The Considerate Killer by Agnete Friis, Lene Kaaberbøl Read Free Book Online Page B

Just two quick dives down to the bottom here and then we’ll snorkel the reefs afterward. Catch a little dinner.”
    Vincent hesitated.
    He didn’t know much about diving, but nine meters couldn’t be entirely without danger. He seemed to have heard that you didn’t get the bends when you dived without oxygen, but a fast ascent from so great a depth could cause other problems. Blackouts. Or in his case, running out of time and air. God, he really hated diving.
    â€œCome on. Do it for me.” Vadim slapped him teasingly across the neck. “Have I ever asked you for anything before?”
    There was a smile in his voice but deeper down Vincent thought he could hear something else, a kind of . . . desperation. The same desperation he heard in his mother’s voice when she begged him to visit more often. Come on, do it for me, for us. Show that you love me. And your father. And Mimi, who misses you. I’ll make kare-kare . You never get that in Manila.
    He shook his head lightly and looked at Vadim, who was putting on the big, clumsy flippers with practiced moves. He himself sat stiffly and without moving, his bare feet immersed in the shallow water at the bottom of the motorboat.
    â€œCan’t we just snorkel?” he asked, but could immediately tell that Vadim thought he had said the wrong thing. His friend’s eyes were narrow and focused on what he was doing, but the jaw muscles worked in his sun-browned face.
    â€œYou’ll love it,” he said. “It’s the wildest high when you get down there. Better than drugs. Better than sex.”
    For a second he looked directly at Vincent and called forth an unwelcome flashback from the night before. The sensation in his body as he came, and saw Vadim standing like a shadow in the doorway.
    Vincent lowered his gaze. Had the odd thought that this was the price that had to be paid because he had slept with Bea while Vadim had gone to bed alone. He had to prove his loyalty, just like those times when Vadim remained sitting in Cabana Club until five o’clock in the morning and Vincent had to stay there with him and match him drink for drink, though it made his innards heave.
    â€œYou’re my only true friend,” Vadim would say, drunk and crooked, with love pouring from his entire body. “A friend isn’t there for the money, but because you’d do anything . . .” Here he would narrow his eyes and sniff. “Because you’d do anything for each other, right?”
    â€œOkay,” he muttered. “Let’s do it then.”
    â€œDo you know how to equalize the pressure?” Vadim looked at him. His gaze was concentrated and inward looking.
    â€œYes, I think so.”
    â€œGood. Do it often. Don’t wait until you feel the pressure.”
    Vadim sat on the edge of the boat with his back to the water. He pulled off one of his gold rings and held it out. The wide one that he wore on his thumb.
    â€œAn inheritance from my grandfather,” he said. “His wedding ring. He used to wear it on his ring finger. American. He was as big as Victor.”
    Victor nodded approvingly and opened cola number two.
    â€œBig men wear big jewelry.”
    â€œYes, and that’s what we are diving for,” said Vadim.
    He pulled his mask over his face, and it was impossible to read his expression when he held his hand out and let go of the ring right above the anchor line.
    Vincent stared at him.
    â€œAre you crazy?” he said. “It’ll be impossible to find down there.”
    Vadim nodded.
    â€œYes, if we don’t hurry. Sand moves quickly on the bottom. Hurry up and put on those weights or you’ll have no chance to make it. Come on.”
    Vincent buckled the lead belt across his hips and fumbled with the plastic lock on the dog collar–like chain that was supposed to improve his balance in the water. It felt impossibly heavy.
    Vadim nodded briefly, swung himself over