‘Is it because you don’t want to leave the flat that you won’t go to the doctor?’
Maj-Britt considered this. Yes. That was definitely one reason. The thought of forcing herself out of the flat was terrifying. But it was only one of the reasons; the other was more crucial.
They would have to touch her. She would have to take off her clothes and she would be forced to let them touch her disgusting body.
Suddenly Ellinor straightened up and looked like she had just had an idea.
‘What if a doctor came here?’
Maj-Britt got palpitations from the mere suggestion. Ellinor’s attempt to find a simple solution was backing her into a corner. It would be so much easier just to admit that it was impossible, so that she could renounce all responsibility and not even have to consider making a decision.
‘What sort of doctor?’
Ellinor’s enthusiasm was back, now that she obviously thought she had found a solution.
‘My mother knows a doctor I can call. I’m sure I can get her to come here.’
Her. Then maybe that would be possible to endure. At least maybe.
‘Dear Maj-Britt. Please let me ring and ask her, at any rate. All right?’
Maj-Britt didn’t reply, and Ellinor got more excited.
‘Then I’ll ring her, okay? Just call and see what she says.’
And so apparently some sort of decision was made. Maj-Britt had neither agreed nor objected. She still had the chance to blame everything on Ellinor if things went wrong.
That would make it so much easier to endure.
If there were always someone else to blame.
23
The clock radio woke her at seven thirty and she didn’t feel the least bit tired. Her whole system was revving up even before she opened her eyes. She had fallen asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow and then slept dreamlessly for three hours. That was enough. The sleeping pills had not failed her, they effectively blocked all entry and prevented him from getting in. Then she was spared the piercing emptiness in her chest when she awoke and he was gone again.
She left the radio on while she got ready and ate breakfast. In passing she was informed about all the murders, rapes and executions that had occurred in the world in the past day, and the information settled into some remote convolution of her brain as she put her coffee cup in the dishwasher. Pernilla’s papers were already packed into her briefcase. She had decided to call the clinic and say she wouldn’t be in before lunch.
She was out much too early. It turned out that the bank wouldn’t open for another thirty minutes. Now to her annoyance she suddenly had an extra half hour, and to stand and wait outside the door was not a viable alternative. She had to do something in the meantime. In future she would plan a little better. See to it that she didn’t have this sort of unwelcome surprise that upset her planning. She headed down the street and scanned some display windows without seeing anything that interested her. She passed the news-stand, 7-year-old boy in ritual murder and woman (93) raped by burglar, saw that Hemtex was having a sale on curtain material, but didn’t notice the car that honked angrily as she crossed the street right in front of it.
She was the first customer in the bank this morning, and she nodded at a woman she recognised. The woman waved and Monika took a number for ‘other matters’. Her finger hadn’t even left the button before a beep told her it was her turn. She went up to the window indicated. The man on the other side was wearing a tie and dark suit and couldn’t be older than his twenties.
She placed her driver’s licence on the counter.
‘I’d like to check the balance in my account.’
The man took her driver’s licence and started typing on his computer.
‘Let’s see. Is it just a savings account or do you want to know about your interest-bearing cheque account?’
‘The savings account and my money market funds.’
Money had never really interested her. Not since she began making so much that she never had to worry. She had a high salary and worked a good deal, and she had no major expenses. Four years ago she had allowed herself to buy an apartment in one of the city’s newly renovated historic buildings, and her mother had expressed her utter dismay. Monika had never told her what it cost, but her mother managed to figure it out from the local paper, an article in which the reporter was shocked at the scandalous property prices. And her mother had leisurely inspected the apartment and found more defects than a professional surveyor.
‘Let’s take a look. You have two hundred and eighty-seven thousand in your savings account, and then you have a money market fund that at today’s rates is worth ninety-eight thousand kronor.’
Monika wrote down the figures. Investing money had never interested her, but at some point she had followed the bank’s advice and put a little of her money into various funds. But it actually made her rather uncomfortable. In a bank account she knew what the interest was and wouldn’t be hit by any unpleasant surprises. The yield from a mutual fund was more uncertain, and she didn’t like taking risks.
‘Okay, what about the Asia fund then?’
He typed in some more numbers.
‘Sixty-eight thousand five hundred.’
Monika shifted her feet.
‘I’d like to cash in all of them and withdraw what I have in the savings account.’
He gave her a quick look before his hand went back to the keyboard.
‘Would you like a cashier’s cheque or would you like the money transferred to an account?’
She thought it over. Once more she was surprised at her lack of planning. It wasn’t like her to ignore details. In future she should think things through a little better.
‘If you put the funds into my cheque account, can I make transfers by phone to someone else’s account later? I mean even a large amount?’
He suddenly looked unsure. Hesitated a bit with his answer.
‘Yes, technically you can transfer the money, but it depends on what you want to do with it, whether it’s legal with regard to taxes, I mean. If there’s something you want to buy, then a cashier’s cheque is preferable.’
‘No, I’m not buying anything.’
He hesitated again. Looked around as if he wanted some colleague to come and help him.
‘This will be quite a considerable sum that is being transferred, so…’
He typed again.
‘Four hundred and fifty-three thousand five hundred and twenty-three kronor. I just want you to know that such a large transfer might interest the tax authorities.’
Monika suddenly noticed that her vague irritation was growing stronger and that it would soon become apparent to the man on the other side of the counter. This wasn’t like her, either. Not caring what that officious man thought of her. That for once she might be viewed as annoying with all her demands. But she would have to take it a little easy. She wasn’t finished yet, she had more matters to take care of, and it would be more difficult if she lost his goodwill.
‘Then I’ll take a cashier’s cheque.’
He nodded and was about to pull out a drawer when she continued.
‘And then I’d like to take out a loan.’
He began digging in the drawer and found the paper with the survey of her apartment. It was nine months old, but the building was known all over the city. Everyone knew how attractive the flats were. For those who could afford them.
He gently closed the drawer, looking at her a bit longer this time, and then began reading the paper. She didn’t take her eyes off him as he scanned the document. She already had a mortgage on the apartment even though she could have made a large cash down-payment. Someone had told her that for tax reasons it was better to have the loan outstanding instead of paying it off with the money she had in the bank.
When he finished reading he looked at her again.
‘How much did you have in mind?’