Page 240 of The Sleepwalker

‘Hugo,’ she mumbles.

She tries to shake him off, but Bernard’s grip is too tight, and she drags him across the floor.

Agneta takes a deep breath and manages to pull her foot free, stumbling slightly and breaking her fall against the snowy sofa.

One of the crows spreads its wings and caws.

Bernard gets onto his knees, spits and reaches for the axe.

As though in a daze, Agneta staggers towards the doors onto the garden. The snow is churning through the air outside, blowing parallel to the ground.

Bernard lets out a low groan and tries to stand up, his bloody wig hanging over his face.

Hugo grips Agneta’s arm and guides her out of the house. Moving as quickly as they can, they make their way down the slope in the deep snow.

83

Joona is racing across the open water at a speed of forty knots. Huge waves crash all around him, and the fierce wind throws the foam up into the air.

Snow patters against the windscreen.

The two motors roar and churn up water behind the black boat.

The GPS signal is still weak and patchy, but Joona has memorised the nautical chart and is trying to use the searchlight to orient himself.

He passes frozen inlets, beaches where the diving towers are lying on their sides, wrecked marinas and dark waterfront properties.

Drottningholm Palace isn’t visible through the snow, but he knows it must be somewhere up ahead.

Joona swings to port side, cutting across the waves and parrying the worst of the gusts before turning off into a new channel in the ice.

The swell washes back towards him with surprising force, surging over the side of the boat and knocking it off course. The rubber floats on the side of the RIB thud against the edge of the ice before Joona manages to regain control and picks up speed again.

He swerves to avoid a sofa floating in the water, and thebroken ice clatters against the bow.

Up ahead, he spots the dark Nockeby Bridge through the blizzard.

* * *

Hugo and Agneta trudge down the slope towards the icy bay in a strange world of darkness and furious power.

The wind tugs at their hair and clothes, making it hard to walk in a straight line.

Snow swirls in from the right, and debris and branches bounce across the ground.

Agneta glances back over her shoulder, but there is no sign of Bernard.

The house is nothing but a looming shadow.

Hugo loses his footing and slips down the slope, leaving Agneta with no choice but to attempt to follow his tracks.

A lifebuoy rolls past her feet, and is swallowed up by the snow and the darkness beyond.

Behind her, she hears Bernard roar.

Agneta knows she is following Hugo, but she still feels confused. Out of nowhere, she starts to worry that she is retracing her own steps, and she is just about to shout when she spots the teenager up ahead.

He is waiting for her, and he wipes the snow from his face, grabs her good hand and pulls her after him.