“What the fuck is this?” His voice was suspicious. He was staring at Maja, but she was as soft and mild as she had been when he arrived. She was a professional.
“Just a little protection for a lone woman. Lots of strange people come here.”
“Oh, really?” thought Eva.
“Oh, really?” he said. “So that’s what you think of us? You weren’t planning to stick this in me by any chance?”
“It’s more you that’s stuck something into me,” she laughed huskily.
He was kneeling as before, still with the knife in his hand, and didn’t budge. “I’ve heard of prostitutes who fleece people like this.” He looked at the knife, turned it in his hand, looked down at the naked body and chalk-white skin, as if he were enjoying it.
“Thank you,” she said, “I’ve already been paid. Now I think you ought to put it down. I don’t like you pointing that knife at me.”
“And I don’t like finding knives in the bed when I come here on honest business. You women are as treacherous as hell!”
He was beginning to work himself up. Eva bit her lip and had almost stopped breathing. Maja tried to rise, but he pushed her down.
“Calm down now!” she said loudly. “Stop being oversensitive.”
“I’m not oversensitive,” he snapped back. “You’re the ones who’re oversensitive, you think we’re after you the whole time. Fuck! Knives and stuff. Have you got a firearm as well?”
“Naturally.”
“You’re one of those paranoid types, I thought as much.”
“It’s you who’s paranoid. I had no cause to stick that in you. At least not then. But enough’s enough. Get moving now, otherwise you’ll have to pay extra.”
“Hah! I’ll go when I’m good and ready,” he answered, as he tugged at his trousers and struggled with the zip.
“You were ready a long time ago, and there are others waiting.”
“They’ll have to wait, then. You tarts are fucking greedy. I’ve laid out a thousand for a five-minute job, d’you know how long it takes me to earn that much at the brewery?”
“No,” said Maja wearily. She was staring at the ceiling now. Eva waited with three fingers stuffed into her mouth.
“Fucking bloody hell,” he muttered as he struggled with his belt buckle. “Cunts!”
“Right! That’s quite enough! You needn’t damn well come again. You’re not welcome here from now on. And I should have said that a long time ago.”
“Oh, I see!” He stopped and nodded, as if the scales had suddenly fallen from his eyes. “So that’s how it is! You lot welcome us with open arms, get us to empty our wallets, when really none of you can stand the sight of us! That’s it, isn’t it? Christ, you tarts are the most cynical bunch I’ve ever met!”
With a huge effort Maja rose and got herself on to her elbows. She tried to pull up her legs, but the man was furious and stopped her, she jabbed him with an elbow and twisted out from between his legs as she clutched for the knife, got a hold and pulled as hard as she could. Suddenly she was holding it in her hand. She rose on to her knees with the knife raised. The point quivered. She was staring at the man now, he was still kneeling on the bed as if he were about to spring, the little ponytail stuck out, like a young boy’s erection, Eva thought. She’d got her entire hand in her mouth and bit as hard as she could to suppress a scream. If he’d turned to the left, he would have seen Eva’s eye, a small gleaming point in the blackness of the slightly open door. But he didn’t, he grabbed a pillow and held it in front of him for protection. He glowered at Maja who was kneeling and shaking with the knife in front of her. A pillow and a knife. Everything went deathly quiet.
Eva buried her face in her hands. She had to make the appalling scene vanish, she was terrified the man would catch sight of her, come bolting across the floor and wrench open the door, she wondered what he would make of that, and what sort of rage would fill him then, if he knew she’d been sitting there in the dark staring at them. She crouched, still as a statue on her stool, struggled to breathe calmly, noticed that Joe Cocker had begun another song, “When a Woman Cries.” In the midst of her despair she felt a tremendous sense of relief. Never, ever would she allow some strange man into this room and let him pull her clothes off. Not only would she put an end to her own career before it started, but she would persuade Maja to give up as well. Maja’s a decent person really, she thought, considerate of others, and with almost two million, that was quite enough. She’d just have to make do with a little hotel. Eva looked up again and through the gap: the man had finally got off the bed, and was now pulling on his jacket. She saw the back of his head and his gaze flitting around the room, as if to assure himself that he hadn’t left anything behind. She held her breath when his eyes discovered that her door stood ajar. He stared hard for a few seconds, then turned and crossed the floor. Something was wrong. Not a word was spoken, it was suddenly so quiet. She could see Maja’s feet, they lay motionless on the golden counterpane, pointing out to the sides. And the man wasn’t dawdling anymore, he opened the door quickly, and slipped out.
Eva didn’t move.
She was waiting for Maja to call. Inside she felt her anger rising. It was directed at Maja, who had dragged her into this dubious apartment and who’d maintained that it was safe. But she heard no sound from the bed. At last she got up, pushed open the door, and now she could see everything, Maja’s white body lying diagonally across the bed. She lay quite still with a pillow over her face.
Eva didn’t scream. This was a normal Maja jape, and quite typical of her. She would stop at nothing if she wanted a good laugh. She folded her arms and shook her head. “If you let that one in again, you’ll lose all my respect,” she said dryly.
A car started outside, she turned quickly and ran to the window, peered down at the pavement as it moved into the street. It’s an Opel Manta, she thought, just like the one Jostein had owned. She caught a glimpse of the number. BL 74...