‘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.
LOVÖ CEMETERY 1933
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.
The papers didn’t mention where Hermann was staying, leaving Dagmar unsure how to find him. She went to his old address on Odengatan in Stockholm, but a stranger opened the door and told her that the Görings hadn’t lived there for years. She was standing outside the building, pondering her next move, when she suddenly remembered reading about the place where Carin was buried. Maybe Hermann would go there to visit his wife’s grave. It turned out that Lovö cemetery was located somewhere outside the city. Eventually she managed to find a bus that would take her almost all the way there.
Now she was squatting down in front of the headstone, staring at Carin’s name and the swastika that had been etched underneath. Golden autumn leaves whirled around her in the cold October wind, but she hardly noticed. She’d thought that her hatred would fade when Carin died, but as she sat in her worn coat, filled with thoughts of all the years of hardship she’d endured, she felt her old fury awaken once more.
She sprang to her feet and took a few steps back from the grave. Then she launched herself at the headstone with all her might. An intense pain radiated from her shoulder to her fingertips, but the stone hadn’t budged. Frustrated, she attacked the flowers that adorned the grave, yanking them up by the roots. Then she again backed up and rushed forward in an attempt to dislodge the green swastika made of iron that stood next to the headstone. It gave way and fell flat on the grass. She dragged it as far from the grave as she could. With glee she surveyed the destruction she had wrought until a hand grabbed her by the arm.
‘What on earth are you doing?’ A big, hefty man was standing next to her.
She smiled happily. ‘I’m the future Mrs Göring. I know that Hermann doesn’t think Carin deserved to have such a fine grave, so I’ve taken care of the matter, and now I must go to him.’
Dagmar kept on smiling, but the man’s face was grim. He muttered something to himself as he shook his head. Then with a firm grip on her arm, he dragged her towards the church.
When the police arrived an hour later, Dagmar was still smiling.
Chapter Seventeen
The terraced house in Falkeliden sometimes seemed much too small. Dan was taking the children to spend the weekend in Göteborg with his sister, and during the packing frenzy that morning, Anna had felt she was in the way, no matter where she stood. She’d also been forced to run down to the petrol station several times to buy sweets, soft drinks, fruit, and comic books for the trip.
‘Do you have everything now?’ Anna surveyed the mountain of bags and other odds and ends piled up in the front hall.
Dan was going back and forth to the car, stowing the luggage. She could already see that there wouldn’t be enough room, but that was his problem. He was the one who had told the children to do their own packing, and he’d promised they could take anything they liked.
‘Are you sure you don’t want to come with us? I don’t like leaving you alone after what you went through yesterday.’
‘Thanks, but I’m fine. It will actually be nice to have the house to myself for a couple of days.’ She gave Dan a pleading look, hoping he would understand and not be hurt.
He nodded and put his arms around her.
‘I know exactly what you mean, sweetheart. You don’t have to explain. Have a wonderful time, and don’t think about anyone but yourself. Treat yourself to a good meal, go for one of those long swims that you love, and do some shopping. Do whatever you want, so long as the house is still standing when I get back.’ He gave her one last hug, then resumed the task of carrying suitcases to the car.
Anna felt her throat tighten. She came close to telling him that she’d changed her mind, but she bit back the words. Right now she needed time to think, and the scare yesterday wasn’t the only thing that she had to work through. Life stretched out in front of her, and yet she couldn’t keep from staring in the rear-view mirror. It was time she figured out a way to shake off the past and turn her gaze forward.