She was well aware of the impression she made, thanks to the mirror at home. Now she exploited it fully as she paused in front of the men, slowly removing her gloves, and then letting them shake her hand, one by one.
With great satisfaction she could tell she was having an effect. Two of them sat there gaping like fish, as they held on to her hand a trifle too long. But the third man was different. To her astonishment Agnes felt her heart give a leap. The big, burly man hardly looked up at her and only took her hand briefly. The hands of the other two men had felt soft and almost feminine against hers, but this man's hand was different. She could feel the calluses scraping against her palm, and his fingers were long and strong. For a moment she considered not letting go of his hand, but she caught herself and merely nodded to him demurely. His eyes, which only looked into hers fleetingly, were brown, and she guessed there was Walloon blood in his family.
After the introductions she hurried to sit down on a chair in the corner and clasped her hands in her lap. She could see that her father hesitated for a moment. He probably would rather have sent her out of the room, but she put on her most angelic expression and gave him an entreating look. As usual he did as she wished. Wordlessly he nodded that she could stay. She decided for a change to sit as quiet as a little churchmouse so as not to risk being sent out of the room like a child. She didn't want to be subjected to that sort of treatment in front of this man.
Normally after an hour of silent participation she would have been almost in tears from boredom, but not this time. The hour flew past, and by the time the meeting was over, Agnes was sure of her cause. She wanted this man, more than she had ever wanted anything else.
And what she wanted, she usually got.
'Shouldn't we visit Niclas?' Asta implored her husband. But she saw no sign of sympathy in his stony expression.
'1 told you his name must never be mentioned in my house again!' Arne stared hard out of the kitchen window, and there was nothing but granite in his gaze.
'Hut after what happened to the girl…'
'God's punishment. Didn't I tell you that would happen someday? No, this is all his own fault. If he'd listened to me it never would have happened. Nothing bad happens to God-fearing people. And now we shall speak no more of this!' His fist slammed the table.
Asta sighed to herself. Of course she respected her husband, and he did usually know best, but in this case she wondered if he might not be wrong. Something in her heart told her that this couldn't be consistent with God's wishes. Surely they should rush to their son's side when such a terrible blow had struck him. True, she had never got to know the girl, but she was still their own flesh and blood, and children did belong to the kingdom of God, that's what it said in the Bible. But these were only the thoughts of a lowly woman. Arne was a man, after all, and he knew best. It had always been that way. Like so many times before, she kept her thoughts to herself and got up to clear the table.
Too many years had passed since she had seen her son. They did run into each other occasionally, of course; that was unavoidable now that he had moved back to Fjallbacka, but she knew better than to stop and talk to him. He had tried to speak to her a few times, but she always looked away and just walked off briskly, as she had been instructed to do. But she hadn't cast down her eyes quickly enough to avoid seeing the hurt in her son's eyes.
Yet the Bible said that one should honour one's father and mother, and what had happened on that day so long ago was, as far as she could see, a breach of God's word. That's why she couldn't let him back into her heart.
She gazed at Arne as he sat at the table. His back was still as straight as a fir tree, and his dark hair had not thinned, in spite of a few flecks of grey. But they were both over seventy. She remembered how all the girls had run after him when they were young, but Arne had never seemed the least bit interested. He had married her when she was just eighteen, and as far as she knew he had never even looked at another woman. Not that he had been particularly keen on carnal matters at home either. Asta's mother had always said it was a woman's duty to endure that aspect of marriage. It was not something to enjoy, so Asta had considered herself fortunate since she had no great expectations.
Nevertheless, they did have a son. A big, splendid, blond boy, who was the spitting image of his mother but had few traits from his father. Maybe that was why things had gone so wrong. If he'd been more like his father, then Arne might have had more of a connection with his son. But that was not to be. The boy had been hers from the start, and she had loved him as much as she could. But it wasn't enough. Because when the decisive day arrived and she was forced to choose between the boy and his father, she had let her son down. How could she have done otherwise? A wife must stand by her husband, she had been taught that since childhood. But sometimes, in bleak moments, when the lamp was off and she lay in bed looking up at the ceiling, then the thoughts would come. She would wonder how something she had learned to be right could feel so wrong. That was why it was such a relief that Arne always knew exactly how things should be. Many times he had told her that a woman's judgement was not to be trusted; it was the man's job to lead the woman. There was security in that. Since her father had been like Arne in many ways, a world in which the man decided was the only world she knew. And he was so smart, her Arne. Everyone agreed about that.
Even the new pastor had praised Arne recently. He had said I hat Arne was the most reliable sexton he had ever had the privilege to work with, and God could be grateful to have such loyal servants. Arne had told her this, swelling with pride, when he had come home. But it was not for nothing that Arne had been the sexton in Fjallbacka for twenty years. Not counting the unfortunate years when that woman was the pastor here, of course. Asia would not want those years back for anything in the world. Thank goodness the woman finally understood that she wasn't wanted, and stepped aside to make way for a real pastor. How poor Arne had suffered during that woman's tenure. For the first time in more than fifty years of marriage Asta had seen her husband get tears in his eyes. The thought of a woman in the pulpit of his beloved church had almost destroyed him. But he'd also said that he trusted that God would finally cast the moneylenders out of the temple. And this time, too, Arne was right.
Her only wish was that he could somehow find room in his heart to forgive his son for what had happened. Until then she would never again have a day of happiness. But she also realized that if Arne could not forgive Niclas now, after this terrible incident, there was no hope of reconciliation.
If only she had gotten to know the girl. Now it was too late.
Two days had passed since Sara was found. The prevailing gloom of that day had inexorably dispersed as they were forced to go back to their daily responsibilities which hadn't disappeared because a child had died.
Patrik was writing up the last lines of a report on an assault case, when the telephone rang. He saw from the display who was calling and picked up the receiver with a sigh. Just as well to get it over with. He heard the familiar voice of Medical Examiner Tord Pedersen on the other end. They exchanged polite greetings before they broached the actual reason for the call. The first indication that Patrik was not hearing what he had expected was that a furrow formed between his eyebrows. After another minute it had deepened, and when he had heard everything the M.E. had to report he slammed down the receiver with a bang. He tried to collect himself for a minute as the thoughts swirled in his head. Then he got up, grabbed the notebook he'd been writing in as they talked, and went into Martin's office. Actually he should have gone to Bertil Mellberg first, being the chief of police, but he felt that he needed to discuss the information he had received with someone he trusted. Unfortunately his boss was not in that category. Martin was the only one of his colleagues who qualified.
'Martin?'
He was on the phone when Patrik came in, but he motioned towards a chair. The conversation sounded like it was winding down, and Martin concluded it cryptically with a quiet 'hmm… sure… me too… hmm… likewise,' as he flushed from his scalp downwards.
Despite his own concerns, Patrik couldn't resist teasing his young colleague a little. 'So who were you talking to?'
He got an inaudible mumble in reply from Martin, whose face flushed even more.
