The Sanatorium(44)

Will frowns, rocks back on his heels. “Are you sure? The decking’s slippery, from the snow. You might have caught your foot.”

Elin blinks, his words bouncing off her, each one a betrayal. Is he actually doing this? Questioning me? Questioning what happened?

“No,” she says stiffly, tears hot at the back of her eyes. “Someone deliberately pushed me in, tried to scare me.”

And it had worked. In that water, every fear she’s never been able to label took over: a fear of being submerged, slipping below the surface to somewhere unreachable. Alone.

Alone like Sam is now.

That’s what this all comes back to, doesn’t it? Always Sam.

Will’s watching her, mouth poised to say something, but instead he takes her hand. Several beats later, the words finally come, but they’re different, she can tell. They’re neutral words, sharp edges sanded off inside his head. “Let’s not jump to conclusions. We need to get you inside. You’re shivering.”

They don’t linger in the changing rooms. Elin hurriedly pulls on dry clothes, meets Will in reception shortly after.

Back in the room, Will bundles her into bed, piling throws on top of the duvet. Elin lies back against the pillow, but the sudden inactivity, the absolute stillness, only emphasizes the erratic hammering in her chest.

He passes her a steaming cup of coffee, sits on the bed beside her. “Decaf. I didn’t think you needed any extra stimulation before dinner. How are you feeling now?”

“Better.” Elin sips the coffee. It’s too hot, but she likes the distraction. “It was the shock . . . I know it sounds stupid, but I honestly thought I wasn’t going to come back up.” Her voice cracks. “Part of me thought, the same thing that happened last year . . .”

Will puts his hand over hers, squeezes.

“It’s not only that.” Elin pinches the throw between her fingers. “Earlier, when you were swimming, someone was watching me in the changing room. I heard a door being opened and closed, but no one came out.”

He stiffens. “Watching you? You think it’s the same person?”

“Maybe.”

A shadow passes across his face. He’s thinking it, too, isn’t he? After what she told him.

Isaac.

Will clears his throat. “Elin, I really think we should leave. I understand about Sam, why you’re here, but after what just happened in the spa, it’s too much of a risk. You can’t carry on.”

He’s right. Being here, around Isaac, being pulled into whatever’s going on . . . she isn’t ready. What she’s come here for, it’ll have to wait.

“I think you’re—” She stops, picking up a sudden movement near the door. “Will, something’s being pushed under the door.”

Walking over, he crouches down, picks something up—a piece of paper.

He unfolds it and starts reading.

“What is it?”

“They’re evacuating the hotel. We’ve got to leave tomorrow.”





34





Day Three


Eleven a.m. The third and penultimate bus is ready to leave.

Sitting in the lounge, Elin watches the staff swarm the lobby, dragging suitcases and bags, shouting instructions.

The majority of the guests are already down the mountain, but there are a few left, standing quietly in small groups, looking overwhelmed by the noise and chaos.

Will catches her eye. “We’ve got to get the next bus, Elin. We can’t leave it any longer.”

“I know, but I wanted to speak to Isaac first.” Pouring a coffee, she tips in some milk, watches the liquid swirl. “We can’t just go, not without seeing him.”

They’re the last ones to have breakfast. The buffet table is depleted—all that’s left are a few croissants in a basket, some slices of local ham, teas, coffees, half-empty jugs of juice.

“Look at it out there.” Will sits down, eyes fixed on the windows. “It’s worse.”

She follows his gaze toward the terrace. You can barely tell it’s daytime; the sky is overcast, blackened, reception filled with a silvery light. The windows are gilded with ice but you can still see the snow—frozen pellets plummeting from the sky. The car park, the trees beyond, are choked—soft beds of powder deepening by the minute.

It’s like the hotel is being invaded; the mountain itself on the attack.

As she sips her coffee, a silence settles over the room. Elin looks over to the lobby. The majority of the staff have gone. The bus must have left. They haven’t seen it go because the car park is out of view on the right. Elin’s glad: watching the packed bus crawl through the heavy snow would make her dread the journey ahead.

Will passes her his phone. “We’ve made the news.”

She scans the article.


AVALANCHE PROMPTS SWISS HOTEL EVACUATION

Buses are today evacuating over 200 tourists and hotel staff from a five-star mountainside hotel in Switzerland as heavy snow causes widespread disruption across the Alps.

Le Sommet, located at 2,200 meters, is in an area of extremely high risk for avalanches, said Katherine Leon from Valais Police in Sion.

“The avalanche risk is now at a maximum of 5 out of 5 with the main part of the storm still due to arrive. While some guests didn’t want to go, the mayor, in conjunction with the Communes, has now ordered the mandatory evacuation,” Leon said. “The avalanche risk is immense.”