The Girl in the Woods (Patrik Hedstrom and Erica Falck, Book 10)

by Camilla Lackberg

  ‘I phoned Helen. And she brushed me off. She told me she was going to marry James and she didn’t want any contact with me. She said the whole thing had been a mistake … At first I didn’t believe her. But when I realized she was serious, I was heartbroken. I still loved her. My feelings were as strong as ever. For me, this was not some stupid teenage crush. Far from it; the passing of time and the circumstances had made me love her even more. But she didn’t want anything to do with me. I couldn’t understand it, but what could I do? The hardest part was accepting that she was going to marry James, of all people. It didn’t seem right. Yet I had no choice but to let it go. Until now. It can’t have been a coincidence that I got this role and was forced to come back here. I never forgot her. Helen was the great love of my life. And I thought I was hers.’

  ‘So that’s why you went to see her that Monday morning?’ asked Patrik.

  ‘Yes. I made up my mind, I was going to confront her.’

  ‘After she let you in, what happened?’ asked Patrik.

  ‘We went out to the deck in back and talked. She was treating me like a stranger. Cold and pompous. But I could see that the Helen I had known was still there, no matter how hard she tried to hold her back. So I kissed her.’

  ‘How did she react?’

  Marie raised her fingers to her lips.

  ‘At first she didn’t react at all. Then she kissed me back. It was as if thirty years melted away. She was my Helen. She clung to me, and I knew I’d been right all along: she had never stopped loving me. And I said that to her. She didn’t deny it, but I never got a clear answer about why she abandoned me. Either she couldn’t or didn’t want to explain. I asked her about James. I told her I didn’t believe she had ever wanted to marry him, but she insisted she had fallen in love with him. She said she chose him instead of me, and I would just have to accept that. But I knew she was lying. It made me so angry that after all these years she was still lying that I got up and left. She was still sitting there on the deck when I drove away. And I remember checking my watch because I was afraid I’d be late for the film shoot. It was twenty past eight. So if the girl died around eight, Helen couldn’t have killed her. She was with me.’

  ‘If that’s true, why would she claim to have killed Nea?’ asked Patrik.

  Marie took a drag on her cigarette as she pondered the question.

  ‘I think Helen has a lot of secrets,’ she said. ‘Only she knows the truth.’

  She stood up abruptly.

  ‘I have to get back to the film studio. My work is the only thing that means anything to me.’

  ‘You have a daughter,’ Martin said, unable to stop himself.

  Marie looked at him. The naked and vulnerable expression had vanished.

  ‘An on-the-job mistake,’ she said tersely, and then she was gone, leaving them in a room filled with cigarette smoke and the heavy scent of perfume.

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  ‘You need to stand still, Bertil!’ snapped Paula.

  Trying to knot Mellberg’s tie had turned out to be impossible. Muttering and cursing, Rita had eventually given up, and now they had to hurry if they were going to be on time for Kristina and Gunnar’s wedding.

  ‘Why the hell should we have to get all dressed up? Who was the idiot who decided that to look nice a man has to wear a noose around his neck?’ said Mellberg, tugging at his tie and making the knot come undone again.

  ‘It must have been the devil himself, damn it,’ said Paula, instantly regretting her words when Leo’s face lit up and he shouted: ‘Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!’

  Bertil chuckled and turned to Leo, who was sitting on the bed watching them.

  ‘Good boy! You need to collect lots of swear words because you’ll have use for all of them in life. Can you say “hell”? Can you say “bastard”?’

  ‘Hell! Astard!’ shouted Leo. Paula glared at Mellberg.

  ‘You’re like a big kid! What are you thinking of, teaching a three-year-old swear words!’ She turned to Leo and said sharply, ‘You may not say those words Grandpa is trying to teach you! Do you hear me?’

  Leo looked disappointed but nodded.

  Mellberg gave him a wink and whispered, ‘Satan!’

  ‘Satan!’ Leo repeated with a giggle.

  Paula groaned. This was impossible. And she wasn’t talking about knotting his necktie.

