The Hermit (65 page)

– The police weren’t involved. So no. He’s dead. I watched him die.

She chews on that a moment. Then she releases his hand and clutches her belly with both hands. – But aren’t you in trouble? Last time I saw you, the police were out to get you.

– A misunderstanding. I’m no longer of interest to them. Erhard thinks about the little computer gizmo lying in the tank at the restaurant, his video recording. It may not be up to date, but there’s enough information there to build a case should it get into the hands of the press.

– You almost sound like my grandfather.

Erhard takes that as a compliment. – Then pretend your grandfather is telling you what I’m about to say. Get an abortion now. You must be at least three months along. Don’t make the same mistake twice.

– I can’t. I can’t kill it.

– Yes, you can. You have to.

– I can’t.

– Then don’t. Have a kid. But for God’s sake love it with all your heart. Love it like you would yourself. Love it like the child you once had. Love it so that it never feels alone.

– I don’t want a husband, or a family. I’m not the mother type.

– Forget all that. Just be with your child. You don’t need a husband or a family to love a child. There are many ways to be a parent. Find the way that best suits you. Just as Søren tried to find his.

The cook returns and looks at them. – Lily, a customer wants her money back. Frida’s asking for you.

– I’m coming, she says. When the cook has gone, she scrutinizes Erhard. – Thank you, she says.

– I want you to have this, too. Erhard draws something from his pocket, and hands it to her.

She feels it in her hand before she understands what it is. – Where did you get this?

– I find things that are lost.

– Who are you? I can’t figure out why you’re doing all this.

– I’m just an old man with nothing better to do.

She puts on the ring, but it’s much too large and she shifts it to her index finger; it glides on like something that belongs there. – Thank you, she says again. Almost in relief. She returns to the restaurant.

He drives home. He has forgotten how much he loves Alejandro’s Trail, and the curve that makes his stomach lurch. He doesn’t enter his house, but sits on a rock and turns his face up towards the sun. He notices the goats running about. Hardy’s back again, though he hasn’t approached the house. Soon Laurel joins him and they stare down the hill at Erhard. Today, Erhard’s the one who walks towards them.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

One must be disciplined and a little crazy to write a book, and one must have patience and energy in surplus to live with a writer. I love my family for giving me the space I need. To my beloved P., who has helped me mature and challenged me more than anyone else. Thank you to good friends who always believed in my novel. Thank you to everyone who, with their interest and knowledge, has helped bring
The Hermit
to life: My editor K.; my agents; Nicole Callaghan in Fuerteventura; various sailors, taxi drivers, and piano tuners; and the cafe staff at the fantastic Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, who’ve poured my black coffee for five years and counting, because I don’t have an office space, and simply love the view of the sea.

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A Oneworld book

First published in North America, Great Britain and Australia by Oneworld Publications, 2016
This ebook published by Oneworld Publications, 2016

Originally published in Danish as
Eremitten
by Forlaget Bindslev, 2014
Copyright © Thomas Rydahl, 2014
Translation copyright © K. E. Semmel, 2016

Published by agreement with the Nordin Agency, Sweden

The moral right of Thomas Rydahl to be identified as the Author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988

All rights reserved
Copyright under Berne Convention

A CIP record for this title is available from the British Library

ISBN 978-1-78074-889-4
ISBN 978-1-78074-890-0 (eBook)

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

Typesetting and ebook by
Tetragon, London

Oneworld Publications
10 Bloomsbury Street
London WC1B 3SR
England

Table of Contents

Luisa

The Little Finger

The Whore

The Corpse

The Flat

The Cargo Ship

The Liar

Lucifia

Lily

Acknowledgments