Exposed

The first thing she saw was the pair of knickers hanging from a bush. They were swaying gently, their salmon pink standing out against the lush greenery. Her immediate reaction was anger. Young people had no respect for anything! They couldn’t even let the dead rest in peace.

She began to contemplate the decline of society while her dog explored further along the iron railings. She followed the animal down the south side of the cemetery, round the thin trees, and that was where she caught sight of a leg. Her fury rose: how dare they! She saw them every evening, wandering the pavements with their skimpy clothes and their loud voices, offering themselves to men. The fact that the weather was hot was no excuse.

The dog did a little sausage in the grass next to the railings. She looked away and pretended she hadn’t seen. There was no one about at this time of day. Why bother putting it in a bag?

‘Come on, Jesper,’ she said, pulling the dog towards the eastern end of the park. ‘Come on, boy.’

She glanced back over her shoulder as she walked away from the railings. The leg was no longer visible, hidden by the thick foliage.

It was going to be another hot day. She could feel beads of sweat forming on her forehead even though the sun had only just risen. She was breathing heavily as she struggled up the slope. The dog was pulling on the lead. His tongue was hanging so far out that it was touching the grass.

How on earth could you just fall asleep in a cemetery, the final resting place of the dead? Was that what feminism was all about, giving young girls a licence to behave badly and show a complete lack of respect?

She was still annoyed. The steep hill was making her mood even worse.

I ought to get rid of this dog, she thought, then felt guilty for thinking it. To make up for her uncharitable thought she bent down to let the dog off the lead, and picked him up for a cuddle. The dog struggled free and rushed off after a squirrel. She sighed. What was the point of trying to be nice?

With another deep sigh she settled onto a bench while Jesper tried to catch the squirrel. After a while the dog had worn himself out and came to a halt under the tree where the little rodent was hiding. She didn’t move until the dog had finished dashing about, then she got to her feet again, her dress sticking to her back. The thought of the sweat stains down her spine made her feel embarrassed.

‘Come on, Jesper darling. Over here …’

She waved a plastic bag full of dog treats, and the short-legged bull-terrier set off towards her. His tongue was hanging out, swinging back and forth, making it look like he was laughing.

‘Is this what you want, then? Yes, I thought it might be …’

She fed the dog the entire contents of the bag, and took the opportunity to put him back on the lead. It was
time to go home. Jesper had had his treats. Now it was her turn: coffee and a Danish pastry.

The dog showed no inclination to go back. He’d caught sight of the squirrel again, and all those dog treats had only renewed his energy for the chase. He protested noisily and furiously.

‘I don’t want to be out here any longer,’ she complained. ‘Come on, Jesper!’

They took a different path to avoid the steep slope back home. Going uphill was just about okay, but going down always made her knees ache.

She was walking down the path towards the northeastern corner of the cemetery when she saw the body. It was lying in thick undergrowth, stretched out, with its arms up behind a broken granite headstone. A fragment of a Star of David was lying next to the head. She felt suddenly afraid. The body was naked, completely motionless and white. The dog pulled loose and rushed at the railings, the lead dancing like an angry snake behind him.

‘Jesper!’

He managed to squeeze between two rails and set off towards the dead woman.

‘Jesper, come here!’

She was shouting as loud as she dared, because she didn’t want to wake anyone living nearby. A lot of people slept with their windows open in this heat; the stone buildings of the city centre never had time to cool down during the short summer nights. She fumbled frantically for more dog treats, but they were all gone.

The bull-terrier stopped beside the woman and eyed her curiously. Then he began to sniff, at first hesitantly, then more eagerly. When he got to her groin he could no longer contain himself.

‘JESPER! Come here at once!’

The dog looked up but showed no signs of obeying. Instead he moved up to the woman’s head, then started stiffing at the hands. The woman watched in horror as her dog started to chew on the corpse’s fingers. Feeling sick, she grabbed at the black railings. She moved slightly to the left and bent down, peering through the headstones. She stared into the dead woman’s eyes, just two metres away. They were glazed, slightly clouded, dull and cold. She had a strange sense of all sound around her vanishing; there was just a faint buzzing noise in her left ear.

I have to get the dog away from here
, she thought.
I can’t tell anyone that Jesper has been chewing on her
.

She got down on her knees and stuck her hand as far as she could through the railings. Her outstretched fingers were pointing right at the woman’s dead eyes. Her upper arm was so plump that she almost got stuck, but she just managed to catch hold of the lead. The dog whined as she pulled on the leather strap. He was in no mood to let go of his prey. His jaw was clamped onto the body, which moved slightly.