Devil's Touch

by Tina Lindegaard

  "Stuart. He... There’s a tree on the playground where Stuart once… took me. Have you done that too?"

  His breathing becomes heavier.

  "No, I haven’t. I was interested in you for different reasons."

  The connection is gone and only the beeping sounds fill her head. She quickly jumps down from the swing and squats in front of it, searching for something under it. Then she lets herself fall backwards and lands on the grass with a thump.

  "I don’t know what I would have done if it hadn’t still been there!"

  She can feel the cold grass against her skin when she lets herself fall the rest of the way. She looks at the house. Her stretched out body is filled with a surprising sense of peace and she whispers quietly. “But it’s going to take years before it’s completely renovated.”

  "I’ll be damned!"

  James throws the phone down on the table.

  "Where’s the driver?!"

  His voice fills the room and his secretary comes running. He usually smiles every time he sees her. Her legs seem to go on forever and she has the body of a supermodel, and the best part: no is not in her vocabulary.

  "I need him now!"

  "I’ll call the limo service now. I don’t think we have booked him."

  "I don’t give a damn, I need him now! Stuart and I kept that company on its feet because of him."

  James swallows.

  "He hasn’t done his job. I asked him to do two simple things and he hasn’t done any of them. I just talked to one of them."

  His secretary stops.

  "Call now! NOW!"

  She runs out of the office again. He is furious and turns to face the window.

  "And to make matters worse, they have talked to each other. Evy and Marc. That means that none of the jobs have been done!"

  His voice follows her all the way out the door. He can hear her talking on the phone in a very patient and friendly voice.

  "I’ll be..."

  He almost runs over to her and tears the phone from her hands.

  "Where is he? I need him here now! NOW! Is that clear?!"

  He gives the phone back to the secretary.

  "He has left town, James."

  She takes the phone and disconnects the call.

  "I’ll be..."

  He called work this morning. He’s leaving the country, James.

  She looks at him for a while.

  The police have been there all day. They’re searching the company… and want to look at the books.”

  He stares at her for a long time.

  "As far as I know we have made some rather substantial money transfers to them.”

  “Stuart was using a private investigator called Marc. I can’t remember his last name. Can you get his number for me?”

  She looks at him as if she doesn’t understand.

  "The question wasn’t that hard, was it?"

  He walks slowly back to his office and then he turns around calmly.

  "Now! I need that information now! And close the door behind me!"

  The secretary jumps up from her chair and quietly closes the door behind him. James sits down at his desk and pulls out a drawer. From the back of the drawer he takes out a wooden box and then a small cardboard one. He touches the polished wood of the box.

  "James."

  Her voice is sweet as honey. He looks at her while she quickly walks over to him.

  "Here’s his number."

  James opens the cardboard box and places the card that covers the bullets on the table. Then he takes out the bullets one by one and places them on the table with the pointed ends up. With an almost loving motion he opens the wooden box and takes out the gun. With a dreamy look on his face he lets it rest in the palm of his hand. His empty eyes are on the secretary as he slowly starts loading the gun.

  "James. Please don’t do that. You scare me."

  She puts down the piece of paper on the desk between them. He’s still looking directly at her, then he carelessly puts down the gun on the table in front of him and looks at his watch. He leans forward and picks up the piece of paper.

  "Give me the phone, will you?"

  He nods at the phone that’s still balancing on the edge of the table where it landed when he threw it. She carefully picks up the phone, walks around the table, and places it in his hand.

  "Here you are."

  They’re still looking at each other, so he turns his chair around and looks out the window. He starts dialing the numbers on the piece of paper. There’s a voice on the other end. He stares out the window and picks up the gun and places it in his lap. The secretary turns around but James takes her hand and stops her.

  "Marc, you don’t know me but I’m Stuart Pettersson’s brother. I need you to watch someone for me. Can you meet me tonight at ten by the waterfront? By the old cannon, you know?"

  He listens.

  "I realize that it’s a short notice and I’ll gladly double your fee… If you lose another job, I will of course also pay you for that. It’s important to me that it’s you because the job has something to do with Stuart, and I know you two worked well together.”

  He stops talking for a little while.

  "Stuart told me that. Not many people knew that we owned the company together. So I know about most of Stuart’s business."

  James looks at the business card in front of him.

  "That’s great, thanks. See you at ten."

  James disconnects the call and dials the number on the card. It takes a long time before someone picks up.

  "I need a special service at ten at the waterfront by the old cannon. Tonight. Payment as usual."

  Two clicks from a tongue are heard on the other end and then the connection is gone. James throws the phone back on the desk.

  "Then I just have to wait until ten. Are you afraid of the dark?"

  He puts the gun on the table and tilts back his chair so he’s lying almost horizontally in front of the large windows of the office building. He’s still holding her hand.

  Chapter 32

  She looks at her sneakers. The dry dirt has left a brown layer of dust on top of the white leather. The light from her phone illuminates her face while her fingers move quickly over the screen as she texts.

