The bus was empty. Five-thirty, almost dinnertime, a little too early to head to Lund for an evening out. She thought the bus driver shot her an odd look as she boarded, so she sat at the back.
I have eighteen minutes to decide what to do, she thought. Either she could go back and find out what was going on, or she could hide and come up with a better plan. But first she had to try to think like Oswald, to understand why he had sent the police after her so quickly. And a K9 unit at that. Why on earth would they have a dog? she thought. Dogs track drugs, corpses, and missing people.
It struck her that it had to be that simple. He’d reported her missing, so they would search for her; he’d worked with Östling to get hold of her. And then what?
She squeezed her backpack and gazed out at the crops, which bent slightly in the breeze. Fog Island seemed so distant, like a tiny speck in outer space. But Oswald was sure to have a crafty plan and she had nearly walked right into his trap. She knew she had to stop acting like an escaped criminal, because that must be exactly what he wanted her to do. Then again, it was no surprise that he was so desperate. She was the only one who knew his terrible secrets.
That tiny burst of courage took hold of her again, and she knew exactly what to do.
Nothing. Not a single goddamn thing. Just let him agonize.
She got off the bus at Central Station and walked briskly toward Hotel Lundia. She’d seen their sign from the bus stop earlier that day.
The hotel seemed empty, cool, and sleepy when she stepped in. A great marble floor extended to the black reception desk, which was framed with reddish wood. No music. No people. Just her and the receptionist who was reading something on a computer screen. The young woman had dark red lips and pale, powdered skin that took on a bluish hue in the glow of the screen. She didn’t notice Sofia until she was right up next to the desk.
‘I’d like a room for the night.’
The young woman looked up with a practised smile.
‘All right. May I see your credit card?’
‘There’s another thing.’
‘What’s that?’
‘I’d like to remain anonymous. Is that possible?’
‘What do you mean?’
‘I’d like you to put me down as Annika Svensson.’
The young woman brightened up and winked at her.
‘Oh no! Problems with your boyfriend?’
‘Right, big problems,’ Sofia said, raising her eyebrows meaningfully.
‘Okay, that’s fine . . . Annika. We start serving breakfast at six-thirty.’
*
The room was simple. Pale walls. A grey easy chair, a small oak desk, a double bed with a grey bedspread. Yet it felt like she had stepped into a luxury suite.
She put her backpack on the chair and threw herself onto the bed, where she gazed up at the ceiling for a while trying to find dots and patterns in all the white. She shoved away all her thoughts and let her body relax. After a while she gathered her courage and took her phone from her pack. She dialled her mother, who answered after the second ring. The words poured from her quickly — this wouldn’t be a real conversation.
‘Mom, it’s me, I’m fine. It’s not like you think. I’m going to be gone for a while, but I didn’t do anything wrong. You have to believe me. And you can’t tell anyone I called —’
Her mother cried out before Sofia had finished her sentence.
‘Sofia? Where are you? The police were here, and they said —’
‘You can’t tell them I called,’ she interrupted. ‘I have to go now. I love you. I’ll be home soon.’
Then she ended the call, her face wet with tears, and tried to send telepathic waves of hope to her parents. She knew they were on her side, but she didn’t want them to worry.
Her stomach was grumbling angrily, so after she turned off her phone and put it back in her pack she went to the restaurant, where only a few guests were seated at the tables. She ordered the most expensive item on the menu, sole with asparagus and lemon sauce. And a glass of wine. She looked around as she waited for her food. A young couple was at the table next to hers, arguing over what to order. The woman thought the man’s food was too expensive, so he was sulking and staring out the window. At another table was a lone man, busy with his phone. An older couple sat in the far corner, looking away from each other as they ate. The speakers were pouring out non-stop pop. She made believe about these people’s lives for a while. Where they lived, what they did all day; eventually her thoughts turned to her parents, and she was overwhelmed with a piercing homesickness.
Her food arrived, and it was even more delicious than she’d imagined. She devoured it all, and ordered dessert and coffee. Suddenly she realized why Benny and Sten had looked so happy on the train, with their trays of food. They, too, had been eating rice and beans for months. Trailing her was probably just a big adventure for them. It doesn’t matter how much Oswald tries to clamp down on us, she thought. There will always be a little devil inside, ready to let loose.
She went back up to her room, where she washed her clothes in the bathtub and hung them to dry in the bathroom. She turned on the TV and watched the news on two different channels.
Later she watched a movie, and opened the minibar to make a gin and tonic to enjoy with the entertainment. At last she was tired and fell asleep, warm, a little tipsy, and almost happy.
When she first woke up, she had no idea where she was. She thought she was in the dormitory bed and her heart sank, but then she saw the clock radio on the nightstand, which read 6:25. Her memories of the past twenty-four hours returned. She tried to fall back to sleep, but she was wide awake. Her head felt a little heavy from the alcohol, but she was otherwise alert and ready to put her plan into action. Although it wasn’t much of a plan. She had only decided to go away for a while. To hide. She didn’t know where she would go, but she had been so tired after the movie that she decided to sleep on it.
She got out of bed and opened the blinds. It was a beautiful summer day outside. Her clothes had dried. She took a long, hot bath and a cool shower, then realized she’d brought toothpaste but no toothbrush and rubbed her finger around her mouth until the taste of alcohol disappeared. Out of habit she made the bed and straightened up — it was unfathomable that someone would clean up after her. She decided not to come back to the room; instead she would take advantage of the early morning.
The dining room was almost empty and she had the breakfast buffet to herself. She loaded a plate with eggs, bacon, and toast and drank two cups of black coffee before she even touched the food.
A woman with a large roller suitcase came up to the buffet. The sight of her roused Sofia’s desire to travel again. If only she could decide where she would go. She had no relatives to go to, and it would have been too risky anyway. The idea was to find a place so unlikely that no one would think to look there. And it had to be almost free, or she would run out of money.
She fetched a couple of newspapers, thinking they might show her some cheap travel destinations. But when she opened the first one, she didn’t even manage to read the headlines, because she was staring at a picture of herself.