  ‘What do we do if Karim and his kids don’t get the flat?’ she asked as she made one last attempt to fix Mellberg’s tie. ‘I can tell that Karim thinks it’s awkward to be staying with us, and in the long term it won’t work. They need their own place. It would be perfect if they could have the flat next door, but I haven’t been able to get hold of the owner so he can talk to the municipality about the rent. And the municipality can’t seem to find any other housing for them.’

  ‘Oh, I’m sure it will all work out,’ said Mellberg.

  ‘That’s easy for you to say. I haven’t seen you lift a finger to try and help Karim, and yet it’s partially your fault things turned out this way!’

  She bit her lip. She hadn’t meant to be so harsh, but she was feeling frustrated because no one seemed prepared to help the family. It made her want to kick someone in the shins. Hard.

  ‘You have your mother’s temperament,’ said Mellberg cheerfully, seemingly unaffected by her outburst. ‘Sometimes that’s a good thing, but both of you should practise having a little more patience and self-control. Try and learn from me. Things always get worked out. As they say in The Lion King: “Hakuna matata”.’

  ‘Hakuna matata!’ cried Leo happily, bouncing on the bed.

  The Lion King was his favourite film. Lately he’d been watching it five times a day, or at least it felt that way.

  Paula angrily let go of Mellberg’s tie. She knew she shouldn’t let him get to her, but his nonchalance drove her mad.

  ‘Bertil, you are an egotistical and selfish male chauvinist under normal circumstances. I’ve learned to live with that! But when you don’t give a shit what happens to Karim and those two poor children who just lost their mother, it’s …’ She was so angry she was at a loss for words. ‘Fuck you, that’s all I can say!’

  As she stormed out of the bedroom, she heard a merry ‘Fuck you’ echoing from Leo. She’d have to have a serious talk with him later. Right now she was going to get hold of the damn building owner if she had to pound on his door all night. She gathered up the full skirt of her dress in one hand, swearing as she made her way down the stairs in her high heels. Dressing up was not her strong suit, and she felt ridiculous in this dress. It was also impractical, she thought as she nearly tripped again outside the owner’s flat. She pounded her fist on the door. Just as she was about to try it again, the door opened.

  ‘What’s going on?’ said the man. ‘Is there a fire?’

  ‘No, no,’ said Paula, ignoring his look of surprise when he noticed her wearing a dress and high heels.

  She straightened up to her full height, though it was hard to project authority wearing a flowery dress and pumps.

  ‘It’s about the flat for the refugee family who’ve been staying with us. I know there’s a difference of a couple thousand kronor per month between what the municipality has offered and the rental price, but can’t we find a solution? The flat is standing empty, and they really need a home. Since it’s right next to ours, they wouldn’t be lonely. We can vouch for them. I’ll sign a form, whatever you need! Somebody has to show some bloody empathy for a family with kids in need of help!’

  She put her hands on her hips and glared at him. He stared back in astonishment.

  ‘But it’s all been taken care of,’ he said. ‘Bertil came to see me yesterday. He said he’d make up the difference for as long as needed. They can move in on Monday.’

  Paula stared at him.

  The building owner shook his head, looking puzzled.

  ‘Didn’t he say anything? I wasn’t supposed to mention it to Karim if I ran into him. Bertil wanted you
to tell him.’

  ‘That fucking old man,’ muttered Paula.

  ‘Sorry?’ said the owner.

  ‘Nothing,’ she said, waving her hands dismissively.

  Slowly she went back upstairs to Mellberg and Rita’s flat. She knew he was up there laughing himself silly at her expense. But it served her right. She would never understand that man. He could be the most annoying, irrational, narrow-minded, stubborn man to walk the earth. But he was also the person Leo adored most in the world. That alone made Paula forgive most of his stupidities. And now she would never forget that he’d made sure Karim and his children would have a home.

  ‘Come here, you old bastard, and I’ll fix that necktie!’ she called when she stepped back inside the flat.

  From the bedroom she heard Leo happily shout: ‘Astard!’

  ‘Do you think this makes me look fat?’ asked Erica anxiously.

  She turned to face Patrik.

  ‘You look amazing,’ he said, slipping behind her to put his arms around her. ‘Mmmm, you smell good too.’

  He nuzzled the back of her neck.

