‘This is going to be so much fun. A real adventure. I just need to go and help Pappa load everything in the car, then I’ll come back and get you. Okay?’

‘Okay,’ both boys said, but they didn’t sound very enthusiastic. She could feel them watching her as she went downstairs.

She found Christian at the car, loading the suitcases in the boot. Sanna went over to him and took him by the arm.

‘This is your last chance, Christian. If you know something, if you have the slightest clue about who is doing these things to us, I beg you to tell me now. For our sake. If you don’t tell me, and later I find out that you did know something, then it’s over. Do you understand? It’s over!’

Christian stopped, the suitcase hovering halfway inside the boot. For a moment she thought that he was really going to tell her something. Then he shook off her hand and dropped the suitcase inside.

‘I don’t know anything. Stop nagging me!’

He slammed the boot shut.

When Patrik and Paula arrived back at the station, Annika stopped Patrik before he headed to his office.

‘Mellberg woke up while all of you were gone. He was a bit upset that he hadn’t been informed.’

‘I stood outside his office and pounded on the door, but he never opened it.’

‘That’s what I told him, but he claimed that he must have been so engrossed in his work that he didn’t hear you.’

‘Oh, right,’ said Patrik, noticing once again how sick and tired he was of his incompetent boss. But to be honest, it had been a relief not to have Mellberg in tow. He cast a quick glance at his watch. ‘Okay, I’ll go and inform our honourable leader now. Let’s meet in the kitchen for a quick briefing in fifteen minutes. Please tell Gösta and Martin too. They’re on their way back right now.’

He headed straight for Mellberg’s office and loudly knocked on the door.

‘Come in.’ Mellberg looked as if he were deeply immersed in studying a stack of documents. ‘I heard that things are heating up, and I must say that it doesn’t look good for the police to respond to important emergency calls without the chief in attendance.’

Patrik opened his mouth to reply, but Mellberg held up one hand. Apparently he wasn’t done yet.

‘It sends the wrong signal to the citizens if we don’t take such situations seriously.’

‘But -’

‘No, not another word. I accept your apology. Just don’t do it again.’

Patrik could feel his pulse hammering in his ears. The bastard! He clenched his hands into fists, but then opened them again and took a deep breath. He had to try to ignore Mellberg and focus on what was important: the investigation.

‘Tell me what happened. What have you found out?’ Mellberg leaned forward eagerly.

‘I was thinking we should all get together for a meeting in the kitchen. If that works for you?’ said Patrik, his jaw tight.

Mellberg thought for a moment. ‘That might actually be a good idea. Then we won’t have to go over everything twice. All right, shall we get going, Hedström? Time is of the essence, you know, when it comes to this type of investigation.’

Patrik turned his back on his boss and left the room. Mellberg was undeniably right about one thing. Time was of the essence.

17

All that mattered was to survive. But it required more effort with each year that passed. The move had been good for everyone but him. Father had found a job he enjoyed, and Mother liked living in the Old Bitch’s house, remodelling it until the place was no longer recognizable, since she had erased all trace of the woman. Alice seemed to be doing well in the calm and peaceful atmosphere in Fjällbacka, at least for nine months of the year.

Mother was teaching her at home. At first Father had been against the idea, saying that Alice needed to get out and meet children her own age. She needed to be around other people. But Mother had merely looked at him and said in a cold voice:

‘I’m the only one Alice needs.’

That was the end of the discussion.

In the meantime, he kept getting fatter, and he was constantly eating. It was as if his craving for food had taken on a life of its own. He stuffed into his mouth everything he could get his hands on. But it no longer drew any attention from Mother. Occasionally she would cast a disgusted glance in his direction, but she mostly ignored him. It had a been a long time since he’d thought of her as his beautiful mother and yearned for her love. He had given up, accepting the fact that he was someone that nobody could love; he didn’t deserve to be loved.

The only person who loved him was Alice. And she was a monstrosity, just like him. She lurched about, slurring her words, and she couldn’t manage even the most basic tasks. She was eight years old and couldn’t even tie her shoes. She was always following him like a shadow. In the morning when he left to catch the school bus, she would sit in the window to watch him, the palms of her hands pressed against the glass and a wistful expression on her face. He didn’t understand it, but he didn’t try to make her stop.

School was a torment. Every morning when he got off the school bus, it felt like he was on his way to prison. He looked forward to the classes, but the rest filled him with terror. They were always after him, teasing and punching him, vandalizing his locker and yelling taunts at him in the schoolyard. He wasn’t stupid; he knew that he was the perfect scapegoat. His fat body made him guilty of the worst sin of all: he was different. He understood it, but that didn’t make things any easier.

‘Can you find your dick when you have to piss, or does your stomach get in the way?’

Erik. Perched on one of the tables out in the schoolyard, where he was surrounded by a bunch of eager hangers-on, as usual. He was the worst of the lot. The most popular boy, handsome and self-confident. He talked back to the teachers and had ready access to cigarettes, which he smoked and also handed out to his followers. He didn’t know who he detested most. Erik, who seemed driven by sheer wickedness and was always looking for new ways to hurt him. Or the sneering idiots who sat next to Erik, filled with admiration for their popular classmate and basking in his glory.

At the same time, he knew that he’d give anything to be one of them. To be allowed to sit on the table with Erik, accept the cigarette he offered, and comment on the girls going past, who would respond with delighted giggles and flushed cheeks.

‘Hey! I’m talking to you. Answer me when I ask you a question!’ Erik got down from the table, and the two others watched him with excitement. The athletic one, Magnus, actually met his eyes. Sometimes he thought he saw a glimpse of sympathy in the boy’s expression, but if so, it wasn’t enough to make Magnus risk falling out of favour with Erik. Kenneth was simply a coward and always avoided looking him in the eye. Right now he was staring at Erik, as if waiting to follow orders. But today Erik didn’t seem to have the energy to cause any trouble, because he sat down again and said with a laugh:

‘Get out of here, you disgusting fatso! If you hurry up and take off now, you won’t get a beating today.’

He wanted nothing more than to stand his ground and tell Erik to go to hell. With precise and powerful movements, he would give Erik such a thrashing that everyone standing around would realize that their hero was heading for a fall. Then with great effort Erik would lift his head up from the ground, with blood running from his nose, and look at him with new respect. After that he would have a place in the group. He would belong.

Instead, he turned tail and ran. As fast as he could, he lumbered across the schoolyard. His chest hurt, and the rolls of fat on his body jiggled up and down. Behind him he could hear them laughing.