Stalker

41

Eugene Cassel has put his clothes back on, and Adam has called for a patrol car. They’re walking down the hotel corridor together.

‘I’m really sorry… I’m shocked, just tell me what I can do, I want to help, as a point of honour… but I have to speak to my lawyer first.’

Eugene has washed his face, but his cheeks are white and shiny with sweat.

‘I need to find Filip,’ Adam says.

‘He didn’t do this,’ Eugene says instantly.

‘Filip isn’t at any of the usual addresses, where is he?’

‘I know, he’s not doing too well,’ Eugene says, scratching his forehead with his hat. ‘Look, I’m not going to spread shit about Filip, but the way things are right now, I really don’t want anything to do with him. I’ve tried to get him to seek help, but…’

‘Help with what?’ Adam says.

The lift door opens and they step aside to let a woman in an orange trenchcoat get out before going in.

‘He’s been taking a bit too much,’ Eugene smiles, waving his hand towards his temple.

‘Is he an addict?’

‘Yes, but the problem with taking too much MDPV, MDPPP, MDPBP, MDAI… It doesn’t work, you just get fucking paranoid, and then you get the wrong sort of high and end up feeling so bad you want to die.’

‘Does it make you aggressive?’ Adam asks as they step out of the lift on the ground floor.

‘I mean, you’re terrified the whole time, but sort of ultra-focused at the same time. You think too quickly, don’t sleep at all… The last time I met Filip he was completely fucking manic, said he was on thousands of satellite pictures on Google, kept going on about Saturn being forced to eat his own children… He couldn’t stand still for a second, he kept ranting, waving this little knife around, he cut my hand and yelled that I should be grateful… and then he cut himself, right across the arm. He was dripping with blood as he ran off into the underground.’

They pass the lobby and walk out of the doors on to Tulegatan at the very moment a patrol car pulls up.

‘Right now I just need to know where I can find him,’ Adam repeats, stopping Eugene.

‘OK, I feel like a traitor, but he said they couldn’t see him in the storerooms.’

‘Storerooms?’

‘He rents a load of storage over on Vanadisvägen – you know, that self-storage place. I think he’s got more than half of the storerooms there.’

Two uniformed officers come over and say hello to Adam. One of them leads Eugene to the back seat of the car while the other one listens to Adam.

‘Take him to the custody negotiation room,’ Adam. ‘Make sure he doesn’t call anyone, buy us some time. Once his lawyer shows up we won’t be able to hold him.’