Ellis went home the next morning. When he was gone, the cottage felt empty and it began to make Sofia jumpy and anxious.
‘Calm down,’ Benjamin said — he had sensed her mood straight away. ‘Strid and Roos will have only just made it back. We’ll have to find some way to pass the time.’
It was sticky and warm but overcast that day. Heavy, oppressive clouds hung in a granite-coloured sky, and now and then they could hear a dull rumble of thunder in the distance. They spent the morning sitting in the yard and talking. Going through everything that had happened on the island with a fine-tooth comb. The catastrophes and Oswald’s outbursts and whims. They tried to work out why they had stayed so long.
‘I wonder what it’s like now,’ she said. ‘What they’re doing.’
‘I’m sure they’re toiling nonstop, as usual. I think you overestimate Franz. He thinks far too highly of himself to panic. He’s probably sitting there, puffed up with pride because he has the whole police force after you.’
‘Maybe. But then again, he never figured out you were alive. What happened when he came to your house?’
‘Suddenly he was just there, standing at the door. We had no idea he would show up. I had to hide in my sister’s closet. He fawned over her until she was totally charmed.’
Just talking about Oswald made Sofia anxious. The certainty that he was somewhere out there, his brain working nonstop to think of a way to find her, was really getting to her. She had the sudden urge to do some yard work to pass the time. She found an old lawnmower in a shed and shoved it into Benjamin’s hands; meanwhile she began to rake up last year’s leaves. When it was time to make lunch, they discovered that the fridge was empty and the garbage was starting to smell.
‘Can’t you go to town to get some food, and bring the trash with you?’ she said. ‘No one will recognize you there.’
‘But Roos said —’
‘Oh, she’s just afraid someone will spot me.’
He let himself be convinced and they wrote a list of items they needed. She felt a stab of pain in her chest when she heard the car start and drive off; she wasn’t used to Benjamin’s constant appearing and disappearing in her life.
The thunder was closer, and the yard was bathed in a strange, pale light. A cool gust of wind came in ahead of the rain, and a nervous murmur went through the treetops.
Only ten or fifteen minutes passed before she heard a car stop on the gravel drive. That’s weird, she thought. It should have taken him longer than that. She wondered if Benjamin had changed his mind. A car door slammed and the voices that reached her through the hedge were shrill and irritating. There was something familiar about them. Something that made her prick up her ears and stop raking.
‘Here it is! Behind the hedge here.’
‘What a place.’
‘Shut up, we don’t want her to hear us.’
Benny and Sten.
She didn’t even have time to be afraid. Or maybe she just didn’t feel it, because the instinct to hide was so sudden and violent that it took over all her senses. The cottage door was open, but she was around the corner and would never make it there before they were on the property. But she recalled seeing a small opening that led to the crawlspace under the foundation. There it was — a few metres behind her. She tossed the rake on the ground, got down on all fours, and crawled to the hole. She wiggled her way in — her hips barely fit, but with a shove she slid inside. The crawlspace was full of junk: boxes, old gardening tools, and a couple of car tyres. She had to crouch down, her back bent under the floor of the house.
They were on the property now.
She couldn’t see them, only hear them.
‘Look, the door’s open!’ she heard Sten.
‘Call the boss. He said we should get in touch before we go in.’
‘Yeah, but what if she hears —’
‘Then quiet down! Whisper, dammit.’
For a long time, there was no sound. She was breathing so hard that she was afraid they would hear it. Her pulse thundered in her ears.
‘Sir, we found the place!’ came Sten’s voice.
Hissing static from the phone. They were being chewed out; she could feel the vibes even from her hiding spot.
‘Yes sir, sorry it took so long, but we found the cottage. The door is even open.’
Silence again.
‘Yes sir, I promise. Yes, we’ll bring her with us. Yes, sir. Okay, sir.’
‘What did he say?’ This was Benny’s voice.
‘That we have to bring her back with us. And the Dictaphone.’
‘Yeah, I figured that much. Let’s go in.’