  "Wait for me. Thinking of you. Don’t contact me no matter what. I’ll contact you. I promise."

  Evy reads the words carefully, but then deletes them one by one. ”I’ve only known him for one night. How can I ask him that?” She pushes off with her feet and feels the motion. A faint creaking sound reaches her every time the swing moves. Darkness has fallen around her. She remembers the playground as full of light, but now it’s almost completely in the dark. Only a faint light from the street lamps can be seen through the leaves on the four old trees. She can’t decide if that’s a good thing or not, and then she hears a phone ringing in the darkness not far from her. She recognizes the voice and then James steps out of the shadow of one of the trees.

  "How long have you been standing there?"

  James stops just a few feet away from her.

  "This call might interest you. You’re going to need a new private investigator soon."

  "What do you mean?"

  "A playground. Why a playground, Evy? "

  Evy looks at him.

  "What has happened?"

  "I don’t have to repeat myself, Evy. You already know what I mean. But if you’re not sure, then maybe the name Marc can help. This is so unlike you."

  He walks closer and looks at her more carefully.

  "I think you’ve put on a little weight."

  She shakes her head.

  "Still weigh the same."

  He sends her a crooked smile.

  "Then maybe you’ve just gotten older."

  He looks up and down her.

  "One year more or less."

  "At least you’ve gotten a lot richer."

  She tries hard to control her breathing.

  "You’ve been smart, Evy."


  "Were you trying to kill me?"

  "Maybe I was a little rough."

  "Rough?! A piece of glass against my throat? I’ll call that rough."

  James takes another step closer to her and the light falls on his face. She can see how he squeezes his eyes shut and then opens them as if he had just remembered something. Evy moves around nervously, and finally jumps down from the swing. James sends her a smile – a smile she knows only too well. She has seen it many times before and knows that it’s followed by a blow to the face. She shakes her head and takes a step back.

  "Not this time."

  He steps closer.

  "I’m your father."

  Evy stops and the blow hits her unexpectedly and throws her to the ground.

  "Denize gave you my last name. I loved her in the short time we were together, but she ruined everything when she fell in love with Nathan Wilkins. You have become an insult to me."

  Evy tries to get up but is struck by another blow.

  "I should have figured it out but I didn’t. Stuart has been blackmailing me with our little…"

  Evy gets up.

  "Well, relationship. Every time we disagreed about our business you have cost me so much money you can’t even imagine. I still don’t understand how I trusted Stuart enough to come here and to go to the flat that evening."

  His voice fills the air and his eyes are narrow – almost black.

  "I have often wished that the both of you were dead, so I could be free again."

  "Why did you keep coming to the flat?!"

  "It was better to know what you were doing. In case you..."

  Evy feels one chill after the other running along her body as she stares at him.

  "Evy."

  He steps forward quickly and before she knows what happened he’s holding both her arms in a tight grip. She can feel his breath against her face. He looks into her eyes. Then he looks at the scar on her neck. The memories from that night come back to her at once. Then she feels the first blow and then the next. There’s something familiar about it and she relaxes like she has done so many times before. ”It’s over now.” But this time he doesn’t stop. She screams and feels another hard blow and lands on her back on the hard ground again. James isn’t stopping and he mumbles something she can’t understand. She can’t focus and in the distance she hears his voice again. Then it disappears and everything goes black. Then it’s back and she sees him put his hand into his pocket. The only thing she registers is a scream inside her ”NOW!!!”

  There’s a loud sound and everything stops. James looks at her in disbelief before his eyes gradually change. She sees how his body slowly starts to sway before it falls toward her. He’s heavier than she would have thought and pain surges through her when he lands on her. She doesn’t move a muscle, but James’ glass like eyes are staring at her. She feels a sudden cold on the right side of her body. She tries to move, but James’ weight makes it almost impossible. She puts down the gun and, using both her hands, she finally manages to roll him away from her.

  A woman outside the playground is screaming as she runs down the street frantically tapping at the screen of her cell phone. Evy lifts her head and looks down at herself. The entire right side of her body is covered in blood. She feels no pain – only from her face, but her body is getting colder and colder. The cold from the ground covers her back and the flashing lights light up the golden leafs of the trees and the naked branches of the shrubs. Then everything becomes calm and quiet. She sees different faces staring down at her, but she can’t hear what they are saying before everything goes dark.

  Evy moves a little when she can feel hands that are holding her down.

  "Let go of me!"

  She screams as loud as she can and tries to focus. She tries to get up but is pushed back down again.

  "Calm down. Just stay there until we have examined you."

  Evy screams again and they hold on tighter. She starts to focus and sees two paramedics exchanging glances and nodding at the young police officer with the perfect eyebrows who’s standing by the fence surrounding the playground. He turns to face his colleague and they talk a little before he walks over to the paramedics. They both look up at him and so does Evy, but she doesn’t recognize him. He looks at her driver’s license in his hand and then down at Evy.

