Intimacies(34)

Anton, Eline said in protest.

Well, I am, he said. With me, Lars and Lotte can wallow in their privilege without shame, Lotte can talk about the wallpaper and the finishes, it doesn’t matter how idiotic she appears because she’s only doing it before me, the cripple. I’m not exactly subhuman, but we all know where we stand in the pecking order, I’m several notches lower than the likes of them. Particularly in my current condition, such things simply don’t happen to people like Lars and Lotte.

But it might just as easily have—

Never mind, Anton said. Never mind, that isn’t the point. Let me finish. So Lars and Lotte are dragging me all over the house, the kitchen, the pantry, the guest room, even into their bedroom for Christ’s sake, with the king-sized bed and the Frette linens and the foul stench of bourgeois sex, which is of course the most perverse sex of all, when Lotte opens a final door and says in a voice of particularly shy triumph—oh, I do like Lotte, it’s not her fault she’s so stupid—And this is the library.

Oh no.

I blinked. Anton gave Eline something of a stern look and then turned back to me and hurried on.

She ushered me into the room, it’s impossible to know if she was truly proud of the room or if she simply imagined I would like the room because of my profession. But in any case I was truly gobsmacked, my jaw dropped open, before me were the meters and meters of books that had been requested by that idiotic interior designer, the encyclopedias and the remaindered monographs, the whole moronic collection that we had sold to that fool at triple, quadruple, quintuple the value, neatly arranged on the built-in shelves. I started laughing, I stood in the middle of the library and I laughed and laughed and after a moment Lotte became quite worried, and asked whatever on earth was the matter. I recovered enough self-control to assure her that it was only that I was overwhelmed with delight, never in my life had I been in such a beautiful library. She wasn’t immediately convinced, I’m known for a certain amount of irony, I could see she was wondering if I was making fun of her.

That’s horrible.

Don’t worry, I did convince her in the end. We came downstairs—Lars had gone back into the kitchen some time ago, to check on the food—and she positively trilled out to Lars, Anton loves the library, he said it’s the most perfect library he’s ever seen in his life. Lars looked at me, I could see in his face that he knew—not that I’d sold him the books, Lars would not have been the one to deal with the interior designer—but he knew that I’d been mocking Lotte. The rest of the dinner, he couldn’t even bring himself to look in my direction, he had nothing but contempt for me. But Lotte was in excellent humor, and I saw him give her a look of such—such tenderness, such deep affection and love.

He had slowed at last, and now he looked up at Eline. They do love each other, you know. Despite all the money. Lars would kill for Lotte, I’m sure of it. Kill me, if it came down to it.

Eline shook her head and rose to her feet. Are you done? she asked with a smile. I nodded, and she began clearing the table. At any rate, she said to Anton, you don’t come off very well in that story.

I never think about coming off well in a story, he said calmly. You have to give me that.

Eline returned with a platter of fish and cold boiled potatoes and then refilled our wineglasses. Still, she said with a sigh as she looked down at Anton. Cheers. I’m grateful that you’re here. Anton was in a very bad accident, she said to me, it’s been a difficult couple of months. It happened close to where Jana lives.

Jana? Anton asked.

Our mutual friend, I said. I waited for Eline to say more, about the manner of her meeting with Jana, but she remained silent and began serving the food.

Eline is putting a spin on the matter, Anton said as he handed his plate to his sister. I was attacked. There was nothing accidental about it. Accident sounds more humane, normal people are in accidents but only idiots and the unlucky are attacked. I looked at Eline, her face was drawn, she looked pained and irritated, though not, I noted, especially embarrassed. She handed Anton back his plate. I was mugged, Anton continued as he took the plate. Mugged and assaulted. It’s the neighborhood, you know.

I’m sorry, I said. I wondered—

About the scar? And the bruises? Yes, that’s all from the attack, they took my phone and my wallet and my watch, but they also beat me very brutally. He paused. The malice is what’s frightening. They didn’t need to do it, they had my money. I wasn’t exactly resisting.

Was it more than one person?

He shook his head. I can’t remember, he said.

How did your meeting with the police go? Eline asked.

Anton cut into his food. Chewing, he lowered his fork and knife to his plate. He took a sip of wine and then swallowed. They had me do a session with a hypnotist, he said at last.

A hypnotist? Eline asked, startled.

Yes.

I had no idea they did such things. Did it work?

He leaned back into his seat. Well, I was myself quite surprised. I arrived at the station, they had asked me to come in for some follow-up questions. I was taken into an office, given a coffee, that sort of thing. And then they told me that they wanted to try something a little unorthodox—if I was willing, of course. He paused. I said that I was willing and I asked what they had in mind.

What did he look like?

Who?

The hypnotist.

Anton shrugged. He was dressed like a low-level bureaucrat. I thought he was another detective at first. He did have a very soothing voice, however. I was of course wary, I don’t go in for that sort of thing, I don’t believe in it. But I agreed. I’d never been hypnotized before and there was something rather compelling about the man, I have to admit.