MEN WALKED in and out. A bolt of electricity darted into the night every time the door opened. The trains rattled behind him, their hydraulics sighing after a long day out on the rails. The freight yard was lit by a handful of bulbs attached to posts that stuck up between the walls. A train pulle...
The bank did not accept payments in Spanish currency: Winter had no alternative but to pay the exchange fees. He missed the feeling of having a plastic card in his hand. The notes were new and stiff in the inside pocket of his jacket. He paused as he emerged from the bank and took stock, determin...
HE’D JUST GOTTEN UP AND WAS SITTING on the balcony. Invisible birds were singing from a sky where two jets had painted a cross. “I’ll see what I can do,” Halders said. “How are things?” “It’s hot already.” “How’s it going?” “I said I’ll see what I can do, didn’t I?” “OK, OK.” Halders looked up an...
The rooms were full of Christmas decorations, an excess of them. The children had been allowed to do whatever they liked. Angela recognised Elsa's paintings because Elsa had shown them to her before. There were lines and circles that could symbolise most things. Or just represent them. Not everyt...
A street cleaner dragged itself along the asphalt on the other side of Vasaplatsen and sucked the last of the morning haze into its rotating bristles. A van delivered fresh bread to the Wasa Källare restaurant. Winter took in the smells. He was hungry. He’d drunk a cup of coffee and that was it. ...