Buried Angels

Chapter Twenty-Three

Percy was still sitting in the car, staring at the approach to Fjällbacka, but he wasn’t really aware of the waves or the traffic. The only thing he saw was his own fate, and how the past was merging with the present. His siblings had made an effort to be polite when he phoned. It was considered only proper to behave decently, even towards a man they had defeated. Percy knew full well what was concealed behind their deprecating words. That sort of malicious joy was the same, whether a person was rich or poor.

They told him that they had bought the manor, but he’d already heard the news. Attorney Buhrman had found out that Sebastian had gone behind his back. Using the same phrases that Sebastian had spoken, they explained that the manor was going to be turned into an exclusive conference centre. It was regrettable that things had turned out this way, but they wanted Percy to move out before the end of the month. Naturally the move would be overseen by their lawyer to make sure that Percy didn’t take anything that was included in the sale of the property.

He was surprised that Sebastian had actually decided to put in an appearance today. Percy had seen him drive past, heading up the hill to Leon’s house. Suntanned, his shirt unbuttoned, wearing expensive sunglasses and with his hair slicked back. He looked the same as always. And no doubt he wasn’t feeling any different, either. It was just business, as he was fond of saying.

Percy cast one last glance at his face in the mirror on the visor. He looked like hell. His eyes were bloodshot from too little sleep and too much whisky. His complexion was ashen. But his tie was perfectly knotted. That was a matter of pride with him. He snapped the visor closed and got out of the car. There was no reason to postpone the inevitable.

Ia leaned her head against the cool pane of the window. The cab ride out to Landvetter airport in Göteborg would take just under two hours, maybe more, depending on the traffic, and she wanted to try to sleep during the drive.

She had kissed him before she left. He was going to have an awful time managing without her, but she hadn’t wanted to be present when everything exploded. Leon had assured her that it would be fine. He said that this was something he had to do, otherwise he would never have any peace.

Again she thought about that day when they’d driven along the steep roads in Monaco. He had been about to leave her. The words had poured out of his mouth. He had rambled on, saying that things had changed and that he no longer had the same needs, that they’d had many good years together, but now he’d fallen in love with someone else, and that she was bound to find someone who would make her happy too. She had taken her eyes off the winding road to look at him, and while he continued to spew out platitudes, she had thought about everything that she’d sacrificed for his sake.

When the car swerved, she saw his eyes open wide and the flood of meaningless words stopped.

‘Keep your eyes on the road when you’re driving,’ he told her. She saw a certain nervousness on his handsome face, and she could hardly believe it. For the first time in their life together, Leon was afraid. The feeling of power was intoxicating, and she stomped on the accelerator, noticing how the sudden burst of speed pressed her body against the seat.

‘Slow down, Ia,’ Leon pleaded. ‘You’re going too fast!’

She didn’t reply, just stomped even harder on the pedal. The little sports car could barely stay on the road. It felt as if they were floating, and for one brief moment she was utterly free.

Leon had tried to grab the steering wheel, but that only made the car swerve all the more, so he let go. He kept begging her to slow down, but the terror in his voice made her happier than she’d felt in a very long time. The car was practically flying.

Up ahead she saw the tree, and it was as if some outside force seized hold of her. Calmly she turned the wheel slightly to the right, aiming straight for that tree. As if from a great distance, she heard Leon’s voice, but then the rushing in her ears drowned out everything else. The next instant there was total silence. It was so peaceful. They were not going to be separated. They would be together for all eternity.

She was surprised to find that she was still alive. Next to her sat Leon with his eyes closed, his face covered with blood. The fire was swiftly gathering force. Flames began licking at their seats and reaching towards them. The smell of smoke filled her nostrils. She had to make a quick decision. Should she surrender and allow both of them to be engulfed by fire, or should she rescue herself and Leon? She looked at his handsome face. The flames had reached his cheek, and she watched with fascination as they scorched his skin. Then she made up her mind. He was hers now. And that was how things had been ever since, after she’d dragged him out of the burning vehicle.

Ia closed her eyes, feeling the coolness of the windowpane against her forehead. She didn’t want to be part of what Leon was planning to do, but she longed for the time when they would once again be together.

Anna glanced around the bare room that was now revealed in the light from the single bulb. It smelled of earth and something else, harder to identify. She and Ebba had both tried in vain to get the door to open, but it was locked and refused to budge.

Along one wall stood four chests with metal mountings, and above them hung a flag, which was the first thing they’d seen when the light was switched on. It was dark with mildew and mould, but the swastika was still vivid against the red-and-white background.

