Buried Angels (32 page)

Patrik ignored her question, but the piercing look that Erica directed at him made it clear that eventually he would have to tell her.

‘From now on, nobody goes into the kitchen. Consider it off limits.’ He turned to Ebba and Tobias. ‘We’ll need to search the island, so it would be best if you two found somewhere to stay on the mainland until we’re finished.’

‘But we don’t want to do that,’ said Tobias.

‘Yes, we do.’ Ebba suddenly sounded quite determined.

‘And where are we going to find a room at the height of the tourist season?’

‘You can stay with us. We have a guestroom,’ said Erica.

Patrik gave a start. Was she out of her mind? Inviting Ebba and Tobias to be their guests in the middle of an investigation?

‘Really? Are you sure?’ said Ebba, looking up at Erica.

‘Of course. While you’re with us, you can read everything I’ve collected about your family history. I was going through it again yesterday, and it’s really quite fascinating.’

‘I don’t think that …’ Tobias began. Then his shoulders slumped. ‘Here’s what we’ll do: you go to the mainland, and I’ll stay here.’

‘I’d prefer not to have anyone remain here,’ said Patrik.

‘I’m not leaving.’ Tobias cast a glance at Ebba, who offered no objection.

‘Okay, then I suggest that Ebba, Erica and Anna leave now so that we can get started on our work while we wait for Torbjörn. Gösta, you check the path down to the beach to see if anyone could have come that way. Paula, could you take care of the area closest to the house? I’ll search a wide circle around the house. It’ll be easier when we get a metal detector out here, but for the time being we’ll have to make do without it. If we’re lucky, the shooter may have tossed the gun into a shrub somewhere.’

‘And if we’re unlucky, this gun will be at the bottom of the sea, same as the last one,’ said Gösta.

‘That’s possible, but the priority is to carry out a search and see what we can find.’ Patrik turned to Tobias. ‘You need to keep out of our way as best you can. As I said, it’s not a good idea for you to stay here, especially not at night when you’ll be here all by yourself after we leave.’

‘I can work upstairs. I won’t get in your way,’ he said in a flat voice.

Patrik studied him for a moment but decided not to force the issue. If Tobias refused to leave the island, there was nothing anyone could do about it. He went over to Erica, who was standing in the doorway, ready to leave.

‘I’ll see you later,’ he said, giving her a kiss on the cheek.

‘Okay. Anna, can we go back in your boat?’ she said. Like a sheepdog she herded together the little group that she was going to escort home.

Patrik couldn’t help smiling. He gave them a wave and then turned to the motley group of police officers. It would be a miracle if they managed to find anything at all.

The door opened quietly. John Holm took off his reading glasses and put down his book.

‘What are you reading?’ asked Liv, sitting down on the edge of the bed.

He held up the book so she could see the cover. ‘
Race, Evolution and Behaviour
by Philippe Ruston.’

‘That’s a good book. I read it a few years ago.’

He took her hand and smiled. ‘It’s too bad that the holiday is almost over.’

‘Yes, if you can call this past week a holiday, considering how many hours we’ve worked each day.’

‘I know.’ He frowned.

‘Are you still worrying about the article in
Bohusläningen
?’

‘No. You’re right, it doesn’t matter. By next week it’ll be forgotten.’

‘Is it Gimle?’

John gave her a stern look. She knew better than to mention that word out loud. Only those who belonged to the inner circle knew about the project, and he bitterly regretted the fact that he hadn’t immediately burned the piece of paper that he’d scribbled on. It was an unforgivable mistake, even though he wasn’t sure that Erica Falck had taken it. It might have blown away or been lost somewhere in the house, but in his heart he knew the explanation couldn’t be that simple. The note was in the stack of papers before Erica arrived, and when he searched for it after she left, it was gone.

‘It’ll all work out.’ Liv stroked his cheek. ‘I believe in it. We’ve come so far, but there’s a risk that we won’t get any further unless we do something drastic. We need to create more space to manoeuvre. It’s best for everyone.’

