The Snowman ( PDFDrive )

He said it with a conviction that made her shiver.
‘The cellar door!’ she screamed.
‘What?’
‘Mathias has got the cellar key, too. What shall we do?’
‘Simple,’ said Oleg, finishing his glass of water. ‘You put one of the garden chairs under the door
handle. They’re just the right height. No chance anyone could get in.’
‘Have you tried?’ she asked, taken aback.
‘Harry did it once when we were playing cowboys.’
‘Sit here,’ she said, heading for the hall and the cellar door.
‘Wait.’
She stopped.
‘I saw how he did it,’ Oleg said, who had got to his feet. ‘Stay here, Mum.’
She looked at him. God, how he had grown in this last year; he would soon be taller than her. And
in those dark eyes of his the childishness was giving way to what for the moment was youthful
defiance, but which, she could already see, in time would become adult determination.
She hesitated.
‘Let me do it,’ he said.
There was a plea in his tone. And she knew this was important for him, it was about bigger matters.
About coming to terms with childish fears. About adult rituals. About becoming like his father.
Whoever he thought that was.
‘Hurry,’ she whispered.
Oleg ran.
She stood by the window and stared out. Listening for the sound of a car on the drive. She prayed
that Harry would come first. Wondered about how quiet it was. And had no idea where the next
thought came from: how quiet it would be.
But then she did hear a sound. A tiny sound. At first she assumed it came from outside. But then she
was sure that it came from behind her. She turned. Saw nothing, just the empty kitchen. Then there
was that sound again. Like the heavy tick of a clock. Or a finger tapping on a table. The table. She
stared. That was where the sound was coming from. And then she saw it. A drop of water had
landed on the table. She slowly raised her face to the ceiling. In the middle of the white panelling a
dark circle had formed. And from the middle of that circle hung a shiny drop. It let go and landed
on the table. Rakel saw it happen, yet the sound made her jump, as if she had received an
unexpected slap to the head.