The Hidden Child

Chapter 51

For the first few minutes, the mood around the kitchen table was tense. Then their nervousness began to vanish, and they were able to have a cheerful and relaxed conversation with their brother. Anna was still looking a bit shocked at the news, but she stared in amazement at Göran, who was sitting across from her.

‘Didn’t you ever wonder about your parents?’ asked Erica as she took a Dumlekola from the pile of sweets on the plate.

‘Of course I did, once in a while,’ said Göran. ‘But at the same time… as far as I was concerned, Mamma and Pappa – I mean, Wilhelm and Märta – were enough. Occasionally I did think about it, and I wondered why my mother had given me away.’ He hesitated. ‘But I hear she was in a difficult situation.’

‘Yes, she was,’ said Erica, glancing at Anna. She’d had a hard time deciding how much to tell her younger sister, whom she’d always had a tendency to protect. But in the end she realized that Anna had survived much worse situations than she had, so Erica had told her about all the information she’d gathered, including the diaries. Anna had taken everything in stride, and now here they sat, all together, in the house belonging to Erica and Patrik. Three siblings. Two sisters and a brother. It was an odd feeling, but in a strange way it felt so natural. Maybe it was true that blood was thicker than water.

‘So I assume it’s too late to start filling me in on who your latest boyfriends are, and things like that,’ laughed Göran, pointing at Patrik and Dan. ‘Looks like that’s a stage that I’ve missed, unfortunately.’

‘Yes, I suppose it is,’ said Erica, smiling and taking another Dumle.

‘By the way, I heard that you caught the murderer – the victim’s brother,’ said Göran, turning serious.

Patrik nodded. ‘Yes, he was waiting for a plane at the airport. It was strange, because he could have left at any time, and we probably never would have caught him. According to my colleagues, he was extremely cooperative.’

‘But why did he kill his brother?’ asked Dan, putting his arm around Anna’s shoulders.

‘They’re still interviewing him, so I don’t really know,’ replied Patrik, handing a piece of chocolate to Maja, who was sitting on the floor next to him, playing with the doll that Göran’s mother had given her.

‘Well, I can’t help wondering why the brother who died paid money to my father all those years. From what I understand, he wasn’t my father. It was the Norwegian. Or do I have it backwards?’ said Göran, looking at Erica.

‘No, you’re right. According to Mamma’s diaries, your father was named Hans Olavsen, or rather, Hans Wolf. Erik and Mamma don’t seem to have ever had a romantic relationship. So I don’t know…’ Erica chewed on her lip as she thought. ‘We’ll probably know more when we find out what Axel Frankel has to say.’

‘Probably,’ said Patrik, nodding agreement.

Dan cleared his throat, and everyone turned to look at him. He and Anna exchanged glances, and then Anna said, ‘Well, er… we have some news.’

‘What is it?’ asked Erica, stuffing another Dumle into her mouth.

‘Well…’ Anna paused, but then the words came tumbling out of her. ‘We’re going to have a baby. In the spring.’

‘Really! That’s great!’ cried Erica, getting up to run around the table and give first her sister a hug and then Dan before she sat down again, her eyes sparkling. ‘So how do you feel? Is everything all right? Do you feel good?’ Erica fired off questions one after the other, and Anna laughed.

‘I’m fine, but I feel lousy. It was the same way when I was expecting Adrian. And I have this constant craving for rock candy.’

‘Ha ha, rock candy, of all things,’ laughed Erica. ‘But I shouldn’t talk. I remember stuffing myself with Dumlekola sweets when I was pregnant with…’ Erica stopped in mid-sentence and stared at the heap of Dumle wrappers on the table. She looked up at Patrik, and saw by his open mouth that he was thinking the same thing. Frantically she began calculating. When was her period due? She had been so focused on everything about her mother that she hadn’t even thought about… Two weeks ago! She should have had her period two weeks ago. She stared dumbfounded at the Dumle wrappers again. Then she heard Anna start to hoot with laughter.