by Sten Ostberg
She tried to keep calm. What was the last thing she remembered? Marte recalled Vigar calling, Karl leaving via the garage to look for him at the new house and then Brynja trying to follow.
Her sister had run to get her boots and coat and hadn’t listened to Marte’s pleas for her to stay put. What had happened then? She had a vague recollection of being in the snow. Had she pursued her?
But Marte couldn’t call to memory anything after that.
‘Help!’ she screamed again and banged on the lid harder.
Nobody answered her.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
Karl returned to the garage. ‘Marte?’
He made his way to the open door and identified his tracks in the slush at the threshold and a muddle of others that had to belong to Marte and Brynja.
The snowfall still hadn’t relented, but in the daylight he could just make out the shape of his Outlander on the driveway. But as he trudged his way towards it he already knew he wouldn’t find Marte there.
‘Marte!’
Even though it had only been recently parked, the vehicle’s windows were coated white and the wheels almost buried. Didn’t look like the driver’s door had been opened either.
Did Brynja know exactly what had happened to Marte? But she’d arrived at the half-built house very quickly after he had.
Maybe Marte had slipped and was lying at the side of the steep track. Brynja had said she thought she heard her there. The poor visibility and the fact they’d been focused on getting Vigar back to the house meant they might even have missed her.
Karl circled the Outlander, looking for footprints and finding the same situation at the passenger door. The snow was undisturbed. He wiped his hand at the window and peered in. The seats were empty. No phone lying anywhere in sight.
He wondered why Brynja believed she could hide what had happened, particularly if Marte’s coat and phone were in Kjell’s submerged Kia and the Agera was still stuck in the trench.
A spade striking him in exactly the same place he’d already been slugged immediately extinguished the thought.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
After unsuccessfully attempting to boot the lid open, Marte had awkwardly turned her body in the tight space and ascertained she was lying on an uneven bed of logs. She managed to slide one free from the stack beneath her and rolled back onto her spine.
Maybe she could use it as a ram. But there was only a gap of a couple of inches between her and the lid and she could barely hold the log horizontally let alone get any force behind it. With a grunt Marte thrust it up against the solid plastic but it didn’t budge.
She gripped the bark and tensed her stomach muscles as she tried to use sustained pressure to shift it but not even a tiny crack of light appeared to show her she was making any progress.
Whether or not it was because panic was taking over or the oxygen supply was dwindling, but her breaths were becoming increasingly shallow. Surely Karl should have returned by now.
‘Help!’ she screamed again, the word grating her already sore throat.
What had happened at the other house? Maybe Brynja would do anything to stop him revealing Vigar’s presence.
Marte still couldn’t recall receiving the blow to her head but with Vigar hiding out Brynja was the only person who could have been responsible.
‘Karl!’
Marte had to control her breathing. It didn’t look as if her efforts were about to open the locked lid and she was sure she had little time left before she was out of air.
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
Karl awoke with the cold weight of snow on his face. He sat upright and wiped it away. He was sitting beside the Outlander. It was the second time he’d been coshed from behind, and as he got shakily to his feet he immediately knew he’d suffered a greater concussion. As he tried to focus on the open garage door, the driveway tilted and Karl staggered sideways.
What had happened while he’d been out? He looked at his watch but couldn’t focus on the face.
He ignored the pounding in his brain, lurched towards the garage door but tottered sideways and landed hard on his shoulder. He immediately picked himself up and tried to negotiate the path to the door as the ground swayed under his boots.
Karl made it inside but reeled against the sidewall. He pushed himself away from the white-painted brick and weaved to the utility room door.
Catching his breath, he opened it and stumbled through the kitchen and dining room to the hallway and then entered the lounge.
Vigar was no longer lying on the couch in front of the wood burner and there was no sign of Brynja.
‘Brynja!’ He yelled so hard that his vision was briefly bleached white.
There was no reply.
He returned to the hallway. ‘Marte!’ He climbed the stairs, gripping the rail tight as they pitched from side to side.
When he reached the top Karl wobbled on the balls of his feet and looked down the landing at the doors. Only one was sealed. He knew it was Brynja and Kjell’s bedroom. Glancing briefly in the others as he passed their empty interiors, Karl stopped at the closed door and tried the handle. Locked.
‘Brynja!’ He rapped on it with his knuckles.
‘Get away from here!’ she hissed through the panel.
‘Open up or I’m kicking it in!’
‘You have to leave, Karl.’
‘I’m through with this. Tell me where Marte is.’
‘Go! He’s out there.’
Karl paused. ‘What game is this now?’
‘Kjell’s in the house.’
A freezing arm slid around Karl’s throat and yanked him violently back.
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
Karl was dragged down onto the floor and slid backwards on his buttocks as a bicep clamped firmly against his neck.
‘Should have stayed where I put you down, Karl.’ Kjell’s mouth was at his ear.
Karl attempted to twist out of his grip.
‘Don’t try to fight me.’
Karl couldn’t free himself. He choked for air and his perspective of the landing began to darken.
‘Kjell!’ Brynja emerged from the bedroom.
‘So, Karl’s the only one who can open your door, eh?’
‘Let him go!’