‘Maybe there’s something in those chests that you could put on,’ said Ebba, looking at Anna. ‘You’re shivering.’

‘Sure. I’ll take whatever we can find. I’m about to freeze to death,’ replied Anna. She was ashamed of her nakedness under the sheet. She was the sort of person who never liked to be seen in the nude in a locker room, and after the accident, this feeling had intensified, thanks to all the scars criss-crossing her body. Although modesty was the least of her worries at the moment, her sense of embarrassment managed to outweigh both her fear and the cold.

‘Those three are locked, but this one is open,’ said Ebba, pointing at the chest nearest the door. She lifted the lid to find a heavy grey woollen blanket inside. ‘Here,’ she said, tossing the blanket to Anna, who wrapped it around herself on top of the sheet. It smelled vile, but she was grateful for the warmth and the protection it offered.

‘There are canned goods in here too,’ said Ebba, lifting out several dusty tins from the chest. ‘In the worst-case scenario, we can probably survive here for a while.’

Anna stared at her. Ebba’s almost cheerful tone seemed oddly misplaced, considering their situation and her earlier emotional state. Most likely it was just a coping mechanism.

‘But we have no water,’ Anna pointed out, allowing the statement to hover in the air. Without water, they wouldn’t last long, but Ebba didn’t seem to be listening as she continued to dig through the chest.

‘Look at this!’ she said, holding up a garment.

‘A Nazi uniform? Where did all these things come from?’

‘Apparently there was a crazy old man who used to own this house during the war. These things must have belonged to him.’

‘How disgusting,’ said Anna. She was still shaking. The warmth from the blanket was slowly seeping into her body, but the cold had settled in her marrow, and it would take time for her to get warm.

‘How did you end up here?’ Ebba suddenly asked, turning to face Anna. It was as if she only now realized how strange it was for them to have landed here together.

‘Tobias must have attacked me too.’ Anna wrapped the blanket tighter around her body.

Ebba frowned.

‘But why? Was it unprovoked? Or did something happen that…’ She put her hand to her mouth and the look in her eyes hardened. ‘I saw the tray in the bedroom. Why did you really come out here yesterday? Did you stay for dinner? What happened?’

The words slammed like bullets against the walls, and with each question Anna flinched, as if she’d been slapped. She didn’t have to say anything. She knew that the answers could be read on her face.

Ebba’s eyes filled with tears. ‘How could you? You know what we’ve been going through, what things have been like for us.’

Anna tried to swallow, but her mouth was as dry as cotton, and she didn’t know how to explain her actions or apologize for what she’d done. Her eyes brimming with tears, Ebba stared at her for a long time. Then she took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Calm and composed, she said:

‘Well, let’s not talk about this now. We need to stick together to get out of here. Maybe there’s something in the chests that we can use to prise open the door.’ She turned away, her whole body rigid with suppressed anger.

Anna gratefully accepted the offer of a temporary truce. If they didn’t get out of this place, there’d be no reason to work anything out. No one would miss them for a while. Dan and the children were away, and it would be several days before Ebba’s parents would start to worry. The only other person who might wonder what was going on was Erica, who usually became frantic if she couldn’t get hold of Anna. Normally that would infuriate her, but right now she wished that Erica would start feeling anxious and begin asking questions with as much stubbornness as she usually displayed if she didn’t get the right answer. Dear, sweet Erica, please be as curious and worried as you always are, prayed Anna in the light from the bare bulb.

Ebba had started kicking at the lock on the chest next to the one she’d already opened. The padlock didn’t show any sign of budging, but she kept on kicking and at last got it to open.

‘Come over here and help me,’ she said, and together they pulled off the padlock. Then they leaned down and tried to raise the lid. Judging by the dirt and dust, it had been closed for years, and it took their combined strength to force it open. With a lurch, the lid finally yielded.

They peered inside and then stared at each other. Anna saw her own surprise mirrored in Ebba’s expression. A scream bounced off the walls in the bare room, but she wasn’t sure whether it came from her or from Ebba.

‘Hi. Are you Kjell?’ Sven Niklasson came forward and shook hands as he introduced himself.

‘You didn’t bring a photographer?’ Kjell looked around the small space next to the luggage carousel.

‘He’s driving up from Göteborg. He’ll meet us there.’

Sven pulled his small carry-on suitcase behind him as they walked out to the car park. Kjell had the impression that he was used to packing quickly and travelling light.

