Page 81 of The Sleepwalker
‘Talk!’ she snaps, waving impatiently.
‘I will.’
‘The clock’s ticking, pig.’
She has goosebumps on her legs, small beads of sweat glistening on her forehead.
‘There’s a woman who has been robbing johns,’ he says.
‘You’re in the wrong place, ’cause I’ve never robbed anyone. I’m a good girl. I love my guys and they love me.’
‘I wasn’t talking about you .?.?.’
‘Are you thick in the head, or did you have a stroke or something? You’re so fucking slow,’ she says with a hoarse laugh.
‘Can I go on?’
‘Jesus Christ.’
‘Are you listening?’
‘This whole cop thing .?.?. is it like rehab or something?’
‘Tiffany, I’m not going to pay you if you don’t—’
‘Man, it’s war,’ she shouts, pointing at him. ‘I’ll ring Sorab, I swear. And you definitely don’t want him showing up.’
Her nose has started running, and she licks the mucus from her top lip.
‘I can see that you’re antsy because you’re going into withdrawal, and—’
‘You can’t see shit. What the hell do you know? Go fuck yourself.’
‘I just wanted to say that there’s help if you need it. The methadone programme, for exa—’
‘Give me money. Give me a bunch of fucking money,’ she snaps. ‘That’s all the help I need.’
‘Can I ask my questions now?’
‘Why, you need to get back to the care home or something?’ she asks, her leg bouncing again.
‘Last chance, Tiffany,’ Joona says, leaning forward. ‘There’s a blonde woman who has been robbing johns across Stockholm.’
‘It’s easier just to spread your legs.’
‘She assaults the men. Have you heard of her?’
‘Yeah.’
‘Really?’
‘Yeah, what the hell, I just told you. I had a guy who gotfucked up, but it was a while back now. Last year, maybe.’
‘Do you have his name?’
‘Do you have his name?’ she parrots in a mocking voice.
‘Come on, Tiffany.’
