Camilla Läckberg - The Drowning

Annika typed something on the keyboard and then pointed at the screen.

‘No, he’s not listed as the father of any children other than Melker and Nils.’

‘Shit,’ said Patrik, running his hand through his hair. ‘Maybe it’s a stupid theory. I don’t know why I have such a strong feeling that we’ve missed something. The answer has to be somewhere in these files.’

He got up and went into his own office. He sat there for a long time, staring at the wall. The ringing of his phone abruptly interrupted his brooding.

‘Patrik Hedström.’ He could hear how discouraged his voice sounded. But when the man on the phone introduced himself and then explained why he was calling, Patrik sat up straighter in his chair. Twenty minutes later he rushed into Annika’s office.

‘Maria Sjöström!’

‘Maria Sjöström?’

‘Christian was living with a woman in Göteborg. Her name is Maria Sjöström.’

‘How did you…?’ said Annika, but Patrik went on without answering her question.

‘There’s also a child. Emil Sjöström. Or rather, there was a child.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘They’re dead. Both Maria and Emil are dead. And there’s an unsolved homicide investigation.’

‘What’s going on?’ Martin came rushing in after hearing Patrik shouting in Annika’s office. Even Gösta moved faster than usual to appear in the doorway, crowding inside with the others.

‘I’ve just talked to a man named Sture Bogh. He’s a retired police detective in Göteborg.’ Patrik paused for effect before he continued. ‘He read in the paper about Christian and the threats he’d received, and he recognized the name from one of his investigations. He thought he might have information that could prove useful to us.’

Patrik told his colleagues about his conversation with the former detective. In spite of all the years that had passed, Sture Bogh had never been able to forget those tragic deaths, and he gave Patrik a precise summary of the important facts in the case.

Everyone was left gaping when they heard Patrik recount what the detective had told him.

‘Can we get hold of the case documents?’ asked Martin eagerly.

‘It’s a little late for that now. I think it would be difficult,’ said Patrik.

‘No harm in trying,’ said Annika. ‘I have the number for the Göteborg police right here.’

Patrik sighed. ‘My wife is going to think that I ran off to Rio with some buxom blonde if I don’t get home soon.’

‘Phone Erica first, and then we’ll try to get hold of someone in Göteborg.’

Patrik gave in. None of them looked as though they wanted to leave, and he didn’t want to either – not until they’d done as much as they could.

‘Okay, but the rest of you need to go do something else while I make the calls. I don’t want you leaning over my shoulder.’

He went into his own office, closed the door, and phoned home first. Erica was very understanding. She and Maja had already eaten dinner together. Suddenly Patrik had such a longing to be home with his two girls that he almost felt on the verge of tears. He couldn’t ever remember feeling so tired. But he took a deep breath and tapped in the number Annika had given him.

At first Patrik didn’t notice that someone had answered. ‘Hello?’ said a voice on the line, and he jumped, realizing that he was supposed to say something. He introduced himself and explained what he needed. To Patrik’s surprise, his colleague in Göteborg was remarkably friendly and accommodating, offering to try to locate the investigative materials.

Patrik hung up, crossing his fingers. After waiting only about fifteen minutes, the phone rang.

‘Really? You did?’ Patrik could hardly believe his ears when his colleague said that they’d located the file. Patrik thanked him profusely, asking him to put the file aside. He’d make arrangements to collect the materials the next day. In the worst-case scenario, he’d drive to Göteborg himself, or maybe he could get the station to pay for a courier delivery.

Patrik remained sitting at his desk after putting down the phone. He knew that the others were in their offices, waiting to hear whether it was possible to get the investigative files. But first he needed to collect his thoughts. All the details, all the puzzle pieces were whirling through his head. He knew that they fit together somehow. It was just a matter of working out how.

Erik felt strangely sad as he was preparing to leave. Of course it was hard to say goodbye to his two daughters. He gave them both a hug, pretending that he’d be back in a few days. But he was surprised to find that it was also difficult to say goodbye to the house and to Louise, who stood in the front hall, looking at him with an inscrutable expression.

His original plan had been to slip away, just leaving a note behind. But then he suddenly felt a need to say a proper farewell. In order not to provoke suspicion, he had already placed the big suitcase in the boot of the car. He wanted Louise to think that this was just another business trip, requiring only a small carry-on bag.

Even though it was unexpectedly hard to say goodbye, Erik knew that he would soon settle into his new life. All he had to do was think about that Swedish lawyer named Joachim Posener who had fled the country back in 1997, suspected of embezzlement. He’d managed to stay away without suffering any pangs of conscience at leaving a child behind. Besides, his own daughters were teenagers now. They didn’t really need him any more.

‘What kind of business trip is it?’ Louise asked him.

Something in her tone of voice caught Erik’s attention. She didn’t know, did she? He dismissed the thought. Even if she had her suspicions, there was nothing she could do about it.

‘Meeting with a new supplier,’ he said, fiddling with the car keys in his hand. He was actually being quite decent, now that he thought about it. He was planning to take the smaller car and leave the Mercedes for Louise. And the money that he’d left in the bank account was enough to pay expenses for his wife and children for at least a year, including the mortgage on the house. So she’d have plenty of time to work out the situation.

Erik stood up straighter. There was really no reason for him to feel like an arsehole. If anyone ended up suffering because of his actions, that wasn’t his problem. It was his life that was in danger, and he couldn’t just sit here waiting for the past to catch up with him.

‘I’ll be back the day after tomorrow,’ he said lightly, giving Louise a nod. It had been years since he’d given her a hug or a kiss when he left for a trip.

‘Come back whenever you want,’ she said with a shrug.

Again he thought he noticed something odd about her, but it was probably just his imagination. And in two days’ time, when she would be expecting him to return home, he’d already be in a safe place.

‘Bye,’ he said, turning his back to her.

‘Bye,’ said Louise.

He got into the car, and as he drove off, he took one last glance in the rear-view mirror. Then he switched on the radio and began humming along. He was on his way.

Erica looked at Patrik with concern when he came in the door. Maja had been in bed for quite a while, and she was sitting on the sofa, having a cup of tea.

‘Tough day?’ she asked cautiously, getting up to put her arms around him.

Patrik buried his face in her neck and for a moment he didn’t move.

‘I need a glass of wine,’ he said then.

He went into the kitchen while Erica went back to her place on the sofa. She could heard sounds of a glass clinking and a cork being removed from a bottle. She remembered how nice it was to have a glass of wine, but right now she had to make do with her tea. That was one of the big disadvantages of being pregnant and then nursing a baby – not being able to have a glass of red wine once in a while. Every now and then she would take a tiny sip from Patrik’s glass, and she had to be satisfied with that.