Karin Fossum - Bad Intentions

TRANSLATED
FROM THE NORWEGIAN
BY

Harvill Secker

LONDON

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Version 1.0

Epub ISBN 9781407075297

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Published by Harvill Secker 2010

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Copyright Karin Fossum 2008
English translation copyright Charlotte Barslund 2010

Karin Fossum has asserted her right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1998 to be identified as the author of this work

This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publishers prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser

First published with the title Den onde viljen in 2008 by J.W. Cappelens Forlag AS, Oslo

First published in Great Britain in 2010 by H ARVILL S ECKER Random House 20 Vauxhall Bridge Road London SWIV 2 SA

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ISBN 9781846552922

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Dont Look Back
He Who Fears the Wolf
When the Devil Holds the Candle
Calling Out For You
Black Seconds
Broken
The Waters Edge

The lake, which was commonly known as Dead Water, lay like a well between steep mountains, and anyone who tried to wade into it would sink up to their knees in its soft mud. On the shore, partially hidden by spruce trees sat a small log cabin. Axel Frimann was looking out of the window. It was almost midnight on 13 September and the moon cast a pale blue light across the water. There was something magical about it all. At any moment, Axel imagined, a water sprite might rise from the depths. Just as the image came to him, he thought he saw a ripple in the water as though something was about to surface. But nothing happened and a smile, which no one noticed, crossed his face.

He turned to the other two and suggested that they should go rowing. Have you seen the light? he said. Its really cool.

Philip Reilly was reading. He tossed his long hair.

Yes, why not? he said. A trip on the lake. What do you say, Jon?

Jon Moreno was lost in the flames in the fireplace. The fire made him feel warm and dizzy. In his hand he held a blister pack of anti-anxiety pills and every four hours he pressed one through the foil and put it in his mouth.

Did he want to go out on the lake?

He looked at Axel and Reilly. There is something about their eyes, something evasive, he thought, but then again, Im not quite myself, Im ill, Im taking medication, calm down, theyre my friends, they just want whats best for me. But he did not want to go out on the lake, not in the middle of the night in the cold moonlight. He did not trust himself completely. In here by the fire he felt safe, in here between the timber walls, in the company of his friends, because they were his friends, werent they? He tried to catch Reillys eye, but Reilly had got up and was fumbling with something on a shelf.

Its important that you get some exercise, Axel said. Sitting still only makes your anxiety worse. You need to get your blood circulating, get it delivering oxygen to your cells. So come on.

Jon did not want to let them down. They were doing this for him, they wanted him to have some fun and he did not have much of that at the hospital. Only endless days where nothing ever happened, spent wandering up and down the corridors. They were smiling at him, encouraging him now, Axel with his dark eyes, Reilly with his grey ones. So he got up from the chair and put the blister pack in his pocket. He never went anywhere without it. He reached out for his mobile which lay on the table, but changed his mind. His anxiety hummed through his body like an electric current. Somewhere a demon is flicking a switch, on and off, on and off, he thought, and I cant breathe.

Put your jacket on, Axel said. Its chilly.

Jon looked around for his jacket. He could not remember where he had put it, but Axel found it and brought it over. Reilly blew out the paraffin lamp and a sudden darkness descended upon them. Jon knelt down to lace up his boots. A knot and a bow followed by another knot. Axel and Reilly waited.

What about the fire? Jon asked.

We wont be gone long, theres no danger, Axel said. Come on.

Shouldnt we put the fireguard in front of it?

Axel shrugged. All right.

He disappeared into the kitchen and they heard him scrabbling. Then he returned with the fireguard and placed it in front of the fire. The cast-iron fireguard was decorated with two wolves baring their teeth.

Jon looked at the wolves and at his two friends.

We ready to go then? Axel said.

Reilly nodded. Jon stuck his hands in his pockets. Axel patted him on the shoulder. His hand was warm and comforting. Trust us, the hand said, we only want whats best for you, youre among friends.

It was Friday the 13th of September. They went out into the dark night and fetched the oars from the shed.

A narrow path led down to the shore of Dead Water.

The boat lay bottom up among the reeds, green and swollen like a pea pod. Axel and Reilly took hold of it and turned it over. It was filthy and slimy on the inside and by the light of the moon they saw a reptile scurry over the side and disappear.

A lizard, Axel remarked.

Jon stood with his hands in his jacket pockets. He stared at the boat with apprehension. He did not want to sit on the dirty thwarts. Axel read his mind and wiped them with the sleeve of his jacket.

Sit at the stern, he ordered him.

Obediently Jon stepped into the boat. He looked down at the black water. Perhaps there was no bottom, only mud that went on for ever. It might be good to let yourself sink, he thought, stop the fear flowing through your body for good. An explosion in his head, a burning sensation in his lungs and it would be all over. Axel and Reilly pushed off and the boat glided smoothly through the reeds. Jon felt it rock from side to side. He sat very still on the thwart, a skinny lad with small hands. His gaze wandered across the landscape, the steep mountains which surrounded the lake. Axel and Reilly each took an oar, fumbling at first until they found their rhythm. The boat gained speed.