Page 196 of The Sleepwalker

‘It went straight through me,’ he says, dropping it back into the pot.

‘Iknewyou were a badass.’ She smiles, her pointed teeth peeping out from beneath her top lip.

‘I was pinned to the floor,’ he continues, nodding to the gash in the oak parquet.

‘Lie down where it happened.’

Erik gets down awkwardly on the floor and lies back. Moa stands with one foot on either side of his waist, then crouches down, straddles his hips and pretends to stab him in the shoulder.

‘You’re pinned down now,’ she says, kissing him. ‘You won’t get away this time .?.?.’

She kisses him again, pressing herself against his crotch and unbuttoning his shirt. She has just peeled off her black top when a bell rings.

‘There’s someone at the door,’ he says.

‘OK, I’ll let you go – but only if you promise we can pick up where we left off later,’ she says, pretending to yank the knife out of his shoulder.

They get up and straighten their clothes. The bell rings again, and Erik gives her a quick peck on the lips before hurrying through to the hallway.

He opens the door and finds Joona Linna standing outside. The detective superintendent’s coat is unbuttoned, the stiff breeze ruffling his hair.

‘Sorry to show up unannounced, but I need your help and you weren’t answering the phone,’ he says.

‘Come in. What is it?’

Joona steps forward into the house and closes the door behind him.

‘There’s been another murder, and Hugo Sand says he’s willing to give the hypnosis one last try,’ he says, lowering his voice when he hears Moa’s footsteps approaching.

‘Right now?’ asks Erik.

‘Afraid so.’

Moa comes over and says hello. Joona apologises for intruding and tells her that he needs to hire Erik for a few hours.

‘You don’t have to pay if you promise to take care of him,’ she says.

‘I’ll be back in three hours, tops, if you want to stay. I’d love it if you did. Run a bath, read a book,’ says Erik.

* * *

The old friends are in the car, heading north towards Uppsala, when a powerful gust of wind makes the vehicle shake.

‘How is Valeria getting on?’ asks Erik.

‘She thinks she should stay another week,’ Joona replies. ‘It’s been tough on her, but she seems OK.’

‘It’s good that she’s there.’

‘I’ve tried to storm-proof the house and greenhouses as best I can, at the very least.’

‘Ah, I’ve not bothered. It feels as though it’s been blown out of all proportion.’

‘Ha,’ Joona replies, swerving around a ripped cardboard box on the road.

As he drives, he tells Erik about his call with Agneta, and the hypnotist reassures him that he will do his best to prevent Hugo from suffering.

‘I spoke to his girlfriend, too .?.?. What she told me confirms that Hugo sees things in detail, despite his dreams.’