Kjell released some of the pressure. ‘Come over here then.’
Brynja took a step back inside the doorway.
Kjell tightened his stranglehold on Karl again. ‘I’ll throttle him.’
‘He’s got nothing to do with this.’
‘Sounds to me like he has.’ Kjell repositioned his body behind Karl.
‘What are you talking about?’
‘I crawled out of the pond after you fell through the ice and were busy saving each other. Took the track through the woods and back to the house. When I was nearly home, I saw Vigar running into that half-built place. Heard the entire conversation he had with Karl on the phone.’
Brynja’s features froze.
‘Learnt a lot of new things. Firstly that I’m suddenly a paedophile …’
Her stricken expression told Karl all he needed to know.
‘… so when Vigar finished threatening to hang himself, I made sure he did.’
‘Vigar told me you put his head in the noose, you son of a bitch.’
‘Did either of you show mercy when you were attacking me with the iron, or driving me onto the ice?’
‘You’ve always hated Vigar.’ Brynja spat.
‘He’s always hated me. Right from the day I took you both on.’
Karl tried to sit up but was completely immobilised.
‘And I take it you duped Marte and Karl into helping you. Although I don’t suppose this one took too much persuasion.’ Kjell squeezed harder.
‘Heard Vigar blackmailing him into helping you using some of the sordid details of your little affair. Did you fuck in my bed, Karl?’
Karl couldn’t reply, only kick his legs as Kjell waited for him to die.
&n
bsp; CHAPTER FORTY
‘Kjell, stop!’ Brynja shrieked.
But Kjell only shifted his weight so he could finish Karl.
‘Think about it. You’ll be the only murderer.’
Karl’s eyes bulged and he felt his face prickle cold.
‘Not worked out the way you wanted it, Brynja?’
‘Let him go. Vigar is wrong. I’ve never had an affair with Karl.’
‘You expect me to believe anything you say now?’
‘It was Christmas. I was drunk. I kissed Karl in the kitchen. He wasn’t interested but Vigar saw it.’
Karl tried to confirm her story but black smudges were blotting her out. Kjell grunted as he held him locked in position.
‘If you don’t let Karl go now, you’ll be killing an innocent man.’
Karl felt his body slacken and Brynja’s voice shrink just before Kjell slid his arm away.
‘You’re saying there was no one?’ Kjell stood.
Karl fell back onto the floorboards and painfully filled his lungs. He watched Kjell stalk slowly towards Brynja. He could see the contusions over the back of his bald head and his clothes frozen to him.
‘Yes. But not Karl.’ Brynja held out her hand. ‘Not another step.’
‘Where’s Marte?’ Karl could barely wring the words out of his throat.
Kjell turned his battered, bloody expression to Karl. ‘Somewhere safe. But I’d be wary of her too, Karl. She’ll be just as devious as her cunt sister.’
Karl sat up and climbed to his feet. ‘Tell me.’ He felt like he was about to lose consciousness.
‘Just stay put and don’t interfere. After what you’ve been party to tonight, you’re just going to have to stand by and let this take its course.’
Brynja slammed the door and locked it again.
‘Kjell, where’s my wife?’
Kjell wiped dark, syrupy blood from his frosted eyebrow. ‘Bumped into her at the bottom of the track. Locked her in the woodbin.’
So that’s who Brynja had heard when she’d been on her way up to the new house. She’d almost run into her husband coming the other way.
‘Time to rescue her, Karl. It’s more than you can do for Brynja.’ He produced a key from his pocket and tossed it at him.
It landed at Karl’s feet.
‘Kjell, step away from that door.’
‘Pick up the key to the woodbin and see to Marte, Karl. In that time, I will have seen to these two.’
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
‘I can’t let you do that, Kjell.’ Karl bent to his knees and quickly scooped up the key.
‘Brynja obviously tried to embroil you in this. Probably thought you’d cover for them if they convinced you they had reason enough to kill me. Just walk away and take Marte with you. As far as I’m concerned, you were never here.’
It struck Karl that Kjell’s suggestion was entirely possible. With him alive, no crime had been committed. But what did he have planned for Brynja and Vigar?
‘Please, Karl. Don’t leave us.’ Brynja could hear their exchange.
‘I’m not going anywhere.’ Karl stood. ‘Is Vigar in there with you?’
A pause. ‘Yes.’
‘How is he?’ He gripped the key tight in his palm.
‘He’s regained consciousness but he’s still weak. I brought him up here when I saw Kjell outside.’
‘Just keep the door locked. I’m not going anywhere.’ Karl felt the blood returning to his face and readjusted his footing.
Kjell raised an eyebrow. ‘Tick-tock, Karl. I don’t know how much air Marte has left. The lid of that bin is locked tight.’
Karl knew that Kjell would try to batter down the door as soon as he left. ‘Brynja, can you climb out of the window?’
A pause. ‘I can, but it’s a long way down.’
‘Can you do it though?’
No response.
‘I want you to leave Vigar there and climb out. Hold onto the ledge and lower yourself so you don’t have as far to fall. Then I want you to come back into the house and stand at the bottom of the stairs. I’ll toss down the key to the woodbin and you let Marte out as quickly as you can.’
