The Girl in the Woods. Camilla Lackberg
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again swatting at the fly. But it was merely dazed and continued attacking her the second it recovered. ‘My God, get away from me!’
Anna got up and reached for a magazine on the table. She rolled it up and swung at the fly, mashing it against the wax tablecloth.
Erica couldn’t help smiling at her hugely pregnant little sister going after that fly. Not an easy task for Anna at the moment.
‘Go ahead and smirk,’ said Anna peevishly as she wiped the sweat from her forehead before she sat down again. ‘Now where were we? Oh, right. Those girls confessed, didn’t they?’
‘Yes, they did, and it was their confession that got them convicted. Since they were so young, they didn’t receive a sentence, but the matter of their guilt was outlined in a statement at the court hearing.’
‘But what if they weren’t guilty?’ said Anna, staring at Erica. ‘What a tragedy that would be. Two thirteen-year-old girls whose lives were destroyed. Doesn’t one of them live around here? That’s awfully brave of her, if you ask me.’
‘I know. She moved back after a few years in Marstrand. You can imagine what the locals were saying about her at first, so it must have been hell. But after a while all the talk died down.’
‘Have you met her yet? For your book?’
‘No. I sent her several requests for an interview, but she never answered. So I was thinking of going to see her. To find out whether she’d agree to talk to me.’
‘How do you think your work on the book is going to be affected by what’s happened?’ asked Anna quietly. ‘To the little girl, I mean.’
Erica had phoned to tell Anna about Nea as soon as she heard that the girl’s body had been found. News of the child’s death would spread like wildfire through the whole community.
‘I’m not sure,’ said Erica hesitantly as she helped herself to more iced tea. ‘Maybe people will be more inclined to talk now, or maybe the opposite. We’ll soon find out.’
‘What about Marie? Our glamorous Hollywood star? Is she willing to be interviewed?’
‘I’ve been corresponding with her publicist for the past six months. My guess is, she has her own book deal in the works, and she’s not sure whether my book will help or hinder sales. But I’m going to pay her a visit, regardless.’
Anna looked askance. Erica knew the thought of contacting complete strangers and trying to persuade them to talk was her sister’s worst nightmare.
‘Let’s talk about something more pleasant, okay?’ said Erica. ‘We need to arrange a bachelorette party for Kristina.’
‘Of course we do,’ said Anna, laughing so hard her huge belly bounced. ‘But what do you do when the bride is a bit … past the usual age? All the traditional games like getting her to sell kisses at a booth don’t seem appropriate, not to mention making her skydive or bungee-jump.’
‘You’re right. I can’t imagine Kristina doing any of those things,’ said Erica. ‘Why don’t we just invite a bunch of her friends and spend a nice evening together? How about dinner at Café Bryggan? Good food, good wine. It can be as simple as that.’
‘Sounds like a great idea,’ said Anna. ‘Though we should still come up with some kind of fun kidnapping plan.’
Erica nodded.
‘Sure, otherwise it’s not a real bachelorette party! And by the way, when is Dan going to make a respectable woman of you?’
Anna blushed.
‘You can see how I look at the moment. We’ve agreed to have the baby first. Then we’ll start thinking about a wedding.’
‘So when do you think—’ Erica began, but she was interrupted by ‘Mambo No. 5’ playing on her mobile.
‘Hi, sweetheart,’ she said when she saw the name on the display.
She listened to what Patrik was saying, giving only a few brief remarks in reply.
‘No problem. Don’t worry about the kids. See you later.’
She ended the call and put her mobile back in her purse. Then she looked at Anna. She knew it was asking a lot to get her sister to babysit the kids again, but she had no choice. Kristina was in Uddevalla all afternoon, so she couldn’t ask her.
‘Okay,’ said Anna. ‘I can watch the kids for you. How long will you be gone?’ She laughed when she saw Erica’s embarrassed expression.
‘Could I drop them off again around three? Patrik wants me to come over to the station to tell them about the Stella case. I have to be there at three thirty. So I should be back here by five or five thirty. Will that work?’
‘That’s fine,’ said Anna. ‘Your kids are better behaved with me than with you.’
‘Oh, come on,’ said Erica, blowing her sister a kiss.
But it couldn’t be denied that Anna had a point. The children had behaved like angels.
‘What do you think they’re scared of?’
Sam realized he had started to slur his words. The combination of sun and champagne had gone straight to his head. He was holding the glass in his left hand. His right hand ached after the morning’s target practice.
‘Scared of?’ said Jessie.
She too was slurring her words. She’d had several glasses before he arrived and they were now on the second bottle.
‘Won’t your mother notice some bottles are missing?’ he asked, motioning with the glass.
The golden bubbles sparkled when the sunlight hit the glass. He’d never thought about how beautiful champagne was. On the other hand, he’d never seen it close up.
‘Oh, don’t worry. She won’t care,’ replied Jessie, tossing her head. ‘As long as there’s still some left for her.’
She reached for the bottle.
‘But what did you mean about being scared? I don’t think they’re scared of us.’
‘Of course they’re fucking scared,’ said Sam, holding out his glass.
The foam reached the top and spilled over the rim, but he merely laughed and licked the champagne off his hand.
‘They know we’re not like them. They sense … they can sense the darkness inside us.’
‘Darkness?’
She studied him in silence. He loved the contrast between her green eyes and blond hair. He wished she would realize how beautiful she was. He looked beyond her weight and the spots. He had recognized himself in her when he saw her at the Centrum kiosk. He knew they both shared that lost feeling. And he saw in her the same darkness.
‘They know we hate them. They see all the hatred they’ve already created in us, but they can’t help themselves, they keep pouring it on, keep creating something they won’t be able to control.’
Jessie giggled.
‘My God, you sound so pretentious. Skål! We’re sitting here in the sunshine, on the dock next to a luxury villa, we’re drinking champagne, and we’re having a fucking great time.’
‘You’re right.’ He smiled as their glasses clinked. ‘We’re having a fucking great time.’
‘Because we deserve it,’ Jessie said, stumbling over her words. ‘You and me. We fucking deserve it. We’re better than them. They’re nothing compared to us.’
She raised her glass so abruptly that half the champagne spilled out, landing on her bare stomach.
‘Oops,’ she said, giggling.
She reached for a towel, but Sam stopped her.