The Ice Child

by Camilla Lackberg

  ‘No. I think it has to be either the first or second option,’ said Patrik, looking at Gösta, who nodded agreement.

  ‘Then we need to talk to Jonas again,’ said Martin. ‘Is it possible that Marta and Molly were not kidnapped by the same perpetrator as the other girls? Could Marta have taken Molly with her and fled so she wouldn’t be arrested for murder? Maybe Jonas knows where they are and this is all a sham.’

  ‘In that case, he’s an awfully good actor, and—’ Patrik stopped when he heard footsteps out in the corridor. He was surprised to see his wife come into the room.

  ‘Hi,’ said Erica. ‘The front door was open, so I came in.’

  Patrik stared at her. ‘What are you doing here? And where are the children?’

  ‘I phoned Anna and asked her to come over.’

  ‘But why?’ said Patrik before he remembered that he’d asked her for a favour. Had she found something? He gave her an enquiring look, and she nodded.

  ‘I’ve found a common denominator for the missing girls. And I also think I know why Minna is different from the others.’

  Bedtime was the hour that Laila hated most. In the darkness of night her life would catch up with her, everything that she’d managed to suppress in the daytime. At night the evil could once again reach her. She knew it was out there. It was just as real as the walls of her room and the much too hard mattress of her bed.

  Laila stared up at the ceiling. It was pitch-dark in the room. Just before she fell asleep, she sometimes felt herself hovering in the air, with the blackness threatening to swallow her whole.

  It was so strange to think that Vladek was dead. That was something she still had trouble comprehending. She could hear the sounds from the day they met, the happy laughter, the carnival music, the sounds of animals that she’d never heard before. And the smells were just as strong now as back then: popcorn, sawdust, grass, and sweat. But strongest of all was her memory of his voice. He had filled her heart even before she saw him. When her eyes met his, it was with a certainty in her gaze, and the next second she saw the same look on his face.

  She tried to recall whether she’d ever had any sort of premonition of the misfortune that would result from their meeting, but she couldn’t think of anything. They came from such different worlds and had led completely different lives, so naturally they’d had difficulties to overcome. But neither of them had ever had any notion of the disaster awaiting them. Not even Krystyna the fortune teller. Was she blind on that day? This woman who otherwise saw everything? Or had she seen but decided she was mistaken because she could tell how great their love was for each other?

  Back then nothing had seemed impossible. Nothing had seemed strange or wrong. Everything was centred around creating a future together, and life had duped them into believing that they would succeed. Maybe that was why later on the shock was so great, and why they dealt with it in such an indefensible manner. She had known from the start that it wasn’t right, but her survival instinct had taken precedence over her good sense. Now it was too late for regrets. All she could do was lie here in the dark and ponder their mistakes.

  Jonas was surprised by how calm he felt. He took time to make all the proper preparations. There were so many years of memories to choose from, and he wanted to make the right choice, because when he’d gone there would be no one to return to. And he didn’t think there was any hurry. Uncertainty had fuelled his anxiety, but now that he knew where Marta was, he could make his plans with an icy precision that helped him to keep his mind sharp and clear.

  He squinted into the dim light as he crouched down. One of the light bulbs had burned out, and he hadn’t got around to replacing it. That sort of neglect bothered him. It was important always to be prepared, to have everything in order, and to avoid mistakes.

  When he stood up he hit his head on the ceiling where it slanted downward. He swore loudly, and for a moment he permitted himself to draw the smell into his nostrils. They had so many memories in here, but the memories were not bound to a specific place and could be relived over and over. He touched the suitcase. If marvellous moments had size and shape, then this suitcase would be so heavy it would be impossible to lift. Instead it was light as a feather in his hand, and that surprised him.

  Cautiously he climbed up the ladder. He didn’t want to drop the suitcase. It contained not only his life, but a life shared in perfect harmony.

