Dark Secrets (25 page)

“I thought you’d never ask.”

They headed back into the school. Lisa had gone home after English; this was her shortest day. Hopefully she would be home by now. Vanja didn’t feel like calling to check; that would just mean her parents would be ready with their line of defense. They got in the car and Vanja put her foot down, ignoring the speed limit.

T
HEY DROVE
in silence, which suited Vanja very well. She felt no compulsion whatsoever to get to know the partner who had been forced upon her, and hoped this would be a very temporary arrangement. She already knew Sebastian wouldn’t make small talk to pass the time. Ursula had called him a “social meltdown.” She had also said it was much better when he kept quiet. As soon as he opened his mouth he was crass, sexist, critical, or just plain nasty. As long as he kept his mouth shut, he couldn’t infuriate you.

Just like Ursula, Vanja had been very annoyed when Torkel had introduced Sebastian and said that he would be working with them on this investigation. Not so much because it was Sebastian. True, she had heard more crap about him than the rest of the police service put together, but what bothered her most was that Torkel had made his decision without asking her. She knew he had no obligation to consult her on such matters, but even so… She felt as if they worked together so closely, and meant so much to each other in a professional capacity, that her views ought to be considered before a decision that would affect the entire team was made. Torkel was the best boss she had ever had, which was why she was so surprised when he made such major changes over her head. Over all their heads. Surprised and, to be honest, disappointed.

“What are the names of her parents?”

Vanja’s train of thought was interrupted. She turned to Sebastian, who hadn’t moved. He was still staring out of the side window.

“Erik and Ann-Charlotte. Why?”

“No reason.”

“It was in the case folder you were given.”

“I didn’t read it.”

Vanja couldn’t possibly have heard him correctly.

“You didn’t read it?”

“No.”

“Why are you actually part of this investigation?”

Vanja had been asking herself that question ever since she heard Torkel’s explanation of Sebastian’s presence, which had been vague, to say the least. Did he have some kind of hold over Torkel? No, that was impossible. Torkel would never jeopardize an investigation for personal reasons, whatever they might be. Sebastian’s answer came more quickly than she had expected.

“You need me. You’ll never solve this without me.”

Ursula was right. It was very easy to get annoyed with Sebastian Bergman.

Vanja parked the car and switched off the engine. She turned to Sebastian before they got out.

“One thing.”

“What?”

“We know she’s lying. We have proof. But I want her to talk. So we’re not going to go marching in and shove the evidence down her throat so that she doesn’t say a word. Okay?”

“Sure.”

“I know her. I’m leading. You keep quiet.”

“Like I said, you’ll hardly even notice I’m there.” Vanja gave him a look that made it clear she was serious, then she got out of the car and headed for the house. Sebastian followed.

Just as Vanja had hoped, Lisa was at home alone. She looked shocked when she saw Vanja and a strange man standing on the doorstep. She tried a few feeble excuses, but Vanja walked straight in uninvited; she had made her decision, particularly when she learned Lisa was alone.

“It’ll only take a minute. We can talk in here.” Vanja led the way into the neat and tidy kitchen. Sebastian stayed in the background. He had greeted the girl pleasantly enough, then shut up. So far he was sticking to their agreement, Vanja was pleased to note. The truth was that he was incapable of speech at the moment. He had just spotted the bead picture of Jesus and was utterly dumbstruck. He had never seen anything like it.

“Sit down.” Vanja thought she detected a slight change in the girl’s expression. She seemed more tired. She didn’t have the same defiant fire in her eyes; it was as if her defenses had begun to crack. Vanja tried to sound as amenable as possible. She didn’t want her words to seem aggressive.

“Let me explain, Lisa. We have a problem. A big problem. We
know
Roger wasn’t here at nine o’clock that Friday evening. We know where he was, and we can prove it.” Was she imagining it, or had Lisa’s shoulders relaxed and dropped a fraction?

But she didn’t say anything.

Not yet.

Vanja leaned forward and touched her hand, her tone softer now.

“Lisa, you have to tell us the truth. I don’t know why you’re lying. But you can’t do it anymore. Not for our sake, but for your own.”

