Buried Angels (51 page)

‘That doesn’t mean there couldn’t be others.’ Patrik stepped forward and took the key. ‘Where is this air-raid shelter?’

‘In the basement, behind a secret door. It’s impossible to find if you don’t know where to look,’ said Leon.

‘Is that where Ebba might be?’ Ia had turned very pale.

‘That’s a reasonable guess,’ said Patrik, heading for the front door.

Martin pointed at Percy. ‘What do we do about him?’

Patrik turned, walked straight over to Percy, and took away the gun before he could even react. ‘That’s the end of this nonsense. We’ll straighten everything out later. Martin, you call for back-up while we drive, and I’ll phone the Coast Guard to tell them we need a lift. Which one of you is going out there to show us where this air-raid shelter is?’

‘I’ll go,’ said Josef, getting up.

‘I’ll go too,’ said Ia.

‘One person is enough.’

Ia shook her head. ‘I’m coming too, and there’s nothing you can say that will stop me.’

‘Okay, come on then.’ Patrik motioned for them to follow.

On the way out to the cars, he practically collided with Mellberg.

‘Is John Holm inside?’ asked Mellberg.

Patrik nodded. ‘Yes, but we have to go out to Valö. Erica and Gösta are in trouble.’

‘Oh?’ said Mellberg, puzzled. ‘But I’ve just been talking to Kjell and Sven here, and apparently the Göteborg police are looking for John. They don’t know that he’s here, so I thought …’

‘He’s all yours,’ said Patrik.

‘Where are you going?’ Kjell Ringholm came over to join them, along with a blond man who seemed vaguely familiar.

‘Another police matter. If you’re looking for John Holm, he’s inside. Mellberg is at your disposal.’

Then Patrik ran for the car. Martin was close on his heels, but Josef and Ia were slow to catch up, and Patrik impatiently held the back door open for them. It was against all regulations to take civilians along to a potentially dangerous situation, but he needed their help.

During the boat ride out to Valö, he paced restlessly in the bow, as if that might get them there faster. Behind him Martin was talking to Josef and Ia, instructing them to keep out of the way as best they could and follow directions. He couldn’t help smiling. Over the years Martin had developed from a high-strung and tense cadet into a stable and reliable officer.

As they approached Valö, Patrik gripped the railing hard. At least once a minute he glanced at his mobile, but no more messages had come in. He had considered sending a reply to say they were on their way, but he decided not to, in case it gave away the fact that Erica had a phone.

He noticed that Ia was watching him. There were so many things he wanted to ask her. Why had she fled and never returned until now? What role had she played in the death of her father and the rest of the family? But those questions would have to wait. There’d be time enough later on to get to the bottom of things. Right now he needed to focus on the fact that Erica was in danger. Nothing else mattered. He’d been so close to losing her in the car accident a year and a half ago. That was when he realized how much he depended on her, and what a huge place she had in his life and his future.

When they jumped ashore, he and Martin both took out their service weapons, as if on cue. They motioned for Josef and Ia to keep behind. Then they cautiously started walking towards the house.

Percy was staring at some indefinable point on the wall. ‘Oh well,’ he said.

‘What the hell’s the matter with you?’ John ran his hand through his blond hair. ‘Were you planning to shoot all of us?’

‘Hmm. Actually I was only thinking of shooting myself. I just wanted to have a little fun with you first. Scare you a bit.’

‘Why would you want to kill yourself?’ Leon looked at his old friend with a tender expression. Percy was so fragile in spite of his haughty manner, and Leon had noticed even back on Valö that he might fall to pieces at any time. It was a miracle that he hadn’t. It had been easy to see that Percy would have a hard time living with the memories, but perhaps he’d also inherited a capacity for denial.

‘Sebastian has stripped me of everything. And Pyttan has left me. I’m going to be a laughing-stock.’

Sebastian threw out his hands. ‘Who uses the word “laughing-stock” these days?’