  Up until now he had been walking in someone else’s footsteps. He had continued something that had already been started and hadn’t yet put his own mark on it. Now it was time for him to step forward and leave the past behind. That didn’t scare him. On the contrary. All of a sudden he saw everything so clearly. The whole time he’d had the power to change it all, to break with the old and instead build something that was better and his own.

  The thought made him dizzy, and outside he closed his eyes and breathed in the cold night air. The ground seemed to be shaking and he held out his arms to keep his balance. He stood like that for a few minutes before he lowered his arms again and slowly opened his eyes.

  On impulse he went over to the stable. He pushed open the heavy door, turned on the light, and carefully set the suitcase with its precious contents on the floor next to the wall. Then he opened all the stalls and shooed the horses out. One by one the surprised horses walked out the stable door. They paused in the yard, sniffing at the air and neighing before they headed off, swishing their tails in the night air. He smiled as he saw them disappear into the dark. They would enjoy a brief period of freedom before being captured. He was on his way to a new kind of freedom, and he had no intention of ever being captured.

  It was so blessedly peaceful to sit here in her parents’ old house, where Erica and Patrik now lived, with only the sleeping children upstairs to keep her company. Here no guilt was hiding in the walls. Only memories from her childhood, and thanks to Erica and their father Tore, they were happy memories. Anna was no longer bitter or angry about her mother’s strange indifference to her daughters. Not after finding out why. And ever since then, Anna had felt only sympathy for Elsy, who had experienced something that had made her afraid to love her own children. She believed her mother had loved them, but she just hadn’t known how to show it. She hoped that Elsy was looking down on them from heaven and knew that her daughters understood and had forgiven her. She hoped Elsy knew that they loved her.

  She got up from the living-room sofa and began cleaning up a bit. Things were surprisingly neat and tidy for a change, and she smiled at the thought of Kristina and Mr Fix-it. Mothers-in-law were a breed all their own. Dan’s mother was the polar opposite of Kristina. She was almost too considerate, always apologizing for getting in the way whenever she came to visit. The question was, which kind was better. But it was probably the same thing with mothers-in-law as with children: you just had to take whatever you got. You could choose your husband, but not your mother-in-law.

  And she had chosen Dan with all her heart. Then she had betrayed him. The thought of what she’d done made her feel sick again. She rushed for the toilet. It felt like her whole stomach turned inside out as she threw up her dinner.

  Anna rinsed out her mouth. Beads of sweat appeared on her forehead and she splashed water on her face, taking a look at herself in the mirror. She almost took a step back when she saw the naked despair in her eyes. Was this what Dan saw every day? Was this why he couldn’t bring himself to look at her any more?

  The doorbell rang, startling her. Who would be coming over to see Erica and Patrik so late at night? Quickly she dried her face and went to the hall to open the door. There stood Dan.

  ‘What are you doing here?’ she asked in surprise before a feeling of dread sunk its claws into her. ‘The children? Did something happen to the children?’

  Dan shook his head. ‘No, everything’s fine. I wanted to talk to you, and I didn’t think it could wait, so I asked Belinda to come over and babysit for a while.’ Dan’s older daughter no longer lived at home with the
m, but sometimes she’d come over, much to the delight of her younger siblings. ‘But I have to go back soon.’

  ‘Okay.’ Anna looked at him, and he didn’t look away. ‘Can I come in? I’m freezing to death out here.’

  ‘Oh, sure, come on in,’ she said politely, as if speaking to a stranger, and stepped aside.

  So this was the end. He didn’t want to talk about it at home, with the children around and in the place that still held such good memories for them. Even though she’d started to long for all the anxiety and sorrow of their situation to come to an end, whatever that might mean, she now felt herself wanting to scream in protest. She didn’t want to lose the most precious thing she’d ever had. He was the great love of her life.

  With heavy steps she led the way into the living room, sat down, and waited. She immediately began thinking about practical matters. Erica and Patrik would probably let her and the children stay in their guestroom until she found a new flat. Tomorrow she’d pack up the essentials. Now that the decision had been made, they might as well move at once. No doubt Dan would be relieved by that. He must be as tired of living with her and all her guilty feelings as she was.

