The Mist by Ragnar Jonasson

Author:Ragnar Jonasson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: St. Martin's Publishing Group

XXIV

Erla tried to scream, but her throat wouldn’t produce any sound. Afraid she was going to throw up, she crouched down and drew a deep, shuddering breath, closing her eyes, trying to steady herself. Maybe she was seeing things; maybe there was nothing there: no body, no blood. She forced herself to look up, only to start retching again at the sight.

Next moment the fear took over as the reality sank in that she was alone, alone, and that Leó must have murdered Einar – there could be no other explanation.

The man who was standing outside the house, demanding to be let in, was a cold-blooded killer.

Her life was in danger. It must be. She had a sudden mad impulse to break out through the dormer window but knew it wouldn’t work. The window was small, the roof steep, and she was bound to be swept off by the wind. Besides, he was out there. She had to think fast if she was going to get out of this alive. Feeling a wet splash on her hand, she realized she was crying.

There was no time to mourn Einar now – that would have to wait. She had to save her own life first. But the flow of tears wouldn’t be stemmed.

She pressed her fingers to the neck of the motionless body to make quite sure that Einar was no longer breathing. No, there was no question: he was dead. The blood had told her as much, but it had been her last hope. Of course, it was futile anyway, because even if he had still been showing faint signs of life, help was impossibly far away and they were completely cut off from the outside world.

Erla straightened up and hurried out of the room and down the stairs, clutching the candlestick, not wanting to risk being plunged into darkness again. It could only be a matter of time before Leó broke his way in. She wondered why he hadn’t already done so. Did he want to win her trust, to save himself a struggle? He had already killed a man, so there was no reason to believe he would spare her.

Yet fear had given her a sudden burst of adrenaline and she walked towards the front door with a sure tread. There was no sound from outside, but she had to know if he was still there: ‘What do you want from me?’ she called, her voice hard and unwavering now.

There was no answer at first, which she found unnerving, then eventually Leó replied, his teeth audibly chattering: ‘Please let me in. Please. It’s so cold out here – it’s still snowing – and I need to talk to you.’

‘About what?’

‘You know what, Erla. You know.’

Her heart missed a beat and for a moment the walls seemed to be closing in on her. She had a vision that the snow had vanished, it was autumn, and a chill crept up on her, sending a shiver through her body. She shook herself.

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