The killer's art

24

He’d gone past the place several times. At first he wanted to go inside, but decided to wait. Each time he went there, he put on a slight disguise. Just to be on the safe side. There was always a risk that he might run into somebody he knew. He’d decided to do everything in the proper order and take his time. Slowly but surely he would make his approach, so that when the time was right he could ruthlessly launch his attack. First he wanted to get to know his victim. Afterwards it would be too late.

Right now he stood watching the man on the other side of the windowpane, trying to gather his courage to go inside. Not because he was afraid of the man; rather, he was afraid of himself. That he might not be able to stop himself from assaulting him. He took several deep breaths. Self-control was usually his strong point; at the moment he wasn’t so sure.

He noticed that he was breathing hard and knew that wouldn’t do. He took a walk around the block to calm his nerves. When he came back, the man was on his way out, carrying a big bag in his hand. He headed for the subway.

He followed the man. After three stops the man got off and took the escalator up to the street level, crossed the street and disappeared into the premises of one of the city’s largest and most exclusive gyms. He followed, paying the fee at the check-in counter. It was shockingly expensive. They wanted 150 kronor for one visit.

The gym was almost deserted at this time of day. A few machines clattered, and music was thumping. A girl in leggings and a tight-fitting leotard was using a step machine while reading a book. After a while the man he was following came out of the locker room. He began running on a treadmill; it looked pathetic.

Since he hadn’t brought any workout clothes, he couldn’t join in, which was a shame. It would have been great to run right next to the man and provoke him in some way.

Even though he’d made the decision to proceed slowly in order to prolong the suffering as much as possible, he was seized by a strong desire to think up something right now, just to give the man a scare. He went into the toilet to make sure that his disguise was still in place.

When he came out, the man had moved over to the weight-training equipment. He was lying on a bench and lifting the weights overhead. From a distance he watched the man add more and more weight. Finally he lay there, gasping loudly with the effort. Each end of the barbell had 88 pounds on it.

Cautiously he glanced around before approaching. The man was lying on his back and didn’t notice him. No one was near; the girl on the step machine was in a different room and had her back to them. The other guy who had been in the weight-training room had now left. But he needed to be careful.

At the last second he stopped himself. Something made him pause and then retreat a couple of paces. It wouldn’t be good to get too eager right now. That would wreck everything. He had to restrain himself, not try any mischief that might ruin it all. What if he was arrested by the police before he was ready? That would be disastrous.

He went up the half flight of stairs to the gym’s cafe, sank down on a chair and tried to concentrate on breathing calmly.

After a while he stood up to get a glass of water, but was suddenly overcome by nausea. He had to rush to the nearest gents’, which happened to be in the weight-training room.

Strong convulsions surged through his body and he vomited into the toilet. He was mortified to discover tears running down his face. For a long time he sat on the floor, trying to gather his wits. Would he really be able to carry out the plan he had devised?

All of a sudden somebody knocked on the door. He froze, and his heart began pounding fast.

He swiftly got to his feet, moved to the sink and splashed water on his face. Then he flushed the toilet several times. When he opened the door he almost had a heart attack. There stood the man, asking him with a worried look whether everything was all right.

For what seemed like an eternity but was actually only a few seconds, he stared into those grey-green eyes that showed both worry and sympathy. Then he muttered that he was OK and pushed his way past.