To the Back of Beyond(17)
Finally it got light and Thomas saw that all along he’d been heading westward, parallel to the lake. He took the very next track left, and walked south over a wooded knoll. At the edge of a swampy clearing stood some old oaks, their contorted limbs in the gloaming resembling the outstretched claws of mythical beings. One more rise, and then the silence of the woods suddenly gave way to traffic noise as Thomas found himself standing at a lookout point with a cross and benches, and saw directly in front of him the lake, and off to the right an extensive industrial estate and behind that a town. He had meant to round the lake at its eastern end, but now realized that he was many miles away from his intended route.
The steep slope below was covered with row houses. He got through the area as quickly as he could. Then he walked along past office buildings and apartment blocks toward the lake. He would be better able to hide in the reedy bank during the day than on the wooded hill. In front of a half-dilapidated old apartment building he saw a neglected vegetable patch. In one bed were zucchini plants, probably a dozen enormous yellowed vegetables under white mildewed leaves. Thomas looked around quickly, scrambled over the fence, and picked one. He stuffed it under his jacket and trotted on in the direction of the lake.
On the shore was a campsite. The office was shuttered. There was a note on the door with a cell-phone number to call during office hours. There seemed to be no one around. Most of the trailers seemed to be long lets; they were up on cinder blocks, had awnings, satellite dishes on their roofs, and little front yards with flowers. Thomas had gone in intending to look for somewhere to hide, but when he spotted a row-boat on the edge of the reeds, he decided on impulse to row across the lake. The far side was less built up.
The lake at this point was no more than half a mile wide, but it was tricky to keep the tiny boat on course. Shreds of mist lay over the smooth surface. Even now, in the early morning, the lake seemed to give off a kind of exhaustion, a quality of sloth and heaviness that affected Thomas. When he turned around to check his course, he saw not far from him a motorboat, and a fisherwoman, reeling in her net that was held in the water with a long line of white plastic canisters. Thomas thought about what he would say if she spoke to him. But she didn’t pay him any mind, just kept drawing in the net with repetitive motions of her hand, and freed the wriggling fish, while her boat moved on with a quiet put-putting sound.
The rowing was heavy going, and Thomas shivered in the cold that rose from the lake. But even before he could get to the other side, the sun had risen, and he started to get warmer. He had aimed for a wooded point, and only as he approached it did he see that it was in fact the mouth of a little stream. Even at some distance, the current was perceptible, the murky water of the stream mingling gradually with the clear lake water.
He didn’t manage to make much headway against the stream, the current was too strong for him. He clambered out on a gravelly bank that was ringed by bushes and trees, and pulled the boat onto the shore. He sat down on a thick, barked tree trunk and with his little pocketknife cut the zucchini in pieces and removed the seeds.
He wouldn’t be able to go on like this for much longer, he thought, as he slowly chewed the zucchini pieces. Now, with the mountains ahead of him, he needed better gear, waterproof clothes, and food. He wouldn’t find any more snack machines or vegetable beds where he was going, or any dumpsters or dispensers of old bread. He toyed with the idea of stocking up in the nearby village; at least he was far enough from home by now that no one would know him. Also, since he had washed it in the stream, his clothing was sufficiently clean not to attract notice. He consulted his watch. He had at least two hours until the shops opened. He lay down in a sunny spot, stretched out, and closed his eyes. The sun’s warmth seemed to flow into him like a substance, filling up the void that the cold had left behind.
Astrid was relieved that the police car was gone before the children came home from school. This time, Konrad arrived almost at the same time as Ella. They were both quiet, but Astrid could feel the pressure of their unasked questions. No one felt at all hungry. What about some ice cream? she asked after clearing away the dirty plates. Ella’s thanks were so overwhelming that Astrid was almost reduced to tears again. Come here, both of you, she said. The children approached her with expectant looks. I don’t know where Papa is, she said, putting an arm around each of them, nor do I know why he went away, but I’m sure he’s doing well, and that he’ll come back soon. I didn’t tell anyone about it, and I don’t want you to talk about it either. All right? It’s our business and no one else’s. Papa’s and ours. The children nodded.
As it was a Wednesday, there was no afternoon school. Astrid asked the children if they had any homework. Usually she had to remind them several times before they did anything, but this time they both settled down at the dining-room table, and quietly and without bickering did what they had to do.
Astrid remembered what Herr Ruf had told her. Without any great hope she turned on the computer and went to the online banking site.
What’s the matter? both children exclaimed almost at once. Astrid had gasped with surprise. The latest statement showed three withdrawals since Thomas’s disappearance, one a day ago, the other two a matter of hours ago. She clicked on details of the transactions, the two recent ones were done in short order in Lachen on Lake Zurich — one from a cash machine, the other at a sportswear business. For a moment, Astrid sat there stunned, then she said to the children, All right, get a shuffle on, we’ve got to go. She got out of the drawer the photograph of Thomas that she’d printed out for Herr Ruf, and wrote down the name of the sportswear shop and also the details of the first withdrawal, which was credited to a certain M and K Entertainment in Frauenfeld.