  "She has received some bad blows to her face."

  The paramedic looks at Evy before looking back up at the police officer.

  "But nothing is broken."

  "The blood?"

  The officer nods at the rights side of Evy’s body. The paramedic shakes his head.

  "It’s not hers."

  The officer nods and looks over at the body lying next to Evy. It’s covered with a white sheet. The officer looks at her.

  "Are you OK?"

  He smiles a little.

  "As OK as one can be after the blows you’ve received."

  Evy turns her head so she can see the white sheet. She recognizes the outlines of the face and knows that it’s James. The blood has started to seep through and she feels sick.

  "Does she have to go to the hospital?"

  The officer looks at the paramedic who looks down at Evy.

  "She doesn’t really need to, but we can take her just to make sure she’s OK."

  The officer nods.

  "I think you should."

  A car pulls over to the sidewalk next to them and a man gets out. He looks at her for a long time.

  ”Is she OK?”

  The officer looks back down at Evy, then he looks at the man and nods. The man gets back in his car and comes out again holding a cup of coffee. He nods at the officer next to him and walks over to Evy.

  “Fredericsson.”

  The officer next to Evy smiles.

  ”I thought I recognized the voice.”

  Fredericsson smiles.

  “And this time fresh from a shave.”

  Fredericsson turns his head a little and scratches his neck as he looks at the officer with the very curvy eyebrows. Fredericsson looks down at his shoes that are still dirty from the rain the day before. He looks at the officer.

  “We met when Nathan Wilkins was reported missing, right?”

  The officer smiles.

  “I still remember those croissants. I think I need to contact the secretary and ask where she got them.”

  A smile slowly spreads on Fredericsson’s face.

  “They’re from that place right over there.”

  Fredericsson points down the street.

  “You see that sign?”

  The officer looks in the direction where he’s pointing before looking back at Fredericsson.

  “How do you know that?”

  Fredericsson smiles and looks down at Evy.

  “We meet again.”

  Evy looks away. Fredericsson looks at the paramedics.

  “Does she need to go to the hospital?”

  “She doesn’t need to.”

  The officer interrupts eagerly. Fredericsson keeps looking at the paramedics.

  “That’s right. She doesn’t have to, but she should go see her own doctor tomorrow.”

  Fredericsson looks at Evy.

  “Will you go and see your doctor tomorrow, or do we need to drive by the hospital tonight?”

  Evy opens her eyes wide, but then she spots Fredericsson’s coffee.

  “Is it warm?”

  Fredericsson’s laugh fills the playground.

  “Yes, it’s warm.”

  “It’s cold down here.”

  “Yes, I’m sure it is.”

  He reaches his hand down to her and she lets him pull her up.

  “Yes, your hand is cold.”

  He gives her the coffee and she quickly takes it with both hands before she tastes it. Then she looks up at him.

  “But this is a girl’s coffee. Sweet and tasting of vanilla.”

  Fredericsson makes a face, but then he smiles again.

  “Well, I w
as introduced to it by a teenager, so…”

  He turns to the officer.

  “Send these people home.”

  He nods over at the fence.

  “There’s nothing more to see.”

  Fredericsson holds his hand out and shows Evy to his car. Then he turns to face the officer again.

  “Search the playground thoroughly, so there’s nothing left tomorrow when the kids come back.”

  He moves quickly and soon catches up with Evy. He opens the door for her.

  “Don’t forget the seatbelt.”

  She looks at him with surprise.

  “The seatbelt! He just tried to kill me.”

  Fredericsson smiles.

  “Just put it on. For me.”

  Evy shrugs and fastens her seatbelt when the door closes. They look at each other, then Fredericsson puts the key in the ignition and starts the car. He shakes his head and focuses on the traffic and they silently drive away. He stops the engine after he has pulled over to the sidewalk. Then he turns in his seat and looks directly at her. For a long time they are silent.

  “Am I in trouble?”

  Fredericsson’s eye brows shoot up.

  “The way you look right now?”

  He slowly shakes his head.

  “Self-defense. There’s no sign of anything else.”

  She nods and opens the door, then she smiles and gets out.

  “But you’ll be even richer.”

  She stops.

  “He was your father.”

  She slowly turns around and looks at him for a long time.

  “Don’t forget to close the door, Evy.”

  Chapter 33

  Evy shakes her coat and the snow falls down on the marble in lumps. She smiles at the doorman who smiles back and quickly walks over to meet her.

  “You’ve received a letter.”

  His smile gets bigger.

  “It’s from Italy, from Tuscany. Doesn’t that sound wonderful on a day like this?”

  Evy stops and reaches out for the letter.

  “Imagine sitting there with a glass of wine.”

  The doorman’s eyes are far away and Evy takes the letter from his hand.

  “Thank you.”

  She smiles again and walks over to the elevator. While she waits, she carefully opens the letter. The elevator doors open, but she doesn’t enter.