Buried Angels (55 page)

Authors: Camilla Lackberg

‘Everything?’

Erica nodded.

‘How do you think Dan is going to react?’

‘I don’t know.’ Erica ate a few more spoonfuls of ice cream and then stirred what was left in the bowl so it turned into a runny mess. It was a habit she’d had since she was a kid. Anna did the same thing. ‘I hope they can work it out.’

‘Hmm,’ said Patrik, but she could see that he was sceptical. So now it was her turn to change the subject.

She didn’t really want to admit it, either to herself or to Patrik, but over the past few days she’d been so worried about Anna that she could hardly think about anything else. But she’d forced herself not to phone. Anna and Dan needed peace and quiet if they were going to have any chance of working things out. Anna would call eventually.

‘Will there be any legal repercussions for Leon and the others?’

‘No. The statute of limitations has expired. The only person who could have been prosecuted for anything is Tobias. And we’ll have to see what happens with Percy.’

‘I hope Martin isn’t too upset about the fact that he killed Tobias. That’s the last thing he needs to worry about right now,’ said Erica. ‘And it was my fault that he got involved in the first place.’

‘Don’t beat yourself up about it. He’s doing as well as can be expected, and he seems ready to come back to work as soon as possible. Pia’s treatment is going to take time, and both sets of parents are helping them out, so he’s talking to her about working at least part-time.’

‘That sounds sensible,’ said Erica, but she still couldn’t help feeling guilty.

Patrik gave her a searching look. Then he reached out and stroked her cheek, meeting her eye. As if by silent agreement, they hadn’t talked about the fact that he’d almost lost her again. She was here now. And they loved each other. That was all that mattered.

STOCKHOLM 1991

Two Carin Görings?

The Forensic Laboratory in Linköping has analysed the human remains that were recently found in a zinc-lined chest in the vicinity of what was once Hermann Göring’s estate of Karinhall. The remains were said to belong to Carin Göring, née Fock, who died in 1931. The strange thing is that in 1951 a forest warden discovered some scattered skeletal remains that were presumed to belong to Carin Göring. Under great secrecy, they were cremated and then a vicar took the ashes to Sweden for burial in Lovö Cemetery.

That was the third time Carin Göring was buried. The first time was in the Fock family plot in Lovö Cemetery, then at the Karinhall estate, and finally in Sweden.

Now another chapter is being written in this peculiar story. DNA analysis shows that the latest discovered remains do indeed belong to Carin Göring. So the question is: Whose ashes are interred in Lovö Cemetery outside Stockholm?

AFTERWORD

I am writing this a week after the bomb explosion in Oslo, Norway, and the shooting deaths on the island of Utøya. I’ve been watching the news reports with a horrible feeling in my stomach, just like everyone else, trying in vain to understand how anyone could be capable of such evil. The pictures of the destruction in Oslo made me realize that the events in this book touch on that same sort of evil. Unfortunately, it’s true that reality is stranger than fiction. By pure chance my story about people who use politics to excuse their evil deeds happened to coincide with what took place in Norway, but maybe it’s an indication of the kind of society we live in today.

Yet there are other parts of
Buried Angels
that were consciously based on real events. I want to thank Lasse Lundberg who, during a guided tour of Fjällbacka, stirred my imagination with his story about the Bohuslän granite that Albert Speer supposedly chose for Germania, and about the visit that Hermann Göring was said to have made to one of the islands in the Fjällbacka archipelago. I’ve taken the liberty of using these accounts to create my own story.

I needed to do a lot of research about Göring in order to write this story. Björn Fontander’s book
Carin Göring skriver hem
was a great resource, especially for all the information about the time that Göring spent in Sweden. It was in this book that I also discovered a genuine mystery that I could weave into the plot in that magical way that is sometimes granted to writers. And that’s always wonderful. Thank you, Björn, for the inspiration your book gave me.