  She felt her heart sink when Dan came into the room. Wearily he ran his hand through his hair, and as so often before, she was struck by how handsome he was. It wouldn’t be hard for him to find someone else. Plenty of girls in Fjällbacka would have their eye on him … She forced such thoughts out of her mind. It was too painful to think of Dan in someone else’s arms. That was too much for her.

  ‘Anna …’ said Dan, sitting down next to her.

  She saw that he was struggling to find the right words, and for the thousandth time she wanted to shout: I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry! But she knew it was too late. She looked down at her lap and said quietly, ‘I understand. You don’t have to say anything. I’ll ask Patrik and Erica if we can stay here for a while. We can move out tomorrow and just take the essentials. I can get the rest of our things later.’

  Dan gave her a dismayed look. ‘Do you want to leave me?’

  Anna frowned. ‘No. But I thought that’s why you came here. To say that you’re leaving me. Isn’t that what you want?’ She could hardly breathe as she waited to hear his answer. There was a roaring in her ears and her heart was trembling with newly sparked hope.

  So many emotions flitted across Dan’s face that she couldn’t decipher them.

  ‘Dearest Anna, I’ve tried to imagine leaving you, but I can’t. Today Erica phoned me … and, well, she made me understand that I needed to do something if I didn’t want to lose you. I can’t promise this will be easy or that everything will suddenly be fine, but I can’t imagine life without you. And I want us to have a good life. We both seem to have lost our way for a while, but now we’re here, we have each other, and I want us to stay together.’

  He took her hand and pressed it to his cheek. She felt the stubble under her palm and wondered how many times she had stroked his face.

  ‘You’re shaking,’ said Dan, squeezing her hand tighter. ‘Is this what you want too? Do you want us to stay together?’

  ‘Yes,’ said Anna. ‘Yes, Dan. That’s what I want.’

  FJÄLLBACKA 1975

  The knives scared her more than anything else. Sharp and shiny, they would suddenly appear in places where they didn’t belong. At first she had merely picked them up and put them back in the kitchen drawer, hoping that her exhausted and beleaguered mind was just playing tricks on her. But then they’d turn up again. Next to the bed, in the chest of drawers with her underwear, on the coffee table in the living room. Lying there like some sort of macabre still-life, and she didn’t understand what it meant. She didn’t want to understand.

  One evening while sitting at the kitchen table, she felt a knife stab into her arm. The blow came out of nowhere, and she was surprised by the pain. Bright red, the blood gushed out of the wound. Mesmerized, she watched it for a moment before jumping up to dash to the worktop and grab a dishtowel to stanch the blood.

  It took time for the wound to heal. It got infected, and when she cleaned it, the pain was so bad that she had to bite her lip to keep from screaming. The gash needed to be stitched, but she simply taped it together as best she could. They had decided to avoid going to the doctor here in Fjällbacka.

  But she knew there would be more such wounds. A few days might pass peacefully, but then all hell would break loose, and an anger and a hatred that defied description would surface. She felt paralysed and powerless. Where did such evil come from? She suspected she would never find an answer to that question. And to be truthful, there probably was no answer.

  Chapter Twelve

  The kitchen was utterly quiet. Everyone was looking expectantly at Erica, who remained standing even though both Gösta and Martin had offered her their chair. There was so much nervous energy inside her that she knew she wouldn’t be able to sit still.

  ‘Patrik asked me to have a look at these interviews.’ She pointed to the box of DVDs that she’d placed on the floor.

  ‘Yes, I did. Erica is good at seeing things that other people may have missed,’ said Patrik apologetically, but no one seemed to have any objections.

  ‘At first I didn’t see anything worth noting, but the second time I watched them …’

  ‘Yes?’ said Gösta, his eyes fixed on her face.

  ‘I realized that the common denominator had nothing to do with the girls themselves. It had to do with their siblings.’

