Missing

chance. No way was she giving in without a fight, though. She backed away from him.
    ‘Vimmerby seems to be one hell of a place. A serial killer and a rapist living just next door to each other. Maybe there’s something nasty in the water?’
    She glanced towards the front door. The key had gone.
    ‘It’s locked, in case you wondered.’
    He had an informative tone to his voice.
    ‘Now, there’s something else I should let you know. If there’s one thing I haven’t got the slightest inclination to do, it’s keeping you here for sex.’
    This did nothing to convince her. She backed away from him, hitting her back against the end of the stair railing.
    ‘There are other things we’ve got to sort out together, you and I.’
    She swallowed.
    ‘I don’t think so.’
    Now he grinned again.
    ‘Oh yes, we do – Sibylla.’

S he was dumbfounded at first. Her only clear thought was that things had gone badly wrong.
    ‘How do you know my name?’
    ‘I read the paper, like everyone else.’
    He couldn’t have recognised her – or could he? Not with her new hairdo, surely? A car drove past on the road outside and she looked at it over his shoulder through the kitchen window. Then it was gone.
    ‘You might as well give up your idea of meeting Kerstin. She lives at the other end of town, as it happens. That house is empty. A German family has bought it and they usually don’t turn up here until June.’
    She wanted to get out of there, to get away from him.
    ‘Why did you lock the door? What do you want from me?’
    He didn’t answer.
    She glanced at the door again. There was no window in the hall.
    ‘Don’t even think about it, Sibylla. You’re going nowhere without my permission.’
    She was a prisoner. She closed her eyes for a couple of seconds, trying to pull herself together. He moved away from the doorway and, because she had no choice, she followed him into the kitchen.
    ‘I’d appreciate it if you took your shoes off.’
    She stared at him. No fucking way.
    Instead, she walked over to the table and sat down. A glance at him was enough to make her realise that keeping her shoes on had angered him a great deal. Frowning, he got hold of a brush and pan from a cupboard and started sweeping up invisible muck from the floor. When he had put the things away, he came to sit down at the kitchen table. The smile had gone from his face.
    ‘From now on, you will do what I tell you.’
    From now on? What was this weirdo after? Why was he so bossy?
    She tried to speak in a low, calm voice.
    ‘You have no right to keep me here.’
    He grimaced with mock surprise.
    ‘Oh, don’t I? Dearie me. Maybe you’d like to phone the police?’
    He burst out laughing when she didn’t answer immediately. She told herself that maybe phoning the police was exactly what she should do now. They were both focusing on each other, registering each other’s every breath. Another car went past and for a fraction of a second Sibylla let her eyes wander away from him. He broke the silence.
    ‘I must say, I was flabbergasted when you turned up in the cemetery out of nowhere. Like a gift from God. Indeed, God does look after his own.’
    She stared at him.
    ‘When I spotted your watch I couldn’t believe my eyes at first. Do you know, if it hadn’t been for your watch I might never have recognised you.’
    They both looked at her watch. Then he smiled briefly before closing his eyes and turning his face upwards.
    ‘Thank you Lord. You listened to your servant and saved my soul. You sent her to me. Thank you …’
    She thought he had finished.
    ‘What about my watch?’
    He turned towards her, silent at first. His eyes were open but had narrowed to slits. Leaning over the table, as if to give his words more weight, he spoke slowly.
    ‘Never ever interrupt me when I’m talking with the Lord God.’
    Suddenly, everything fell into place.
    ‘Accursed are those who rob the innocents of their rights.’
    The truth pierced her like an arrow. Fear struck her speechless, her mouth filling with the taste of blood.

    Fool that she was! What made all the difference was the person he had appeared to be. She already knew the importance of that for herself. How could she have forgotten? She had allowed prejudice to lead her by the nose – straight into a trap.
    His face had changed somehow. Now he knew that she knew.
    ‘You can guess where I saw that watch the first time, can’t you? In the Grand Hotel’s French dining-room. You