How is he still managing to breathe? Winter went up to the bed. His father’s head was turned toward the window, but his eyes were closed. The outline of the mountain peaks was sketched against the sky. An airplane was descending toward Málaga. Winter thought of Sweden, and as he did so the mobile phone rang in his pocket. He strode quickly out into the corridor and answered.

“How’s it going?”

“Not good, I’m afraid. Worse.”

“I’ll try to get there tomorrow.” His sister coughed, wheezed. She tried to say something, then tried again. “It was only one hundred and two this morning.”

“You ought to be in the hospital. High temperatures like that are dangerous, Doctor.”

“It’s a da…, a da…”

“I beg your pardon? I can’t hear what you’re saying, Lotta.”

“It’s a damn nuisance to be suffering from the flu of the century-no, the flu of the damn millennium-when Dad’s in the state he’s in.”

Winter didn’t know what to say. The blue light coming from the corridor was faint, but, even so, brighter than that in his father’s room. It was reminiscent of a tunnel of ice.

“Your temperature’s bound to go down,” he said, and could hear two nurses talking softly to each other at the office desk, where the light was different, warmer.

“I think I’ll take some pills that will knock me out,” she said. “Make or break.”

“You know best.”

“The hell I do. But I’m not the important one now.” She started coughing, rasping, gasping for breath. She tried to say something, but coughed once more. “I might manage to say a few words to Mom.”

“I’ll get her,” Winter said, going back into the room and handing the telephone to his mother.

His father mumbled something and turned his head, and Winter could see that he was awake.

NOVEMBER

13

The bank, Unicaja, had eventually received the money, two minutes before closing time, following three calls by Winter to his bank in Sweden: reference number, account number, Swift code. 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, determined to avoid crowds of people.

Another month, but it was still just as hot. That morning Salvador, his host at La Luna, had thrust his arms out wide and said something about el cielo azul. The blue sky, constantly hovering over the people who were desperate for some cooler weather.

Winter stood outside the bank in the main street, Avenida Ricardo Soriano. He felt hungry, more so than at any time since he’d arrived here. He turned right and bumped into Alicia. She was alone. Perhaps it was she who stopped and spoke to him.

“Have you sorted out your financial problems, Chief Inspector?”

“I’ve just picked up the money from Sweden,” he said, pointing at the bank window.

“That’s good.”

“It makes things easier.”

“Sí.”

“Now I can afford to have lunch.”

She checked her watch, but made no move to leave.

“Don’t let me keep you,” Winter said.

“I’ve just finished my shift,” she said.

“I see.” Winter shuffled uneasily. “I’d better have lunch before I drive out to the hospital.”

“Have you injured yourself as well, Chief Inspector?”

“Please call me Erik. No, my father is seriously ill. That’s why I’m here.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.” She looked as if she meant it. She was wearing a skirt today, black, and a brown blouse that seemed to be keeping the heat at bay, despite its color. Winter had noticed that Spanish women seemed to survive the heat better than the men, who appeared to bluster their way through the day. The women dealt with it rather more elegantly. “I hope everything turns out for the best.” She seemed to be thinking about something, turned to look in the direction she’d come from, then turned back to face him. “Did you have anywhere particular in mind for lunch?”

“No… I suppose I’ll head in that direction. That way leads to the Old Town, doesn’t it? I haven’t seen much of Marbella yet. The town itself, I mean.”

Alicia looked at her watch again.

‘Anyway… there we are,“ said Winter, making as if to leave.

“There’s a good little restaurant a few minutes down the road. I can show you it, if you like.”

“Have you had lunch yourself yet?”

“No, not yet. But I usually just gulp down a sandwich when I get a moment.”

“I’ll be happy to treat you if you’d be so kind as to show me this place you mentioned,” Winter said.

It was in the Calle Tetuán and was called Sol y Sombra, specializing in fish and seafood. There were a few tables outside under parasols, and a large room that gave the impression of being cool, with white table-cloths and open windows facing the little pedestrian plaza.

“What do you think?” Alicia asked.

Winter noted a large glass counter with fish, prawns, and lan goustines on ice. Behind the counter was a proud-looking man with shiny black hair and a white shirt. A party of locals was sitting around one of the inside tables. A couple outside had just been served a bottle of white wine, now covered in condensation. It seemed to be hot everywhere, despite the parasols.

“This looks ideal. I’d like to sit inside. What do you think?”

“Okay.”

They sat down and the man from behind the counter came with the menu and a jug of water.

“I’d be grateful if you did the ordering,” Winter said.

“Are you very hungry?”

“Very.”

‘Appetizer and main course?“

“Sounds good… maybe something to pick at first.”

“Wine?”

“A glass, perhaps.”

Alicia ordered, and they were served with a carafe of wine, a basket of rye bread, and a few large, green olives. Winter poured the wine, which tasted of sun and soil.

“Do you work as an interpreter full time?”

“Just now I do. I’m actually a grammar school teacher, but… well, I got a bit fed up last year, and this is how it turned out.”

“Do you live here?”

“In Marbella, you mean? No, if only. But then somebody who’s just been robbed probably wouldn’t see it that way.”

“Apart from that it seems to be… a pleasant-enough town. Not all that many tourists. But it’s hardly high season.”

“It’s pretty good in the high season as well. Unlike where I live, Torremolinos.”

“Oh, Torremolinos.”

“Do you know it?”

“Everybody the world over must have heard of Torremolinos, surely? But I’ve never actually been there. Only seen it from a distance.”

“That’s the best way,” said Alicia. “That’s what everybody says, unfortunately.”

“Is it really as bad as that?”

“Worse. Maybe not the part where I live, but on the whole… Some people call it Terrible Torrie, and that’s a good name-although most of the awfulness is their fault.”

“Yes, I hear it’s very popular with the English.”

“The tattooed and shaven members of the population, that is. They’re escorted from the airport by the Guardia Civil and taken to their hotels in armored cars.”

Winter laughed, and coughed as some wine went down the wrong way. Alicia smiled.

“And that’s only the start of their vacation,” she said.

“And you live in the middle of all that?”

‘As I said, it’s not so bad where I live, overlooking an old fishing village called La Carihuela, a couple of miles outside the town. You can walk along the beach from there to Torrie. If you dare.“

“But you work here.”

“The police station is nicer here,” she said, taking a sip of wine. “The… clientele as well,” she added, looking at Winter and smiling again.