‘Do you think we should inform the Tanum police?’ asked Sven as he got into the passenger seat of Kjell’s big SUV.

Kjell thought about this as he drove out of the car park and turned right.

‘I think we should. But you need to talk to Patrik Hedström. Nobody else.’ He glanced at Sven. ‘I didn’t think you usually worried about informing a particular police force.’

Sven smiled and gazed out the window at the passing landscape. He was in luck. Trollhättan Bridge was most beautiful in the sunshine.

‘You never know when you might need a favour from somebody on the force. I already have an agreement with the Göteborg police, ensuring that we get to be present when they move in, since we’ve supplied them with information. Just think of it as a courtesy that we tell the Tanum police what’s going on.’

‘The Göteborg police probably weren’t planning to offer the same courtesy, so I’ll make sure that Hedström knows how generous you’re being.’ Kjell grinned. He was deeply grateful that Sven Niklasson was allowing him to ride along. This was more than a scoop for him as a journalist – this story was going to have reverberations in Swedish politics and shock the entire country. ‘Thanks for including me,’ he muttered, feeling suddenly embarrassed.

Sven shrugged. ‘We wouldn’t have been able to finalize things if you hadn’t provided the information that you did.’

‘So you were able to decode the numbers?’ Kjell was practically bursting with curiosity. Sven hadn’t told him all the details on the phone.

‘It was a ridiculously simple code.’ Sven laughed. ‘My kids could have cracked it in fifteen minutes.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘One was “A”, two was “B”. And so on.’

‘You’re joking.’ Kjell glanced over at Sven and almost drove off the road.

‘No, I wish I was. It just shows how stupid they think we are.’

‘So what did you find out?’ In his mind Kjell tried to picture the numbers, but he’d never been good at maths in school. Nowadays he could barely remember his own phone number.

‘Stureplan. It said Stureplan. Followed by a date and a time.’

‘Jesus Christ,’ Kjell said, turning right on to the roundabout near Torp. ‘That could have been disastrous.’

‘Yes, but the police went in early this morning to pick up the people who were going to carry out the attack. Now they can’t communicate with anyone to reveal that the police know all about the plan. That’s why this is so urgent. It won’t be long before the responsible individuals in the party notice that they haven’t heard from the attackers, nor can they contact them. And then they’ll be on guard, and we won’t have another chance.’

‘It was actually a brilliant plan,’ said Kjell. He couldn’t shake off the thought of what would have happened if the plan had been carried out. The images were too vivid. It would have been tragic.

‘I know. In spite of everything, we should be grateful that they’re showing their true colours now. It’s going to be a hell of an awakening for so many people who believed in John Holm. Thank God. I hope we won’t see something like this again for a long time. Unfortunately, I think people have very short memories.’ He sighed and turned to face Kjell. ‘Would you mind ringing this Hedman fellow?’

‘Hedström. Patrik Hedström. Sure, I’ll do it.’ Keeping one eye on the road, he tapped in the number for Tanum police station.

‘So what’s all the commotion?’ said Patrik with a grin as he entered the kitchen. Erica had shouted his name, and he’d come running from his office.

‘Sit down,’ said Gösta. ‘You know how many times I’ve ploughed through the old investigative materials, right? The boys all told the same story, but I’ve always had the feeling that something was odd.’

‘And now we’ve discovered what it was.’ Erica crossed her arms, a satisfied expression on her face.

‘What is it?’

‘It’s the part about the mackerel.’

‘The mackerel?’ Patrik peered at her. ‘I’m sorry, but could you possibly clarify that?’

‘I never saw the fish that the boys had caught,’ said Gösta. ‘And for some inexplicable reason, it didn’t occur to me during the interviews.’

‘What didn’t?’ said Patrik impatiently.

‘You can’t catch mackerel until after Midsummer,’ said Erica, enunciating carefully, as if speaking to a child.

It slowly dawned on Patrik what this could mean. ‘And all of the boys said that they’d been out fishing for mackerel?’

‘Exactly. One of them might have been mistaken, but since all of them said the same thing, they must have discussed it. And because they didn’t know much about fishing, they chose the wrong fish,’ explained Erica.

‘It was thanks to Erica that I worked it out,’ said Gösta, embarrassed.

Patrik threw his wife a kiss. ‘You’re the best!’ he told her, and he meant it.

At that moment his mobile rang, and he saw on the display that the call was from Torbjörn.

‘I need to take this. Fantastic job, both of you!’ He gave them a thumbs up, then went back to his office and closed the door.

