As White as Snow (14 page)

Lumikki was stunned she’d gotten into the house at all. The same woman who turned Lumikki away last time had stopped them at the gate. Again, Lenka launched into a heated exchange with her in Czech, and again it had looked to Lumikki like she’d made the journey for nothing. Then Adam Havel came out of the house, looked Lumikki over carefully, traded a few words with Lenka, and amazingly, they opened the gate.

“What did you say to him?” Lumikki whispered to Lenka.

Lenka shrugged.

“I just said you were my sister and wanted to eat dinner with us. Adam thought that was a good idea.”

Watching the ramrod-straight back of the man walking in front of her from the gate to the house, Lumikki sensed she needed to be very wary of him.

The prayer finally ended and Adam gave the signal to start eating. Around the table, it was perfectly quiet apart from the clink of knives and forks against the plates. All there was to drink was lukewarm water. Lumikki sliced off a piece of potato and a piece of meat and placed them in her mouth. Neither had any salt.

Apparently, Adam noticed Lumikki’s expression, because he began speaking loudly in English.

“You may be wondering why our food is so plain. And our lifestyle in general. We believe in all things that are pure and original. Simplicity is our rule. The fewer distractions a person has, the closer he can be to God. That is why we have no televisions, no telephones, no electronic devices, and no books. We do not flavor our food. Sometimes we burn incense, but only to cleanse our sense of smell. We believe that the human mind is best able to receive the sacred when it is as clean and white as the freshly driven snow.”

Lumikki looked at the members of the family, who nodded solemnly at Adam’s words. They didn’t look miserable or oppressed. They looked tranquil and close-knit. They clearly believed they had something no one else had. For a fleeting moment, Lumikki envied them.

The group members began speaking to each other in hushed tones.

“What are they talking about?” Lumikki asked Lenka quietly.

“We’re reviewing the events of the day. Those who work are talking about that, and the others are describing what they did at home.”

The discussion flowed peacefully. Lumikki studied the people’s expressions, but it was impossible to deduce anything. No one smiled, no one seemed angry. Did the group’s concept of sanctity also include not showing emotions? Not having emotions?

Once the day’s events had apparently been compared, the meal ended in silence. No one asked anything of Lumikki or seemed to comment on her in any way. The mood was dreamlike, simultaneously languid and unnerving. Lumikki tried to make eye contact with Lenka every now and then, but she just stared at her plate.

Once everyone had eaten, Adam said something in Czech and everyone joined hands. An old, slightly shaky man took Lumikki’s left hand, and Lenka took her right.

“What’s going on?” Lumikki whispered.

“This is the sin circle,” Lenka replied. “Everyone is going to confess their sins from this week.”

Lumikki didn’t have a chance to reply before the confessions began. If the prayer over the food had felt long, the sin circle dragged on for ages. Lumikki couldn’t comprehend how such austere, puritanical people had managed to commit enough sins to necessitate these long confessions. At the end of each one, the circle raised their joined hands for a moment and then lowered them again. That must have had something to do with receiving forgiveness for their misdeeds.

Finally, the circle reached Lumikki. She smiled politely, shaking her head and trying to defer to the next person, but that wasn’t an option.

“Everyone has to admit their sins,” Adam said gently, training his eyes on Lumikki.

It occurred to Lumikki what surprisingly good English Adam spoke. In fact, she didn’t hear any Czech accent at all.

“I don’t feel like I’ve sinned,” Lumikki replied.

“Everyone sins. Every day.” The gentleness had disappeared from Adam’s voice.

“If that’s true, then it’s a personal matter. I don’t want to share it with anyone else.”

A young man with a handsome face said something. Adam turned to stare at Lumikki again and translated, “We don’t have personal matters here. We share everything.”

The mood around the table had suddenly turned threatening. Everyone’s eyes were focused on Lumikki. Lenka looked at her too, but her gaze was pleading and she squeezed Lumikki’s hand reassuringly.

Lumikki’s neck began to sweat. She didn’t like this at all. She wanted to get out of here. Right now.

“Thank you for dinner, but I need to be going now,” she said, and tried to stand up.

However, the grip of the old man sitting next to her was surprising strong and he managed to force Lumikki back into her chair. In the meantime, Adam had risen and hurried over to Lumikki in a few long strides. He laid his hand on Lumikki’s shoulder, heavy and forceful.

“If you don’t want to confess your sins here, you will do it in the sinner’s cell,” he said calmly.

“Where?” Lumikki asked, glancing at Lenka, who just shook her head.

“The sinner’s cell is for those who need time to contemplate their transgressions,” Adam said.

Lumikki didn’t like the sound of his soft voice. She jerked away and shot up, but several hands seized her as if on command.

“Not the cell!” Lenka screamed.

Lumikki had just enough time to see Lenka’s eyes fill with tears before she was carried by her arms and legs out of the dining room, despite fighting back with all her strength. Lenka’s eyes seemed to beg for forgiveness.

Adam Havel pulled up the photograph on his smartphone even though he already knew he was right. It was the same girl. The same short hair and slightly tough, superior expression. What he hadn’t guessed was how hard she would struggle. It had taken several men to finally subdue her. As soon as Adam saw her at the gate, he’d known she was the one they were supposed to eliminate. Of course he wouldn’t do it himself, because that would have startled the others. So he had asked the girl in, and she walked into the trap like a lamb to the slaughter. Adam had known it would just be a matter of time before she turned difficult and gave him an excuse to put her in the sinner’s cell.

