cell next door, and he realises there isn't going to be any money."
"His name is Tommy?"
"Tommy Rein."
"Is that so! What did you and Errki talk about during the hours you spent together?"
"I can't really remember it all. He said so many weird things. We talked a lot about death. Have you thought about that? That we're actually going to die? I see people dying around me, but I can't comprehend that it's ever going to happen to me. I tried to imagine it today, several times. But it's like some trick mathematical equation that I just can't get into my head. Do you get it?"
"Get what?"
"The fact that you're going to die?"
"Yes, I do."
"Then I suppose there's something wrong with me."
"Don't worry, it will sink in sooner or later. I know lots of people older than you who haven't faced up to it yet. Where did Errki get the gun?"
"I asked him about that. He muttered something strange, like if your neighbour wishes for a cow, God will send you an ox."
"How drunk was he towards the end?"
"Not nearly as drunk as I was, but he was really unsteady on his feet."
"What did Errki and Kannick say to each other?"
"Not much of anything. They were watching each other like dogs. Kannick was scared out of his wits. He hardly dared look at Errki."
"Did Errki seem threatening towards the boy?"
"I wouldn't say so. We treated him well, we didn't harm him in any way, we were just drunk. By the time Kannick showed up, the seas were high, to use a figure of speech. The strange thing was that after a while it seemed as though the boy rather enjoyed being there. He settled down. In some way, we belonged together, the three of us. Nobody felt like doing anything. We were just waiting for you."
"What was Kannick's reaction when you discovered that Errki was dead?"
"He panicked. Begged and pleaded with me to help him."
"Help him do what?"
"Convince you that it was an accident."
"Was it an accident?"
"Definitely. He was aiming at the door. He didn't know that we were inside, or that Errki was going to open the door at that very moment."
"I see. What else?"
"What do you mean?"
"Did he make any suggestions about running away or trying to hide the body?"
"No, no. Absolutely not. I persuaded him not to."
"So he did suggest something like that?"
"Eh, no, not really. He didn't know what he was saying. He was in a state of panic. And that's not so strange, is it? Lucky for him that he's only twelve and still a minor."
CHAPTER 22
Sejer sank behind the wheel and slammed the door shut. Even though he had not slept well, he suddenly felt inexplicably clear-headed. He had a strong feeling that this was a decisive moment. He could definitely feel it. Time stood still. He stared out of the car window, trying to find something outside that would explain this sensation. He felt petrified, couldn't move. It wasn't unpleasant, just odd. He looked at his hands on the steering wheel. At every single hair on the back of his hands, at the fine lines across his knuckles. At the white fingernails, clean and even. At his watch and the little gold crown on the watch face. He met his own eyes in the rear-view mirror. His face looked older than he remembered, but tremendously alert. The honking of a horn roused him. He put the car in gear and drove across the square, past the rows of parked cars.
The boy was standing up straight, his left foot pointed out, his right foot pointed forward. He raised his head and lifted his chin. His arms hung loosely at his sides. He took a long, deep breath, and then slowly exhaled. He turned his head to the left, cautiously, almost surreptitiously. Not hurried, but gentle, very gentle. He squinted and looked at the gold circle 30 metres away, noting how it grew sharper. Again he took a breath, a deep one, and held it. His enormous chest expanded, and at the same moment he raised the bow to eye level. He drew, anchored, and took aim. Saw the little red dot touch the bottom edge of the target. He wanted a ten right now. He was good enough to do it, at those perfect moments when everything clicked. The arrow flew from the bow. The string thrummed and then, in a gesture that was as elegant as it was practised, he lowered the bow just