The Jealousy Man and Other Stories
- Автор: Несбё Ю
- Год: 2021
- Язык: английский
- Год: Alfred A. Knopf
- ISBN: 978-0-593-32100-3
- Переводчик: Robert Ferguson
- Жанр: Криминальные детективы
Электронная книга - «The Jealousy Man and Other Stories». Краткое содержание книги:
A detective with a nose for jealousy is on the trail of a man suspected of murdering his twin; a bereaved father must decide whether vengeance has a place in the new world order after a pandemic brings about the collapse of society; a garbage man fresh off a bender tries to piece together what happened the night before; a hired assassin matches wits against his greatest adversary in a dangerous game for survival; and an instantly electric connection between passengers on a flight to London may spell romance, or something more sinister.
With Nesbø’s characteristic gift for outstanding atmosphere and gut-wrenching revelations, The Jealousy Man confirms that he is at the peak of his abilities.
For the remainder of the day I tried in vain to get in touch with Colin.
I also drove to the apartment his son had taken the keys to, only to establish the truth of what Colin had said: that all that remained of it was a burned-out shell.
I drove round the streets, almost hoping a gang would try to stop me, I’m not really sure why. But that didn’t happen; it looked as though all activity had come to a standstill. Like a truce had been declared.
I drove home and Heidi and I lay with Sam between us. Perhaps it was to give him the feeling of total security we had been unable to give Amy.
At daybreak Sam was sleeping deeply and I asked Heidi if she would tell me the rest of what had happened, the details that had not emerged in the concise description she had provided for the police.
‘No,’ was her brief answer.
I looked at her and wondered how she could remain so cool and calm. I knew psychological shock could manifest itself as apathy, but that was not what this was. It felt as though she had taken control of her own mind and body and forced herself to assume this chilly calm, the same way certain animals can lower their own body temperature.
‘I love you,’ I said.
She didn’t answer. And I understood. She had blocked out all emotions, chilled her heart to ice so that it wouldn’t run out of her and across the table and onto the floor. Because then she wouldn’t be any use to either of us. Out of love she now loved us a little less. That had to be the explanation.
‘I love you,’ he said.
She didn’t reply.
I watched them through the keyhole. Saw Brad lean towards the girl, Amy. She sat there on his bed with her head bowed. She was wearing a pair of comically large, checked golf trousers and a man’s shirt that Brad must have taken from the wardrobe of the people who lived here before; they hadn’t taken much with them when they left.
I looked around carefully, listened out for the others down in the kitchen; I didn’t want to be caught in the act of spying on our leader.
Then I put my eye back to the keyhole again.
She was so pretty, even with her hair hanging down and covering most of her face.
Was that why I was spying on them?
After the robbery we’d gone straight home. I rode behind Brad’s bike up one of those narrow, deep valleys that cut furrows through the hills at the northern end of town. Once — when this was coyote country — artists and hippies had lived here, people who couldn’t afford to live in the city centre. Now it was the other way around: the poor lived in the centre and the rich in big houses with views over the bay and the skyscrapers down there. But many things were going back the other way again. Several of the houses were empty, and we saw more coyotes and wild dogs trotting along the roads in search of something to eat.
Chaos’s new clubhouse was directly opposite a house where a gang had killed six people, including the wife of a wealthy film director. That was a long time ago. We moved here after the fire at Brad’s apartment in Downtown. It was a villa belonging to one of the partners in Brad’s father’s company and when the pandemic started Brad heard his father mention that this guy had moved to New Zealand and taken his family with him. It was apparently pretty common for rich doomsday preppers to buy houses down there, a place far enough away to shelter them from all the rest of the world’s miseries. Well, you can’t get lucky all the time every time and before the TV news channels closed down they were reporting that New Zealand was one of the countries hardest hit by the virus. Brad said that whether the owner was dead or not the big house was standing there so empty it was almost inviting us in.
The whole way here Brad had been holding the girl upright on his bike as we crawled through the curves. I had never seen him riding so carefully.
And now he was sitting there in the big bedroom and telling her he loved her.
Which was definitely a new and unknown side to the guy.
I was the only one with my own bedroom; the others shared the five other rooms. Before long the villa was on its way to becoming an uninhabitable pigsty and — to Ragnar’s great annoyance — I got Brad’s permission to arrange housekeeping duties for everyone.
‘Do you hear what I’m saying, Amy?’ Brad bent his head in order to catch her gaze. ‘I love you.’
Amy lifted her head. ‘I don’t love you, Brad. I don’t even like you, I never have done. Now will you take me home?’
‘I understand that you’re afraid, Amy, but—’
‘I’m not afraid,’ she interrupted firmly. ‘You’re the one that’s afraid, Brad.’
He gave a strained laugh. ‘What have I got to be afraid of? Are you a kickboxer maybe?’
‘Of what you’ve always been afraid of, little Brad. Your big daddy. You’re afraid he’s going to punish his snot-nosed little disappointment of a son.’
Brad’s face went white. ‘He’s nothing to worry about because he’s not here.’
‘Oh, but he is here. He’s always up there on your shoulder. When you say—’ she put her head on one side and imitated Brad’s sincere delivery — ‘ “I love you”, that’s your father you’re talking to.’
There was no way this could end well. But she just kept on:
‘But as you can hear, your father is saying he doesn’t lo—’
Brad hit out. Just with the flat of his hand, but with enough force to turn her head on that slender, fine neck of hers. She put a hand to her face. Blood was coming from one of her nostrils. I knew Brad, had seen him so many times once he’d lost control, and I was certain that from now on things could only get worse for Amy.
‘Don’t talk like that,’ he said quietly. ‘Take off your clothes.’
‘What?’ She sniffed in contempt. ‘Are you going to rape me?’
‘Understand one thing, Amy. I am the only one who can protect you from the world out there. And the world out there starts in the kitchen downstairs. If I’m not here to stop them, they’ll tear you to pieces. They’re a pack of wolves, that’s what we are.’
‘I’d rather have ten of them than you, Brad.’
He hit her again. This time with his fist. She tried to hit him back but he blocked her arm. He’s got quick reflexes, Brad. He’s strong and he keeps in shape. If he could only control his emotions then he’d be a good fighter.
He grabbed hold of her blouse and pulled and the buttons flew off and scattered across the parquet floor. Then he stood up and took off his trousers. Amy tried to jump down from the bed and run towards the door but Brad easily stopped her with one arm and pushed her back onto it.
‘For your sake I hope you’re not a virgin,’ said Brad as he sat on her chest so that his legs pinioned her arms.
‘I’m not,’ she said defiantly, though her voice was trembling now. ‘But you are. Since rapes don’t count, I mean. And you won’t manage it this time either...’
Her voice was cut off as Brad clutched her throat. With his other hand he pulled down the baggy trousers and her knickers. He must have relaxed his grip because she managed to splutter: ‘...because I am your father, you’re afraid of me too, just wait...’ before he began to choke her again.