Was she really Lenka’s sister? Actually, Adam didn’t care. He had clear instructions to get rid of her, and that made the issue of lineage moot. Besides, Lenka had always been a bit odd, living more in her imagination than reality. Not that it really bothered Adam. It made Lenka easier to control than her mother, who had fled when she got pregnant and tried to live a normal life. That didn’t work for the family, though. No one left the family. It was too dangerous for outsiders to know the family’s business.

Finding Lenka’s mother had turned out to be surprisingly difficult, even though she lived in the same city. It took nearly
fifteen years, but Adam had finally succeeded in tracking her down, and she paid for her sins. Drowning was so appropriate for sinners. Plus, it looked like an accident and was recorded as such in the official statistics.

Adam browsed his phone in the basement, behind a locked door like always. Of course, the prohibition on electronic devices didn’t apply to him, but the others didn’t need to know that. They needed to stay as strong and pure in their faith as possible.

Adam wrote a message saying that the girl could be picked up from the small stone hut in the yard. He would leave the key by the back stairs. The pickup should be staged to make it look like the girl ran away, since otherwise the disappearance would cause needless curiosity among the family. He promised to keep the others in the prayer room at the other end of the house for the next hour. Adam sent his message to the woman who would forward it on to the hit man. They’d set things up that way so the orders would always come from the same source.

For a moment, Adam toyed with the idea of actually confessing all of his evil deeds in the sin circle. Would it make him feel better? Not likely. First, he didn’t even believe in the concept of sin. And second, he was pretty sure that he’d only feel better once the job was done and he was far away from here.

The gray rag in Lumikki’s mouth tasted worse by the minute. Its taste matched its appearance: dusty, nauseating, rancid, filthy. Rough, tightly bound ropes chafed her ankles and wrists.

The sinner’s cell lived up to its name. It was a stone hut barely three feet by three feet that they’d built at the back of the yard. No chair. On the wall, there was only a crucifix and Lumikki’s own backpack, which hung on a nail just high enough that she couldn’t reach it with her hands tied. Near the ceiling was a small window through which you could marvel at the blue of the sky. The door was locked from the outside.

Lumikki had already tried for a while to loosen her bonds or find something she could use to rub through them. It was hopeless. Pressing the back of her head against the wall, she rubbed up and down, left and right. The rag bound tightly around her mouth didn’t move. It didn’t even budge. Lumikki did her best to ignore the taste.

She stood up, even though it was difficult with her ankles bound so tight. She tried to see how high she could jump. Only a couple of inches. That wouldn’t help anything. On her third attempt, she lost her balance and fell, smacking her tailbone against the stone floor. Tears of pain welled up in her eyes.

Lumikki stayed there on the floor, gathering her strength. She had already wasted too much energy. Controlling her panic was difficult. She had survived all sorts of things, even being trapped in a freezer, but right now she didn’t feel like her luck was going to hold. She’d never escape.

Lumikki lifted her eyes to the crucifix. Jesus looked back with big, sad eyes. If there were ever a good time to pray, this would probably be it. Lumikki didn’t, though, because she didn’t believe anyone would hear.

The sky outside the small window looked achingly beautiful.

Lumikki felt the bland meal she’d just eaten churning in her stomach and trying to come back up. She forced herself to swallow, even though that meant tasting the rag. Worrying about vomiting would only increase the nausea. She had to do something to keep her thoughts and panic in check.

Stand up.
Bracing her back against the opposite wall, Lumikki lifted her legs and sent the soles of her feet flying against the door. It didn’t budge. Lumikki repeated the attack three times. Nothing. Sitting back down on the floor, she gathered her strength again and thought.

What if she scooted up so her back was against one wall and her feet were against the other? Would she be able to inch herself up to the backpack or even the window? Could she break the window or push it open?

Lumikki didn’t bother calculating probabilities because she already knew the odds were not in her favor. And probability had never helped her get away from anything before. Lumikki had managed her escapes through persistence, patience, and never giving up.

Lumikki didn’t want to think about what Adam Havel had in mind for her, but she couldn’t help herself. She didn’t trust him one bit. If Jaro’s death hadn’t been an accident, as Lumikki firmly believed, then presumably there would be no reason to let her live either. Would he strangle her himself? Or would he send someone else to do it? Would they kill her in the sinner’s cell or take her somewhere else for execution?

Death in a sinner’s cell. Lumikki had no intention of letting that happen.

She pressed her back hard against the wall, feeling its solid, unrelenting surface. The wall would be her friend now as it supported her. Lumikki focused on getting her bound legs up against the opposite wall. She knew the slow climb up would be difficult and exhausting. She would probably only be able to do it once, so she had to succeed on the first try.

A jump. Lumikki was in the air, her body bridging the two walls. She found her balance and took a deep breath through her nose. She needed as much oxygen in her blood as possible.

Inch by inch. She had to keep the pressure even between her back and the wall and her feet and the wall. Once her feet were high enough that her center of gravity threatened to tip too far toward her shoulders and neck, Lumikki started jerking her back upward. That part was significantly harder than moving her feet. One inch. Two inches.

Lumikki continued the slow, painful movements. The musty taste of the rag only seemed to intensify in her mouth.

A few more inches and her head would be at the level of the backpack. She could knock it off the nail. In the backpack, she had a pocketknife she could use to cut through the ropes.

Just then, she heard steps on the garden path leading to the hut. They stopped at the door. Lumikki inched her feet up too fast, losing her balance and crashing to the floor.

Panic gripped Lumikki as she heard someone turning the key in the lock.

The best and most reliable hit man in Prague repeated the instructions he had received.

He would go to the house. Near the back stairs, he would find the key to the hut. He would grab the girl, who would be tied up and helpless, and make it look like she had escaped on her own.

Simple enough. No chance of error or failure.