Strangers: A Novel(95)

Joanna shrugs. “So we’ll have to fill her in. Or you can hide when she gets here.”

I don’t even need to consider that option. “No. If she’s going to be putting herself in danger for us, we’re not going to lie to her on top of it all. I already felt bad about doing that anyway.”

“Yes, you’re right. Once we explain the situation to her, she’ll understand that we had no other option. I’ll call her and tell her you’re still alive. And then—”

“No. Call her and tell her you’re in trouble and need the money. When she brings it here, I’ll be here as well and we can explain it to her together. OK?”

“OK. That’s probably best.” With one swift motion, Joanna leans forward and kisses me on the mouth. “Everything’s going to be all right. You’ll see, everything will be all right in the end.”

She already has her phone in her hand when something else comes to my mind. “Wait.” Joanna stops midmotion and looks at me with confusion.

“We have to think of something to make sure Gabor’s guys don’t intercept Ela when she arrives. I don’t really figure they’ll still be there, but you never know.”

Joanna quickly thinks. “The police?”

“What?”

“Just before Ela gets there, I’ll call the police for help saying I think someone’s breaking into my house. Ela will wait until after the officers have been in the house. Gabor’s people should have cleared off by then at the latest.”

That does sound like a good plan, but Joanna has overlooked something. “That’s not going to work. If you make a distress call saying someone’s breaking into your house, you’ll have to be there yourself. But if they ring the bell and nobody opens the door, they’re going to assume something happened to you. What are they going to do then?”

“Damn.” The disappointment is written all over her face. “They’ll break open the door and turn the whole house upside down. And then it’ll take them forever to leave again.”

“Exactly. Unless…” I’ve had another thought while she was echoing my misgivings. Something that could be the solution. “Unless you’re in another city, at a friend’s place. Say you got a call from an acquaintance of yours who drove past our house and saw some men hanging around. You’re worried; after all, I’ve been missing ever since the bomb attack, and you already spoke to the police a few days ago and told them you were scared.”

She thinks for a few seconds. “Right, that sounds plausible. And the story checks out, too.”

“And if Gabor’s people really are still hanging around the house, the police will pay them a nice, friendly visit.”

“OK. But I’m calling Ela first.”

“Please tell her to be careful. If she sees anyone she thinks is strange or suspect, she should leave at once.”

Joanna doesn’t turn the phone on speaker, but from her reactions and replies I can more or less figure out what Ela’s saying. The conversation only lasts a few minutes. At the end of the call, Joanna explains where we hid the spare key, then hangs up. “She’s seriously worried about me, and about you as well. And yes, she said of course she’ll get the money. It’s going to be a real shock for her when she sees you here.”

“Yes, but she’ll understand we didn’t lie to her without good reason.” I try to pass off my hope as conviction.

Joanna calls the police ten minutes later. She sounds confused and anxious, afraid and distraught. The act she puts on is so convincing that my thoughts briefly stray in an unwelcome direction. Only for a few seconds, then it stops. I know I can trust her, and that’s that.

When Joanna puts away the phone, a smile flashes over her face. “They’re going to check it out right away. My goodness, the poor guy on the phone was so worried about me, he wanted to deploy a hundred uniformed officers around my hou—around our house.”

“I’m still a bit worried about Ela. Hopefully everything will go well.”

Everything does go well. After about an hour, Ela calls back and lets Joanna know that she has the money and is on her way to Munich. Apparently the policemen only walked around the house for ten minutes and then left again. She didn’t notice anyone else. Another ninety minutes later, there’s a knock on the door of our room.

I nod at Joanna, who’s looking at me with a questioning expression on her face, and disappear into the bathroom. We’d agreed on me doing that.

The sounds that follow suggest that the two of them are hugging tightly. The door is pushed shut. Then, Joanna’s voice: “I have to tell you something. Please don’t get upset, OK?”

“What’s the matter?”

“It’s about Erik. He’s alive.” She tacked on the second part so quickly that Ela didn’t even have time to misinterpret the initial part.

“What? That’s amazing! He’s alive? You’re sure? I’m so happy. Is he OK? Where is he?”

I open the bathroom door “I’m here, Ela.”

She freezes, looks at me like I’m a ghost. Then she rushes into my arms, flinging hers around my neck. We stand there for a while, silent, in a tight embrace. When we break away again, she takes a step backward and looks me over from head to toe, as if she has to convince herself everything is still the way it should be. Her eyes only briefly rest on the spot where the bandage can be seen under my shirt.