Devil's Touch (14 page)

Chapter 12

The night and most of the morning had passed. Marc rests his head in his hands, gets up and looks out the window as he slowly puts on his suede jacket and leaves the room. 

"Would you like a cup of coffee? It’s fresh."

Marc tries to smile, but it’s impossible, so he just nods.

"Here, come and sit down a little."

The nurse is down the hall, standing next to some wooden chairs that look really uncomfortable. When he sits down, she hands him a cup of coffee.

"Take some time before you leave. It’s an overwhelming experience."

He sips the hot coffee. It’s bitter and a little sticky from all the sugar in it.

"How do you feel?"

He is surprised when he looks up and recognizes the nurse from the night before. Now she has dark rings under her eyes.

"I feel strangely empty inside. I don’t know how to explain it."

The nurse nods.

"When did it happen?"

Marc is confused and looks at her.

"I don’t really know... Strange, I normally have a good sense of time."

He looks into his coffee and stirs it, even though the last thing he wants is to dissolve more sugar.

"It’s weird... It’s not that I didn’t know it would happen, but still it was so sudden."

"And then, how can I call it sudden. She’s been ill for a long time, and you told me there was nothing you could do."

He looks at her face and stops talking. Then he looks down at his worn suede shoes that are no longer the same color as they used to be. After a long time, he looks up at her again.

"I’m ashamed to say it, but I’m actually relieved."

He swallows.

"I really do. For the last couple of months, I’ve known that it could happen any time, but still I was surprised when it happened last night. Somehow, I expected everything to just go on as usual, and that she would be back in her flat in a couple of weeks."

"Death always comes as a surprise even when you’re expecting it."

"Is it always like that?"

She nods and takes the cup from him. The coffee has gone cold.

"Go home and get some sleep. You’ve been up all night."

He nods and gets up slowly.

"What do you do now, in a situation like this? I mean..."

He sighs and goes on.

"There’s all the practical stuff."

The nurse smiles and then she gently shakes her head.

"Your mother has taken care of all that. I had a talk with her when she came in a couple of weeks ago. I’ll show you."

She quickly walks into the room again.

"I cared about your mother a great deal. As much as one can in a situation like this."

Her voice fades and she opens a cupboard.

"I know she was prepared for this. She hadn’t forgotten what it was like when she lost her own parents, and she didn’t want you to have the same practical difficulties."

She’s back next to him.

"Here you go."

She takes his hands and places a stack of papers in them.

"I knew she kept them in her closet. She asked me to give them to you when it happened. She has taken care of everything."

She leans over a little and flicks through the papers he’s holding.

"Here."

She pulls out a piece of paper. He’s gasping for breath.

"Yes, your mother wrote everything by hand. It’s probably not easy for you to read her handwriting."

She pads his right arm softly.

"Call him."

She points at a name.

"He will take care of everything."

"Strange."

He squeezes his eyes shut for a moment.

"It must have been strange for her to arrange her own funeral."

The nurse pads him on the shoulder.

"I’ll get you another cup of coffee."

He nods silently as he just looks at the papers in his hands. When the nurse passes one of her colleagues, she answers the unasked question in her eyes.

"His mother just died."

She holds out the cold cup to her.

"I’ll get him some fresh coffee."

Marc jumps when the sound of his phone suddenly breaks the silence in the hospital corridor, and, feeling almost scared, he looks around him. The officer further down the hall looks at him attentively and they exchange a quick look before Marc nods at him and takes out his phone from his pocket.

"Yes."

His voice is hardly more than a whisper and no one answers.

"Hello."

Marc can sense some noise.

"Come on, I’m in the hospital. My mother just died, so if you want something, come out and say it. I don’t have the patience for this."

Still nothing even though Marc had spoken with a loud and clear voice.

"OK. I’ll hang up then."

He has already taken the phone away from his ear when he hears the voice. It sounds familiar.

"I can’t hear you. The connection is bad. Can you speak up?"

Marc’s eyes wander down the hall. The officer is still looking at him. Marc nods again and forces himself to smile.

"Yes, I remember you. You left the elevator when I entered it. How are you today? Feeling better?"

Marc looks down at the brown linoleum which isn’t helping to lighten up the dullness of the corridor.

"Yes, I got the name. I know who he is."

He breathes in and out a couple of times.

"When would you like me to start the surveillance of him?"

He looks at the toes of his shoes.

"Now?!"

He breathes a few times again.

"It’ll have to wait a couple of hours. I need to get some sleep."

He looks at his watch.

"It’s a quarter past ten."

He looks up at the officer down the hall.

"I can start around seven tonight."

He notices that the officer moves around restlessly and on stiff legs.

"OK, let’s say that. But I have to sleep from time to time."

He holds the phone out from his ear and looks at it.

"Is this your number?"

Marc sighs and his voice is irritated.

