Patrik didn’t move, and Gösta turned to face him. ‘It would change everything if Annelie is still alive. Or at least was still alive. Have you contacted Leon to say that we want to have another talk with him?’
‘I’d prefer to surprise him. If we can catch him off guard, there’s a greater chance that we can get him to talk.’ Patrik fell silent, looking a bit uncertain about whether to go on. Then he said: ‘I think I might know who sent that last card.’
‘Who?’
Patrik shook his head. ‘It’s just an idea that occurred to me, and I’ve asked Torbjörn to check it out. I’ll know more after I hear from him. Until then, I’d prefer not to say anything, but I promise that you’ll be the first to know.’
‘I truly hope so.’ Gösta again turned away. There were still a lot of things to look through. Something that he’d already seen kept nagging at his memory, and he wasn’t about to give up until he worked out what it was.
Rebecka probably wouldn’t understand, but Josef had left her a letter nonetheless. At least she’d know that he loved her and he was grateful for the life they’d had together. He realized now that he had sacrificed both her and the children for the sake of his dream. The shame and pain had made him blind to how much they meant to him. Yet they had loyally stood by his side.
He had sent a letter to each of the children as well. No explanation was given to them either, just a few words of farewell and instructions about what he expected of them. It was important for them not to forget that they had a responsibility and a mission to fulfil even though he wouldn’t be present to remind them.
Slowly he ate his lunchtime egg, boiled for exactly eight minutes. Early in their marriage Rebecka had been careless about the precise time. Sometimes seven minutes, sometimes ten. But it was years now since she’d failed to boil the egg properly. She had been a good and dutiful wife, and his parents had been fond of her.
But occasionally she was too indulgent with the children, which bothered him. They might be adults, but they still needed to be guided with a firm hand, and he wasn’t convinced that Rebecka would be able to do that. He also doubted that she could keep their Jewish traditions alive. But what choice did he have? His shame would cling to them and ruin any chance they had of going through life with their heads held high. He was forced to sacrifice himself for their future.
In a weak moment the idea of revenge had occurred to him, but he had immediately pushed it out of his mind. From experience he knew that revenge never led to anything good, it only brought more darkness.
After eating the last of his egg, he carefully wiped his mouth and got up from the table. As he left his home for the last time, he did not look back.
She was awakened by the sound of a heavy door opening. Confused, Anna squinted at the strip of light. Where was she? She had a terrible headache, and it took a real effort for her to sit up. It was cold, and she had only a thin sheet wrapped around her body. Shivering, she hugged her arms to her chest, as she felt panic creeping over her.
Tobias. He was the last thing she remembered. They had been lying in bed – his and Ebba’s. They’d been drinking wine, and she was filled with an overwhelming desire. It all came back to her now. She tried to push the memory away, but the image of her naked body against his flickered in her mind. They had moved towards each other on the bed, the moonlight shining down on them. Then there was nothing but blackness. She couldn’t remember anything more.
‘Hello?’ she called, facing the door, but there was no answer. Everything seemed unreal, as if she’d landed in another world, like Alice in Wonderland falling down the rabbit hole. ‘Hello?’ she called again as she tried to stand up, but her legs gave way and she collapsed on the floor.
Something big was tossed through the door, which was then slammed shut with a bang. Anna sat perfectly still. It was again pitch dark. Not a scrap of light from anywhere, but she realized that she needed to find out what had been thrown into the room. She started to crawl, using her hands to feel her way forward. The floor was so cold that her fingers went numb, and the rough surface tore at her knees. Finally she nudged something that felt like cloth. She kept on fumbling with her hands, recoiling when she felt skin under her fingertips. It was a person, a woman, judging by the scent and the hair. The eyes were closed, and at first she couldn’t tell if the woman was breathing, although her body was warm. Cautiously she ran her hands over the neck until she felt a faint pulse. Without thinking, she pinched the woman’s nostrils closed and at the same time tilted her head back. Then Anna leaned down and placed her mouth over the woman’s. As she breathed into the woman’s mouth, she had a vague feeling that she recognized her perfume.
Anna had no idea how long she continued the CPR. Intermittently she would place one hand on top of the other and press down on the woman’s chest. She wasn’t sure that she was doing it properly. The only time she’d seen it done was in the hospital dramas on TV, so she hoped that they’d presented the procedure accurately.
After what seemed like an eternity, the woman began to cough. It sounded like she might throw up, so Anna turned her on to her side and stroked her back. The coughing eased, and the woman breathed in air, taking long, whistling breaths.
‘Where am I?’ she croaked.
Wanting to reassure her, Anna ran her hand over the woman’s hair. Her voice was so strained that it was hard to guess her identity, but she had her suspicions.
‘Ebba? Is that you? It’s so dark in here that I can’t see a thing.’
‘Anna? I thought I’d gone blind.’
‘No, you’re not blind. It’s dark, and I don’t know where we are.’
Ebba started to say something but was cut off by another coughing fit that shook her whole body. Anna continued to stroke her hair until Ebba made a move to sit up. Holding her arm, Anna helped her into a sitting position, and after a while she stopped coughing.
‘I don’t know where we are either,’ Ebba said.
‘How did we get here?’
At first Ebba didn’t answer. Then she said quietly: ‘Tobias.’
‘Tobias?’ Again Anna saw the image of their naked bodies. Feelings of guilt made bile rise up in her throat, and she had to fight back an impulse to vomit.
‘He…’ Ebba coughed some more. ‘He tried to strangle me.’
‘Tried to strangle you?’ Anna repeated in disbelief. Then she realized that she’d had a vague sense that everything was not as it should be with Tobias – like an animal that can smell that another member of the herd is sick. But that had only increased his attraction. She was used to danger; it was something familiar, and yesterday she’d recognized her husband Lucas in Tobias.
Nausea surged up inside her again, and the cold from the floor spread through her body. She started shivering harder.
‘Good Lord, it’s cold in here. Where could he have taken us?’ said Ebba.
‘Surely, he’s going to let us out,’ said Anna, but she could hear the doubt in her own voice.
‘I didn’t recognize him. He was like a different person. I saw it in his eyes. He said…’ She stopped and suddenly began to cry. ‘He said that I murdered Vincent. Our son.’
Without saying a word Anna put her arms around Ebba and pressed her head to her shoulder.
‘What happened?’ she asked after a moment.
At first Ebba was crying so hard that she couldn’t answer. Then her breathing grew calmer and she was able to speak.
‘It was in early December. We were really busy. Tobias had three building projects that he was working on at the same time, and I was also working long days. It was obviously taking a toll on Vincent because he kept acting up and pushing our patience to the limit. We were totally worn out.’ She sniffled some more, and Anna could hear her wiping her nose on her shirtsleeve. ‘On the morning it happened, we were both about to leave for work. Tobias was supposed to drop Vincent off at the day-care centre, but then they called from one of the construction sites to say that he had to come immediately. Some sort of crisis, as usual. Tobias asked me to take Vincent so that he could go straight out there, but I had an important meeting that morning and I was furious that he thought his work should be given higher priority. We started quarrelling, and finally Tobias simply walked out the door, leaving me with Vincent. I realized that I was going to be late for yet another meeting, and when Vincent had another one of his tantrums, I couldn’t take it any more. So I locked myself in the bathroom and sat down to cry. Vincent was crying too and pounding on the door, but after a few moments everything was quiet, so I assumed that he’d given up and gone to his room. I let a few more minutes pass as I dried my eyes and calmed down.’