyone about this, and that means Benjamin too, you’ll spend the rest of your life mucking-out cow shit in the barn.’
She nodded without even turning back around.
Slowly she went back down the stairs.
Her room was pitch black, and Benjamin was snoring loudly. It seemed to her that this all had to be a mistake. That Oswald would realize he had overreacted and would change his mind.
But then a faint ray of light appeared in her tired mind.
The key cabinet. She knew the keys to the attic had to be there.
She just knew it.
The villa sits in a little hollow, a valley among the sloping rocks that face the sea.
It’s enclosed by a substantial wall, but from the top of the slope I can see everything. The perfect lawn. The neat flowerbeds. The pool. The shaggy little dog who always pees on their lounge chairs.
The housemaid and the gardener and the little kid who runs around in a swimsuit, shrieking.
This is the second day I’ve spent sitting here, and I am restless and impatient.
But I can’t go down yet. I have to be sure he’s home first.
And it won’t hurt for me to have slept outside a few days, because it can only be a good thing if I look ragged. My appearance in their life should be dramatic.
A silver Mercedes glides up the winding roads to the house.
Right away I know it’s him.
The iron gate opens, and the brat stops playing and runs up to the car.
Hatred for the man burns inside me even before he has stepped out of the vehicle.
Here he is, living in the lap of luxury as though nothing ever happened.
But soon, everything will change.
For some, punishment is immediate. For others, fate strikes back when they least expect it.
As the red sun takes its last trembling breath on the horizon, I rise and walk down the incline.
It is time.