And suddenly they were inside. She could hear their shuffling steps on the floor above her. She felt in her jeans pocket for her phone, although she knew it was in the living room. Steps clomped from room to room, and she considered dashing through the gate and down to the beach. But they would spot her through the window.
Then they were back in the yard. A phone jangled.
‘No sir, she’s not here. Although it seems like her stuff is.’
Static hissing again. Worse this time.
‘Yes sir. I understand. Okay.’
‘What did he say?’
‘That she’s hiding. And a bunch of other stuff.’
She could see their feet now, stupid uniform shoes trampling around in the grass. As if they hadn’t had time to change into proper clothes before they took off to search for her.
It all happened in an instant: shoes coming closer, creaking joints as he squatted down, and Sten’s eyes staring into hers. She had the idiotic impulse to remain perfectly still, to become one with the junk, an object he wouldn’t notice.
They stared at each other for a moment. His eyes were bloodshot as if he hadn’t slept in a very long time or had had a hell of a lot to drink.
‘I found her!’
She caught a whiff of his bad breath.
‘Come out, Sofia. We only want to talk to you.’
‘Go to hell! You have no right to be here. Go away!’
‘Franz just wants to talk to you. There’s been a misunderstanding.’
His hands moved so fast she had no time to withdraw her own. One grabbed her wrist and the other her arm.
‘Come out now, Sofia. We only want to have a chat.’ Benny’s voice came from above while Sten began to tug and yank at her. She resisted, but he was stronger and dragged her out onto the grass on her stomach. She let out a long, enraged screech. Then came a string of curse words and she bit his arm so hard he yelped and let go of her. But Benny was there, grabbing her from behind and dragging her up, locking her arms and pulling them above her head. It hurt so much that she whimpered and almost started crying. Sten stood in front of her, furious about the bite, which he was rubbing with the other hand.
‘You’re coming back with us. Franz wants to talk to you. Either you come along willingly, or we’ll just take you. Even if we have to tie you up.’
He was shouting right in her face. And there it was again, that sour breath, a mixture of beer, cheap hamburgers, and unbrushed teeth.
This was no joke. This was truly serious, and if she didn’t react now, if she didn’t do something — anything — they would drag her off. There were so many things she wanted to scream at them: that Oswald would be locked up soon. That this was kidnapping, and they were brainwashed. But there was no time. Instead she kicked Sten in the crotch with all her might. His roar was so loud she didn’t even hear the car stopping down on the road.
Sten sank onto the grass, mewling and whimpering. Benny tugged at her arms harder, but suddenly he lost his grip as someone shouted behind them, and there stood Benjamin, swinging the rake in the air. It looked perfectly ridiculous, but Benny, who must have thought he was seeing a ghost, just stood there staring. His jaw dropped, but nothing came out of his mouth.
‘Let her go!’ Benjamin cried, although Benny already had.
She would never find out what happened to Benny in that moment. Maybe it was the fact that Sten was lying on the lawn, or his shock at seeing Benjamin, or some realization that everything had gotten out of control, but whatever it was, the fight went out of him. He grabbed Sten, who was still whimpering on the ground, and helped him to his feet.
‘Come on, let’s get out of here!’ he yelled, leading the staggering Sten toward the gate.
Sofia sank to the ground; the pain in her arms was nearly unbearable.
Benjamin followed Sten and Benny, still waving the rake in the air — it was a crazy sight. She just lay there, unable to comprehend what had just happened. She tried to get up, but her whole body was shaking and she felt ice cold yet sticky with sweat. Their voices were still echoing beyond the hedge. Benjamin was going on about something and Sten was howling: ‘Shit, shit, I think I’m seriously wounded, that fucking bitch.’
The car door slammed, the engine started, and the tyres skidded on the gravel. Big, heavy raindrops had started to fall, and in some strange way each drop that struck her face felt freeing. Benjamin came rushing back to the yard.
‘Are you okay, Sofia? What the heck were they doing here?’
