Joona Linna Crime Series Books 1 and 2: The Hypnotist, The Nightmare

“And what happened next, at home, was more or less the way he described it under hypnosis?” asks Erik.

“Not more or less—exactly, or so it seems,” says Joona, clearing his throat. “But the motive—what suddenly made him attack his little sister and his mother—that’s something we don’t know.” He looks at Erik, his expression troubled. “Perhaps he just had a feeling that he wasn’t finished, that Evelyn hadn’t been punished enough.”

Joona stops outside an unremarkable house and calls to say that they’ve arrived. He taps in the code, opens the door, and lets Erik into the simple entrance hall.

51

sunday, december 13 (feast of st lucia): morning

Two police officers are waiting outside the lift when they reach the third floor. Joona shakes hands with them and then unlocks an unmarked security door. Before he pushes the door open completely, he knocks.

“Is it all right if we come in?” he asks, through the gap.

“You haven’t found him, have you?”

The light is behind Evelyn, so it is impossible to make out her features clearly, only a dark oval surrounded by sunlit hair.

“No,” replies Joona.

She comes to the door to usher them in and locks it quickly behind them, checking the lock; when she turns around, Erik sees she is breathing heavily.

“This is a safe apartment; you’ve got a police guard,” says Joona reassuringly. “No one is allowed to give out information about you or search for information about you; the prosecutor has made that decision. You’re safe now, Evelyn.”

“As long as I stay in here, maybe,” she says. “But I’m going to have to come out sometime. And Josef is good at waiting.”

She goes over to the window, looks out, and sits down on the sofa.

“Where could Josef be hiding?” asks Joona.

“You think I know something.”

“Do you?” asks Erik.

“Are you going to hypnotise me?”

“No.” He smiles in surprise.

She is not wearing make-up, and her eyes look vulnerable and unprotected as she scrutinises him.

“You can if you want to,” she says, looking down quickly.

The apartment consists of nothing more than a bedroom with a wide bed, two armchairs, and a television set, a bathroom with a shower cubicle, and a kitchen with an eating area. The windows are made of bulletproof glass, and the walls are painted throughout in a calm yellow colour.

Erik looks around and follows her into the kitchen. “Nice little place,” he says.

Evelyn shrugs her shoulders. She is wearing a red sweater and a pair of faded jeans. Her hair is carelessly caught up in a ponytail. “They’re bringing a few of my things today,” she says.

“That’s good,” says Erik. “People usually feel better when—”

“Better? What do you know about what would make me feel better?”

“I’ve worked with—”

“I’m sorry, but I don’t give a shit about that, I don’t want to talk to psychologists and counsellors.”

“I’m not here in that capacity.”

“So why are you here?”

“To try to find Josef.”

She turns to him and says curtly, “He isn’t here.”

Without knowing why, Erik decides not to say anything about Benjamin. “Listen to me, Evelyn,” he says quietly. “I need your help to map out Josef’s circle of acquaintances.”

Her eyes are shiny, almost feverish. “All right,” she replies, with something resembling a small smile.

“Does he have a girlfriend?”

Her eyes darken and her mouth tenses. “Apart from me, you mean?”

“Yes.”

She shakes her head.

“Who does he hang out with?”

“He doesn’t hang out with anybody,” she says.

“Classmates?”

She shrugs her shoulders. “He’s never had any friends, as far as I know.”

“If he needed help with something, who would he turn to?”

“I don’t know … Sometimes he talks to the drunks behind the off licence.”

“Do you know their names, who they are?”

“One of them has a tattoo on his hand.”

“What does it look like?”

“I can’t remember … A fish, I think.” She stands up and goes over to the window again.

Erik looks at her. The daylight strikes her young face; he can see a blue vein beating in her slender throat. “Could he be staying with one of them?”

She shrugs her shoulders vaguely. “Maybe.”