‘I love you.’ He could honestly say that to her. Nobody understood him the way Liv did. They had shared ideas and experiences, successes and setbacks, and she was the only one he had ever confided in, the only one who knew what had happened to his family. Of course plenty of people knew about his past, since it had been the subject of gossip for years, but he had never told anyone but Liv about the thoughts he’d had during that time.

‘Can I sleep here tonight?’ Liv asked suddenly.

Seeing the uncertainty in her face, John was filled with conflicting emotions. In his heart he wanted nothing more than to have her warm body near, to fall asleep with his arm around her, breathing in the scent of her hair. At the same time, he knew that it wouldn’t work. Intimacy entailed so many expectations and caused all the disappointments and unfulfilled promises to rise to the surface.

‘Couldn’t we try again?’ she said, caressing his hand. ‘It’s been a while now, and maybe things have … changed.’

Abruptly he turned from her, snatching his hand away. The memory of his impotence nearly suffocated him. He couldn’t bear to go through that again. Doctors’ appointments, little blue pills, artificial pumps, the look in Liv’s eyes every time he couldn’t get it up. It was no good.

‘Leave, please.’ He picked up his book and held it like a shield in front of him.

He stared at the page without seeing a single word as he listened to her feet moving across the floor, and then she gently closed the door behind her. His reading glasses were still lying on the bedside table.

It was late by the time Patrik got home. Erica was sitting alone on the sofa, watching TV. After the children went to bed, she hadn’t felt like tidying up, so Patrik had to pick his way through the toys scattered over the floor.

‘Is Ebba asleep?’ he asked, sitting down next to his wife.

‘Yes. She went to bed around eight. She seemed totally exhausted.’

‘I’m not surprised.’ Patrik propped his feet on the coffee table. ‘What are you watching?’

‘
Letterman
.’

‘Who’s the guest?’

‘Megan Fox.’

‘Ah …’ said Patrik, sinking deeper into the sofa cushions.

‘Are you planning to sit there and get all excited having fantasies about Megan Fox, which you later try to act out with your poor wife?’

‘You got it,’ he said, nuzzling his face against her neck.

Erica pushed him away. ‘How did it go out on Valö?’

Patrik sighed. ‘Not too well. Reinforcements arrived in the shape of Torbjörn and his boys about half an hour after you left, and we searched as much of the island as we could before it got dark. But we didn’t find anything.’

‘Nothing?’ Erica picked up the remote to turn down the volume.

‘No. No traces whatsoever of the shooter. And it seems most likely that he or she threw the gun into the sea. But maybe the bullets will tell us something. Torbjörn sent them off to the lab for analysis.’

‘What was that card that Tobias mentioned?’

Patrik hesitated. It was always a balancing act. He couldn’t reveal too much to his wife about an ongoing investigation, but at the same time, there had been several instances when the police had benefited from Erica’s ability to dig up information. Having come to a decision, he replied.

‘All her life Ebba has received birthday cards from someone who signed them with the initial “G”. The messages have never been threatening. Until now. Tobias came to the station today to show us one that had just arrived in the post. The message was very different from all the previous cards.’

‘So you suspect that whoever is sending these cards is also behind the events on Valö?’

‘We don’t have any specific theories at the moment, but of course it’s something that we need to consider. I’m thinking of taking Paula with me to Göteborg tomorrow to have a word with Ebba’s adoptive parents. As you know, Gösta isn’t very good at interviewing people. And Paula begged me to let her get back to work. Apparently she’s climbing the walls at home.’

‘Just make sure she doesn’t overdo it. It’s easy for a person to overestimate her own strength.’

‘You’re such a mother hen,’ said Patrik with a smile. ‘I’ve been through two pregnancies now. So I’m not completely ignorant in that regard.’

‘Let’s clarify that. You’re not the one who’s been through two pregnancies. As I recall, you’ve never experienced swollen ankles, leg cramps and heartburn, or gone through twenty-two hours of labour pains and a Caesarean section.’

‘Okay, I get it.’ Patrik held up his hands. ‘And I promise to keep an eye on Paula. Mellberg would never forgive me if anything happened to her. Say what you like about him, but he’d go through hell and high water for the sake of his family.’

The credits for
Letterman
had started rolling on the screen, and Erica began channel surfing. ‘So what’s Tobias doing out there? Why would he insist on staying?’