‘Those bastards came here to kidnap me. For real. They were on the phone with Oswald. Benjamin, what’s going on?’
He didn’t respond. He just walked over and picked her up, carried her inside, and placed her on the sofa.
‘I can walk, you know,’ she snapped, although it felt nice to be in his arms.
*
She called Strid as Benjamin locked all the doors and windows. Strid’s voice sounded surreally happy, as if it were coming from a different universe.
‘Well, damn,’ he said once she’d updated him. ‘I’ll call Hildur and make sure she sends someone over right away.’
‘But what if Oswald calls Östling and he sends someone before that?’
‘Östling’s out of the picture,’ said Strid. ‘That’s probably why Oswald sent those baboons. Lock everything. I’ll call you tomorrow. It’s almost over now; tomorrow’s showtime. You’ll see.’
They didn’t hear anything more from him that day.
No one showed up.
The rain roared against the cottage roof, and it felt like they had been abandoned way out in the middle of nowhere.
But she didn’t want to call Strid again. She just wanted to trust him, because he was the only link to reality they had at the moment.
Neither of them could fall asleep that night. Benjamin tossed and turned until she sent him to sleep on the sofa, while she couldn’t stop thinking about what would happen the next day. At last she slept, but uneasily — she woke in the middle of the night and saw Oswald’s face on the pillow next to her, his eyes staring. She screeched and sat up in bed. Frantically she patted the pillow to make sure it wasn’t real. She went to the living room and crawled into Benjamin’s arms.
The phone call from Magnus came the next afternoon.
‘Do you have a TV out there?’
‘Sure.’
‘Watch the channel one news at six. I have to hang up now.’
There was hope. Something was up.
They spent all afternoon waiting for the news, bringing out blankets and pillows, setting out wine, cheese, and grapes. It was as though they were preparing for an important visitor.
The news began with a report on deficiencies in school cafeteria food. But then the announcer reappeared in the frame.
‘We turn now to West Fog Island off the coast of Bohuslän, where our reporter on assignment, Magnus Strid, will tell us about a police raid that’s underway on the property of the cult ViaTerra. Magnus, what is actually going on out there?’
Strid was standing some distance from the gate. A bunch of people were visible in the background, including police in uniform, a couple of patrol cars, and an ambulance. They could hear agitated voices and barking dogs, as well as the alarm. She saw someone she recognized — was it Bosse or Ulf? She couldn’t tell, but then the camera zoomed in on Strid.
‘Well, a police raid is well underway here. The police suspect the cult leader, Franz Oswald, of being involved in the rape of a minor. And there are also suspicions of child pornography. The only mystery is that he himself seems to have disappeared. And no one here knows, or wants to say, where he is.’
‘Does it seem that they’ve found anything else there?’
‘Yes, a girl was led away from the manor house, wrapped in a blanket. She looked quite shaken, but she’s in a patrol car now. It seems that they are putting the focus on the search for the cult leader.’
Sofia pounded the coffee table with her fist and shook Benjamin, who was just staring at the TV.
‘Did you hear that? The bastard got away!’
The segment was over. She hadn’t even heard the end. All she wanted to do was smack Benjamin for just sitting there and gaping at the TV.
‘It’s not so bad, really,’ he said at last. ‘After all, it seems like they found Elvira. Isn’t that the most important thing?’
Her phone rang again. Strid was panting on the other end like an eager bloodhound.
‘Sofia, do you have any idea where Oswald might have hidden?’
‘Could he have taken the ferry?’
‘No, the ferryman is positive he didn’t. He saw Oswald on his way to the island a few days ago, and he’s been checking the ferry carefully ever since. Do you know him?’
‘Björk? Yes, I do. He’s a good man. He helped me escape.’
‘Besides, there’s no way Oswald could have known about the raid. There’s no chance he had any advance warning. Maybe from the guard, when the police arrived . . .’
‘Did they check the cabin?’
