Jeffrey opened the door. “What’s going on, dude? Why did you want me to wait for you?”

“I need something,” said Ralf quietly. He scratched his neck.

Jeffrey stepped over the threshold and looked left and right to make sure that Ralf was alone. “Come in.”

Ralf followed him into the living room. It was smoky and it stank. The coffee table was covered in empty beer cans and full ashtrays. The curtains were drawn, and a strip of sunlight illuminated the filthy floor. On Tuesday, the twins had been lying in a crib in the corner of the room; now, an old racing bike was leaning against the wall instead.

“Where’s Denise?” he asked purely for form’s sake.

“Gone. At her mother’s place. Took the kids.” Jeffrey plopped down on the leather sofa and started rolling a joint.

“Shit, man.”

“She’ll be back. What do you need?”

Ralf looked at the floor.

“I don’t have any work for you, I already told you,” said Jeffrey. “Sorry. There’s a lot of—”

“It’s not about work.”

“What is it about, then?” He picked up his joint like a pen and held it up. “You don’t smoke, right?”

Ralf shook his head. Glanced at his sneakers and rubbed the back of his hand over his nose. “I need a gun.”

11

11

“How come you were so late this morning?” Lex was walking alongside Helen as she left the hospital.

“I fainted on the way to the ward.”

“So I heard. Any idea why?”

“No.”

“Of course you know; come on.” He put a hand on her shoulder and pulled her to a stop.

“I had a panic attack. It’s all getting a bit much for me, I think—everything all at once. The kids, chores, work.”

His hands slid down to her arms. Lingered there for a moment. Then he let her go, as if he’d suddenly realized that his touch was too intimate. He kept looking at her. “Why don’t you take some time off and rest?”

“I already am. Werner and I are leaving tomorrow for a few days in England.”

“A few days,” he scoffed. “That’s not resting. Resting is doing absolutely nothing for as long as it takes you to get bored.”

“Are you saying I should go on sick leave? There’s nothing wrong with me.”

“If you’re fainting at work from stress, that means there’s something wrong. You know that as well as I do.”

She turned her face aside. “It’ll pass.”

“When?”

“At some point.” It came out as a squeak.

“You look so sad all of a sudden.”

“The kids are having a movie night, and Werner has to work.” Why did I say that?

“And you’re getting kicked out.”

“So it seems.”