To the Back of Beyond(20)
Only right at the top did the trail lead into the valley, and along the western slope into the south. Isolated farmhouses were dotted about. From a wooded area below the road rose a column of smoke. On the opposite side thick high-pressure pipes led down to the hydraulic power plant on the plain. His road was now gently downhill, meeting the rising valley. After a couple of miles of easy walking, Thomas reached the valley floor. The landscape spread out and the wooded slopes gave way to green meadows with grazing sheep and cows on them. A substantial village followed, with a self-service gas station and a closed grocery store. At the upper edge of the village was a campsite that was stuffed full of old caravans. A few had improvised roofs of corrugated PVC or plastic sheeting. Outside one of them sat an old man and a little girl, both impassive, as though under a spell.
Soon after, the valley narrowed into a wooded gorge. The trail led along a streambed where some huge rocks lay, but no water. A signpost warned of the risks of flash floods, even in fine weather. Through the treetops Thomas glimpsed the crest of a dam. A narrow path led up the side of the slope and then zigzagged up a cliff. Some spots had been fitted with handholds and wire balustrades.
When Thomas emerged from the woods, he felt he had arrived in a different world. He was standing at one end of the dam, ahead of him lay the man-made lake, edged with woods and meadows. On the other side of the reservoir was a small village. The rough gray peaks on the horizon seemed to loom over him, very near. Cirrus clouds hung there, while Thomas still had blue sky overhead. He walked along the edge of the reservoir, then sat down in the grass to eat and rest. He heard a distant clanging of cowbells. He lay down and was soon in a sort of half sleep, where places and times blurred into a blissful feeling of endlessness.
No sooner had Astrid set off than the children were asleep, even though it was only a little after nine. She was relieved not to have to speak to them. Dinner had been laconic enough. The children had shared a pizza, and then Astrid bought them ice creams as though it was a holiday. She didn’t manage to finish the salad she had ordered.
She chose the route over the lake and the Oberland, so as not to have to negotiate the city a second time. There was a light drizzle still, and the headlights of the oncoming traffic made gleaming reflections on the wet asphalt. Astrid found the drive in the dark demanding. She’d had little sleep over the past few nights and was afraid of dropping off. She tried to be furious with Thomas, who was to blame for everything, but she didn’t manage it. If anything, she was worried about him. She sat bolt upright in her seat, sang quietly to herself, but her exhaustion was like a poison slowly seeping through her body and isolating it against other influences.
She stopped at the service station outside Winterthur and parked beside the little store. She went inside to get a coffee and stood under the awning, from where she could keep an eye on the children in the car. The hissing of the passing traffic, the reflections of the lights on the wet surfaces, the smell of petrol all reminded her of long drives on Sunday evenings following visits with her parents, and that settled her a little. The coffee was so hot that she had to drink it in tiny sips. Only now did it occur to her to phone the police to tell them about the latest turn of events. She took Herr Ruf’s card out of her purse and looked at her watch. It was ten o’clock. Hesitating briefly, she punched the mobile number he had written on the back. There were half a dozen rings before he answered. Am I bothering you? she asked. No problem, he said. I normally go to bed pretty late. She could hear a baby crying in the background. More than ever just lately, he said with a dry laugh. I was just changing her…Astrid didn’t want to know. She interrupted him, and talked about the three recent transactions on the account, and that she had been to the sportswear store. Well, that all sounds pretty encouraging, said Herr Ruf. Where are you now? At the service station outside Winterthur. The policeman hesitated. We could have a K-9 detail put on him. What’s that? A sniffer dog. Go home and call me again when you’re back. By then I should know more.
Astrid felt quite alert now. All at once Thomas seemed to be very close to her, but at the same time she dreaded the moment when he would be facing her and trying to explain his actions. It was as though their relationship had been frozen at the moment three days ago when she went into the house to settle Konrad. As long as Thomas stayed away, nothing would change. Only with his return would time begin to tick on again. And then everything could happen.
She parked the car in front of the house and woke the children. It took a long time before they had finally cleaned their teeth and were in their beds. A little before eleven, Herr Ruf called back. He said he would come by in fifteen minutes.
Astrid waited for him outside the door; she didn’t want him to ring and wake the children. She had brewed fresh coffee, and when she sat opposite the policeman at the living-room table, she felt a kind of satisfaction that he had left his wife and baby in the middle of the night to come and help her. There were more important things to do here. He said he had spoken to colleagues in the canton of Schwyz who had a sniffer dog, only it was based in the city. I’ve offered them one of our dog handlers, that’ll be quicker. We’ll drive off first thing tomorrow. The track will still be fresh. If the terrain turns out to be difficult, I’d rather not be out at night.
But only yesterday, you were saying you couldn’t help me, said Astrid. You said that Thomas had the right to disappear if he wanted to. Yes, he has such a right, said Herr Ruf, but we have a right to look for him. Still, he’s been gone for three days and three nights. He said every missing person case was different, there were no standard procedures, just gut instinct. And what does your gut instinct tell you? asked Astrid. I’m afraid that’s exactly what my boss will ask me tomorrow morning, said Herr Ruf. But that shouldn’t be your concern. The main thing is finding your husband. Now, do you have an item of his clothing? Preferably underclothing, something that will have only his scent on it. I put all his things in the wash, said Astrid. I don’t know why. She propped her head in her hands and started to cry. The policeman came around the table, put his hand on her shoulder, and said calmly, There, there, we’ll find something, a jacket, a sweater, something.