  ‘Be careful of my hairdo,’ she said with a laugh. ‘It took Miriam an hour and a half to style it, so don’t be getting any ideas.’

  ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about,’ he said, nibbling at her neck.

  ‘Stop!’

  She wriggled out of his grasp and looked at herself in the mirror.

  ‘This dress actually looks quite nice, don’t you think? I was afraid I’d have to wear something salmon-coloured with a big rosette on the rear, but your mother surprised us. Her dress is beautiful too.’

  ‘I still think this whole wedding thing feels a bit strange,’ muttered Patrik.

  ‘You’re being silly,’ said Erica. ‘Parents have their own lives. And I’m certainly planning to go on sleeping with you when you’re seventy.’

  She smiled at him in the mirror. Then went on:

  ‘I’m looking forward to seeing how Anna looks. It was a real challenge for them to make a tent-dress for her.’

  ‘She’s definitely getting big,’ said Patrik, sitting down on the bed to tie his shoelaces.

  Erica put on a pair of earrings with glittering white stones and turned to face Patrik.

  ‘So what do you really think about this Helen and Marie business? Can you make any sense of it?’

  ‘I’m still as confused as ever as to who to believe,’ said Patrik, rubbing his eyes. ‘Helen denies ever having been in a romantic relationship with Marie. She says that’s something Marie made up. She also maintains Marie wasn’t with her the morning Nea died. Yet Dagmar’s notes confirm that a white Renault passed by, which seems to indicate Marie is telling the truth. But we have only her word as to the time she left. And since we don’t know whether Nea’s watch stopped at the time of her death or later, not to mention whether it was fast or slow, we can’t be sure she was killed at eight o’clock. Hopefully the lab results will give us a definitive time of death. In the meantime, we have enough to keep Helen in custody: the evidence in the barn, the chocolate she gave Nea, the clothing she tried to burn, the fingerprints …’

  Erica saw that something was bothering him.

  ‘But?’

  ‘There are too many things that don’t fit. For instance, Helen says she threw a rock at Stella’s head, saw that she was dead, and then ran home. But according to the pathologist, Stella had suffered multiple blows to the head, and she was found in the water. So how did she get there?’

  ‘It was thirty years ago. Helen may be misremembering what happened,’ said Erica, casting one last look at herself in the mirror.

  She twirled around in front of Patrik.

  ‘You’re incredibly beautiful,’ he said, and he meant it.

  He stood up and put on his jacket before imitating her pirouette.

  ‘What about me?’

  ‘So handsome, sweetheart,’ she said, leaning forward to kiss Patrik on the lips.

  Then she straightened up. Something Patrik had said was nagging at her. What was it?

  Patrik put his arms around her, and the thought disappeared. He smelled so good today. She gave him a cautious kiss.

  ‘So what about our little rascals?’ he said. ‘Do you think they’re still neat and clean and dressed, or are we going to have to start all over with them?’

  ‘Cross your fingers,’ said Erica, leading the way downstairs.

  Sometimes miracles do occur, she thought when she entered the living room. Noel and Anton were sitting on the sofa like little angels, looking so adorable in their white shirts, waistcoats, and bow ties. Presumably they had Maja to thank for that. She was standing in front of her brothers, watching them like a hawk. She’d been allowed to choose her own dress, and with a little coaxing she had selected a pink dress with a full tulle skirt. An added accessory was a pink flower in her hair, which Erica had laboriously managed to curl without singeing even a single strand. That alone was an achievement.

  ‘All right!’ she said, smiling at her family, all dressed up. ‘Let’s go to Grandma’s wedding!’

  By the time they reached the church, most of the guests had already arrived. Kristina and Gunnar had decided to get married in Fjällbacka, even though they lived in Tanumshede, and Erica could understand why. The Fjällbacka church was so beautiful, towering like a pillar of granite above the small town and the shimmering sea.

  The boys dashed inside, and Erica left Patrik to look after them. Then she took Maja’s hand and went to join Kristina. She looked around for Anna, who was also supposed to be part of the wedding procession, but she didn’t see her or Dan anywhere. How typical of Anna to be late.

  ‘Where’s Emma?’ asked Maja.

