Page 76 of The Sleepwalker
‘She’s standing outside the caravan.’
‘Move a little closer.’
‘The light from the window is shining on her hair.’
‘Can you see her face?’
‘No, because .?.?. she’s got her back turned to me.’
‘Stay there and study her more closely, focus on the details.’
‘The sports bag in her hand looks heavy. She’s dirty, and .?.?. her fingers are the colour of bone .?.?. too many, really thin .?.?.’
‘What is she doing?’ asks Erik.
‘She puts the bag down, opens it and takes something out, then she walks over to the door and goes inside,’ Hugo replies.
‘What did she take out?’
‘I don’t know.’
‘Let’s just rewind a little .?.?. You see the blonde woman put her bag down on the grass?’ says Erik.
‘Yes.’
‘Look at her face.’
‘I can’t see it,’ he mumbles.
‘Reflections,’ Joona says quietly.
‘Are any of the windows on the caravan dark?’ asks Erik.
‘The one on the door.’
‘Focus on that as she moves forward to go inside.’
‘It’s too quick, she’s already gone in and closed it behind her,’ he says, tears streaming down his cheeks.
Lars Grind gets up and taps his watch, as though to tell Erik that it is time to stop.
‘Go back in your memory,’ Erik continues. ‘It’s cold, and there are snowflakes swirling through the air. The woman puts the bag down. You can see her hands, but they’re normal hands – she isn’t a skeleton, just a regular woman .?.?.’
Hugo’s muscles tense, as though he is trying to get up from the armchair.
‘What does she take out of the bag?’ asks Erik.
‘I can’t see,’ he whispers.
‘There’s no need to be afraid, Hugo, it’s all going to be OK. You have plenty of time to take in every detail. The woman slowly moves towards the door. The light from the window hits her face from one side, and just as she is about to open the door, you see her reflection in the dark glass.’
‘I can see her reflection,’ says Hugo. ‘But she has her head lowered, like she knows I’m looking at her.’
‘Hold on to that image. Can you see anything?’
‘Just a bit of her skull, with cracks from her eye sockets going up over her forehead .?.?. She opens the door with her left hand and hides the axe in her right hand behind her back .?.?.’
28