He listened attentively to what Torbjörn had to say, jotting down notes on a scrap of paper that he found on his desk. No matter how odd, his suspicions had now been confirmed. As he listened to Torbjörn, he thought about what this might mean. By the time he ended the call, he had learned a new piece of information, but it left him more confused than ever.

He heard the sound of heavy footsteps in the hall, and got up to open the door. Paula was coming towards him, preceded by her enormous stomach.

‘I can’t bear staying at home and waiting. The girl I talked to at the bank promised to get back to me today, but so far I haven’t heard from her.’ She had to stop to catch her breath.

Patrik put his hand on Paula’s shoulder. ‘Breathe, for God’s sake,’ he said, and then waited for her to calm down a bit. ‘Do you feel like sitting in on the meeting as we go over the case?’

‘Of course.’

‘Where the hell do you think you’re going?’ Mellberg suddenly appeared behind Paula. ‘Rita was so worried when you walked out the door that she made me follow you.’

Paula rolled her eyes. ‘You don’t have to keep worrying about me.’

‘It’s just as well that you’re here. There’s a lot we need to review,’ said Patrik, heading for the conference room. He stopped on the way to ask Gösta to join them. After hesitating for a few seconds, Patrik turned and went back to the kitchen.

‘You can come too,’ he said, nodding at Erica. As he’d expected, she eagerly leaped up from her chair.

It was crowded in the room, but Patrik wanted to review the case there, surrounded by all the things that had once belonged to the Elvander family. The items served to remind them why it was so important to work out exactly what happened all those years ago.

Patrik briefly explained to Paula and Mellberg that the boxes had come from Junk-Olle’s place and they’d already spent a lot of time going through the contents.

‘A few pieces have fallen into place, but we need help to decide how to proceed. First, I can tell you that the mysterious “G” who sent the birthday cards to Ebba is Gösta Flygare.’ He pointed at Gösta, who blushed.

‘Gösta?’ said Paula.

Mellberg’s face turned beet-red, and he looked as if he might explode.

‘I know I should have said something before, but I’ve already had a talk with Hedström about it.’ Gösta glared at Mellberg.

‘But the last card was not from Gösta. And the tone is very different to all the others,’ Patrik went on as he leaned against the edge of the table. ‘I had a theory about it, and I just talked to Torbjörn, who confirmed my suspicions. The fingerprint that Torbjörn lifted from the back of the stamp, which most likely belongs to whoever put the stamp on the card, matched a fingerprint on the plastic bag it was in. Tobias was the one who put the card in the bag before giving it to us.’

‘But no one else would have handled the bag other than you and Tobias. So that means…’ Erica turned pale, and Patrik saw the gears beginning to turn in her head.

Frantically she searched through her handbag for her mobile, and with everyone staring at her, she tapped in a number. No one spoke as the phone rang, then they all heard quite clearly the sound of someone’s voicemail.

‘Shit,’ exclaimed Erica as she tapped in another number. ‘I’ll try Ebba.’

The phone rang and rang, but Ebba didn’t pick up.

‘Bloody hell,’ cursed Erica, trying a third number.

Patrik made no attempt to go on with the meeting until she was done. He too was starting to feel uneasy about the fact that Anna hadn’t answered her phone all day.

‘When did she go out to the island?’ asked Paula.

Erica was still holding the phone to her ear. ‘Last night, and I haven’t been able to get hold of her since. But I’m ringing the mail boat now. They took Ebba out to Valö this morning, so they might know something… Hello? Hi, it’s Erica Falck… Exactly. You took Ebba out there… Did you happen to notice any other boats? A wooden snipa? It was moored at the summer camp dock? Okay. Thanks.’

Erica ended the conversation, and Patrik saw that her hand was shaking.

‘Our boat, the one that Anna took out there, was still at the dock. So both Anna and Ebba are on Valö with Tobias, and neither of them is answering the phone.’

‘I’m sure there’s nothing to worry about. And Anna may have gone home by now,’ said Patrik, trying to make his voice sound calmer than he felt.

‘But Tobias said that she’d stayed only an hour. Why would he lie about that?’

‘There must be a good explanation. We’ll go to the island and check on things as soon as we’re done here.’

‘Why would Tobias send a threatening message to his own wife?’ asked Paula. ‘Does that mean that he’s behind the murder attempts?’

Patrik shook his head. ‘Right now we don’t know. That’s why we need to review everything we’ve found out so far and see if there are any gaps we can fill in. Gösta, could you tell everyone what you’ve discovered about the boys’ testimony?’

