She did up her seat belt. “Drive around for a bit, then I’ll have a go afterwards.”
He made no reply, but put the car in gear and drove away across the marked bus lanes. She knew he was waiting for something, as if she should speak first, because she was the one who’d taken the initiative, who wanted a new car.
I’m no damn coward, Eva thought.
“So you’re not frightened of picking up strangers on the road?” she said sweetly.
It was 9:40 on October 4 and Eva’s record was as clean as new-fallen snow.
His left hand rested languidly on the steering wheel, and he never let go of the gear change, that stubby, sporty gear stick, with his right. She sat staring at them. Short, square hands with thick fingers. They were smooth, hairless, the one on the steering wheel was relaxed, the one grasping the gear stick was a pale claw. They were like something she’d seen in Emma’s books, blind, colorless submarine creatures. His thighs were short and fat, and threatened to burst the seams of his jeans, his stomach protruded from his skimpy, ribbed leather jacket. He could have been five months pregnant.
“So now you want to get yourself a Manta?” he said, jiggling backward and forward in his seat.
“I’m a little sentimental,” she said tersely. “I had one once, but had to sell it. I never got over it.”
I’m sitting right next to him, she thought with astonishment, and I’m talking as if nothing’s happened.
“So what do you drive now?”
“An old Ascona,” she said and smiled. “It’s not quite the same.”
“Too right.”
They were halfway across the bridge now, he indicated left as they came to the main street.
“Drive out towards Fossen,” she said, “there’s a bit of flat country there where we can speed up a bit.”
“Oh yes? You want some speed?”
He chuckled and rocked backward and forward again; it was a juvenile habit which made him seem unintelligent, primitive, exactly the way she remembered him. She felt old next to him, but presumably they were the same age, possibly he was a couple of years younger. His pot belly didn’t budge when he moved, it appeared to be as hard as stone. His pale face flared up with each streetlight. A wan face without character, almost expressionless.
“I’ll drive out to the aerodrome, and you can drive back. Far enough, isn’t it?”
“Yes, sure.”
He flexed his right hand to get some air across his sweaty palm and drove even faster. The porky figure in his tight-fitting clothes was reminiscent of a well-filled sausage. He was certainly much stronger than she was, in any case he’d been stronger than Maja. But he’d been sitting on top. She tried to imagine how it would have been if Maja had been quicker and had stabbed him instead, then the two of them would have had a corpse on their hands. It could easily have happened like that, it was strange. Life was so fortuitous.
“This is the GSi model, in case you’re wondering.”
“D’you think I’m a complete beginner?”
“No, no, I was just mentioning it,” he mumbled. “There’s nothing wrong with the engine, let me tell you. Zero to a hundred in ten seconds. She can get close to two hundred, if you’re up for it. But women have a funny way of driving,” he said, jiggling, “they let the car decide. Just sort of sit there and get taken along for the ride.”
“That’s fast enough for me. The seats are good,” she added.
“Recaro seats.”
“Is the sunroof electric?”
“No, manual. Much better, the electric ones pack up quicker. Cost an arm and a leg to repair. The trunk is 490 liters, and has a light. If you’re fannying about with a kid’s buggy, and that.”
“Well, thank you! Does it drink petrol?”
“No, no, this here’s just average. It does zero point six. A liter maybe in cities. You’ve got to reckon on that.”
“I’ve looked at it several times,” she let drop.
“Oh? What for?” Now he sounded suspicious.
“I had to get some money together first.”
“Have you got enough, that’s the question.”
“I have.”
“You haven’t asked the price.”
“I haven’t thought about that yet. I’ll make you an offer you won’t be able to refuse.”
“Wow, you talk like a Mafia boss.”
“Yup.”
“I don’t really want to sell it.”
“No, but you’re greedy like everyone else, so that’ll be all right.” She wriggled a bit. She could feel the knife, it was pressing into her thigh. I’m no damn coward, she thought.
“And this offer of yours,” he said clearing his throat, “how big is it?”
“Wouldn’t you like to know. I’ll drive it first, check under the bonnet and the body, and in daylight too. And I’ll need an AA test, of course.”
“D’you want a Manta or don’t you?”
“I thought you said you weren’t going to sell.”
There was silence in the car, which had become hot and humid, the windows were misting up. He turned on the fan to clear them. Eva turned one last time and stared back at the town. The occasional welder’s flame could be seen from the new railway bridge that was under construction. The traffic became sparser and they were approaching the point where the street lighting ended. He went left at the roundabout and continued along the south side of the river. It was less of a torrent up here, but the current was powerful enough. After a few minutes’ silence he suddenly turned to the right. The aerodrome was on their left, while he rolled down a bumpy track and through a small clump of trees, halting on an open piece of ground right down by the river’s edge. Eva felt uncomfortable. There were no people nearby. The engine was still running, it purred softly and dependably, there was no doubting the car was in good condition.
“Ace fishing spot,” he said, pulling on the handbrake.
“Ninety-two thousand,” she put in quickly, “is that right? You haven’t wound the clock back?”
“Christ, is there no limit to your damn suspicions!”
“I just think it seems very low. This is a typical bloke’s car, and blokes tend to drive a lot. My Ascona is an ’eighty-two model and it’s done a hundred and sixty.”
“Well, it’s about time you had a new car, then. Want to take a look at the works?”
“It’s pitch black outside.”
“I’ve got a torch.” He turned off the engine and climbed out of the car.
Eva gathered herself for a moment and opened the door, a terrific gust of wind almost tore it out of her hand. “Damn weather!”
“It’s called autumn.” He raised the bonnet and secured it. “I admit that the engine’s been cleaned today. You wouldn’t have been able to see anything otherwise.”
Eva moved to his side and stared down at the shiny engine. “God, just like the family silver.”
“Yeah, isn’t it just?” He turned and grinned. One eye tooth was missing. “Nice stuff they make at Opel. Really great to work on.”
“Possibly so, but I won’t be doing it myself.”
“Didn’t think so. I’ve got some spare parts, they’re included in the sale, if we go ahead, that is.”