“I want my parents here,” Lisa managed to say. Vanja kept her hand on the girl.

“Is that what you really want? Do you really want them to know you’re lying?” For the first time Vanja saw that fleeting flicker of weakness that usually precedes the truth.

“Roger was on Gustavsborgsgatan at five past nine. He was caught on CCTV. Gustavsborgsgatan is quite a way from here,” Vanja went on. “I should imagine your boyfriend left here at about quarter past eight. Half past at the latest. If he was here at all.”

She didn’t go on. She looked at Lisa, whose expression was weary and resigned. All trace of defiance and teenage cockiness was gone. She just looked worried. A worried child.

“They’ll be so angry,” she said eventually. “Mom and Dad.”

“If they find out.” Vanja squeezed the girl’s hand, which seemed to be getting warmer and warmer as their conversation went on.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” Lisa said suddenly, and the forbidden words were the beginning of the end. Her defenses were down. She pulled away from Vanja and buried her face in her hands. She released a long, almost relieved sigh. Secrets are a heavy burden, and carrying them is a lonely business.

“He wasn’t my boyfriend.”

“Sorry?”

Lisa raised her head and her voice slightly.

“He wasn’t my boyfriend.”

“No?”

Lisa shook her head and turned away from Vanja. She gazed unseeingly into the distance. Out the window. As if she wished she could go there. Get away.

“So what was he then? What were you up to?”

Lisa shrugged her shoulders.

“We weren’t up to anything. He was approved.”

“What do you mean, ‘approved’?”

Lisa turned her head and gazed wearily at Vanja. Didn’t she get it?

“Approved by your parents, you mean?”

Lisa dropped her hands and nodded.

“I was allowed to go out with him. Or spend time alone with him at home. Although we always went out.”

“But not together.”

Lisa shook her head.

“So you’ve got another boyfriend?” Lisa nodded again, and for the first time the look she gave Vanja was pure pleading. A girl whose life presumably consisted of being the perfect daughter, a mask that was about to slip off.

“A boyfriend your parents don’t like?”

“They’d kill me if they knew.”

Vanja looked at the bead picture again. It meant something different now.
I am the Way.
Not if you’re sixteen years old and in love with the wrong boy.

“You know we’re going to have to speak to this boy? But your parents don’t need to know, I promise.”

Lisa nodded. She could no longer fight. The truth shall set you free, the youth leader at church always said whenever he got the chance. For a long time Lisa had included these words in the growing tissue of lies she had been forced to live by for so many years. But right now, at this particular moment, she realized they had to be recataloged. The truth shall set you free, and it shall make your parents fucking furious. No question. But at least it was the truth, and it did actually feel liberating.

“What’s wrong with him? Too old? Criminal record? Drugs? Muslim?”

The questions came from Sebastian. Vanja looked at him and his expression was apologetic. She nodded; it was okay.

“There’s nothing wrong with him,” said Lisa, shrugging her shoulders. “It’s just that he’s not… all this.” Lisa’s small gesture encompassed not only the house but the entire area, the tidy gardens in front of the houses that were exactly the right size on the quiet street. Sebastian understood completely. He had been unable to analyze his own situation and express it in the same way when he was Lisa’s age, but he recognized the feeling. The security that became a prison. The care and consideration that became suffocating. The conventions that turned into chains.

Vanja took her hand again. Lisa let her do it, or, to be more accurate, she seemed to want it.

“Was Roger here at all?”

Lisa nodded.

“But only until a quarter past eight. Until we were absolutely sure Mom and Dad had gone.”

“And where did he go then?”

Lisa shook her head.

“I don’t know.”

“Was he meeting someone?”

“I think so. He usually did.”

“Who?”

“I don’t know. Roger never told me. He liked having secrets.”

Sebastian looked at Lisa and Vanja, sitting close together at the spotless table and talking about an evening that had contained everything but Roger. The tidy kitchen reminded him of his own childhood home and those of all their neighbors, people who had been so happy to associate with his successful parents. To be honest, he felt as if he’d walked into a version of his own fucking upbringing. He had always fought against it. Seen the superficial maintenance of order and convention, never love or courage. Sebastian’s estimation of the girl sitting at the table was going up all the time. She could turn into something quite special. A secret lover at the age of sixteen. Her parents were going to have a lot of trouble with her when she was older. This cheered him up.

