All around her the others were trying to catch her attention. They wanted to make her listen, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t understand. She felt hands touching her, she heard footsteps impatiently following her everywhere she went, but the agitated whisperings, all those words jumbled on top of each other, were impossible to decipher.

As dusk fell, she found herself shaking all over. She knew that Karl would soon take the first shift in the lighthouse, and she needed to hurry to get dinner ready. Without thinking, she prepared the salted fish. As she poured out the water from the potatoes, her hands shook so badly that she almost scalded herself.

They sat down at the table, and suddenly she heard a thudding sound overhead. The sound got louder, more insistent. Karl and Julian didn’t seem to hear it, but they stirred uneasily as they sat on the kitchen bench.

‘Get out the schnapps,’ said Karl, his voice cracking. He nodded at the cupboard where the liquor was kept.

She didn’t know what to do. Even though they usually came back from Abela’s tavern as drunk as skunks, they rarely drank at home.

‘Schnapps, I said!’ Karl growled, and Emelie quickly got up. She opened the cupboard and took out the bottle, which was nearly full. She set it on the table and then got out two glasses.

‘A glass for you too,’ said Julian. His eyes glittered with a look that sent shivers down her spine.

‘I’m not sure if I …’ she stammered. She seldom drank spirits. On a few occasions she had tasted a tiny bit, just enough to know that she didn’t care for it.

Annoyed, Karl got up and took another glass out of the cupboard, slamming it down on the table in front of Emelie. Then he filled it to the brim.

‘I don’t want to …’ Her voice broke, and she felt herself trembling more than ever. No one had touched the food. Slowly she raised the glass to her lips and took a sip.

‘Drink it down,’ said Karl. He took his place again, and poured an equal amount for himself and for Julian. ‘Drink it all down. Now.’

From upstairs the thudding sound was growing louder. She thought about the ice that stretched all the way to Fjällbacka. The ice would have been able to carry her to safety if only she had listened, if only she had dared. But now it was dark, and it was no longer possible to flee. Suddenly she felt a hand on her shoulder, a brief touch telling her that she was not alone.

Emelie lifted her glass and downed the schnapps. She had no choice; she was a captive here. She didn’t know why, but that was the way it was. She was their prisoner.

Karl and Julian emptied their glasses when they saw that she had finished hers. Then Julian reached for the bottle and filled her glass again, all the way to the top. The liquid spilled over the side and on to the table. They didn’t have to say a word; she knew what she had to do. As they filled their own glasses, they kept their eyes fixed on her, and she realized that no matter what else happened she would be forced to raise her glass, again and again.

After a while the whole room seemed to be spinning, and she felt them taking off her clothes. She let them do it. The alcohol had made her limbs heavy, and she was unable to offer any sort of resistance. And while the thudding overhead got so loud that the sound filled her head, Karl lay down on top of her. Then came the pain and the darkness. Julian gripped her by the arms, and the last thing she saw was his eyes. They were filled with hatred.

10

2

It was a brilliantly sunny Friday morning. Erica turned over in bed and put her arm around Patrik. He had come home late. By then she had already gone to bed and managed only to mutter a sleepy ‘Hi’ before she fell asleep again. But now she was awake, and she felt such a longing for him, for his body and the sort of intimacy that had occurred far too seldom during the past few months. She sometimes wondered when they’d find their way back to it. These years were passing much too quickly. Everyone had told her that the early childhood years were especially tough, that they could be hard on a marriage, and that it might be difficult for a wife and husband to feel close to one another. Now that she was in the midst of it all, she agreed, but only partially. Of course things had been hard when Maja was a baby. But her relationship with Patrik hadn’t changed for the worse since the twins were born. After the accident the bond between them had grown stronger than ever, and she knew that nothing could tear them apart. But she missed the intimacy. It was something they just didn’t get around to, what with all the nappies that had to be changed, the meals that had to be cooked, and the constant chore of dropping off and picking up their daughter at day-care.

Patrik lay with his back to her. She crept close to him. It was one of the rare mornings she had woken of her own accord rather than because a child was crying. She pressed closer, sliding her hand inside his underwear. Slowly she began stroking him, feeling his response. Patrik still hadn’t moved, but she could hear his breathing change and knew that he was awake. He was breathing harder. She was enjoying the warm feeling that spread through her body. Patrik turned over to face her. As they looked into each other’s eyes, she felt a tingling in her stomach. Gently he began kissing her throat. She uttered a faint moan as she stretched her neck so that he could reach the spot behind her ear that was so sensitive.

Their hands began wandering, and he slipped off his underwear. She quickly removed the T-shirt she slept in and with a giggle pulled off her knickers.

‘It’s been a while,’ murmured Patrik as he continued to nibble the back of her neck, making her squirm.

‘Mmmm, I think we need a little more practice.’ Erica ran her fingertips along his spine. Patrik turned her over on her back and was just about to lie down on top of her when a familiar sound issued from the room across the hall.

‘Waaaaa!’ A shrill voice followed by another, and then they heard feet padding along the hall. Maja was standing in the doorway with her thumb in her mouth and her favourite doll under her arm.

‘The babies are crying,’ she said with a frown on her face. ‘Get up, Mamma. Get up, Pappa.’

‘Okay, okay, we’re coming, you little munchkin.’ With a heavy sigh Patrik rolled out of bed. He quickly pulled on a pair of jeans and a T-shirt and headed for the nursery after casting an apologetic glance at Erica.

The lovemaking was over for the day. She pulled on her jogging suit, which lay on the floor next to the bed, and then followed Maja downstairs to the kitchen to make breakfast for them, and prepare bottles of formula for the twins. Her body was still warm, but the tingling feeling had vanished.

But when she looked up and saw Patrik coming down the stairs holding a newly awakened baby in each arm, she felt the tingling again. She really loved that husband of hers.

‘We didn’t come up with anything particularly useful,’ said Patrik when everyone was present. ‘On the other hand, there are some new questions that we need to answer.’

‘So you didn’t find out any more about the assault?’ asked Martin, looking disappointed.

‘No, according to the police there were no witnesses to the attack. The only thing they had to go on was Mats Sverin’s own statement that he didn’t know the group of kids who assaulted him.’

‘You don’t sound too convinced by that,’ said Martin.

‘We discussed it on the way home,’ said Paula. ‘We both had the feeling that there’s more to the story, so we need to do some digging.’

‘Are you sure that wouldn’t be a waste of time?’ asked Mellberg.