‘No, not yet. He might not come.’ Ninni put buns next to a couple of burgers and wafted away the smoke.

‘It’s so strange.’ Alma wrung her hands. ‘Who is he? And he spoke English? Are you sure?’

Ninni flipped the burger. ‘Oh, yes. He is English, Alma. I’m able to hear the difference between English and Norwegian. It’s all in the ear, you know.’

‘Yes, yes, but I don’t understand what he’s doing here. Britt says nobody has booked with her. So where’s he staying? And why would he lie about it? It’s so annoying.’

Alma took the plate Ninni handed her and looked at it. ‘I’m not hungry.’

‘Jens told me you haven’t eaten all day. Eat. It’s good.’ Ninni gave her a stern look. ‘Why is this man bothering you?’

Alma picked at the bun. ‘I don’t know. I just have a bad feeling. What if he’s a bad man, come to murder us all? Perhaps he heard that we never lock our doors and plans to rob every house.’

Ninni thought of Jack. ‘I hardly think so. Did you see him through the shop window?’

‘Yes, I did. And there was something about him,’ Alma said.

Ninni thought about his eyes. She hadn’t thought much about anything else since he’d talked to her. ‘I’m sure he will tell us all about himself sooner or later. And, if not, he’ll be gone in a few days’ time, he said so himself.’

‘Hmm,’ Alma said before taking a bite of the burger. ‘This is good.’

‘Of course it is. Making great burgers is my special talent.’ Ninni handed her another plate. ‘Here, take this to Jens and enjoy the evening. Dance. Let Olav and Sigrid do the music for a while.’

Alma looked amused. ‘Dance? I’d most likely break my hip.’

‘I doubt that. I’m not sure if the flautists can do Chuck Berry.’

‘They wouldn’t know who that is, would they? They play weird meditation music or depressing folk music. It’s just sad.’ Alma shook her head.

‘Go and eat. I’ll be here for another thirty minutes, then I’ll come over.’

Alma nodded. ‘Okay. But let me know immediately if that man turns up. I want to talk to him. I can’t relax until I know what’s going on,’ she muttered to herself and turned to join Jens and the others.

Ninni flipped another burger. She didn’t worry about Jack Greene. Her thoughts went to Karl. If he was here, she would push him in the sea. Simply for being a mean bastard.

Chapter 4

An insistent bird was singing outside. Ninni opened her eyes and looked at the familiar ceiling. This had been her father’s room when he was a boy. Model aeroplanes were hanging from the rafters and boyhood books from the fifties and sixties, even some from before the war, on the shelves mingled with her own collection from her childhood, including handwritten manuscripts from when she thought she’d be a writer.

It was too early to get up, but she knew she wouldn’t be able to sleep any more. She was surprised she had slept at all. All day yesterday she had kept so busy she’d hardly had any time to think of Karl. There had just been fleeting moments, and then she’d found something new to distract her.