They heard the front door open, and a voice shouted brightly from the hallway: “Lisa, we’re home!”

Lisa pulled back her hand reflexively and stiffened in her chair. Vanja quickly pushed her card across.

“Send me a text to let me know how I can get hold of your boyfriend, and we won’t talk about it now.” Lisa nodded, grabbed the card, and just managed to slip it into her pocket. Her father came in first.

“What are you doing here?” The pleasant tone of voice from the hallway was gone.

Vanja stood up and faced him with a smile that was rather too cheerful. A smile that made him realize he was too late. Vanja was satisfied. Erik did his best to reestablish his authority.

“I thought we had agreed that you were not to speak to my daughter unless I was present. This is completely unacceptable!”

“It’s not up to you to make that decision, and in any case we just wanted to check a couple of details with Lisa. We’re leaving now.” Vanja turned and smiled at Lisa, who didn’t notice because her gaze
was fixed on the table. Sebastian got up. Vanja headed for the door, passing Lisa’s parents on the way.

“I don’t think we’ll need to disturb you again.” Erik looked from Vanja to his daughter, and back to Vanja again. For a few seconds he didn’t know what to say, but then he trotted out the only viable threat he could come up with.

“I will be contacting your superior officer, make no mistake. You won’t get away with this.” Vanja couldn’t even bring herself to respond; she just carried on toward the door. She had what she came for. Then suddenly she heard Sebastian’s voice behind her. It sounded particularly powerful, as if he had been waiting a long time for this moment.

“There is one thing you ought to know,” he said as he pushed his chair toward the table with an almost exaggerated movement. “Your daughter has been lying to you.”

What the fuck is he doing!
Vanja turned around in shock and flashed Sebastian a dirty look. For Sebastian to be a pig in his dealings with colleagues and other adults was one thing, but to betray a child! For no reason. Lisa looked as if she wanted to slide under the table and disappear. Her father said nothing. Everyone was staring at the man who had become the kitchen’s focus.

It was moments like this that Sebastian Bergman had missed the most during his self-imposed absence. He took his time; it was important to make the most of the magic. It didn’t come that often these days.

“Roger left much earlier on that Friday than Lisa was prepared to admit initially.”

Lisa’s parents looked at each other, and her mother broke the silence.

“Our daughter does not lie.”

Sebastian took a couple of steps toward them.

“Yes, she does.” He had no intention of letting the real liars get away. Not now, when he had them on the hook. “But the question you should be asking is why she lies. Perhaps there’s a reason she daren’t tell you the truth.”

Sebastian fell silent and stared at the parents. The spotless kitchen
was heavy with anxiety about what was to come. What he was going to say next. Vanja’s brain was working overtime. How could she get a foothold in the quicksand in which she suddenly found herself? The only thing she could come up with was a faint plea.

“Sebastian…”

Sebastian didn’t even register her presence. He dominated the room, holding the life of a sixteen-year-old girl in his hands. Why should he listen to anyone else?

“Lisa and Roger had a quarrel that evening. He left at eight. They quarreled and he died. How do you think that makes her feel? If they hadn’t quarreled, he would still be alive today. It was her fault that he left early. That’s a huge burden of guilt for a young girl to carry.”

“Is this true, Lisa?” Her mother’s voice was pleading, and her eyes had begun to fill with tears. Lisa looked at her parents as if she had just woken from a dream and didn’t really know what was true or false anymore. Sebastian winked at her discreetly. He was enjoying himself.

“What Lisa did wasn’t really lying. It’s more of a defense mechanism, something that enabled her to carry on, to cope with the guilt. That’s why I’m telling you,” said Sebastian, adopting a serious expression as he looked at Lisa’s parents. Then he lowered his voice in order to further stress the gravity of the situation. “It’s important now for Lisa to realize she’s done nothing wrong.”