The Water's Edge by Karin Fossum Read Free Book Online Page A

mean.'
He paused to let his words sink in and take effect.
'We couldn't believe our eyes,' he said. 'I called 112 and it took them twenty minutes to get up there. Kristine was shaking like a leaf.'
'But the man by the barrier,' Irmelin asked. 'Have you seen him before?'
'Never,' Reinhardt said.
'He was walking in a funny way,' Kristine said. 'I mean, he wasn't limping, but he was dragging one leg. When he walked he had to swing it in front of the other.'
'My guess is he has a false leg,' Reinhardt said. 'If he ends up in court, we'll probably have to give evidence.'
Kjell shook his head in disbelief. 'Well, that's what you'll be hoping for, I know you. For Christ's sake, Reinhardt, all you did was see a man in the forest. Get over yourself.'
'Perhaps we just startled him,' Kristine said. 'We did appear out of nowhere.'
Reinhardt gave a surly grunt. 'You would like to think so, wifey, but the truth will out one day.'
'But had he been strangled or what?' Irmelin asked.
'We don't know,' Kristine whispered.
'Did you try to find a pulse?'
'No,' Reinhardt said. 'There was no need for all that. His skin was turning blue, you know, marbled. I could tell instantly that he was dead.'
'Please can we change the subject?' Kristine pleaded.
Reinhardt looked at her across the table. 'It's actually very important to get these things out into the open,' he said. 'It's important to talk about them to get them out of your system.'
'But you don't want them out of your system.'
Reinhardt tossed his head. 'Listen,' he said sternly, 'I can talk about whatever I like. Do you have a problem with that?'
Irmelin and Kjell exchanged glances and Kristine fell silent. Then she got up and went out into the kitchen to make coffee. Irmelin followed her.
'I can't bear to hear him go on about it any longer, I'm trying to forget,' she whispered. She was making filter coffee, but had forgotten to count the measures of ground coffee. Irmelin looked at her with compassion; she, too, was appalled at the murder. This was not merely something they had read about in the paper, this was real to them.
'Do you know what he did?' Kristine whispered. 'He took pictures up there with his mobile.'
'What?' Irmelin's jaw dropped.
'He squatted down and took a load of pictures.'
'Not of the boy, surely?'
'Yes. And I bet he's showing them to Kjell.'
They listened towards the living room. The men had lowered their voices, but they could hear Kjell's deep bass and Reinhardt's tenor.
'I'm really scared he'll show them at work, too, that he'll sit in the canteen with his mobile showing them to all and sundry. You know what he's like.'
Irmelin fixed her with a stare.
'You never draw the line. You have to start putting your foot down, Kristine, he has far too much power over you.'
'I know.'
The coffee gurgled into the pot. Outside it was clouding over and the light in the kitchen grew dim.
'Everything's hopeless,' Kristine whispered. She shrugged forlornly. 'Some days I just want to pack my bags and leave. But I don't know where to go.'
'How long has this been going on?' Irmelin whispered back. 'It's been a long time since I last saw you looking really happy.'
Kristine thought about this.
'To tell you the truth, it's been going on for years. I can barely get through the days or the nights. Him lying next to me, breathing.'
She looked furtively at her friend, unsure how honest she should be. 'I don't even like the smell of him any more, I don't like his voice. He takes up so much space. I want him to sleep somewhere else. What I really want is to be on my own.'
'You're not frightened of him, are you?' Irmelin said. 'That's not what we're talking about, is it?'
'No, I'm not scared of him. But when he goes on and on about something, it just wears me down.'
'You don't assert yourself.'
'I'm afraid to,' she said, ashamed. 'Because I don't know what's going to happen if I contradict him.'
Irmelin squeezed her hand.
'Try it once,' she said. 'Try it once and see what happens. He's not going to