"Don’t call me from a phone with caller ID and think that I can’t see your number. Call me nerdy about my job, but that’s how it is. Is this the number you want me to call with information?"

He smiles a little to himself.

"OK. If you want a report…"

He stops in the middle of the sentence.

"…then you’ll have to send me an email address I can send my weekly report to. The address is on my card. My fee is also to be paid weekly. I’ll send you the account number together with the report. Me fee is… All right… Goodb… All right then."

He looks at the phone shaking his head before he puts it back in his pocket.

The officer takes a quick look at his watch, before pulling the sleeve back over it looking annoyed. He puts his hands to his lower back and bends backwards. The elevator doors open. The sound seems to fill the hall and the man in the suede jacket further down the hall looks up from his phone to watch the man getting out of the elevator. For a moment the two men look at each other.

"Fredericsson."

The officer sounds relaxed.

"Absolutely nothing has happened tonight. Are you sure this is not a waste of time?"

"You can go now. I’ll take over. Will there be a replacement?”

The officer nods and looks at his watch again.

"In 15 minutes."

"OK. Go home and get some sleep."

Marc is still looking at the two people by the elevator when the nurse brings him his coffee.

"At least this is warm."

Marc nods in the direction of Fredericsson.

"What has happened since the police is here?"

She looks at him for a long time before replying hesitantly.

"A woman was assaulted in her own home. It was bad."

Marc looks at her thoughtfully.

"Attempted murder?"

"But she’ll survive. The perpetrator just missed the main artery in her neck."

"She was lucky."

"Yes, very. Otherwise she wouldn’t be alive now."

He raises his eyebrows and drinks from his coffee. He bites his lip when the coffee burns its way down his throat and looks straight at the nurse.

"You know what the worst part is? It actually helps to know that you’re not the only one feeling bad."

She shrugs. He takes another sip of his coffee, and a new light slowly starts to shine in his eyes. He takes another sip and looks at the nurse again.

"Thanks, I feel better now."

The nurse looks at him with surprise.

"Your coffee wasn’t warm?"

He gets up and looks down at the nurse.

"Thank you again."

He picks up the papers with his mother’s handwriting and slowly walks down the hall.

A nurse passes Fredericsson on her way into Evy’s room with a cup of coffee.

"Do you have to be sick or dead to get some coffee around here?"

He looks down at the coffee and then back at the nurse. His voice is cheerful, but it’s obvious that the nurse doesn’t think it’s funny. She moves her head in the direction of the room behind the counter. Fredericsson looks at the officer for a long time.

"I’ll get it."

"You’re a true friend."

The officer smiles with a shrug.

"You haven’t changed much."

Fredericsson smiles a crooked smile as he starts to walk in Marc’s direction.

"I’m too old for that. Now I’m just a grumpy old man."

Fredericsson doesn’t look at the officer as he speaks.

"Ha. You’re not retiring any time soon."

Fredericsson turns his head.

"So you think I have lots of time to change?"

The officer just shakes his head and disappears behind the counter.

Fredericsson stops outside Evy’s room. He’s still looking directly at Marc.

"Good morning."

Fredericsson’s voice is still a little rusty and he looks down with envy at Marc’s coffee.

"It tastes like coffee. It probably is coffee. But I’m not sure it works like coffee. Let me tell you a secret.

Marc looks at him for a long time.

"Yes?"

"I think it’s decaf."

Fredericsson gives out a loud sigh.

"Don’t say that."

Marc nods.

"And another secret…"

Fredericsson leans a little closer to Marc.

"It doesn’t taste good either."

The officer comes back with a cup of coffee for Fredericsson, who just stares at it. The officer looks at him patiently.

"Come on, Fredericsson, you want your coffee or not?"

Fredericsson makes no move to take the cup.

"Before you couldn’t live without it."

The officer shakes his head and lifts the cup to his lips.

"Wait. Give it to me."

Fredericsson takes the cup from the officer’s hand.

"It’s worth the risk."

Marc laughs and Fredericsson scowls at him when he puts his lips to the cup and takes a cautious sip. Then he looks at Marc.

"It tastes like coffee."

Fredericsson nods.

"And not good."

Fredericsson nods again, rocking back and forth a little.

"And it could be decaf."

Fredericsson breathes heavily.

"That’s a first..."

The officer laughs.

"Who’d have thought that this would ever happen to you? Now you’re on your own. I’m going home."

The officer leaves and Fredericsson and Marc stand silently in front of each other. Marc looks into the room and nods at Evy. Then he slowly walks into the room, while Fredericsson follows him attentively. Marc looks at Evy.

"Haven’t we met before?"

Evy looks at him without recognizing him and slowly shakes her head.

"No?"

Marc steps closer but stops when she raises her hand.

"I don’t know you!"

"I’m sure we’ve met before."

Fredericsson takes a step closer to Marc. Marc tilts his head a little. Evy and him look at each other for a long time before she turns her head away and looks out the window.