Authors: Camilla Lackberg
When he finally arrived at the station and she saw his exhausted expression, she was even more worried. Paula had told her that she’d ordered Patrik to stay home and take it easy, and Annika had silently applauded the decision. Lately she’d been thinking of doing the very same thing.
‘You were looking for me?’ said Patrik as he entered her office behind the glass separating it from the reception area. She spun around in her chair.
‘Yes, and it hasn’t been easy to reach you by phone,’ she said, peering at him over the rims of her computer
glasses. The tone of her voice wasn’t reproachful, just concerned.
‘I know,’ said Patrik, sitting down on the visitor’s chair next to the wall. ‘I’ve had a lot on my mind.’
‘You need to take better care of yourself. I have a friend who hit the wall a few years ago, and her health still isn’t a hundred per cent. It’s a long way back up once you let yourself hit bottom.’
‘I know, I know,’ said Patrik. ‘But things aren’t that bad. I’ve just had a lot of work to do.’ He ran a hand through his hair and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. ‘So what did you need to talk to me about?’
‘I finished looking into Christian’s background.’ She fell silent. Only now did she remember where Patrik had been all morning. ‘How did it go, by the way?’ she asked quietly. ‘How did Sanna take it?’
‘How would anyone take it?’ said Patrik. He nodded for her to go on, indicating that he didn’t want to discuss the news he had just been forced to deliver.
Annika cleared her throat. ‘Okay, first of all, Christian is not listed in our own police records. He has never been charged with a crime or even suspected of anything. Before he came to Fjällbacka, he lived for several years in Göteborg. He was studying at the university there, and then online to get his library degree. The library school is in Borås, you know.’
‘Uh-huh …’ said Patrik a bit impatiently.
‘Furthermore, he has never been previously married, nor does he have any children other than the two sons with Sanna.’
Annika fell silent.
‘Is that all?’ Patrik couldn’t hide his disappointment.
‘No. I haven’t told you the interesting part yet. I discovered very quickly that Christian was orphaned
when he was only three years old. He was born in Trollhättan, by the way, and that was also where he was living when his mother died. The father was never in the picture. I decided to dig a bit deeper into the past.’
She picked up a paper and began reading. Patrik was now listening intently. Annika could see that thoughts were swirling around in his mind, attempting to link this new information with the little they already knew.
‘So it was his mother’s last name that he took back when he turned eighteen,’ said Patrik. ‘Thydell.’
‘That’s right. I also found out quite a bit about her.’ She handed a paper to Patrik, who quickly read through it, eager to learn more.
‘It looks like we’re getting closer to untangling a few threads,’ said Annika when she saw Patrik’s reaction. She loved digging up information, combing through the public records and researching small details that could be later connected to form a whole picture. Especially when her work turned up a lead that could move the investigation forward.
‘Yes, and now I know where to start,’ said Patrik, getting to his feet. ‘I’m going to begin with the blue dress.’
Annika looked at him in astonishment as he left her office. What in the world was he talking about?
Cecilia was not surprised to see who was standing outside when she opened the door. She had actually been expecting this. Fjällbacka was a small town, and secrets could never be kept for long.
‘Come in, Louise,’ she said, stepping aside. She had to resist an impulse to place her hand over her stomach, which was something she’d started doing often, now that her pregnancy had been confirmed.
‘I hope Erik’s not here,’ said Louise. Cecilia could hear how she was slurring her words, and for a moment she
felt a pang of sympathy. Now that the love affair was over, she realized what a hell it must be to live with Erik. In Louise’s place, she probably would have taken to drink as well.
‘No, he’s not here. Come in,’ she repeated, leading the way to the kitchen. Louise followed. She was elegantly dressed, as usual, wearing an expensive outfit classically tailored, along with discreet gold jewellery. Cecilia felt slovenly in her casual attire. The first customer wasn’t due at the salon until one o’clock, so she was allowing herself a relaxing morning at home. Besides, she was also suffering from morning sickness and couldn’t keep up her usual pace.
‘There have been so many women in his life that I’m finally feeling worn out.’