‘Sure,’ said Gösta. He briefed his colleagues on how the mention of mackerel revealed the boys’ statements to be false.

‘It proves that they were lying,’ said Patrik. ‘And if they lied about that, they probably lied about everything else. Why else would they devise a story to tell us? I think we can assume that they were involved in the family’s disappearance, and now we have further proof, which means that we can put pressure on them.’

‘But what does this have to do with Tobias?’ said Mellberg. ‘He wasn’t there back then, yet according to Torbjörn, the same gun was used in 1974 and in the shooting the other day.’

‘I don’t know, Bertil,’ said Patrik. ‘Let’s take one thing at a time.’

‘And then there’s the matter of the missing passport,’ Gösta continued, sitting up straighter in his chair. ‘Annelie’s passport is missing. This could mean that she was somehow mixed up in what happened and then fled abroad afterwards.’

Patrik cast a glance at Erica, who was looking very pale. He knew that she couldn’t stop thinking about Anna.

‘Annelie? The sixteen-year-old daughter?’ said Paula, just as her mobile began ringing. She took the call, listening with surprise. When she ended the conversation, she turned to her colleagues.

‘Ebba’s adoptive father told Patrik and me that an anonymous donor had deposited money in the bank for Ebba every month until she turned eighteen. They never managed to find out where the money came from, but naturally we thought it might be connected to what happened out on Valö. So I’ve been trying to find out…’ She paused to catch her breath, and Patrik was reminded that Erica too had been short of breath during her pregnancies.

‘Get to the point!’ Gösta sat up straighter. ‘Ebba had no relatives who were interested in taking care of her, so it’s unlikely that any of them would have sent the money. The only person I can picture giving money to the lass would be someone with a guilty conscience.’

‘I have no idea what the motive was,’ said Paula, who was obviously revelling in delivering information that no one else knew. ‘But the money came from Aron Kreutz.’

There was a stunned silence. Gösta was the first to speak.

‘Leon’s father sent money to Ebba? But why?’

‘That’s what we need to find out,’ said Patrik. His mobile buzzed in his pocket. He took it out and checked the display: Kjell Ringholm from Bohusläningen. No doubt he wanted to ask some follow-up questions from the press conference. That could wait. Patrik put away his phone and once again turned his attention to his colleagues.

‘Gösta, you and I will go out to Valö. Before we interview the boys, we need to make sure that Anna and Ebba are okay, and put a few questions to Tobias. Paula, keep trying to find out more about Leon’s father.’ He paused when he came to Mellberg. Where would he do the least damage? In reality, Mellberg preferred to do as little work as possible, but it was important that he didn’t feel left out. ‘Bertil, as usual, you’re the best qualified to handle the media. Would you mind staying here at the station so you’re available for any enquiries?’

Mellberg’s face lit up. ‘Of course I’ll do that. I have years of experience dealing with the press. Nobody else comes close.’

Patrik sighed to himself. He had to pay a high price in order to keep things running smoothly.

‘Could I go out to Valö with you?’ asked Erica. She still had a tight grip on her phone.

Patrik shook his head. ‘Not on your life.’

‘But I really should go along. What if something has happened…’

‘End of discussion,’ said Patrik, hearing that his tone of voice was unnecessarily sharp. ‘I’m sorry, but it’s best if we handle this,’ he added, giving his wife a hug.

Erica nodded reluctantly, and left the room to drive home. He watched her go, then got out his mobile and phoned Victor. After eight rings, he got the voicemail.

‘No answer from the Coast Guard, as usual. And our boat is docked out at Valö.’

Just then he heard the sound of someone clearing their throat.

‘I’m afraid I’m not going anywhere at the moment. The car won’t start,’ said Erica from the doorway.

Patrik gave his wife a sceptical look. ‘That’s odd. Gösta, could you drop Erica off at home, while I finish up a few things here at the station? We have to wait for a boat anyway.’

‘All right,’ said Gösta, avoiding Erica’s eye.

‘Good. I’ll see you down at the harbour. Could you keep trying to reach Victor?’

‘Sure,’ said Gösta.

Patrik’s mobile was buzzing again, and he automatically glanced at the display. Kjell Ringholm. He might as well take the call.

‘Okay, everybody, get started on your assignments,’ he said and pressed the ‘answer’ button as the others left the room. ‘Yes, this is Hedström,’ he said with a sigh. He liked Kjell, but right now he really didn’t have time for journalists.