There is no Angelmaker from Fjällbacka, but of course there are similarities between the novel’s Helga Svensson and Hilda Nilsson from Helsingborg, who hanged herself in her cell in 1917 before the death sentence could be carried out.

The summer camp on Valö does exist, and it has played a certain role in the history of Fjällbacka. I’ve spent many summertime weeks at the camp, and almost everyone who lives in Fjällbacka has some sort of relationship to the big white house. Today it’s both a youth hostel and restaurant, and well worth a visit. I’ve taken the liberty of changing the dates and owners so that they fit into my story. As usual, I’ve had invaluable help from Anders Torevi regarding all the other details about Fjällbacka.

The journalist Niklas Svensson generously provided a great deal of expert help with the political parts of the book. A big thanks for that.

As usual, I’ve combined details from real life with my own imaginings. And any errors are entirely my own. I have also set the story at a time when the statute of limitations for murder was twenty-five years. That law has now been changed.

There are many people that I’d like to thank, including my publisher Karin Linge Nordh and my editor Matilda Lund, who have performed a Herculean task on the manuscript.

Thanks also to my husband Martin Melin, who is always so enormously supportive of my work. Since he’s now working on his own manuscript for the first time, we’ve been able to encourage each other as we’ve both spent many long hours writing. Of course it’s also an incredible advantage to have my own police officer, and I can ask him everything between heaven and earth about police work.

Thanks to my children Wille, Meja and Charlie, who give me energy to pour into my books. And to my whole network: my mother Gunnel Läckberg and Rolf ‘Sassar’ Svensson, Sandra Wirström, my older children’s father Mikael Eriksson, as well as Christina Melin, who stepped forward in an exceptional fashion when things started piling up. Thank you to all of you.

Nordin Agency – Joakim Hansson and the whole gang – you know that I’m incredibly grateful for the work you do for me in Sweden and the world. Christina Saliba and Anna Österholm at Weber Shandwick have put an enormous amount of work into everything that has to do with a successful author’s career. You do an amazing job.

Thank you to my writer colleagues. None named, none forgotten. I don’t get to meet with you as often as I’d like, but when we do see each other, I come away brimming with positive energy and the joy of writing. And I know that you’re always there. A special place in my heart is reserved for Denise Rudberg, my friend, colleague, and supporter for so many years. What would I do without you?

And I couldn’t write these books if the citizens of Fjällbacka didn’t cheerfully allow me to make up all sorts of horrors about their small town. Sometimes I get a little nervous about what I’m doing, but you even put up with being invaded by a film company. This autumn it’s going to happen again, and I hope that you’ll be proud of the results when Fjällbacka has another chance to show off its unique setting to viewers around the world.

Finally, I want to thank my readers. You always wait so patiently for the next book. You encourage me in the face of adversity, you give me a pat on the back when I need it, and you’ve stayed with me for so many years now. I appreciate that. Tremendously. Thank you.

Camilla Läckberg

Måsholmen, 29 July 2011

www.camillalackberg.com

About the Author

Camilla Lackberg is a worldwide bestseller renowned for her brilliant contemporary psychological thrillers. Her novels have sold over 12 million copies in 55 countries with translations into 37 languages.

www.CamillaLackberg.com

Also by Camilla Lackberg

The Ice Princess

The Preacher

The Stonecutter

The Stranger
(previously titled
The Gallows Bird
)

The Hidden Child

The Drowning

The Lost Boy

Copyright

HarperCollins
Publishers

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Hammersmith, London W6 8JB

www.harpercollins.co.uk

Published by HarperCollins
Publishers
2014

Published by agreement with Nordin Agency, Sweden

Cover design layout © HarperCollins
Publishers
2014

Cover photographs © Tony Watson / Arcangel Images (forest); Johner Images / Getty Images (girl)

Camilla Lackberg asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.

Source ISBN: 9780007419593

Ebook Edition © APRIL 2014 ISBN: 9780007419609

Version 2014-03-18

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