  ‘What do you mean?’ said Martin. ‘It’s true that all of them except for Minna and Victoria had younger sisters, but what does that have to do with the kidnappings?’

  ‘I’m not sure exactly. But all the sisters were videotaped in their own bedrooms, and they all had posters on the walls, plus those kinds of ribbons that are won in horseback-riding competitions. They’re all avid riders. And Victoria was too, even though she didn’t compete.’

  For a moment everyone was silent. The only sound was the chugging of the coffeemaker, and Erica could see that everyone was trying to put together the puzzle pieces.

  ‘But what about Minna?’ Gösta then said. ‘She didn’t have any younger siblings. And she wasn’t interested in horseback riding.’

  ‘Right. Exactly,’ said Erica. ‘And that’s why I don’t believe Minna was one of the perpetrator’s victims. It’s not even certain that she was kidnapped, or that she’s dead.’

  ‘Then where is she?’ asked Martin.

  ‘I don’t know. But I was thinking of ringing her mother tomorrow morning. I have a theory.’

  ‘Okay, but what conclusion can we draw from the fact that the missing girls had younger sisters involved in horseback riding?’ said Gösta, looking confused. ‘Aside from Victoria, none of the girls disappeared in the vicinity of any stable or jump-racing competition.’

  ‘But maybe the perpetrator was drawn to those sorts of settings and on some occasion had seen the girls in the stands because they happened to be watching their sisters ride. I thought we should check the date of their disappearances to see if any competitions were being held in the area at the time.’

  ‘If that was the case, wouldn’t one of the families have mentioned it?’ said Annika, pushing up her glasses, which had slid down her nose. ‘Wouldn’t they have said that they were attending a competition on the day their daughter went missing?’

  ‘They probably didn’t connect it to the disappearance. Everyone’s focus was on the girls and their circle of friends, their interests and activities, and so on. No one was thinking about the younger sisters.’

  ‘Bloody hell,’ said Patrik.

  Erica looked at him. ‘What is it?’

  ‘Jonas. Time after time he has turned up in the investigation in different connections: the ketamine, the row with Victoria, their purported relationship, Marta’s infidelity, and the blackmailing. And the whole time he has been chauffeuring his daughter around to various jump-racing competitions. Do you think he’s the one who c
ould have done it?’

  ‘He has an airtight alibi for the time of Victoria’s disappearance,’ Gösta pointed out.

  Patrik sighed. ‘I know. But we need to take a closer look at him now that so many things are pointing in his direction. Annika, could you try and find out whether there were any horseback-riding competitions on the days in question? And whether Molly Persson was on the participant list?’

  ‘Sure,’ said Annika. ‘I’ll see what I can find out.’

  ‘So maybe there wasn’t a break-in at the veterinary clinic, after all,’ said Gösta.

  ‘Right. Jonas might have reported it to the police in order to steer suspicion away from himself if Victoria was found. But aside from the issue of his alibi, there are still a lot of other questions. How was he able to kidnap the girls if both Molly and Marta were in the car? Where did he hold the girls captive? And where are they now?’

  ‘Maybe the same place as Molly and Marta,’ said Martin. ‘Maybe they found out what he’s been doing, and …’

  Patrik nodded. ‘That’s possible. We need to search their house again, and the rest of the farm too. Considering where Victoria turned up, she might have been held somewhere on the property. So let’s go out there again.’

  ‘Don’t we need to wait for a search warrant?’ asked Gösta.

  ‘We should, but there’s no time. Marta and Molly may be in serious danger.’

  Patrik went over to Erica and stared at her for a moment. Then he leaned down and gave her a big kiss, without worrying about the others in the room.

  ‘Good job, sweetheart.’

  Helga looked out of the window on the passenger side, her expression blank. The snow was falling heavily, and it was starting to look like the sort of blizzards they used to have in the past.

  ‘What are we doing?’ she asked.

  Jonas didn’t say anything, but she hadn’t really expected him to reply.