‘I’ll talk to Annika. I’m sure she can help with the background material.’

‘Good. I’ll phone Cia and find out if she can bear to meet with us.’

With a meditative expression on his face, Patrik sat and stared at the phone for a long time after Paula had left.

‘Stop calling here!’ Sanna slammed down the phone. It had been ringing nonstop all day. Journalists wanting to talk to Christian. They never said exactly what they wanted, but it wasn’t hard to guess. The fact that Magnus had been found dead so soon after the existence of the threatening letters was revealed had prompted the reporters to link the two events. But that was absurd. They had nothing to do with each other. It was also rumoured that Magnus had been murdered, but until she heard it from more reliable sources than the gossipmongers in town, Sanna refused to believe it. Even if such an unthinkable thing was actually true, why should there be a link to the letters that Christian had received? In an attempt to reassure her, Christian had said that the letters were probably sent by a mentally disturbed person who had decided to target him for some reason. A person who was most likely quite harmless.

She had wanted to ask him why, if that was the case, he had reacted so strongly at the book launch. Didn’t he believe his own theory? But all of her questions had vanished as soon as he told her where the blue dress had come from. In light of that revelation all else had paled. It was horrifying, and her heart had ached when she heard his explanation. At the same time, it was comforting to know the real story, because it clarified so much. And excused a good deal.

Her worries also seemed insignificant when she thought about Cia and what she’d been going through. Christian was going to miss Magnus. She would too, even though their relationship had at times been a little strained, but that was only natural. Erik, Kenneth, and Magnus had grown up together and shared a past. Sanna had been aware of them, but because she was so much younger, she had never spent time with them until Christian came into the picture and got to know the other men. Of course she knew that their wives thought she was young and perhaps a bit naive. But they had always welcomed her with open arms, and over the years that particular group of friends had become a regular part of their lives. They celebrated holidays together, and occasionally they ate dinner together on the weekends.

Of the other wives, Sanna liked Lisbet best. She was a quiet person with a droll sense of humour, and she always treated Sanna as an equal. Besides, Nils and Melker worshipped her. It seemed so unfair that she and Kenneth had no children of their own. But Sanna had a guilty conscience because she couldn’t bear to visit Lisbet. She had tried at Christmastime, going over there with a poinsettia and a box of chocolates. But as soon as she saw Lisbet lying in bed, looking more dead than alive, she wanted to back out and run as far away as possible. Lisbet noticed her reaction. Sanna could tell by her expression, which was a combination of understanding and disappointment. She couldn’t stand to see that disappointed look again, couldn’t stand to meet death disguised as a person and then pretend that it was still her friend lying in that bed.

‘Hey, how come you’re home already?’ Sanna looked up in surprise as Christian came in the front door and mutely hung up his coat. ‘Are you sick? Aren’t you supposed to work until five today?’

‘I’m just not feeling well,’ he muttered.

‘You don’t look so good, either,’ she said worriedly as she studied his face. ‘What did you do to your forehead?’

He dismissed her question with a wave of his hand. ‘It’s nothing.’

‘Did you scratch yourself?’

‘Let’s just drop it, okay? I’m not in the mood for an interrogation.’ He took a deep breath and then said in a calmer tone of voice, ‘A reporter came over to the library today, asking about Magnus and the letters. I’m sick and tired of the whole thing.’

‘They’ve been phoning here too, like crazy. What did you say to him?’

‘As little as possible.’ Then he cringed. ‘There’s probably going to be something in tomorrow’s paper anyway. They just write whatever they want.’

‘At least Gaby will be happy,’ said Sanna acidly. ‘How did your meeting go with her, by the way?’

‘Fine,’ said Christian curtly. But something about his tone told her that he wasn’t being completely truthful.

‘Really? I can understand if you were mad because of the way she threw you to the wolves like that…’

‘I said it went fine!’ snapped Christian. ‘Do you always have to dissect everything I say?’

Anger surged up inside him again, and Sanna could only stand there and stare. His expression was thunderous as he came closer and kept on shouting.

‘For God’s sake, can’t you just leave me alone! Don’t you understand? Stop poking your nose into something that’s none of your bloody business!’

She looked into the eyes of her husband, whom she ought to know so well after all the years they’d spent together. But the person staring back at her was now a stranger. And for the first time, Sanna was afraid of him.

Anna squinted her eyes as she rounded the curve just past the Sailing Club and headed towards Sälvik. The person she saw in the distance bore a striking likeness to her sister, judging by the hair colour and clothing. And the body was rather reminiscent of Barbamama on TV. Anna slowed to a stop as she rolled down the car window.

‘Hi! I was just on my way over to your house. Looks like you could use a lift the rest of the way.’

‘That would be great,’ said Erica, opening the door on the passenger side and sinking on to the seat. ‘I severely overestimated my ability to walk. I’m completely done in and soaked with sweat.’

‘So where have you been?’ Anna shifted into first and drove towards the house that had once been her childhood home but now belonged to Erica and Patrik. The house had almost been sold out from under them, but Anna quickly pushed aside all thoughts of her former husband Lucas and the past. Those days were over. For ever.

‘I went over to have a little chat with Kenneth. At Ocean View Development, you know.’

‘Why? You’re not going to sell the house, are you?’

‘No, no,’ Erica hastened to reassure her. ‘I just wanted to talk to him about Christian. And Magnus.’

Anna parked the car in front of the beautiful old house. ‘But why?’ she asked, almost instantly regretting that she’d asked. Her big sister’s inquisitive nature had occasionally landed her in situations that Anna preferred not to know about.

‘I realized that I know nothing about Christian’s background. He has never said a single thing about his past,’ replied Erica, climbing out of the car with a groan. ‘And besides, I think the whole thing is a bit odd. Magnus has presumably been murdered, and Christian has been threatened. Considering that the two of them were close friends, I don’t really buy the idea that it’s just a coincidence.’

‘Yes, but did Magnus get any threatening letters?’ Anna followed Erica into the front hall and hung up her coat.

‘Not that I’ve heard. I’m sure Patrik would know about it if he had.’

‘And do you think Patrik would have told you if something like that came to light during the investigation?’

Erica smiled. ‘You mean because my dear husband is so good at keeping things to himself?’

‘You have a point there,’ laughed Anna, sitting down at the kitchen table. Patrik never held out for long, especially once Erica had decided to finagle some piece of information out of him.

‘Besides, I could tell that Christian’s letters came as a surprise when I showed them to Patrik. If he’d found out that Magnus had received something similar, he would have reacted differently.’