He no longer remembers the dream; he might as well get up. When he peers out into the hallway there is an envelope lying there which looks familiar. This one is pale yellow, that’s the only difference. But it is just as thick as the first one, with the letters S. P. printed on the front.
This time Jan does something he didn’t have the courage to do last time: he opens the envelope. He takes it into the kitchen, places it on the table and studies the seal. It’s ordinary transparent sticky tape — the kind you can buy just about anywhere — and that’s what makes him begin to pull at it, teasing it away from the back of the envelope.
He hesitates for a brief moment. Is it wrong to open letters that shouldn’t ever be delivered anyway? He pushes the question aside.
When he has removed the tape it is very easy to slide a sharp knife under the flap and gently work it open. He reaches inside and removes the contents.
Rettig wasn’t lying. The envelope contains letters, nothing else. Jan counts thirty-four, in all colours and sizes. There are names on the front in pen or pencil, in different handwriting, all with the same address: St Patricia’s Hospital.
Jan slowly looks through the names, and notices that one particular name comes up several times: Ivan Rössel. Rössel the serial killer has received nine letters altogether.
There are no other names on the letters that Jan recognizes. There is nothing for Alice Rami, or Maria Blanker.
Jan rubs his eyes and thinks. If he can’t get in to see Rami, perhaps he can send a letter to her? What does he have to lose?
He has a set of stationery in one of the kitchen drawers. His mother gave it to him when he left home, with handmade envelopes and thick paper, but in ten years he has hardly ever used it.
He picks up a pen and stares at the empty sheet of paper for a few seconds, wanting to fill it with words. There is so much to say. But in the end he writes just one question: DEAR SQUIRREL — WOULD YOU LIKE TO GET OVER THE FENCE?
He signs his own first name. He considers adding his address, then realizes that Lars Rettig or one of the other care assistants will almost certainly see the envelope containing Rami’s reply. If she replies. So he writes Jan Larsson, and his old address in Gothenburg.
Then he places the sheet of paper in an envelope, writes Maria Blanker, St Patricia’s Hospital on the front, seals it and tucks it in among all the rest.
Jan has the package for the patients at St Patricia’s in his rucksack when he arrives at the Dell the following day. He will be staying on for the evening shift; he will be alone with the children for three hours, which will give him plenty of time to nip over to St Psycho’s when they have fallen asleep.
Everything seems quiet at the Dell, but when he walks into the staffroom he sees Marie-Louise sitting at the table with a strange man. He stops dead in the doorway, feeling a chill run down his spine. He suddenly remembers the events of Friday night: the unidentified visitor who emerged from the lift and walked out into the night through the pre-school.
But when he looks at the man properly he recognizes the glasses and the thick brown hair. And the mouth which rarely smiles.
‘Hello, Jan. How are you?’
Dr Högsmed has come to visit. Jan almost expects to see a collection of hats in front of him on the table, just waiting to be picked up — but there is only a half-empty coffee cup.
He quickly forces a smile and goes over to shake hands. ‘Fine thanks, Doctor.’
‘Patrik, Jan.’
Jan nods. Of course he will never be able to think of Högsmed as anything other than Doctor, but he can pretend.
Högsmed studies his face. ‘So, have you got the hang of all the routines?’
‘Absolutely,’ Jan replies. ‘I love it here.’
‘That sounds excellent.’
Jan’s smile is becoming more rigid by the moment. He thinks about the letters in his rucksack. It isn’t open, of course, but does Högsmed suspect anything? Has Lars Rettig been found out?
Eventually the doctor looks away and turns to Marie-Louise. ‘Is he behaving himself?’
Högsmed sounds unconcerned, and Marie-Louise answers emphatically, ‘Oh yes, we’re very pleased with Jan! He’s become a real favourite with the children, a real playmate.’
Jan hears the praise, but he still can’t relax. He would prefer to slip away, out of the room and away from Dr Högsmed. When Marie-Louise asks if he’d like a coffee, he quickly shakes his head. ‘Thanks, but I had one just before I came out. I get a bit shaky if I have too much,’ he says, then adds, ‘Caffeine, I mean.’
Then he goes off to join the children in the playroom. Behind him Högsmed leans over and quietly says something to Marie-Louise, but the children are shouting and laughing, making it impossible for Jan to eavesdrop.
‘Come on, Jan!’
‘Come on, we’re going to build something!’
Natalie and Matilda draw him into the game, but he finds it difficult to chat and joke as usual today. He keeps looking over at the door, waiting to feel a hand on his shoulder, a harsh voice asking him to come for a little chat. An interview with the security team up at the hospital.
But it doesn’t happen. When he glances into the staffroom a little while later, the table is empty. Högsmed has gone.
At last Jan can relax, or try to. He shouldn’t go across to deliver the letters this evening — what if Dr Högsmed calls in again? But he doesn’t want them sitting in his locker either.
The time passes slowly but at last it’s evening. Most of the children are picked up, the staff go home. Jan warms up a stew with dill and potatoes for the three children who are left, then he reads them a story and eventually manages to get them to sleep.
By this stage it is quarter to nine. Rettig told him to go up to the hospital later than this, but Jan is too impatient. He has just about an hour before Andreas arrives to take over; that’s plenty of time.
He waits for a little while, checks on the sleeping children one last time, then heads down into the basement with the Angel attached to his belt and the envelope hidden underneath his jumper.
Quickly, a postman has to work quickly.
The lift is waiting for him. He takes a deep breath and travels up to the visitors’ room. Everything is quiet; it is deserted and in darkness. Jan quickly makes his way over to the sofa, lifts up the cushion and stops — there is already an envelope lying there. But it isn’t the one he left a few days ago. This one is larger and thicker, and there are five words scrawled on the front: OPEN THIS AND POST CONTENTS!
A reply from St Psycho’s. Jan stares at the envelope. Then he grabs it, tucks it under his jumper and puts the big yellow envelope in its place.
When Jan gets back to the Dell, everything is still perfectly quiet. Thirty minutes later the outside door opens. Jan gives a start, but it is only Andreas, cheerful and calm as usual. Andreas is a steady character, apparently with no worries in his life. ‘Hi, Jan. Everything OK?’
‘Everything’s fine. All our little friends are fast asleep.’
Jan smiles and puts on his jacket, then opens up his locker and takes out his rucksack, where he has hidden the new envelope. He is full of anticipation; it almost feels like Christmas Eve.
‘Good luck, Andreas. See you tomorrow.’
When Jan gets home he is still thinking about Dr Högsmed. He locks the door behind him and pulls down the kitchen blinds. Then he takes out the envelope and opens it.
Forty-seven letters come tumbling out — almost a full deck of cards of large and small letters, all neatly stamped and addressed to various people in Sweden, apart from two. One is destined for Hamburg, and one is going all the way to Bahia in Brazil. There is no sender’s name on any of them.