Cecilia turned to look at Louise in surprise. This was not the opening that she’d been expecting. Instead, she was prepared for anger and accusations. But Louise merely looked sad. And when Cecilia sat down across from her, she noticed some cracks in the elegant facade. Louise’s hair was dull-looking, and the polish was chipping off her fingernails. She had buttoned her blouse wrong, and one end was sticking out of the waistband of her trousers.
‘I told him to go to hell,’ said Cecilia, noticing how wonderful it felt to say the words out loud.
‘Why?’ asked Louise, listlessly.
‘I got what I wanted from him.’
‘What do you mean?’ Louise was staring at her with a vacant, distracted expression.
Cecilia suddenly felt such a tremendous sense of gratitude that she had to gasp for breath. She would never be like Louise; she was a much stronger person. But maybe Louise had also been strong at one time. Maybe she had been filled with expectations and a will to make things
good. Those hopes were now gone. All that remained were the years of lies and the wine.
For a moment Cecilia considered lying to Louise, or at least holding back the truth for a while. It would come out soon enough. But then she realized that she had to tell her. She couldn’t lie to someone who had lost everything she had ever held dear.
‘I’m pregnant. It’s Erik’s child,’ she said. For a moment neither woman spoke. Then Cecilia went on: ‘I made it very clear that the only thing I want from him is financial support. And I threatened to tell you everything.’
Louise snorted. Then she started to laugh. Her laughter got louder and shriller. Tears began running down her face, and Cecilia looked at her in fascination. This was not the reaction she had expected either. Louise was certainly full of surprises.
‘Thank you,’ said Louise after her laughter subsided.
‘Why are you thanking me?’ wondered Cecilia. She had always liked Louise. She just hadn’t liked her enough to stop fucking her husband.
‘For giving me a good kick up the backside. This is exactly what I needed. Good Lord, just look at me.’ She glanced down at her mis-buttoned blouse and almost tore off the buttons in her eagerness to fix it. Her fingers were trembling.
‘You’re welcome,’ said Cecilia, and she couldn’t help laughing a bit at the situation. ‘What are you planning to do?’
‘What you’ve already done. I’m going to tell him to go to hell,’ said Louise firmly, and she no longer had a vacant look in her eyes. The feeling that she still had power over her own life had triumphed over her former mood of resignation.
‘Make sure you have your finances in order first,’ said Cecilia drily. ‘I have to admit that I was infatuated with
Erik for a while, but I know what kind of man he is. He’ll strip you of everything if you leave him. Men like Erik refuse to be dumped.’
‘Don’t worry. I’ll make sure to get the most out of him that I can,’ said Louise as she tucked her blouse, now properly buttoned, inside the waistband of her trousers. ‘How do I look? Is my make-up running?’
‘A little. Wait a minute and I’ll fix it.’ Cecilia got up, held a piece of kitchen roll under the tap, and then came back to stand in front of Louise. Carefully she wiped off the mascara from under her eyes. She stopped abruptly when she felt Louise’s hand on her stomach. At first neither of them spoke. Then Louise whispered:
‘I hope it’s a boy. The girls have always wanted a little brother.’
‘My God,’ said Paula. ‘That’s one of the most horrifying stories I’ve ever heard.’
Patrik had told her what Erica had found out from Sanna. Paula now gave her colleague a surreptitious look as he sat next to her in the passenger seat. After the near-death experience on the road the day before, she wasn’t planning to let him get behind the wheel again until he started looking more rested.
‘But what does it have to do with the investigation? That happened so many years ago.’
‘Thirty-seven years ago, to be exact. And I don’t know whether it has anything to do with the case, but everything seems to be linked to Christian. I think the answer has to lie in his past; it’s there we’ll find some sort of connection with the other events. If there is a connection, that is,’ he added. ‘Maybe they were just innocent bystanders and were targeted because they were close to Christian. But that’s what we need to find out, and we might as well start from the beginning.’
Paula overtook a lorry at high speed, almost missing the exit to Trollhättan.
‘Are you sure you don’t want me to drive?’ asked Patrik anxiously, gripping the door handle.
‘Now you see how it feels,’ laughed Paula. ‘After yesterday, you’re no longer reliable. Did you get any rest, by the way?’ She glanced at him as she accelerated through a roundabout.