They were like children. Leon could clearly see that now. They were all suffering from arrested development. They were still out there on the island, living in their memories. Compared to them, he was actually much better off. He looked at these men and saw them as the boys they once were. And no matter how odd it might seem, he felt a kind of love for them. They had shared an experience that had shaken them to the core and shaped their lives. The bond between them was so strong that it could never be severed. He’d always known that he would return, that this day would arrive, but he hadn’t thought that Ia would be at his side when it happened. Her courage surprised him. Maybe he had deliberately chosen to underestimate her so as not to feel guilt about her sacrifice, which was greater than anyone else’s.

And why was Josef the one who stood up and offered to go along? Leon thought that he knew the answer. The minute Josef had come in the door today, Leon had seen in his eyes that he was ready to die. It was a look that he recognized. He’d seen it on Mount Everest when they got caught in a sudden storm, and in the life raft after the ship went down in the Indian Ocean. The look in the eyes of a person who had let go of life.

‘I have no intention of taking part in any of this,’ said John, getting up and straightening the creases in his trousers. ‘This farce has been going on long enough. I’ll deny everything. There’s no proof; all they have is your word for it.’

‘John Holm?’ said a voice from the doorway.

John turned.

‘Bertil Mellberg? That’s all we need,’ he said. ‘What do you want? If you’re planning to talk to me with that same tone of voice as before, you’ll have to speak to my lawyer.’

‘I have no comment about that.’

‘Fine. Then I’m going home. Nice to see you.’ John started for the door, but Mellberg blocked his way. Behind him stood three men, and one of them was holding a big camera, snapping one picture after another.

‘You’re going to have to come with me,’ said Mellberg.

John sighed. ‘What kind of nonsense is this? It’s nothing but harassment, pure and simple, and I promise you there will be repercussions.’

‘You are hereby arrested for conspiring to commit murder, and you will come with me immediately,’ said Mellberg, smiling broadly.

Leon watched the whole scene from his wheelchair, while Percy and Sebastian also eagerly followed what was happening. John’s face was now bright red, and he made an effort to push past, but Mellberg shoved him up against the wall and then clumsily brought his wrists together so he could put the cuffs on him. The photographer carried on snapping pictures as the two other men stepped closer.

‘What do you have to say about the fact that the police have uncovered a plot that you and the Friends of Sweden call “Project Gimle”?’ asked one of them.

John’s knees buckled, and Leon watched with even greater interest. Sooner or later everyone was held accountable for their actions. He felt a sudden flash of worry about Ia, but he pushed it aside. No matter what happened, it was predestined. She needed to do this in order to be rid of the guilt and regret that had forced her to live all these years for his sake alone. Her love for him had bordered on obsession, but he knew that she had burned with the same fire that had driven him to take on each new challenge. And finally they had burned together, sitting there in the car on that steep slope in Monaco. They had no choice but to see this through to the end, together. He was proud of her, he loved her, and now she would find her way back home at last. Today everything would finally be over, and he hoped that it would be a happy ending.

Tobias slowly opened his eyes and looked at them.

‘I was so tired.’

Neither Erica nor Gösta said a word. Suddenly Erica too felt overcome with weariness. The adrenalin had seeped out of her body, and the thought that her younger sister might be dead made her limbs feel as heavy as lead. All she wanted to do was to lie down on the wooden floor and curl up into a ball. Close her eyes, fall asleep, and wake up when this whole thing was over. One way or another.

She’d noticed that the display on Anna’s mobile was blinking. Dan. Good Lord, he must be beside himself with worry after reading the message she’d sent. But there was no reply from Patrik. Maybe he was so busy with something that he hadn’t yet seen it.

Tobias continued to study them. His whole body was relaxed, his expression indifferent. Erica regretted not asking Ebba more about what had happened to their son. His death must have set something in motion, until Tobias finally slid into insanity. If only she knew what happened, she might have been able to talk to the man. They couldn’t just sit here, waiting for Tobias to kill them. And she had no doubt that murder was his intention. She had realized that as soon as she saw the cold look in his eyes. Gently she said:

‘Tell us about Vincent.’

At first he didn’t answer. She was aware only of Gösta’s breathing and the sound of distant motorboats. She waited, and finally he said in a flat voice:

‘He’s dead.’

‘What happened?’

‘It was Ebba’s fault.’

‘Why was it Ebba’s fault?’

‘I never really understood it until now.’

