ABSTRACT
Ann-Karina and I are nervous about the meeting. We know that Asif has killed at least ten people. When he enters the room, we both get confused. He is charming and good-looking, and we do not know what to say: should we speak to him as we would usually do with a guy like that? On the other hand, do we somehow need to treat him differently because of the murders? Different people are walking in and out of the house during the interview. The situation feels uncomfortable until one of us breaks the ice by asking a question which exposes our differences: “So where do you go and do your killings and break-ins?” Asif replies so casually that we all have to laugh, and from then on the atmosphere becomes more relaxed. Asif became involved in the Americans because the Junky Funkies killed his brother. He would like to be able to play soccer and do things outside, but he is so high on the execution list of the Junky Funkies that he does not dare to go anywhere. After we have exchanged phone numbers with Asif and agreed to meet the following week, Fatima intervenes in the conversation and says: “It seems like Asif is the sweetest guy on earth. Look at him! He is so charming and sensitive. But don’t be fooled. When night falls, he changes completely. He becomes a different person. During the night he becomes a killer! His mother does not believe so because she only sees him during the day.” Fatima looks intensely at us, as if she wants to prevent us from being charmed by him. Not only Asif ’s mother, but also Fatima’s own son seems unable to separate day from night activities in relation to Asif. But how is he able to be best friends with someone who has killed ten people? How are we able to be casual with and charmed by a guy like that? How does Asif ’s mother separate between his night and day activities? How does Asif himself make such separations? Are the killings about him or about the situations he becomes a part of? Is he a perpetrator or a victim? Five days after our first meeting with Asif, he is executed 100 metres away from where Ann-Karina and I live. He is shot in the head, and his naked body is dumped next to the road. The questions my meeting with Asif provoke remain unanswered to me. They form part of the background and motivation for why I ended up writing this book.
