The Thirst by Nesbø Jo

Author:Nesbø, Jo [Nesbø, Jo]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Crime, Mystery, thriller, Suspense
ISBN: 9781911215288
Amazon: 1911215280
Goodreads: 32191589
Publisher: Harvill Secker
Published: 2017-04-01T07:00:00+00:00

20

MONDAY NIGHT, TUESDAY MORNING

‘YES?’

‘Harry?’

‘Yes.’

‘I wasn’t sure if this was your number. It’s Rita. From Schrøder’s. I know it’s late, and I’m sorry to wake you.’

‘I wasn’t asleep, Rita.’

‘I called the police, but they … well, they’ve been here, and now they’ve gone again.’

‘Try to calm down, Rita. What’s happened?’

‘It’s Marte, the new girl you met the last time you were here.’

Harry remembered her rolled-up shirtsleeves and slightly nervous eagerness. ‘Yes?’

‘She’s gone. I got here just before midnight to help her with the till, but there was no one here. The door wasn’t locked, though. Marte’s reliable, and we had an arrangement. She wouldn’t just leave without locking up. She’s not answering her phone and her boyfriend says she hasn’t come home. The police checked the hospital, but nothing. And then the policewoman said it happens all the time, people disappearing in odd ways, then showing up again a few hours later with a perfectly reasonable explanation. She said I should call them if Marte hasn’t shown up again within twelve hours.’

‘What they said is actually true, Rita, they’re just following routine.’

‘Yes, but … hello?’

‘I’m here, Rita.’

‘When I was cleaning up, getting ready to close I found that someone had written something on one of the tablecloths. It looks like lipstick, and it’s exactly the shade of red that Marte uses.’

‘OK. So what does it say?’

‘Nothing.’

‘Nothing?’

‘No. It’s just a single letter. A “v”. And it’s in your place.’

Three o’clock in the morning.

A roar forced its way out between Harry’s lips, echoing off bare cellar walls. Harry stared at the iron bar that was threatening to fall and crush him as his trembling arms held it up. Then, with one final effort, he thrust the weights away from him, and they clanked against each other as he let the bar rest in its cradle. He lay on the bench gasping for breath.

He closed his eyes. He had promised Oleg that he would be with Rakel. But he had to get back out there. Had to catch him. For Marte. For Aurora.

No.

It was too late. Too late for Aurora. Too late for Marte. So he had to do it for those who hadn’t yet become victims, who could still be saved from Valentin.

Because it was for them, wasn’t it?

Harry took hold of the bar, felt the metal against the calluses on his hands.

Somewhere you can be useful.

His grandfather had said that, that all you need is to be useful. When his grandmother had been giving birth to Harry’s father, she had lost so much blood that the midwife had called the doctor. Grandfather, who had been told there was nothing he could do to help, couldn’t bear to listen to Grandma’s screams, so he walked out, harnessed the horse to the plough and started to plough one of the fields. He drove the horse on with his whip and with cries loud enough to drown out those from the house, then started pushing the plough himself when his faithful old horse began to stumble in the harness.

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