‘Actually, I did,’ said Patrik. ‘I slept for a couple of hours, and then I had a nice, relaxing evening with Erica. It was great.’
‘You need to take better care of yourself.’
‘That’s exactly what Annika told me. The two of you need to stop being such mother hens,’ said Patrik.
Paula shifted her gaze to the map that they’d printed out from the internet. Then she looked at the street signs along the road, almost hitting a cyclist who suddenly appeared on the right.
‘Let me read the map. Apparently it’s not true that girls are good at multi-tasking,’ said Patrik with a grin.
‘Watch what you say,’ said Paula, although she didn’t really seem insulted.
‘Turn right here. We’re getting close,’ said Patrik. ‘This is going to be interesting. Apparently the documents still exist, and the woman I talked to on the phone knew instantly what case I was talking about. But then, it’s not the sort of thing that would be easy to forget.’
‘It’s great that everything went so smoothly with the prosecutor. Otherwise it would have been difficult to get access to these kinds of documents.’
‘You’re right,’ said Patrik, focusing his attention on the map.
‘There it is,’ said Paula, pointing at the building that housed the social welfare offices in Trollhättan.
A few minutes later they introduced themselves to
Eva-Lena Skog, the woman that Patrik had spoken to on the phone.
‘There are plenty of people here who remember the story,’ she told them, taking out of her desk a folder containing papers that had turned yellow with age. ‘It was a long time ago, but that kind of thing stays with you,’ she said, pushing back a lock of grey hair. She looked like the stereotypical schoolteacher, with her long hair pulled back in a neat bun.
‘Did anyone suspect that the situation was as bad as it was?’ asked Paula.
‘Yes and no. We’d received some reports, and we’d made …’ She opened the folder and ran her finger over the page on top. ‘We’d made two home visits.’
‘And there was nothing to indicate that some sort of intervention might be necessary?’ asked Patrik.
‘It’s hard to explain, but those were different times,’ said Skog with a sigh. ‘Today we would have stepped in at a much earlier stage, but back then … well, we simply didn’t know any better. Apparently things improved during certain periods, and most likely our visits took place during those times when she was doing better.’
‘And there weren’t any relatives or friends who reacted?’ asked Paula. It was difficult for her to understand how something like this could have happened without anyone noticing.
‘There were no other family members. I don’t think there were any friends either. They lived a very isolated life, and that’s why things happened the way they did. If it hadn’t been for the smell …’ She swallowed hard and looked down. ‘We’ve made a lot of progress since then. It would never happen today.’
‘Let’s hope not,’ said Patrik.
‘As I understand it, you need this information in connection with a murder case,’ said Skog, pushing the
folder across her desk towards them. ‘But you’ll be careful how you handle the material, won’t you? It’s only under special circumstances that we allow access to this sort of file.’
‘We’ll be extremely discreet. I promise,’ said Patrik. ‘And I’m positive that these documents are going to help us move forward with our investigation.’
Skog looked at him with ill-concealed curiosity.
‘What could your case possibly have to do with this? It all happened so many years ago.’
‘I’m afraid I can’t discuss that,’ said Patrik. The truth was that he had no idea whatsoever. But they had to start somewhere.
‘Mamma?’ He tried again to shake her, but she didn’t move. He didn’t know how long she’d been lying there like that. He was only three and didn’t know how to tell time yet. But it had turned dark twice. He didn’t like the dark, and his mamma didn’t either. They always left the lamp on when they went to bed, and he’d turned it on all by himself when it started getting too dark in the flat to see. Then he had crept close to her. That was how they usually slept. Close to each other, very close. He pressed his face against her soft body. There was nothing angular about his mamma, nothing that poked out or felt hard. Nothing but softness, warmth, and security.
But last night she no longer felt warm. He had nudged her and pressed closer, but she didn’t stir. Then he got an extra blanket out of the wardrobe, even though he was afraid to set his feet on the floor when it was dark. He was afraid of the monster under the bed. But he didn’t want Mamma to freeze. He didn’t want to freeze either. Carefully he tucked around her the striped blanket that smelled so strange. She still didn’t get warm. He didn’t either. Shivering, he had lain next to her all night, waiting to wake up so this odd dream would be over.