Henning Mankell - The Pyramid

He sat up in bed and pressed the receiver against his cheek, where his stubble stung.

'Wallander!' he barked.

'I didn't wake you, did I?'

'I was awake.'

Why do I lie? he wondered. Why don't I tell the truth? That most of all I would like to return to my sleep and catch a fleeting dream in the form of a naked woman.

'I thought I should call you. An old farmer called in, said his name was Nyström and that he lived in Lenarp. He claimed that a neigh-bouring woman was tied up on the floor and that someone was dead.'

Wallander swiftly located Lenarp in his mind. Not so far from Marsvinsholm, in an unusually hilly area for Skåne.

'It sounds serious. I thought it was best to call you directly.'

'Who is available right now?'

'Peters and Norén are out looking for someone who broke a window at the Continental. Should I call them in?'

'Tell them to drive to the intersection of Kadesjö and Katslösa and wait until I get there. Give them the address. When did you receive this call?'

'A couple of minutes ago.'

'Are you sure it's not some drunk?'

'It didn't sound like it.'

Wallander got out of bed and got dressed. The rest that he needed so much was not to be granted him.

He drove out of the city, passing the newly built furniture warehouse by the main road into town, and sensed the dark sea beyond it. The sky was covered in clouds.

The snowstorms are coming, he thought.

Sooner or later they will be on top of us.

Then he tried to concentrate on whatever sight it was that he would encounter.

The patrol car was waiting for him by the road to Kadesjö.

It was still dark.