The Hypnotist

Chapter 103

They reach Jussi’s house, driving the last part across the hard crust on the snow. The air is freezing, utterly still and fragile. Joona draws his gun. It’s been a long time since he saw real snow and experienced this dry feeling in his nose from severe cold.

Three small buildings face one another in a U-shaped formation. The snow has formed a huge, softly curved dome over each of the roofs, and there are drifts against the walls, right up to the windowsills. Erik gets out of the car and looks around. The Mountain Rescue team’s tyre tracks are clearly visible, as are their footprints around the buildings.

“Oh God,” Simone whispers, hurrying forward.

“Wait,” says Joona.

“There’s no one here, it’s empty, we’ve- ”

“It seems to be empty,” Joona says. “That’s all we know.”

Simone waits, shivering, as Joona crunches across the snow. He stops by one of the small windows, leans forward, and can make out a wooden chest and some rag rugs on the floor. The chairs have been placed upside down on the dining table, and the refrigerator is empty and switched off, with the door wide open.

Simone looks at Erik, who has stopped in the middle of the yard, looking around as if perplexed. She is about to ask him what’s wrong when he says loudly and clearly, “He isn’t here.”

“There’s nobody here,” Joona replies wearily.

“I mean,” Erik says, “this isn’t his haunted house.”

“What are you saying?”

“This is the wrong cottage. Jussi’s haunted house is pale green. I’ve heard him describe it: there’s a larder off the porch, a tin roof with rusty nails, a satellite dish near the gable end, and the yard is full of old cars, buses, and tractors.”

Joona waves his hand. “This is his address. This is where he’s registered.”

“But it’s the wrong place.”

Erik takes a few steps towards the house again; then he looks at Simone and Joona, his expression deadly serious, and says stubbornly, “This is not the haunted house.”

Joona swears and takes out his cell phone, then swears even more when he remembers there is no coverage.

“We’re not likely to find anyone we can ask out here, so we’ll have to drive until we pick up a signal again,” he says, getting back in the car. They reverse up the drive and are about to pull out onto the road when Simone spots a dark figure among the trees. He is standing there motionless with his arms by his sides, watching them.

“There!” she shouts. “There’s someone over there!”