Free The Indian Bride by Karin Fossum Page A

prefer the blond one who'd been there yesterday. The one with the friendly smile who had brought him a drink.
    "Has anyone told you that as a relative you may stay at the hospital overnight?" she said.
    Gunder was surprised. Yes, they had told him that, but he had had to find Poona. He did not want to tell her that. Eventually she left the room. He bent over Marie. There was a low gurgling noise coming from the tube. That meant that it was busy collecting saliva from her mouth—which was what the blond nurse had explained to him. But if he pulled the cord to call a nurse, then the sour one would probably be the one who came back. He could not face that. For a while he sat listening to the sound of the respirator, pushing air into Marie in long hissing drags. He thought that if the gurgling got any worse he would have to call them. And he would have to put up with whichever nurse it was who came.
    They had urged him to talk to her, but now he was lost for words. The night before he had been so looking forward to seeing Poona again despite everything that had happened. "Marie?" he whispered. Then he gave up and let his head drop. He had to focus on the future. Karsten would suddenly appear in the doorway and take over the whole dreadful business. It occurred to him that there was a radio above the bed. Could he switch it on? Would it disturb Marie? He leaned forward and unhooked the radio. It was covered in white canvas. First he found the volume button and turned it right down. He held it close to his ear and heard a low hissing, then tuned it until he found P4, which broadcast news every hour and it was coming up for 10 A.M. He waited tensely until a voice interrupted the music and read the news. Inspector Sejer has told P4 that the
body of a woman found at Hvitemoen has not yet been identified. Police have also stated that the woman had been the victim of an attack with a blunt instrument, but will give no further details. Sources contacted by P4 claim that the body had been subjected to an assault of a violence very rare in Norwegian crime history. Police have now set up a hotline for the public and are asking everyone who was in the area of Hvitemoen near Elvestad yesterday afternoon, evening, and night to contact them. All activity in the area is considered to be of interest. The body was discovered by a woman from Elvestad who was out picking mushrooms. They gave a telephone number. It was an easy number to remember and it burned itself into Gunder's brain against his will. The gurgling from Marie's tube interrupted his train of thought. It was getting worse. If he pulled the cord and the sour one came running she might think that he thought she was not doing her job properly. But there had to be more of them on duty. Perhaps it would not be the dark one who came. Then the door opened all by itself and to his delight he saw the blond nurse enter. She came over to his chair and put her hand on his shoulder. "Your brother-in-law has been contacted. He's on his way home."
    Gunder nearly wept from relief. Then she went to Marie's bed to remove the saliva from the tube. Gunder allowed himself to close his eyes. Finally his shoulders relaxed.
    "Was everything all right yesterday?" she said, looking at Gunder from across the bed. He opened his eyes. He thought his voice would break.
    "You mentioned some problems," she said.
    She leaned forward again, but she was still listening. He had a feeling that she understood a great deal.
    "Everything will be easier once your brother-in-law gets here," she said. "Then you won't have to manage on your own."
    "Yes," he said. "It'll get better then." He summoned up his
courage and looked at her. "Is she going to wake up?" he said feebly.
    He looked down at Marie in the bed. That was when he noticed the nurse's name badge for the first time.
    "Yes, I think so," the girl called Ragnhild said. "She'll wake up."

CHAPTER 6
    In the woman's gaping mouth Sejer counted three or four teeth that