‘It doesn’t matter,’ he said.
Claes was still standing behind them, arms folded. Anger flashed in his eyes, but he didn’t dare reprimand his little brother.
‘What a wimp,’ he scoffed, and then left the room.
Inez sighed with relief. It was ridiculous. Claes was only seventeen. Even though she wasn’t much older, she was still his stepmother, and she was expecting a child who would be his sister or brother. She shouldn’t be so scared. All the same, for some reason she instinctively knew that she needed to keep out of his way and not provoke him.
She wondered how things would go when the students arrived. Would the mood be less oppressive when the house was filled with boys? Would their voices help to fill the void? She hoped so. Otherwise she was going to suffocate.
‘You’re a good boy, Johan,’ she said, running her hand over his blond locks. He didn’t answer, but she saw that he was smiling.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Leon had been sitting at the window for a long time before they arrived. He gazed across the water at Valö, watching the boats passing by and the holiday-makers enjoying their few weeks away from their jobs. He could never have lived that sort of life himself, yet he envied them. In all its simplicity, it was actually a marvellous existence, although they might not realize it. When the doorbell rang, he rolled his chair away from the window after casting one last glance at Valö. That was where it had all begun.
‘It’s time to finish this.’ Leon looked at them. The tension in the air had been palpable ever since they’d come in, one after the other. He noticed that both Percy and Josef were avoiding contact with Sebastian, who didn’t seem the least bit bothered.
‘What a fate, to end up in a wheelchair. And your face is completely ruined. You were always so handsome,’ said Sebastian, leaning back against the sofa cushions.
Leon wasn’t offended. He knew the words weren’t intended to hurt him. Sebastian had always been blunt, except when he wanted to dupe someone. Then he had no scruples about lying. It was strange that people changed so little. The others hadn’t changed either. Percy seemed fragile, and Josef’s eyes still held that serious expression. And John radiated the same old charm.
Leon had found out all about them before he and Ia came to Fjällbacka. He’d paid a lot of money to a private detective, who had done an excellent job and informed Leon of the various directions their lives had taken. But it was as if nothing that happened after Valö had any meaning now that they were all together again.
He didn’t reply to Sebastian’s remarks, merely saying: ‘It’s time for us to tell the story.’
‘What purpose would that serve?’ asked John. ‘That’s all in the past.’
‘I know it was my idea, but the older I get, the more I realize what a mistake it was,’ said Leon, fixing his eyes on John. He had surmised that it would be difficult to convince John, but he wasn’t about to let that stop him. Regardless whether he was able to get all of them to agree or not, he had decided to reveal the truth. But his sense of fair play made him want to tell the others about his plans before he did something that was bound to affect them all.
‘I’m with John,’ said Josef in a flat voice. ‘There’s no reason to stir up something that has long been forgotten.’
‘You’re the one who always used to talk about the importance of the past. About taking responsibility. Don’t you remember?’ said Leon.
Josef blanched and turned his face away. ‘It’s not the same thing.’
‘Yes, it is. What happened is still with us. I’ve been carrying it with me all these years, and I know that the rest of you have too.’
‘It’s not the same thing,’ Josef insisted.
‘You said that everybody who bore the blame for your parents’ suffering should be held accountable. Shouldn’t we be held accountable and confess our guilt?’ Leon spoke gently, but he saw what a strong effect his words had on Josef.
‘I refuse to permit it.’ John clasped his hands in his lap as he sat on the sofa next to Sebastian.
‘It’s not for you to decide,’ replied Leon, fully aware that he had just revealed his mind was already made up.
‘To hell with it. Do whatever you like, Leon,’ said Sebastian suddenly. He put his hand in his trouser pocket and pulled out a key. He got up and held it out to Leon, who took it reluctantly. So many years had passed since he’d last held that key in his hand, so many years since it had sealed their fates.
Utter silence descended over the room as they saw once again the images that had become etched in their memories.
‘We need to open the door.’ Leon closed his fingers around the key. ‘I’d prefer to have the rest of you with me, but if you refuse, I’ll do it alone.’
‘And Ia-’ John ventured, but Leon cut him off.
‘Ia is on her way home to Monaco. I couldn’t persuade her to stay.’
‘Right. The two of you can always escape,’ said Josef. ‘Go abroad, while we have to stay here and deal with the whole mess.’
‘I’m not planning to leave until everything has been settled,’ Leon told him. ‘And we’re coming back.’
‘No one’s going anywhere,’ said Percy. Until now he had listened in silence as he sat on a chair slightly removed from the others.
‘What do you mean?’ Sebastian was still indolently reclining against the sofa cushions.
‘No one’s going anywhere,’ Percy repeated. Slowly he leaned down and rummaged in his briefcase, which he’d set on the floor next to his chair.
‘Are you joking?’ said Sebastian in disbelief. He was staring at the gun that Percy had placed on his lap.
Percy picked it up and pointed it at Sebastian. ‘No. What do I have to joke about? You’ve taken everything from me.’
‘But that’s business. And you can’t blame me. You’re the one who squandered your entire inheritance.’
A shot rang out and everyone yelled. Surprised, Sebastian put his hand to his face, and blood trickled between his fingers. The bullet had grazed his left cheek and continued through the room and out the big picture window towards the sea. Their ears rang from the shot, and Leon realized that he was gripping the armrests of his wheelchair so hard that his fingers were practically locked.
‘What the hell are you doing, Percy!’ cried John. ‘Are you out of your mind? Put down that gun before somebody gets hurt.’
‘It’s too late. Everything is too late.’ Percy set the gun back on his lap. ‘But before I kill every one of you, I want you to take responsibility for what you’ve done. On that point, I agree with Leon.’
‘What do you mean? Aside from Sebastian, the rest of us are victims, the same as you.’ John glared at Percy, but fear was clearly audible in his voice.
‘We’re all part of it. And it destroyed my life. But you bear the greatest responsibility, and you’ll be the first to die.’ Again he pointed the gun at Sebastian.
It was very quiet. The only sound they could hear was their own breathing.
‘It must be one of them.’ Ebba peered inside the chest. Then she moved away and threw up. Anna felt her stomach turn over, but she forced herself not to look away.
The chest contained a skeleton. A skull with all its teeth stared up at her from empty eye sockets. Short tufts of hair still clung to the bone, and she guessed that it was probably the skeleton of a man.
‘I think you’re right,’ she said, turning to pat Ebba on the back.
Ebba uttered a few sobs before she crouched down and put her head between her knees, as if she thought she might faint.
‘So they’ve been here the whole time.’
‘Yes. I think the others are probably in there,’ said Anna, nodding towards the two chests that were still closed.