Free Shadows in the Twilight by Henning Mankell

bed.
    Joel always used to lie and contemplate that strip of
light before going to sleep.
    He could hear Samuel pouring warm water into the
washbasin.
    It was a procedure that never changed. It was the same
night after night, for as long as Joel could remember.
    He could feel his eyelids growing heavy.
    The last thought he had before falling asleep was that
he wasn't looking forward to asking Otto about David's
and Rolf's surnames. Or where they lived.
    You should always steer well clear of Otto. He teased
and bullied everybody, and did stupid things.
    But who else could he ask?
    He rolled over to face the wall, and curled up under
the covers.
    The next day he would start his hunt for the Caviar
Man and his friend.

6
    It turned out just as Joel had foreseen.
    Needless to say, Otto caused endless problems,
    It was the second break when Joel plucked up
enough courage to approach Otto in the playground.
Otto was busy trying to exchange a rusty sheath-knife
for a pair of old motorbike gloves. Joel hung back until
the deal had been settled. He watched Otto stuff the
gloves into his jacket pocket with a self-satisfied grin,
then went up to him.
    'I'd like a word with you,' Joel said.
    Otto gave him a withering look.
    'You mean you can come out with words?' he said scornfully.
'I thought small fry like you could only whimper.'
    Joel was tempted to sock him one, but manfully
refrained. That was exactly what Otto wanted: for boys
smaller than himself to start a fight. Then he could beat
them up and later defend himself by saying that he
wasn't the one who'd started it.
    'I'd like to ask you something,' said Joel. 'If you can
give me an answer, I'll give you two picture cards.'
    Joel knew that Otto collected picture cards of footballers.
He'd made up his mind to sacrifice the pictures
he'd found inside the packs of pastilles he'd been given
by Sara.
    Otto was still suspicious.
    'Honest,' said Joel. 'I'm not having you on.'
    'If you are, you'll get a good thumping,' said Otto,
setting off for the back of the school where the bicycle
sheds were.
    The bicycle sheds were the school's law courts. Only
the senior boys were allowed to go there. Girls were
forbidden. And no junior boys, unless they were
accompanied by a senior.
    'Show me the pictures,' said Otto, turning to face Joel.
    Joel knew that the situation was now crucial. If he
wasn't careful, Otto would snatch the picture cards and
run off without having answered any questions. That's
why he took a step backwards, and produced just one of
the pictures.
    'That's only one,' said Otto.
    'I have another one,' said Joel. 'But I want an answer
to my questions first.'
    'What questions?'
    Joel shook his head and continued round the corner.
He leaned against the wall of the bicycle shed and
forced himself to look Otto in the eye.
    'There are two young men called Rolf and David,'
Joel said. 'They spend a lot of time in the bar. One of
them looks like the fair-haired youth on the Kalle's
Caviar tube. What are their surnames? Where do they
live? Where do they work?'
    'That's three questions,' said Otto with a grin. 'I want
three picture cards.'
    Joel couldn't think of a good answer.
    'If you ask three questions, you can have one answer
free,' he said somewhat hesitantly.
    Otto was still grinning.
    'Who says so?'
    'That's the way it is in the big wide world,' said Joel.
'But maybe you don't know how it is in the big wide
world?'
    That was a dangerous answer. Otto could turn nasty
and start fighting. Joel took his hands out of his pockets
and prepared to defend himself.
    But Otto just kept on grinning.
    'Of course I know how it is in the big wide world,' he
said. 'Don't think you can teach me anything.'
    I fooled him, Joel thought triumphantly. Not many
people manage to do that!
    'Why do you want to know about them?' said Otto.
    'That's none of your business.'
    'Then I shan't tell you.'
    'Then you won't get any picture cards.'
    Otto shrugged.
    'Rolf's name is Person,' he said. 'He lives near