Annika turned to face him, clasping her hands in her lap.
‘I can’t say anything. When Martin is ready, he’ll tell you.’
Patrik sighed, and all sorts of thoughts whirled through his head as he sat down on the visitor’s chair next to the door.
‘So what do you think about this case?’
‘I think you’re right.’ Annika was clearly relieved that Patrik had chosen to change the subject. ‘The fire and the disappearance are connected in some way. And considering what was discovered under the floor, it seems likely that somebody was afraid Ebba and her husband would find it as they were renovating the house.’
‘My dear wife has been fascinated by the story of the missing family for a long time.’
‘And now you’re worried that she’s going to stick her sweet nose in the investigation,’ Annika added.
‘You could put it that way, but I’m hoping Erica’s smart enough not to interfere this time.’
Annika smiled, and Patrik realized that he didn’t believe his own words.
‘She probably has a lot of interesting background information, since she’s so good at doing research. Provided she can manage to keep a low profile when it comes to the actual investigation, she might actually be able to help us out,’ said Annika.
‘Except that she’s not very good at keeping a low profile.’
‘But she is good at taking care of herself. So where are you planning to start?’
‘I’m not sure.’ Patrik crossed his legs and absentmindedly fidgeted with the toe of his shoe. ‘We need to interview everybody who was involved when it happened. Gösta is getting us contact information for all the teachers and students. The most important thing is to have a talk with those five boys who were on the island that day. I’ve asked Gösta to prioritize the list of individuals and decide who he thinks we should interview first. Then I was thinking that you could do background checks, based on what Gösta finds out. I don’t have the greatest faith in his organizational abilities, so I really should have asked you to work with him on this assignment. But he’s the one who knows most about the case.’
‘At least he seems very keen to pursue the investigation. For a change,’ said Annika. ‘And I think I know why. I’ve heard that he and his wife took in the little Elvander girl for a while.’
‘Ebba lived with Gösta?’
‘That’s what I’ve heard.’
‘That explains why he was acting so strange out there on the island.’ Patrik recalled the way Gösta had looked at Ebba. How he had behaved, touching her arm.
‘That’s probably why he hasn’t ever been able to forget about the case. Apparently they got very attached to the little girl.’ Annika’s gaze fell on the large framed photo of Leia that she kept on her desk.
‘That makes sense,’ said Patrik. There was so much that he didn’t know, so much he needed to find out about what happened back then on Valö. Suddenly the task ahead of him seemed daunting. Was it really possible to solve this old case after all these years? And how urgent was it?
‘Do you think the person who tried to burn down the house will try again?’ asked Annika, as if she had read his thoughts.
Patrik pondered the question. Then he nodded.
‘It’s possible. We can’t afford to take any risks. We’ll have to work fast to find out what really happened on that Easter Eve. Whoever it was that tried to hurt Ebba and Tobias must be stopped before they strike again.’
Anna stood naked in front of the mirror, tears welling up in her eyes. She didn’t recognize herself. Slowly she raised her hand to touch her hair. When it grew out again after the accident, her hair was darker and more wiry than before, and it was still much shorter. A visit to the hairdresser might fix things, but the idea didn’t appeal to her. A new hairstyle wasn’t going to change her body.
With a trembling hand she traced the scars that ran across her skin, forming a criss-crossing map. The lines had faded a bit, but they would never disappear completely. Listlessly she pinched the roll of fat at her waist. She’d always managed to stay thin with minimum effort, and she’d been so proud of her figure. Now she gazed with disgust at her plump flesh. Because of her injuries, she hadn’t been able to move around much, and she hadn’t cared what she stuffed in her mouth. Anna raised her head to study her face, hardly daring to meet her own eyes. Thanks to the children and to Dan, she’d fought her way back to life, out of a darkness that had been worse than anything she’d ever experienced, worse even than those years with Lucas. The question now was whether it had been worth it. She didn’t yet know the answer.
The sound of the doorbell startled her. She was home alone, so she would have to go and see who it was. Taking one last look at her body, she threw on her comfy clothes, which lay in a heap on the floor, and rushed downstairs. When she saw Erica standing outside the door, she was filled with relief.
‘Hi, what’s going on?’ said Erica.
‘Nothing much. Come in. Where are the kids?’
‘At home. Kristina is babysitting. I had a few things that I needed to get done. So I thought I’d drop by before I head back there.’
‘Good idea,’ said Anna and led the way to the kitchen to make coffee. Again she pictured her plump white flesh in the mirror, but then she pushed the image aside and took some chocolate macaroons out of the fridge.
‘Oh, no, I daren’t eat any of those,’ said Erica with a frown. ‘I put on a bikini over the weekend, and it was not a pleasant sight.’
‘How can you say that? You look great,’ said Anna, unable to hide a hint of bitterness. Erica followed her outside to the small patio at the back of the house.
‘Nice lawn furniture. Is it new?’ She ran her hand over the white-painted wood.
‘Yes, we found them at Paulssons, near the old Evas Livs supermarket, you know.’
‘You’re really good at finding nice things,’ said Erica, positive that Anna was going to like the idea she’d come up with.
‘Thanks. So where have you been today?’
‘Out at the summer camp,’ said Erica. And she told her sister about the visit.
‘How exciting. So they’ve found blood but no bodies? Something must have happened there, at any rate.’
‘It certainly seems that way.’ Erica reached for a macaroon. She picked up a knife to divide it in half, but changed her mind and set the knife down. She took a bite of the pastry.
‘Big smile,’ said Anna, for a moment feeling a warm surge of childish glee.
Erica understood exactly what she was thinking and smiled broadly, showing her teeth covered with chocolate.
‘Check this out,’ she then said, taking two straws from the tray. She stuck one in each nostril and crossed her eyes, smiling again to reveal her brown teeth.
Anna couldn’t help giggling. She remembered how she’d loved it whenever her big sister acted silly when they were kids. Erica had always been so grown up and serious, more like a mother than an older sister.
‘I bet you can’t drink through your nose like you used to,’ said Erica.
‘Of course I can,’ replied Anna, insulted. She stuck a straw in each nostril, then leaned forward and put the straws in the glass. She breathed in through her nose. When the juice reached her nostrils, she started coughing and sneezing uncontrollably, and Erica burst out laughing.
‘What on earth are the two of you doing?’
Dan had arrived without them hearing, and when they saw his expression, the sisters collapsed with laughter. They pointed at each other and tried to explain, but they were laughing so much they couldn’t manage a single word.
‘I can see that I should never come home unannounced.’ Dan shook his head and left.
Finally they calmed down, and Anna noticed that the lump in the pit of her stomach had eased a bit. She and Erica had had their differences over the years, but nobody could affect her as deeply as her sister. No one could make her as angry as Erica did, but no one could make her so happy either. They were for ever linked by an invisible bond, and Anna realized how much she needed her sister as she sat across from Erica and wiped the tears of laughter from her eyes.