LITMIR.BIZ

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of his eye, he caught the flash of something bright, and he turned his head to look at the water.

      ‘Rocky!’ he shouted, alarm evident in his voice. The dog had wandered out on to the ice. He was almost twenty yards out, standing there with his head lowered. When he heard Göte yelling, he started barking wildly and pawing at the ice. Göte held his breath. If it had been a bitterly cold winter, he wouldn’t have been so concerned. Many times, usually just after New Year’s, he and Britt-Marie had packed sandwiches and a thermos of coffee and walked across the ice to one of the nearby islands. But this year the water had alternately frozen and thawed, and he knew the ice wasn’t to be trusted.

      ‘Rocky!’ he shouted again. ‘Come here!’ He tried to sound as stern as he could, but the dog ignored him.

      Göte now had only one thought in his head. He couldn’t lose Rocky. The dog would die if he fell through the ice and landed in the frigid water, and Göte simply couldn’t bear for that to happen. They’d been companions for ten years, and in his mind he had pictured so many scenes of his future grandchild playing with the dog. He just couldn’t imagine being without Rocky.

      He walked along the shoreline, then put out one foot to test the ice. Thousands of hairline cracks instantly appeared on the surface, but the ice held. Apparently it was thick enough to bear his weight, so he headed towards Rocky, who was still barking and pawing at the ice.

      ‘Come here, boy,’ coaxed Göte, but the dog stayed where he was, refusing to budge.

      The ice felt more solid here than near the shoreline, but Göte still decided to minimize the risk by lying down on his stomach. With an effort he dropped down and then stretched out, trying to ignore the cold that pierced right through him even though he was bundled up in his winter clothes.

      It was difficult to move forward on his stomach. His feet kept slipping when he tried to get some traction, and he wished that he’d been a little less vain and had worn shoes with cleats. That was what every sensible retiree did in Sweden when it was slippery outside.

      He glanced about and discovered two sticks that he might be able to use instead. He managed to drag himself over to them and then began using them as improvised ice cleats. Now it was easier, and inch by inch he made his way towards the dog. Occasionally he tried calling Rocky again, but the dog was so interested in whatever he had found that he refused to take his eyes off it even for a second.

      When Göte had almost reached Rocky, he heard the ice start to crack and protest under his weight. He allowed himself to think how ironic it would be if he’d spent months and months regaining his mobility, only to fall through the ice at Sälvik and drown. But the ice continued to hold, and he was now so close that he could stretch out his hand to touch Rocky’s fur.

      ‘Okay, boy, you shouldn’t be out here,’ he said soothingly, sliding forward a little more in an attempt to grab the dog’s collar. He had no idea how he was going to drag both himself and an intractable dog back to shore. But somehow he would manage.

      ‘Now what’s so interesting out here, anyway?’ He grabbed Rocky’s collar. Then he looked down.

      At that moment his mobile rang in his pocket.

      As usual, it was hard to get anything done on a Monday morning. Patrik was sitting at his desk with his feet propped up on the edge. He was staring at a photo of Magnus Kjellner, as if willing the man to reveal where he was. Or rather, where his remains were.

      Patrik was also worried about Christian. He pulled out the right-hand desk drawer and took out the little plastic bag containing the letter and card. He would have liked to send both to the lab for analysis to look for fingerprints. But there was so little to go on, and nothing specific had happened yet. Not even Erica, who unlike Patrik had read all the letters, could say for sure that someone was intending to harm Christian. But her gut told her he was in danger. And Patrik felt the same way. They both sensed something malevolent in the words. He had to smile at himself. What a word to choose. Malevolent. Not a very scientific description. But the letters seemed to convey an intent to do harm. That was the best way he could describe it. And that feeling made him very uneasy.

      He’d discussed things with Erica when she came back from visiting Christian. He had wanted to go over there and have a talk with him too, but Erica had dissuaded him. She didn’t think Christian would be receptive to the idea, and she asked Patrik to wait until the newspaper headlines had calmed down a bit. He had agreed. But now that he sat in his office staring at the elegant handwriting, he wondered whether he’d made the right decision.

      He gave a start when the phone rang.

      ‘Patrik Hedström,’ he said. He put the plastic bag back in the desk drawer, which he then closed. Suddenly he froze. ‘Excuse me? What?’ He listened tensely, and as soon as he put down the phone, he went into action. He made several quick calls before dashing out into the hall and knocking on Mellberg’s door. He went right in, without waiting for an answer, and woke up both the master and his dog.

      ‘What the devil …’ Mellberg hauled himself upright from his slumped position in his office chair and stared at Patrik.

      ‘Didn’t you ever learn to knock before entering?’ The police chief straightened his comb-over. ‘Well? Can’t you see that I’m busy? What do you want?’

      ‘I think we’ve found Magnus Kjellner.’

      Mellberg sat up straighter. ‘Is that right? So where is he? On an island in the Caribbean?’

      ‘Not exactly. He’s under the ice. Off of Sälvik.’

      ‘Under the ice?’

      Ernst could sense the tension in the air, and he pricked up his ears.

      ‘An old man who was out there with his dog just called to report finding a body. Of course we can’t be sure that it’s Magnus Kjellner, since the body hasn’t been identified yet. But it seems highly likely.’

      ‘So what the hell are we waiting for?’ said Mellberg, jumping to his feet. He grabbed his jacket and pushed past Patrik. ‘I can’t understand why you’re all such bumblers at this station! How long does it take to spit out the news? Let’s go! You’re driving!’

      Mellberg ran towards the garage, while Patrik hurried to his office to get his jacket. He sighed. He would have preferred not to take his boss along, but at the same time he knew that Mellberg wouldn’t want to miss the chance to be in the centre of all the action. As long as he didn’t have to do any of the real work, that is.

      ‘Okay, step on it!’ Mellberg was already sitting in the passenger seat. Patrik got in behind the wheel and turned the key in the ignition.

      ‘Is this your first time on TV?’ chirped the woman doing his make-up.

      Christian met her glance in the mirror and nodded. His mouth was dry and his hands sweaty. Two weeks ago he’d accepted the invitation to appear on the Morning show on TV4, a decision that he now bitterly regretted. During the long train ride to Stockholm the night before, he’d had to fight the impulse to turn around and go home.

      Gaby had been overjoyed when the producer from TV4 had called. He said they’d heard rumours that a new star in the author firmament was about to be discovered, and they wanted to be the first to book him for a television interview. Gaby had explained to Christian that there was no better marketing opportunity, and he would sell tons of books just from a brief appearance.

      And he’d allowed himself to be seduced by the idea. He’d asked for time off from his job at the library, and Gaby had bought his train ticket and made his hotel reservation in Stockholm. At first he’d felt quite excited about being on TV to promote The Mermaid. But the newspaper placards over the weekend had ruined everything. How could he have allowed Gaby to talk him into this? He’d lived such a reclusive life for so many years, and he’d convinced himself that by now it would be okay to step forward. Even when the letters started arriving, he had continued to live under the misconception that everything was over, that he was safe.

      The newspaper

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