Read Online I Can See in the Dark by Karin Fossum - Free Book Online Page B

nasty, flat head. Have you seen a snake close up? They’re as ugly as sin, I’m sure you’ll agree. The last thing in the world she wanted to do was touch that snake, but she bloody well had to, because the boy was completely hysterical. So she grabbed hold of the huge thing and yanked. And you know,’ said Arnfinn, ‘when we’re frightened, we’re tremendously strong. The snake crashed to the floor with a horrible sound and quickly slid under the bed and coiled up. Then she grabbed the boy and fled from the room. Rang the police and sat waiting with the boy on her lap. When they came they weren’t too keen either, once they saw the horrible creature under the bed. But they had to do something. They put on protective gloves and hauled the snake out, shoved the monstrous thing into a sack. Then they drove off with the snake in the back of the car. Well, what do you think?’
    Arnfinn sank back on the sofa. He’d obviously finished his story and seemed tired.
    ‘Very good,’ I said calmly. ‘Is there a point to it?’
    ‘There certainly is a point,’ said Arnfinn. ‘That snake had escaped from one of the neighbouring houses, where a man had been keeping it as a pet. Then it got in through the open window and was attracted to the warmth under the duvet on the boy’s bed. Ever since that night, he’s found it extremely hard to sleep. He’s nearly sixty now, and he’s still got problems sleeping.’
    Here Arnfinn paused for a while. He was waiting for me to say something; it was probably my turn.
    ‘So, was it you?’ I asked, and now my interest was genuine, because the story about the snake was both compelling and a bit exotic.
    ‘You asked me why I drink,’ he said. ‘It doesn’t take much. That’s all I’m trying to say.’
    ‘Did you find a snake in your bed?’ I wanted to know. ‘When you were a boy. Is it a true story?’
    ‘I have problems sleeping,’ he repeated mulishly.
    He gesticulated with open hands. He’d clearly given me what he had to give, and now at last I went to the cupboard and fetched the bottle of vodka. I poured a stiff one and pushed it towards him.
    ‘It’s none of my business why you drink,’ I said generously. ‘And it’s none of your business why I do the things I do. But people always want to go round rubbing shoulders with each other. Confiding, understanding, explaining. Let’s skip all that, shall we? We’re grown-ups after all.’
    Arnfinn raised the glass of vodka to his mouth, and now he looked blissful.
    ‘But you’ve probably got a tale to tell, too,’ he suggested. ‘About a small boy.’
    I shook my head emphatically. At the same time I saw how Arnfinn’s face softened and turned gentle and friendly.
    ‘I’ve never been a small boy,’ I explained.
    Arnfinn chuckled good-naturedly. His body had become loose and relaxed, and he rocked as he sat on the sofa. He was migrating into those bright, shining halls again.
    ‘Never been a small boy,’ he mimicked. ‘Now I’ve heard everything.’
    ‘I haven’t a single childhood memory,’ I explained.
    He was a little taken aback by my obstinacy.
    ‘Were you ill or something?’ he wanted to know.
    ‘As I said,’ I reiterated, ‘I can’t remember very much at all. Apart from a little shit at school who called me a pike. Well, and I do remember my confirmation. And everything in between is missing. It’s simply missing.’
    Arnfinn’s eyes opened wide in amazement.
    ‘But I do have a memory,’ I added. ‘Of my mother. A skirt with two legs. And a pair of big shoes. Everything further up passed me by. Hands. Heart. Head. I mean, they were there all right, but I never managed to get hold of them. D’you know what she used to say? You’re always strongest when you’re on your own. That was the way I was raised.’
    ‘Yes, it’s just one unending bloody struggle,’ Arnfinn opined, but his tone was jocular now, the vodka had made him happy and turned his cheeks red. ‘My bodywork’s in