The coffee cup was empty. He carried it out into the kitchen and returned to the living room. He looked around. There were a number of photographs in gilt frames on one shelf. They depicted children of various ages, a wedding couple, a man in a uniform. Above the shelf there was a flag that he assumed must be Turkish. I am in the middle of a story, he thought. Everything that is now happening to me, everything that the girls tell and don’t tell, what they do and don’t do, I may be able to shape into a narrative that has not been related before. Tea-Bag disappears God knows where; police dogs burst into the room at the boxing club. I am currently camping out in an apartment that belongs to a Turkish family. The girl who lives here for the moment is a person who doesn’t exist. She hides out in caves, behind borrowed identities. A girl whose real name may or may not be Tanya, and who supports herself by committing burglaries and picking pockets.
He gingerly started opening drawers around the apartment looking for a pen and some paper. So much had happened during the past week that he wanted to make some notes. He found a pad of paper and a pencil, then sat down at the kitchen table. He decided it was probably best to call and reassure Andrea that he was coming home this evening even though he would be quite late. He left a message on her answering machine, this time not even thinking about the fact that he was still using a stolen phone. Before he returned to his notes he called his investment broker.
‘Burén here.’
‘How come you’re suddenly always there when I call nowadays?’
‘Have you changed phone numbers? I thought you were someone else.’
Humlin frowned.
‘You mean you wouldn’t have answered if you saw the call was from me? I thought I was one of your clients!’
‘You are.’
‘It doesn’t seem like it. I’m borrowing the phone of a friend of mine. You don’t need to keep this number. I won’t be using it again.’
‘I save all phone numbers. My computer stores them automatically. What was it you wanted?’
‘I don’t want you to store this number. Is that understood?’
‘I heard you. What was it you wanted?’
‘I want to know how my shares are doing.’
‘If they don’t go down I think we can reasonably expect them to go up.’
‘Please give me an honest answer. Will I ever recoup the money I invested?’
‘In time.’
‘“In time.” How long is that?’
‘Five to ten years. By the way, I’ve just started the middle section of my novel.’
‘I’m not interested in your novel. I’m interested in my investments. You have swindled me.’
‘It is always risky to let one’s greed get the better of one.’
‘You were the person who talked me out of selling.’
‘It is my duty to give you the best advice at my disposal at any given moment.’
Humlin felt that he was simply getting snared by Burén’s avoidance strategies. He hung up without saying anything else. Anders Burén himself would be a good subject of a novel, he thought angrily. The distance between his world and Stensgården is like an expanding universe. The distance is increasing every second. If I brought the girls and him together, what would they talk about?
He bent over his notes. There was a sound at the front door. He held his breath and felt his heart start beating faster. It’s the Yüksels, he thought. Soon a large Turkish family will pour in and they are going to want to know what a strange man is doing in their apartment.
But it was Tanya who had come back. She looked questioningly at him. She sees my fear, Humlin thought. If there’s anything she knows all about it’s insecurity since she lives with it constantly. Tanya emptied the contents of her backpack on the table. Apart from the now-familiar icons, pine cones and baby’s dummies there were mobile phones. Seven, to be precise.
‘You can choose the one you want.’
‘Where did you steal these?’
‘At the police station.’
Humlin stared at her.
‘The police station?’
‘I didn’t like being kept there overnight. I wanted to revenge myself a little. I went back there and picked up a few phones.’
‘These phones belong to police officers?’
‘Only the commanding officers. And a prosecutor. Take them all. If we’re lucky they won’t be blocked until tomorrow.’
‘I don’t want a stolen phone. Particularly not one that belongs to a policeman.’
He saw that she was hurt. Then there was that angry glint in her eye again. Before he said anything she shoved one of the phones in his hand.
‘Take this one. Answer it when it rings.’
‘Never. How would I explain who I was?’
‘Do as I say. If you really want to know who I am.’
She left the kitchen. The front door was closed quietly. Shortly afterwards the phone rang. He hesitated, then answered it. It was Tanya.
‘This is Irina,’ she said.
‘Why are you calling yourself Irina? Where are you?’
‘You can see me from the windows in the living room.’
He walked over to the windows and looked out. Tanya was standing in the middle of a muddy patch of land that was supposed to be a lawn.
‘I see you. Why are we talking on the phone?’
‘It’s easier for me.’
‘Why are you calling youself Irina?’
