Page 4 - Fanget I Tiden oversættelse - caught in time (komplet)-converted

Chapter 1

Northern Germany, 3 April 1983
The petrol fumes irritated his nose whilst he was emptying the first can. Using his right hand, he

kept a firm grip on its handle while steadying himself with his left hand and leaning his shoulder
against the doorframe. He stood with one foot on the car’s doorsill and his other foot on the

ground. The front seats made of imitation leather with patterns in matching synthetic materials

became blurred from the petrol. In the glow from the car’s interior light, he registered how the
liquid was slowly absorbed into the seats and ended in dark stains on the grey carpet on the floor

of the car. The dashboard was also splattered with petrol. Once the can was empty, he left it on

the passenger seat. Johan stepped a couple of paces backwards, stretched his neck back and
dropped his arms down towards his toes while staring up at the night sky. He took it all in with a

very deep breath. A feeling of nausea crept over him. His working gloves, his khaki trousers, his
white shirt made of Indian cotton and the expensive deck shoes from Seabago – they all stank of

petrol, earth, dirt and oil. He had not taken this into account. He pulled out yet another petrol can

from the boot, twisted the screw top off and once again placed his foot on the doorsill. With his
head and upper part of his body half inside the car, he twisted one front seat forward and

awkwardly emptied the petrol over the back seat. He tossed the empty can into the car again.

When he backed out of the car, he bent over using his knee to support his hands. Then, gasped for
breath.

“Do you really think I should live in the provinces?” Johan had asked when Karl suggested that

once in a while he should spend the night in a German village roughly two hours’ drive from the
border between Denmark and Germany.

Karl had recently started as student assistant at Kräsen, the dairy giant, and Johan was the new

media person. They clicked nicely together.
On a warm summer’s day, Karl had once more dropped into his office and threw himself onto the

sofa next to the window.

“I love being in Denmark, and I am crazy about bathing in the sea on a summer’s day like today. “
Karl opened the window and let the warm air stream in.

“Denmark is fantastic in the summer,” Johan answered and continued drawing.
He really did not feel like talking about Denmark. Nope! All the same, Karl continued:

“My parents and I have holidays in Denmark every summer. Somewhere or other in Jutland,

where we bathe in the North Sea. You are not from Jutland; you are from Copenhagen, aren’t
you?”

Johan nodded. “I come from one of the northern suburbs of Copenhagen.” His voice seemed flat.