The Collector | 18+

【47】Snooping Around

As it turned out, spite was one hell of a motivator. In the following three days, I went over as much of the collection as I had in a whole week. And that included taking proper pictures of everything again, using the state-of-the-art camera Ulrik had bought for the occasion.

Free of his distracting presence, and spurred to accomplish the most I could in the little time I had left, my focus became extreme. Every morning, I'd wake up early and head downstairs to the gym to run for an hour on the treadmill. Then, after a quick shower, I'd eat breakfast with Yuko before coming down to the reserve to work.

Overall, I worked around fourteen hours a day, only taking breaks when nature called for it or when the meal bell rang. I was drowning in it, but I didn't mind. Keeping my mind busy at all times prevented me from thinking about Ulrik, so the long hours were welcomed.

Yuko's presence and company prevented me from feeling lonely, though, which was nice. Since Ulrik was gone and she judged it bad etiquette to leave a guest alone, she now ate with me at every meal. During those few days we spent with just the two of us, I grew to appreciate her even more. During her time with the Westergaards, she'd experienced a life of adventures and travels, which she loved talking about.

As we lunched together on Thursday, she finally confided her medical issues with me. She explained her condition and how the doctors weren't so optimistic. Her leukemia was stagnating despite her treatments, which wasn't as good as it receding, but better than it getting worse. A few hours later, after we'd had dinner, Jakob came to fetch her so he could drive her to Trondheim. She'd have another round of chemo on the next day, Friday, and then stay in the hospital until Monday before coming back. She preferred it that way, she'd explained to me, since the first few days following her treatment were the worst and she didn't want to bother anyone with her bad state.

Standing by the front door, I watched the car drive away, an acute sensation of solitude invading me. A light shiver ran up my back as I tightened my oversized cardigan around me, crossing my arms over my chest.

I was now alone, stranded in this massive house that still felt foreign to me. Never in a million years would I have imagined that things would take this turn, that I'd be the only one left in the house of a work acquaintance.

Once the car's taillights were out of sight, I returned inside and closed the door behind me, making sure to lock it. I'd never felt unsafe here, isolated as the estate was, perched on the flank of the fjord. But knowing I would be alone from now on changed things. At least I'd get to do whatever I wanted, like walk barefooted on the immaculate heated floors, have breakfast in my pajamas, and use the sound system to blast some music for my entertainment.

Yes, I could make this work. Plus, I had Reggie with me, so I wasn't entirely alone.

And even though this felt weird, I knew the house well after living there for ten days. I had no reason to be scared, as I knew how safe and secure it was.

With the cat in tow, I made my way to the reserve again, ready to get back into it. As soon as I sat, though, I was reminded of one part of this place that I didn't know. One that had been on my mind since day one.

The mysterious door stood in front of me on the other side of the vast room, taunting me. Whatever Ulrik said was behind it, I didn't believe him. I had access to the entire house except for this room? That was more than enough to trigger my suspicions.

But there had been no occasion for me to unveil this mystery, and I was aware that it wasn't right for me to even attempt to. If I never figured out what was stored in there, though, I'd wonder for the rest of my life.

If only I could open it...

A lightbulb went off in my head as I remembered the set of keys Yuko had given me before leaving, in case I needed to leave the house and such. I jumped to my feet like a spring and hastily headed upstairs. By the entrance hall, I grabbed the key ring hanging by the console near the door and made my way back to the reserve. The numerous keys chimed as I went through them while nearly running downstairs.