‘I don’t know, Karl. It’s a big drop.’
Kjell turned to the panel. ‘And what d’you think I’m going to do in the meantime, Brynja? Karl’s not the man he used to be. He’s not going to be able to protect you. And if you try to escape I’ll bust in the door and start with Vigar.’
‘Just do it.’ Karl’s circulation accelerated. Kjell was 15 years younger and still worked out. Karl wouldn’t be able to hold him for long, particularly in his already weakened state.
‘I admire you, Karl. The way you defended Marte against that lunatic at the farmhouse and how you rescued Nadina from those kidnappers. You’ll do anything to protect your family and I hope you’ll do the same now. Go to Marte and take her out of here. Brynja isn’t worth having your spine broken for. And that’s what I’ll do if you try to interfere.’ He wiped blood from his eyes with the back of his trembling hand.
‘You need medical attention. Let me help you.’
‘Brynja’s manipulated you. It’s what she does. She’ll do anything to protect herself and Vigar. The boy needs a firm hand but he can do no wrong in her eyes. I thought I was rid of him, but when he was expelled from college for dealing drugs I knew it was time for me to step in. When we got into a fight, Vigar pulled a knife on me. I knocked it out of his hand but he grabbed the iron. Next thing I’m waking up in the car just before it started sinking into the ice. I thought it was Brynja in the car with me not Marte. But I should have known better. Brynja doesn’t ever get her hands dirty.’
A knife? Drugs? Karl hadn’t heard any denial from Brynja. ‘Is this true, Brynja?’
She didn’t reply.
But even though she’d been selective with the truth, Karl still couldn’t leave her to Kjell. If he’d tried to hang Vigar what was he likely to do now?
‘Don’t risk the life you have with Marte and Nadina for her, Karl. You can’t stop me anyway.’
‘If what you say is true, is she worth going to prison for?’
Kjell’s eyes darted as he considered it.
‘Karl!’
He turned in the direction of the voice.
‘Throw me the key!’ It was Brynja. She’d made it out of the window and was now standing at the bottom of the stairs.
Karl returned his attention to Kjell, the two of them momentarily frozen.
‘Quickly!’ She yelled.
Karl swivelled and launched the key at the stairs.
Kjell’s heavy footsteps thudded behind him.
CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
The key hit the wall, bounced off it and landed at the top of the stairs.
As Karl scrambled to kick it down to Brynja, Kjell slammed into him and knocked him onto his stomach. His weight landed harshly on top of Karl and then Kjell clambered over him.
Kjell found his feet and pelted down the stairs to where Brynja was. Karl stood, grabbed the key and followed.
When he hit the bottom, Kjell had already chased Brynja into the lounge. As he entered, Kjell had just intercepted her as she tried to escape through the glazed door.
‘Let it go!’ Kjell pulled her from the handle and shoved her violently against the couch.
‘Enough!’ Karl positioned himself between them.
‘Fuck off, Karl!’ Kjell effortlessly head-locked Karl again and brought him to his knees. ‘You should have listened to me. Now go and let Marte out before she suffocates.’ He dragged him to the door.
Karl tried to resist but was slid along the carpet and into the hallway. The door slammed and locked behind him.
He got up and banged on the panel. ‘Kjell!’
Brynja screamed.
‘Kjell!’ Karl booted the handle but the door was solid.
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
Brynja’s screaming abruptly halted.
Karl stood back from the door and clasped th
e woodbin key tight in his hand. He had to get to Marte. But he couldn’t leave Brynja at Kjell’s mercy.
The glazed door – it hadn’t been locked after Brynja had ditched the phone. He could circle around the house, find the woodbin, free Marte and then try to get into the lounge from the other side.
He heard Kjell scream again and then a muted voice he recognised from within. ‘Vigar?’
How could he be in there? He was still sealed behind the bedroom door upstairs. Or had he climbed out of the window with Brynja?
There wasn’t a sound from inside the room.
Karl knocked. ‘Somebody answer me!’
He waited but nobody did. Karl opened the front door and looked left at the lounge windows but headed right to the side of the house where he knew the firewood was kept.
Whatever had happened in the room would have to wait. Karl barrelled past the garage and turned the corner into a harsh draught that blew the still falling snow into his face. It revived him and he breathed in the cold air through his bruised throat.
Karl cleared the side of the house and saw the woodbin. It was positioned beside a large pile of logs covered by a tarpaulin.
‘Marte!’ He bent to listen at the bin but the wind was blowing too hard against his eardrums. He scraped away the couple of inches of snow from the lid and banged on it once before fumbling the key into the padlock that secured the latch at the front.
The key was stiff and didn’t turn left or right. Had Kjell given him the wrong one?
But then the lock snapped and the padlock was released. Karl tugged it out and threw open the lid.
Marte was lying inside on the logs, her eyes closed.
‘Marte!’ He reached in and shook her.
She didn’t move.
He slapped her face. ‘Marte!’ He tried to find a pulse in her neck.
Karl could hear the crunch of snow behind him. He briefly turned and saw Kjell about 100ft away staggering off from the other side of the house.