‘Yes, not a trace of him there. They even called his mother and she became hysterical; she had a breakdown on the spot. She had seen pictures of him in the paper and thought he looked familiar, but she hadn’t put it together. She didn’t take it very well when they told her. I think they had to take her to a psychiatric ward.’
Poor Karin. What a way to find out.
‘What about the cellar?’
‘They looked there too.’
‘I know where he is,’ came Benjamin’s voice from the sofa.
‘Huh? One second, Magnus.’
‘in the cave,’ Benjamin said, perfectly calm. ‘I’m one hundred percent sure of it.’
‘How can you be so certain?’
‘He feels safe there. The cave is like his special place. It’s like a literal man-cave. Tell them to look there.’
‘Benjamin thinks he’s in the cave,’ she told Strid.
‘The cave? Where’s that?’
Sofia described the path as best she could — how it looked, where to climb down.
‘I’ll call you back,’ Strid said before he hung up.
She shot Benjamin a look of reproach.
‘The cave? No way he’s in there. What would he be doing there?’
‘Think about it. The guard calls and says the cops are there. Where is he supposed to go? He uses his key to exit through the gate behind the annexes and runs to the nearest hiding place. The cave, of course. He, you, and I are the only ones who know about it.’
‘We’ll see, I guess,’ she muttered. ‘What do we do now?’
‘Eat. And wait.’
They shuffled into the kitchen. She made spaghetti while Benjamin put out two plates and poured water into glasses. They ate in front of the TV, channel surfing to keep from missing any news segment about the raid.
Benjamin seemed restless and vaguely distant.
‘What’s the deal with you and Oswald?’ she asked.
‘What do you mean?’
‘I can just tell there’s something there. You seem so sure you know how he thinks. Are you still friends?’
‘Definitely not. But he did confide in me a few times. We went to the cave together now and then, to sit and talk about how it used to be on the island. That’s all.’
‘What? I didn’t know that.’
She sneaked a glance at him; something seemed to be hanging in the air between them. A tension that hadn’t been there before.
‘There’s something you’re not telling me.’
He turned and looked her straight in the eye.
‘He had big plans for you, Sofia.’
‘Me?’
‘Yeah. The day we tried to run away he was so furious. I’ve never seen him so angry. He said that your future was clearly laid out. That he would rather kill you than let you get away. And that by God, he had dealt with people like you before. I was so scared.’
A cold wind stole through the living room window and found its way under her shirt, where it struck a chill in her heart.
‘Did he really say that?’
Benjamin nodded.
She looked down at her arms and found that they were covered in gooseflesh. It was spreading toward her shoulders.
Just then, the phone rang.
‘They’ve got him!’ Strid shouted. ‘Benjamin was right. Watch the news at seven. I’ll call later.’
As soon as Benjamin understood, he jumped up and down on the sofa like a little kid.
‘Stop!’ she cried. ‘Quit that nonsense. I want to see it with my own two eyes.’
He sat down on the sofa and glared at her. ‘Oh, give it up. Strid said —’
‘I still want to see it for myself.’
They watched in silence, waiting.
It was the first segment on the news. There was Strid again, but this time he was on the heath right next to Devil’s Rock. The cliffs, the sea, and the lighthouse were visible in the background.
She didn’t even hear what Strid was saying; all she could take in were the figures behind him. They were blurry at first, but they were approaching the camera and soon came into focus. A policeman on either side of him, holding his arms. His hair had come loose from its ponytail and was fluttering in the breeze. His face was turned away, looking at the ground.
Then, for a split second, he pivoted toward the camera. It was so brief, but she was sure of what she had seen. Her body flooded with warmth.
For the first time, she had seen fear in his eyes.
She stared at the TV.
Oswald was still in the frame.
Never again, she thought. Never again will I have to see your lying face. I hope the rest of your life is miserable and you burn in hell for what you’ve done. And that a huge, nasty bad guy rapes you in prison.
Then she cried for a while, for everything that had been so nice in the beginning, for the walls that had finally fallen, and for the evil that had run so rampant on the lovely island.