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“The police are on his trail, but because of the investigation
they can’t disclose any more. Nor can I. And you of course
want to keep your own secret—the secret room.”
I could see that Bruun was seething, but I didn’t care. Even
if I didn’t get a job reference, the important thing was that I
got my final paycheck. I told him I’d be gone at the end of
the shift.
As the afternoon wore on, the crowds in the store became
unbearable. Merja left after the morning shift, but Petri was
doing a long day. Later, after closing time, I saw Petri
waving at me from an escalator heading to the ground
floor. I set off after him as fast as my fat suit permitted.
Most of the staff had already left the store; only the cashiers
remained counting their sales. Petri entered a door that
read,
Employees Only
, and beckoned me to follow him. His
face was pale, his eyes red, and his skin peeling.
“I got a message from Jansson that the debt’s been paid. I
can’t believe it. Are the police really going to get him
without dragging us into it? Will we get off scot-free?”
“Let’s try our best.”
“Why did you do this? Weren’t you supposed to rat on us to
Bruun?”