  Anna’s daughter Emma was her favourite cousin, and the fact that they were going to wear matching dresses was a wondrous and big event in Maja’s life.

  ‘They’ll be here soon,’ Erica assured her, stifling a sigh.

  She went into the small room where the pastor and wedding party were supposed to wait until the guests had all taken their seats.

  ‘Wow,’ she said when she caught sight of her mother-in-law. ‘You look amazing!’

  ‘Thanks. You do too,’ said Kristina, giving her a warm hug. Then she glanced at the clock with concern. ‘Where’s Anna?’

  ‘Late, as usual,’ said Erica, ‘but I’m sure she’ll be here any minute.’

  She got out her mobile to see if there was a text from Anna. It said ‘Anna’ on the display.

  Erica read the message and then gave Kristina a strained smile. ‘You won’t believe this, but they drove to Munkedal to fetch Bettina, and their car started overheating on the way back. Right now they’re standing on the side of the road, waiting for the tow truck. And Anna has been trying to get a cab for the last half hour.’

  ‘And she didn’t try to get hold of you until now?’ Kristina said shrilly.

  Erica was thinking the same thing, but she forced herself to remain calm. This was Kristina’s day, and she didn’t want anything to spoil it.

  ‘They’ll be here. But if not, you should start without them.’

  ‘You’re right,’ said Kristina. ‘Everyone is waiting, and we can’t be late for the luncheon at Stora Hotel. But I have to say, I don’t know how she always manages to …’

  She sighed, but Erica could see her annoyance was gone. Sometimes you simply had to accept the situation. And nobody was particularly surprised. Anna always made things more complicated in some way.

  The church bells began to toll, and Erica handed the bridal bouquet to Kristina.

  ‘It’s time,’ said Gunnar, giving his future wife a kiss on the cheek.

  He looked very elegant in his dark suit, and his friendly face shone as he looked at his bride. This is so good, thought Erica. This is splendid and good and just as it should be. She felt tears well up in her eyes, but she made an effort to pull herself together. She was a sentimental fool when it came to weddings. It would be nice if the make-u
p she was wearing would last at least until they stood at the altar.

  ‘All right, time for you to go in,’ said the church warden, motioning them forward.

  Erica cast a quick glance at the church door. No Anna. But they couldn’t wait any longer.

  The organist began playing the wedding march. Hand in hand, Kristina and Gunnar walked up the centre aisle. Erica took Maja’s hand and had to smile when she saw how seriously her daughter was taking her role in the procession. She glided up the aisle, waving like a queen to all the guests.

  At the altar, Erica and Maja took up position on the left while Kristina and Gunnar stepped in front of the pastor. Patrik was sitting in the front pew with Noel and Anton. He mouthed the words: ‘Where’s Anna?’ Erica discreetly shook her head and rolled her eyes. How embarrassing. And Emma was so looking forward to being a bridesmaid.

  The ceremony proceeded solemnly, and the bridal couple said ‘I do’ precisely as they should. Erica wiped away a tear but surprisingly managed to keep her composure. She smiled at Kristina as they waited for the music to start up before heading out of the church.

  But instead the organist began playing the wedding march again. Astonished, Erica looked up. Was the cantor drunk? But then she saw them. And suddenly she understood. All her worry vanished, and tears streamed down her cheeks. She looked at Kristina, who smiled and winked. She and Gunnar had stepped to the side and were now standing across from Erica and Maja.

  A quiet murmur passed through the crowd, and surprised looks followed the second bridal couple making their way to the altar. Anna turned to look at Erica as she passed. Erica was now crying so hard she could hardly breathe. Thankfully someone pressed a handkerchief into her hand, and when she looked up, she saw it was Patrik who had come over to her.

  Anna looked so beautiful. She had chosen a white gown with embroidery at the middle, which emphasized rather than tried to hide her pregnancy. She wore her blond hair loose, and the veil was fastened to a simple tiara. Erica recognized the veil. It was the same one she had worn when she married Patrik. The one their mother had also worn on her wedding day. Dan was handsome in a dark suit with a simple white shirt and dark blue tie. He was like a Viking with his broad shoulders and blond hair, yet the formal attire looked unexpectedly good on him.