‘I don’t know. I didn’t want to leave him out there. If you ask me, he’s on the verge of falling apart. He seems calm enough, and he’s handling it all with extraordinary composure, but he reminds me of a duck smoothly gliding over the surface of the water, but all the while its feet are paddling frantically underneath. Do you know what I mean? Or am I babbling?’

‘No, I know exactly what you mean.’

Erica continued pressing the remote. Finally she settled on
Deadliest Catch
on the Discovery Channel. She gazed absently at the flickering images of a Gore-Tex-clad man in the midst of a horrendous storm, hauling in trap after trap of massive spiderlike king crabs.

‘Are you planning to take Ebba with you tomorrow?’

‘No, I think it’s better if we talk to her parents alone. Paula will be here at nine, so we’ll take the Volvo to Göteborg.’

‘Good. Then I can show Ebba the background material that I’ve collected.’

‘You know, I haven’t seen this research of yours. Is there anything that might be relevant to the investigation?’

Erica thought for a moment but then shook her head. ‘No, I’ve told you the few details that might be useful. What I’ve uncovered about Ebba’s family history goes back further, and I think she’s the only one who would find it interesting.’

‘I’d still like to see it. But not tonight. Right now I’m too comfortable.’ He moved closer to Erica, put his arm around her, and leaned his head on her shoulder. ‘Christ, what a job those guys have. It looks super dangerous. Good thing I’m not a crab fisherman.’

‘You’re right, sweetheart. That’s something that I’m grateful for every day. Thank God you’re not a crab fisherman.’ She laughed and kissed the top of his head.

Since the accident, Leon had occasionally been plagued by a feeling that his joints were pulsating. An aching sensation, mixed with shooting pains, like a premonition that something was about to happen. He felt it now.

Ia was accustomed to reading his moods. Usually she would scold him for brooding, but not this time. Instead they were carefully avoiding one another, each of them moving about the house separately.

He found that a bit annoying. Boredom had always been his worst enemy. When he was a kid, his father would laugh at his inability to sit still and the fact that he was forever searching for new challenges and pushing the limits. His mother had fussed over all the broken bones and scrapes that resulted, but his father had been proud.

After that Easter holiday, he never saw his father again. Leon went abroad without saying goodbye. Then the years passed, and he was busy with his own life. Yet his father had been very generous, sending more funds whenever his bank account was empty. There was no reproaching his son or trying to rein him in. He had allowed Leon to fly free.

In the end, Leon had flown too close to the sun, just as he’d always known he would. His parents had died before that happened. Pappa was spared having to witness how the accident on that winding mountain road had robbed him of his body and his adventurous spirit, how it had left him fettered.

He and Ia had travelled a long road together, but now it was approaching the decisive moment. The only thing required was a little spark to ignite it all. And he didn’t plan on ever allowing someone else to light that spark. That was his job.

Leon listened to the house. Everything was quiet inside. Ia had probably gone to bed. He picked up his mobile from the table and placed it on his lap. Then he rolled his wheelchair out to the balcony and without hesitation began ringing them, one after the other.

When he was done talking, he let his hands rest on his thighs and gazed out over Fjällbacka. In the evening darkness the town was lit by scores of lamps, like a gigantic glittering tavern. Then he turned his gaze towards the water and Valö. In the old summer camp all the lights were out.

Two years had passed since Carin’s death, but Hermann hadn’t come to fetch her. As faithful as a dog, Dagmar had waited as the days became weeks, the months became years.

She still scoured the newspapers for word of him. Hermann had become a government official in Germany. In the photographs he looked so handsome in his uniform. A powerful and important associate for that man called Hitler. As long as Hermann was in Germany and involved in his career, Dagmar could understand why he had to let her wait, but when the papers reported that he was once again in Sweden, she had decided to make things easy for him. He was a busy man, and if he couldn’t come to her, then she would go to him. As the wife of a prominent politician, she would be forced to adapt to his needs, and most likely she would also have to move to Germany. She realized that the girl could not come with her. It wouldn’t do for a man in Hermann’s position to have a daughter born out of wedlock. But Laura was thirteen now; she could fend for herself.