Chapter 35

Today is the first day of my new life, was Anna-Maria’s first thought when she opened her eyes. She had hardly slept; she had tossed and turned all night, wide awake out of sheer excitement. But it didn’t matter. She felt both sexy and well-rested on this fine spring day.

Today Franz would be free.

Her fingers were already itching to check her phone. To post everywhere: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter. But it would be so much better if she waited for pictures of the two of them together. Maybe she could start by spreading a rumour. A hint that something was about to happen. She’d promised not to leak anything about their relationship, not even to her parents. It wouldn’t seem right, while he was still in prison. But now there was nothing standing in her way. She wondered what her girlfriends would think. Maybe that he was dangerous. But she would just tell the truth: he could be as sweet as anything. And they would be so jealous. Because after all, wasn’t he the ultimate prize?

She stood in the shower for a long time, singing despite her terrible voice. She dried her hair with a towel and met her own gaze in the mirror. Her eyes were actually sparkling.

Her phone rang just as she walked into the living room. An unfamiliar number, but she knew who it was right away. His voice was like a gentle whisper.

‘It’s me. I’m free.’

She opened her mouth, but no sound came out. This fact, uttered with such feeling – she couldn’t find the words to respond.

‘Annie, are you there?’

‘Of course, I just don’t know what to say. Incredible. It’s fantastic.’

‘I believe the word you’re looking for is “congratulations”.’

‘Right, I’m sorry. Congratulations! Do you want me to come pick you up?’

‘No, I want to ask you a favour. If it’s not too much.’

‘Anything.’

‘I’m going to check into Upper House Hotel in town and spend the night there. I want to stretch out in the pool and chow down on some real food after a year and a half of lard sausage – you know what I mean. Recover for a bit before I deal with the zombie club at ViaTerra. So I was thinking… oh, maybe it sounds silly…’

‘Come on, tell me.’

‘It would be nice to take the hog back to ViaTerra. I haven’t ridden it in so long, and this nice weather is supposed to hold. Would you want to go get it? Bring it over on the ferry and meet me at the hotel? We’ll stay the night and head home tomorrow.’

‘You mean the Harley? Is it really okay for me to drive it?’

‘How many times do I have to tell you I trust you?’

She was incredibly touched. It was a thought that had been brewing in the back of her mind, but she hadn’t quite dared to let it in completely. The day he let her ride the Harley would be the day she knew he loved her. It was his favourite possession, and his trust could only mean that he valued her even more.

‘Of course I’ll go get the bike! When do you want me to be there?’

‘As soon as possible, obviously. I want to see you. Do you think you can make the morning ferry? Then you could get the five o’clock back from Fog Island.’

‘Of course. I’ll be there this evening.’

‘Thanks, Annie. And listen, I have a surprise.’

‘What is it? Please, tell me!’

‘It’s not something I can describe in words. It’s something you have to experience.’

A moment of confusion followed their conversation. The sexy outfit she’d so carefully laid out wouldn’t work on the bike. But hadn’t he intimated that they would be having sex? Why dress up? She had already set out her best underthings, but she needed a layer between them and the leather gear. She selected a clingy, low-cut dress that barely covered her ass. Running around the apartment, she tossed various objects in her purse. Time was short – she only had an hour to make it onto the morning ferry.

On the ferry ride over, she thought of his hands, and all the places on her body they would soon be touching. She could no longer hold back and fired off a quick tweet: New life starts today. Big things happening. It only took a few seconds for the curious responses to start arriving, but she would leave them hanging, dammit. The next tweet had to be a photo of her and Franz together.

The manor felt deserted, as always. Large portions of the lawn were dead and there were dandelions everywhere. She didn’t even want to talk to any of the members – she would tell Franz that evening that they simply hadn’t listened to her. She asked the guard in the booth for the key to the Harley. He seemed taken aback, but he didn’t dare to argue.

She had several hours before the ferry would head back, so she made a circuit around the island on the hog, going hell for leather along the eastern side. Surely Franz wouldn’t mind. Lunch was at a sleepy little café in the village that served dry sandwiches. As she ate she read all the emails from clients she’d been ignoring recently. She became so impatient for the ferry to leave that she almost destroyed a fingernail biting at it. What would Franz think? Just as the thought flew through her mind, his name popped up on her phone screen. He said he just wanted to make sure she would make the ferry. That he couldn’t wait to see her. He described a shortcut to the city where you could get up to blazing speeds.

‘Take that road and think of me,’ he whispered.

There was a chill in the air when the ferry docked at the harbour, although the sun was still high in the sky. She pulled her leather jacket tight around her neck, feeling suddenly stressed. She wanted to get there before it got dark.

For the first stretch she was on her own. The brisk air nipped at her cheeks. The pale green, leafy treetops whizzed by, like a veil over everything. She couldn’t remember a time she had felt so happy.

But then her thoughts clouded over. The analogy about the spider popped up out of the blue. Something was nagging at her, something he’d said. She shoved the thought aside but it returned, stronger this time. The spider that never leaves its web. Not a single little fly gets out alive – so he’d said. Yet it had happened. With both the intermediary loser and Bauman. After slowing down unconsciously, she sped back up again, annoyed. Suddenly, for an instant, it was as if she was outside her own body. She experienced a fleeting moment of freedom, as if she were emerging from a cocoon. Everything became clear, like the mist dissolving out on Fog Island. This instant, which lasted only a millisecond, was enough to distract her. Just as she landed back in the present moment and regained control over the bike, a steel cable appeared ahead of her. Shining in the sunlight low across the asphalt. For a brief, magnificent moment she was floating in the blue sky. Blue everywhere, only blue. And before she could figure out what was happening, before she even suspected, everything went black.