by Ian Giles
“This bag contains another three million kronor,” said Kerstin.
“Consider this cash as evidence,” said Sandra. “As the background to a sequence of dramatic events. You’ll have to decide yourselves how to respond to them. They’re all described in this document, which also contains the as-yet unpublished conclusion to the summer serial in Gotlands Allehanda.”
Now she let the manuscript drop onto the table: a printed copy of all the words and sentences that comprised the story of the fateful events forever binding together Sandra, Kerstin, and the destinies of several others. The police around them—ten or so by this point—exchanged looks, unclear whether to be taken aback at the workload or to look forward to getting stuck into the thick bundle of prose.
“Here’s the mobile that has photos from the hit-and-run at the ravine in Madvar,” Sandra continued. “That’s evidence too. And here’s a document that sets out the real details that I’ve disguised in the serial. It includes names, ages, years, dates, times, weather, places, car brands, professions, modus operandi, and so on. You’ll find everything that you need to proceed all set out nicely.”
There was a murmur spreading among the police now, which gradually rose and became an expectant hubbub while the mobile was examined, the bags opened, and the manuscript thumbed through.
It suddenly felt very good to see the police officers’ reactions to the handover, and it was no use denying that Kerstin felt a certain pride at having been involved in the work that had gone into that thick document. She had obtained redress of sorts for Karl-Erik, and perhaps even for herself. Despite what it had cost her. And what it might cost her in the future.
INGENIOUS UNMASKING OF MURDERER AND KIDNAPPER WITH A STARRING ROLE FOR GOTLANDS ALLEHANDA
A 52-year-old woman has been arrested on suspicion of abduction, attempted murder, and murder. The kidnapping of three-year-old Erik has been resolved thanks to the popular summer serial “Black Ice.” The author is anonymous, but is responsible for a number of revelations that eventually led the police to the guilty party.
The boy went missing without a trace on the last Friday of June during a kindergarten outing to the idyllic Furulundsskogen woods just outside Visby. The woman, who works in the healthcare sector, is thought to have seized the boy in an unguarded moment, drugged him, and transported him to a property in the east of Gotland. He is thought to have been held captive there for a period of four days in a subterranean space, and this is now being classified as attempted murder.
Thanks to thorough groundwork by the author of the serial and the woman who eventually found the missing boy, the police have been handed photographic evidence uncovering the woman’s guilt in the kidnapping drama.
The 52-year-old is also a suspect in the much-writtenabout murder of 41-year-old Peter Norling, who had been missing for more than four years before he was found in southern Gotland earlier this summer. In that case, the woman’s husband has assisted with evidence, as the victim’s blood was found on an SUV owned by the couple that the 41-year-old car mechanic was thought to have been tasked with repairing prior to his disappearance.
The 52-year-old nurse was arrested without any drama at her place of work, but denies all involvement in the crimes and blames her husband instead. The arrested woman claims her husband confessed to the crimes before leaving Gotland and going underground. In reality, he remains on the island and has cooperated with police to enable the arrest of the suspected murderer and kidnapper.
There have been a significant number of accidents and crimes of varying gravities presented by the author and Gotlands Allehanda to its readers, and according to the police they have managed to tie the 52-year-old woman to the most serious of them all.
“We are both surprised and grateful for all the help we have received from unexpected sources,” said a police spokesman.
For his part, the deputy chief prosecutor states that he is convinced that the evidence and witness testimony gathered so far will be enough to secure a conviction.
“Given the planning involved and the ruthless nature of these crimes, I will be seeking a life sentence,” he said.
GOTLANDS ALLEHANDA
Acknowledgements
NOW YOU HAVE READ the almost-true story about what a mess a little snow and cold can cause, and how the consequences can be beyond all proportion for a small number of people. I know the story has met with great interest and that many of you have sought to identify similarities between the characters and actual people, as well as connections between what happens to them and true events. As I just mentioned, the story is almost but not entirely true, so these correlations are hard to find, which has been my intention all along. I’d therefore like to take this opportunity to thank you, the reader, for your attention and tremendous engagement.
Thanks also to Jeanette Wretberg for being such an important person to my good friend Kerstin, for opening up your heart to her and sharing your tragic story that formed the basis of this one. My gratitude in relation to your rescue of Erik together with Kerstin knows no bounds. You will always be in my thoughts now that you have, at last, found peace.
Peter Norling and Karl-Erik Barbenius: your roles were decisive in this story. You were already gone when I began to take an interest in the events that tie us all together. This means that sadly, I have not been able to depict you in a way that is entirely true to life. I regret some of your choices, but I am genuinely sorry for all that you have been subjected to. No person deserves that. I would like to think I have brought you justice, and I hope you rest in peace.
Jan Hallin: you set the ball rolling; you sowed the seed for all that I have depicted, which is deeply unfortunate. You are a better person than that, which you were given the opportunity to demonstrate. You are repentant, and instead of fleeing from your responsibilities, you chose to stay in the country and cooperate with the police. For reasons I’m sure you’ll understand, I don’t intend to thank you for giving me a son, despite this being one of the greatest of gifts there is. But you also have many fine qualities—human traits, if you like—that I hope to see in Erik too. Last but not least, I want to thank you for putting my life above your own future. It was a heroic gesture, and I will always hold you in high esteem for it.
Above all, I want to thank my very dear friend Kerstin Barbenius. Without you, this book would never have been written. Without you, I would also have lost the light of my life—my son, Erik. Your sincerity and your big heart gave rise to this story, and I’m deeply thankful for your substantial input in terms of fact-checking. I cannot find words to express my feelings in relation to your and Jeanette’s resourcefulness—and tenderness—when you found my son, but you will always be a significant person to me and I hope you will be a presence in our lives.
Yours sincerely,
Sandra Christoffersson.
BLACK ICE
(DET SOM GÖMS I SNÖ)
Scarlet
An Imprint of Penzler Publishers
58 Warren Street
New York, N.Y. 10007
Text © 2018 Carin Gerhardsen
Translation © 2018 Carin Gerhardsen
First published by Bookmark Förlag, Sweden
Translated into the English language by Ian Giles
Published by arrangement with Nordin Agency AB, Sweden
First American edition, 2021
Interior design by Maria Fernandez
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in whole or in part without written permission from the publisher, except by reviewers who may quote brief excerpts in connection with a review in a newspaper, magazine, or electronic publication; nor may any part of this book be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or other, without written permission from the publisher.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available
ISBN: 978-1-61316-222-4
eBook ISBN: 978
-1-61316-223-1
Distributed by W. W. Norton & Company