'So Iversen doesn't know about the Shadow Organization?'
'No,' said Tom firmly. 'It's not that we didn't trust him, but in some ways he's like an open book, if you'll excuse the expression. He would have ended up giving away what we knew about the Shadow Organization, completely inadvertently, of course, if he had found out what we knew. That's why we decided very early on not to involve him. For his own good.'
'What happened with the plan?' asked Katherina. 'Were you ever contacted by the Shadow Organization?'
Tom shook his head. 'Never.' He clasped his hands in front of him. 'But they might have had a hard time finding me. During that time I was pretty paranoid. Truth be told, Marianne's suicide nearly scared the life out of me, and I tried to protect myself as best I could. After a while I left everything behind and moved out here.' He let his gaze slide over the room. 'Only Luca knew where I was, or at least so I thought.' His red lips opened in a big smile. 'Until today.'
'Shh,' said Katherina suddenly, raising her hand.
Tom tilted his head to the side and closed his eyes. As he sat there on the ottoman with his hands clasped, he looked like a meditating monk. Jon turned to face Katherina, sitting beside him.
'No trespassing,' she whispered.
Jon nodded that he understood and leaned back against the sofa. Right now he wished he could hear what they heard so that he could at least participate.
'Private property,' said Katherina.
'The second sign,' Tom interjected.
Jon looked from one to the other. They both had their eyes closed and were sitting in the same position as when it started, concentrating and not daring to move.
'Trespassers will be reported to the police,' growled Tom. 'They're in the woods.'
'Three people,' Katherina added.
If he hadn't been afraid of breaking their concentration, Jon would have jumped up and run outside to see who was approaching. But he didn't dare do anything except sit motionless on the sofa. Jon let his eyes scan the room. The mosaic of book spines made the room seem less empty than it actually was, maybe because the books were apparently so randomly placed. He leaned forward towards the nearest bookshelf.
'No, Jon,' exclaimed Katherina loudly.
19
'MichelFoucaultGьnterGrassWordsAndThingsLullabyThomasPynchonMason &DixonRichardFordSusanSontagFinnCollinTheAnatomyOfHatredTheLastValkyrieSonOfTheWindArturoPйrez ReverteMarcelProustSnowFalling…'
The flow of titles and author names that Jon was reading drowned out the reception of the individuals who were on their way to the farm.
'Stop it,' Katherin commanded.
Jon glanced at her in surprise, but his expression quickly changed to remorse. He fixed his eyes on the floor.
Katherina closed her eyes and again focused on receiving, but she couldn't pick up anything more. What did that mean? Had they stopped, or were they in between two signs? Even though it was convenient to receive from a distance, it was also frustrating not to be able to see what was really happening.
She jumped up from the sofa and ran through the rooms to the door. There she fumbled with the three bolts that were preventing her from exiting. When she finally flung the door open, the other two were right behind her.
Outside all three of them ran towards the track. Jon was faster than the others, so he went on ahead until he reached the first turn. There he came to an abrupt halt. When Katherina and Tom caught up to him they saw a grey Land Rover backing down the track away from them. The shadows of the trees made it impossible to see who or how many people were in the vehicle. Katherina was about to run after it when Jon stopped her.
'They picked somebody up,' he explained. 'A guy came out of the trees on the left. There might have been more.'
Katherina peered through the tree trunks but the dense firs prevented her from seeing more than a couple of metres into the woods. The car had disappeared from sight but they could still hear the engine. It was driving away at a great speed.
'Did you get the number?' asked Katherina.
Jon shook his head. 'TX or something like that.'
'I'll get my shotgun,' said Tom and ran back to the house before the others could react.
'What did the man look like?' asked Katherina. 'Did you recognize him?'
'No,' replied Jon. 'He was short and thin, wearing hunting gear, with a hat and all the rest.'
'And a rifle?'
'Maybe. But I didn't see it.'
Jon took several steps forward, peering into the woods. They stood there for a couple of minutes and listened without hearing anything but the wind in the treetops.
'I'm sorry I ruined things,' he said without taking his eyes off the trees. 'I'm still not used to the idea that reading can be so revealing. All my life I've thought that reading silently was a private matter, a sort of personal space I could enter and be in all alone. But in reality I've been broadcasting like a radio station.'
'A radio station with an imperceptibly small number of listeners,' Katherina pointed out. 'Most people can spend an entire lifetime reading and never run into a receiver.'
'They do conceal themselves well,' said Jon with a smile. He nodded towards the farm. 'Yes, I know, Tom is a special case.' His smile vanished, and he gave her a searching glance. 'Very special. The question is, can we trust him?'
'Do we have any choice?'
'I've heard so many incredible things during the past week that this almost makes sense.' Jon once again fixed his eyes on the trees. 'At least it explains a lot of what has happened, to Luca in particular. I sure could have used that information a little earlier.'
Katherina noticed that his hands were clenched and his knuckles were white.
'The most unbelievable thing for me is that Luca never said anything,' she said. 'Not even to Iversen.'
Jon raised his hand to signal her to be quiet. In among the trees they could hear branches snapping and the sound of footsteps in the underbrush. Jon took a few more steps along the track and Katherina followed. Now they could make out a figure heading straight for them, and they could hear panting from the exertion required to push aside the intertwined branches.
Out of the shadows stepped Tom, red in the face and gasping for air. Under his arm he carried a shotgun adorned with twigs that had been torn off as he made his way through the woods.
'Nothing,' he told them after catching his breath. 'If anyone was here, he's gone now.' He handed the gun to Jon so he could brush the twigs and leaves out of his hair and beard.
Neither Katherina nor Jon had much desire to return to the dark farmhouse. Tom fell behind as they strolled up to the yard where the cars were parked. It was cold, but Katherina enjoyed the fresh air after the stuffy atmosphere inside the house.
'Who do you think it was?' asked Jon after they reached the yard and Tom had caught up.
'If it was the Shadow Organization, that's the closest I've ever been to them,' said Tom, reaching for his shotgun. Jon returned the gun to its owner, who carefully wiped off the dirt and dust from the barrel and butt.
'Did anyone follow you here?' asked Tom without taking his eyes off what he was doing.
Jon shook his head. 'I didn't notice anyone.'
'Seems a little odd that they'd show up on the very same day that you turn up here,' said Tom, casting a sidelong glance at both of them. 'Who knew where you were going?'
'Iversen and Pau,' replied Katherina.
'And my computer guy,' added Jon.
'Do you trust them?'
Katherina and Jon both nodded.
Tom scanned the buildings around them and gave a little sigh. 'I'd like you to leave now,' he said calmly.
Katherina and Jon exchanged glances.
'Shouldn't we stay for a little while, in case they come back?' asked Jon.
'No thanks,' said Tom, taking a step back. 'I can take care of myself. I've been doing that for twenty years. Please just leave me alone.'
As he stood there facing them with his shotgun under his arm, Katherina couldn't help feeling that his words were more than just a polite request. Even though his voice was controlled, Tom's body seemed tense, and his eyes kept shifting from one of them to the other.