Erica went into the kitchen, made herself a cup of tea, and thawed out a few buns in the microwave. After pondering what to do, she fetched the stack of papers about Gråskär and sat down next to Maja with her tea, buns, and ghost stories. Soon she was deeply immersed in the world of phantoms. She longed to show all of this to Nathalie.

‘Shouldn’t you be going home to your girls?’ said Konrad, looking up at Petra. He could see that outside their office windows in Stockholm’s police headquarters on Kungsholmen, the streetlamps had come on.

‘Pelle is taking care of the kids tonight. He’s worked such long hours lately that it will do him good to spend a bit of time at home.’

Petra’s husband ran a café in Söder, and it was a constant juggling act for the two of them to coordinate their daily schedules. Sometimes Konrad wondered how she and Pelle had ever managed to have five children, since they were so rarely at home at the same time.

‘Have you made any progress?’ He stretched out his back. It had been a long work day, and his muscles were starting to ache.

‘Her parents are dead, and she has no siblings. I’ll keep looking, but she doesn’t seem to have any relatives to speak of.’

‘I can’t help wondering how she ended up with a guy like that,’ said Konrad. He turned his head from side to side to release the tension in his neck.

‘I don’t think it’s hard to work out, considering the sort of person she is,’ said Petra drily. ‘One of those women who lives off her good looks and whose only goal in life is to find a man to support her. She doesn’t give a damn where the money comes from and she spends her days shopping and getting beauty treatments and having long lunches with her women friends at Sturehof.’

‘Oh dear,’ said Konrad. ‘Sounds like someone is slightly biased.’

‘I will personally strangle any of my daughters who turn out that way. If you ask me, anyone who gets mixed up in that world has only themselves to blame. It’s the price you pay when you choose to close your eyes and ignore the fact that the money smells.’

‘Don’t forget, there’s a child involved here too,’ Konrad reminded his colleague. Her expression softened at once. Petra was tough, but she was also more warm-hearted than most, especially when it came to children who were threatened in some way.

‘Yes, I know.’ She frowned. ‘That’s why I’m sitting here even though it’s ten o’clock at night and Pelle is probably living through a re-enactment of the mutiny on the Bounty at home. It’s certainly not because I’m worried about some rich guy’s wife, at any rate.’

She continued tapping the computer keys for a few moments and then logged out.

‘Okay, that’s enough. I sent off some queries, but I don’t think we’ll make any further progress tonight. We’ve got a meeting with the narcotics team at eight in the morning, so we can all go over the case together. Right now it’s better for us to get a few hours’ sleep so we’ll be awake and alert.’

‘Makes sense.’ Konrad got up. ‘I hope tomorrow will be more productive.’

‘Otherwise we’ll have to call on the media for help,’ said Petra with a look of disgust.

‘I’m sure they’ve already got wind of the story.’ Konrad was past getting upset over newspaper reporters meddling in the work the police were doing. And he didn’t have such a black-and-white view of journalists as Petra did. Sometimes they helped, sometimes they interfered. Either way, they weren’t about to disappear, and he didn’t think it did any good to keep tilting at windmills.

‘Good night, Konrad,’ said Petra as she strode down the corridor.

‘Good night,’ he said and switched off the light.

FJÄLLBACKA 1873

Life on the island had changed, though much remained the same. Karl and Julian still had that same malicious glint in their eyes whenever they looked at her, and once in a while they would let drop some hurtful remark. But Emelie didn’t care, because now she had Gustav. She devoted all her attention to her wonderful son; as long as she had him, she could stand anything. She could live on Gråskär until the day she died, if only she was allowed to keep Gustav with her. Nothing else mattered. That knowledge gave her a sense of calm, as did her belief in God. With every day that she spent on that desolate island, she heard God’s word more and more clearly. She spent all of her free time studying the Bible, and its message filled her heart so full so that she was able to shut everything else out.

To Emelie’s great sorrow Dagmar passed away only two months after she returned to the island. She had died in such a terrible way that Emelie could hardly bear to think about it. One night someone had broken into her house, no doubt to steal what little the old lady owned. The next day one of Dagmar’s friends had found her murdered. Emelie’s eyes filled with tears whenever she thought about her cruel fate. Sometimes it seemed more than she could bear. Who could be so evil and harbour such hatred that he would kill an old woman who had never done anyone any harm?

At night the dead whispered a name. They knew, and they wanted her to hear what they were saying. But Emelie didn’t want to know, she didn’t want to listen. She missed Dagmar with all her heart. It would have been comforting to know that she was over there in Fjällbacka, even though Emelie wouldn’t have had a chance to visit, since she was not allowed to accompany the two men when they took the boat over to pick up supplies. But now Dagmar was gone, and Emelie and Gustav were once more alone.

Yet that wasn’t entirely true. When she returned to Gråskär with Gustav in her arms, the dead were standing on the rocks, waiting. They had welcomed her back to the island. Nowadays she could see them without making any effort. Gustav was eighteen months old. At first she wasn’t sure whether he could see them too, but now she was convinced that he could. Sometimes he would laugh loudly and wave his hands about. Their presence made him happy, and his joy was the only thing that mattered in Emelie’s world.

Her life on the island might have seemed very monotonous, since all the days were so alike, but she had never felt more content. The pastor had come out to pay them another visit. She had the feeling that he was concerned and wanted to see how things were going. But he didn’t need to worry. The isolation, which had previously made her skin crawl, no longer bothered her. She had all the company she needed, and her life had a purpose. Who could ask for more? The pastor had gone back home with a sense of relief. He had seen the calm in her face, seen the much-read Bible that lay open on the kitchen table. He had patted Gustav on the cheek as he slipped him a cough drop. ‘What a splendid little chap,’ he said, making Emelie beam with pride.

Karl, on the other hand, ignored the boy completely. It was as if his son didn’t exist. He had also moved out of the bedroom for good. He now slept in a room downstairs, while Julian slept on the kitchen bench. Karl claimed that the boy cried too much, but Emelie suspected he just used that as an excuse so he wouldn’t have to share a bed with her. She didn’t care in the least. She slept next to Gustav, with his chubby little arm around her neck and his face pressed against her cheek. That was all she needed. And God.

20

They had a pleasant evening with Göran. For most of their lives, Erica and Anna hadn’t known that they had a brother, but he had soon grown close to his younger sisters. Both Patrik and Dan thought very highly of their brother-in-law. His adoptive mother, Märta, who had eaten dinner with them, was a wonderful old woman who had quickly become part of the extended family.

‘Are you ready to go?’ said Ulf as they stood in the car park outside police headquarters.