The Sinner Read Online Free Page A

in the middle of the blanket.
    Distributed round the radio were four people, all of them roughly
her own and Gereon's age. Two men, two women. Two couples,
one of them seated with their knees drawn up, just talking, their
faces visible in profile. The other couple were faceless at first. They
were lying stretched out: the woman on her back, the man on top
of her.
    Only the woman's hair could be seen. Platinum blond - almost
white - and very long, it reached to her waist. The man had thick,
dark hair that curled on the nape of the neck. His muscular legs
were lying between the woman's splayed thighs, his hands cupping
her head. He was kissing her.
    The sight abruptly froze her heart. She found it hard to breathe
and felt the blood drain into her legs, leaving her head empty. Purely
to replenish it, she ducked beneath the umbrella and reached for a
towel, and just to drown the hammering of her heart, which had
started to beat again, she stroked the little boy's head, said a few
words to him, dug his red plastic fish out of her shoulder bag and
put it in his hand.
    Then she turned her chair so that her back was towards the
foursome with the radio. Although their image continued to float
before her eyes, it gradually faded, and she grew calmer. It was
no concern of hers what the couple behind her were doing - it
was normal and innocuous, and even the music wasn't a nuisance.
Someone was singing in English.
    In addition to the music she could hear a woman's high-pitched
voice and the low, unhurried voice of a man, presumably the one
sitting up. He hadn't known the woman long, from the way he
spoke. Alice, he called her. The name reminded Cora of a book
she'd owned - for one short day - as a child: Alice in Wonderland. She hadn't read it - she hadn't had a chance to, not in those few
hours. Her father had told her what it was about, but what he'd
told her was as worthless as his promise: "Things will be better
some day."

    The man behind her chair was saying that he planned to become
a GE He'd been invited to join a group practice - a good offer, he
told Alice. Nothing could be heard from the couple lying down.
    Gereon peered past her and grinned. Instinctively, Cora glanced
over her shoulder. Still with his back to her, the dark-haired man
was kneeling up beside the platinum blonde. He'd removed her
bikini top and poured some suntan oil between her breasts. The
little pool was clearly visible, and he was busy rubbing it in. The
woman stretched voluptuously under his hands. She was enjoying
it, from the look on her face. Then she sat up. "Your turn now," she
said. "But first let's have some decent music. This stuff is enough
to send you to sleep."
    Lying beside the platinum blonde's legs was a brightly coloured
cloth bag. She reached into it and took out a cassette. The darkhaired man protested. "No, Ute, not that one - that's not fair.
Where did you get it from? Give it here!" He made a grab for her
arm. She toppled over backwards and he fell on top of her. They
wrestled around, almost rolling off the blanket.
    Gereon was still grinning.
    The man ended up underneath with the woman sitting astride
him. She held the cassette in the air, laughing. "I win, I win!" she
said breathlessly. "Don't be a spoilsport, sweetie. This is great
stuff!" She leaned over, her long fair hair brushing the man's legs,
and thrust the cassette into the slot, then pressed the start button
and turned up the volume.
    The words "don't be a spoilsport, sweetie" pierced Cora like a
knife and set something inside her quivering. As the first bars of the
music rang out, the blonde bent down and cupped the man's face
between her hands. She kissed him, her hips moving rhythmically
against his crotch.
    Gereon was getting his edgy expression. "Like me to oil you
now?" he asked.

    "No!" She hadn't meant to be so vehement, but the woman's
movements and Gereon's reaction to them were infuriating her. It
was time to say