‘Did she kill him?’ Erica asked, holding her breath. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw that Gösta was following the conversation intently. ‘Is that why you tried to kill Ebba?’

Tobias was playing with the gun, shifting it from one hand to the other.

‘I didn’t mean for the fire to get so big,’ he said, placing the gun on his lap again. ‘I only wanted her to realize that she needed me. That I could protect her.’

‘Was that also why you shot at her?’

‘Ebba needed to understand that she and I had to stick together. But it didn’t matter. I know that now. She manipulated me so that I wouldn’t see the obvious. That she killed him.’ He nodded, as if to add emphasis to his words, and his expression scared Erica so badly that it was all she could do to stay calm.

‘She killed Vincent?’

‘Yes, she did. And I finally understood everything after she went to stay with you. She inherited the guilt. That much evil can’t simply disappear.’

‘Are you talking about her great-great-grandmother? The Angelmaker?’ said Erica in surprise.

‘Yes. Ebba said that she drowned the children in a basin and buried them in the cellar because she thought nobody wanted them, that no one would ever come back to get them. But I wanted Vincent. I went looking for him, but he was already gone. She drowned him. He was buried with the other dead children and couldn’t come back up.’ Tobias spat out the words, leaving a trail of saliva trickling from the corner of his mouth.

Erica realized that it would do no good to try talking to him. Different realities had merged, creating a strange shadowland where he could not be reached. Seized with panic, she glanced across at Gösta. His resigned expression told her that he had come to the same conclusion. All they could do was pray and hope that they’d somehow survive this situation.

‘Shh,’ said Tobias suddenly, straightening up.

Both Erica and Gösta flinched when they saw him move.

‘Somebody’s coming.’ Tobias grabbed the gun and jumped to his feet. ‘Shh,’ he said again, putting his finger to his lips.

He dashed over to the window and peered out. For a moment he stood still, as if considering his options. Then he turned and pointed at Gösta and Erica.

‘You two stay here. I’m going now. I need to guard them. They can’t be allowed to find them.’

‘What are you talking about?’ Erica couldn’t stop herself from asking. The hope that someone was on the way to help them was mixed with the fear that Anna’s life was in danger, if it wasn’t already too late. ‘Where’s my sister? You have to tell me where Anna is.’ Her voice rose to a falsetto.

Gösta placed his hand on Erica’s arm to calm her.

‘We’ll wait here, Tobias. We’re not going anywhere,’ he said. ‘We’ll be here when you get back.’ He kept his eyes fixed on Tobias.

Finally Tobias nodded, turned on his heel, and rushed downstairs. Erica wanted to jump up and run after him, but Gösta gripped her arm firmly and hissed:

‘Calm down. We need to look out the window first, to see where he’s going.’

‘But Anna …’ she said in despair, trying to pull her arm loose.

Gösta refused to yield. ‘Stop and think before rushing into this. We’ll check outside, then we’ll go downstairs and find whoever it is who just arrived. Probably Patrik and the others, and then we’ll get them to help.’

‘Okay,’ said Erica, as she stood up. Her legs felt wobbly and numb.

Cautiously she and Gösta peered outside, trying to see Tobias.

‘Do you see anyone?’

‘No,’ said Gösta. ‘Do you?’

‘No. He couldn’t have gone down to the dock, because he’d run right into the arms of whoever’s coming here.’

‘He must have gone around to the back of the house. Where else could he have gone?’

‘I don’t see him, at any rate. I’m going downstairs now.’

Cautiously Erica made her way down to the front hall. The house was quiet. She didn’t hear any voices, but she knew that they would be trying to approach as soundlessly as possible. She peered out the open front door and felt sobs rise up in her throat. There was no one there.

At that instant she noticed something moving among the trees. She squinted to get a better look and relief welled up inside of her. It was Patrik, and right behind him were Martin and two other people. It took a moment for her to recognize Josef Meyer. Next to him was an elegantly dressed woman. Could that be Ia Kreutz? She waved so that Patrik would see her and then went back inside the house.

‘We’ll stay here,’ she told Gösta, who had come downstairs.

They took up position close to the wall so that they wouldn’t be visible through the doorway. Tobias could be anywhere, and she didn’t want to risk becoming a target.