‘What’s on the agenda for today?’ said Erica, trying to keep her tone neutral.
Patrik was nibbling like a mouse at one corner of the crispbread; in the last fifteen minutes he hadn’t managed to eat more than half of it. He said glumly, ‘Waiting for a miracle.’
‘But can’t you get some help from outside? From the other districts involved? Or from … the National Criminal Police or something?’
‘I’ve been in touch with Lund, Nyköping and Borås. They’re working hard on it too. And the NCP … well, I’d hoped we could manage this ourselves, but we’re starting to lean towards calling in reinforcements.’ Pensively he took another mini-bite, and Erica couldn’t help leaning over to caress his cheek.
‘Do you still want to go through with it on Saturday?’
He looked at her in surprise, then his expression softened. He reached for her hand and planted a kiss in the middle of her palm.
‘Darling, of course I do! We’re going to have a fantastic day on Saturday, the best of our lives, except for the day Maja was born, of course. And I promise to be happy and upbeat and completely focused on you and our day. Don’t worry. I’m longing to marry you.’
Erica gave him a searching look, but she saw nothing but honesty in his eyes.
‘Are you sure?’
‘I’m sure.’ Patrik smiled. ‘And don’t think that I don’t know what an enormous effort you and Anna have put into planning everything.’
‘I know you’ve had plenty on your mind. Besides, it’s done Anna some good,’ Erica said, glancing into the living room where Anna had settled down on the sofa with Emma and Adrian to watch kiddie TV. Maja was still asleep, and despite Patrik’s gloomy mood it felt luxurious to have him to herself for a while.
‘I just wish …’ Erica broke off.
Patrik seemed to read her thoughts. ‘You just wish that your parents could have been here.’
‘Yes, or no … To be completely honest I wish that Pappa could have been here. Mamma probably would have been as uninterested as she always was in whatever Anna and I do.’
‘Have you and Anna talked anymore about Elsy? About why she was like that?’
‘No,’ said Erica pensively. ‘But I’ve thought a lot about it. It’s strange that we know so little about Mamma’s life before she met Pappa. The only thing she ever said was that her parents had been dead a long time – that’s all that Anna and I know. We’ve never even seen any photos of them. Isn’t that odd?’
Patrik nodded. ‘Yes, it does sound strange. Maybe you should do some research into your genealogy? You’re good at rooting around in such things, digging up facts. It’s just a matter of getting started as soon as the wedding is over with.’
‘Over with?’ said Erica in an ominous tone. ‘Do you regard our wedding as something we need to “get over with” …?’
‘No,’ Patrik said, and then couldn’t think of anything better to say. Instead he dunked his crispbread in the hot chocolate. He knew when it was best to lie low. And let the food silence anything else he might say.
‘Well, today the fun comes to an end.’
Lars had wanted to meet with them under less formal conditions than usual, so he invited them for coffee and cakes at Pappa’s Lunch Café, which to no one’s surprise was located on the high street in Tanumshede.
‘It’s gonna be fucking great to get out of here,’ said Uffe, stuffing a pastry into his mouth.
Jonna looked at him in disgust, chewing instead on an apple.
‘What sort of plans have you got?’ said Lars, slurping a bit as he drank his tea. The cast members had watched in fascination as he plunked six lumps of sugar into his cup.
‘The usual,’ said Calle. ‘Go home and see my mates. Go out and booze it up. The babes at Kharma have missed me.’ He laughed, but his eyes looked dull and full of hopelessness.
Tina’s eyes flashed. ‘Isn’t that where Princess Madeleine usually hangs out?’
‘Oh yes, Maddie,’ said Calle nonchalantly. ‘She was going out with one of my mates before.’
‘She was?’ said Tina, impressed. For the first time in a month she looked at Calle with some respect.
‘Yeah, but he dumped her. Her mamma and pappa kept butting in too much.’
‘Her mamma and … Ohhhh,’ said Tina, and her eyes got even rounder. ‘Cool.’
‘So, what are you going to do?’ Lars asked Tina. She cracked her neck.
‘I’m going out on tour.’
‘On tour?’ Uffe scoffed, reaching for another pastry. ‘You’re going out with Boozer and maybe you’ll sing a song or two and then stand around in the bar. I’d hardly call that a tour.’
‘You know, there are a hell of a lot of clubs that have called to invite me to come and sing “I Want to Be Your Little Bunny”,’ Tina said. ‘Boozer said that a lot of record companies are going to call too.’
‘Sure, and what Boozer says is always true,’ Uffe snorted, rolling his eyes.
‘Shit, it’s going to be great to be rid of you, you’re so negative all the time!’ Tina snapped at Uffe and then demonstratively turned her back on him.
‘What about you, Mehmet?’ Everyone turned to look at Mehmet, who hadn’t said a word since they entered the café.
‘I’m going to stay here,’ he said, waiting defiantly for a reaction. He wasn’t disappointed.
Five pairs of incredulous eyes turned towards him. ‘What? You’re going to stay? Here?’ Calle looked as though Mehmet had been transformed into a frog before his very eyes.
‘Yes, I’m going to keep working at the bakery. I’ll sublet my flat for a while.’
‘And where are you going to live? With Simon, or what?’ Tina’s words rang out in the café, and Mehmet’s silence caused a shocked look to spread round the table.
‘You are? What’s the deal, are you two an item or what?’
‘No, we are not!’ Mehmet retorted. ‘Not that it’s any of your bloody business. We’re just … friends.’
‘Simon and Mehmet, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G,’ Uffe sang, laughing so hard he almost fell off his chair.
‘Cut it out, leave Mehmet alone,’ said Jonna almost in a whisper, which oddly enough made the others quiet down. ‘I think that’s a brave decision, Mehmet. You’re better than the rest of us!’
‘What do you mean, Jonna?’ said Lars kindly, cocking his head. ‘In what way is Mehmet better?’
‘He just is,’ said Jonna, pulling down her sleeves. ‘He’s nice. Kind and considerate.’
‘Aren’t you nice?’ Lars asked. The question seemed to contain many layers.
‘No,’ Jonna said quietly. In her mind’s eye she was replaying the scene outside the community centre and the hatred she’d felt towards Barbie. How hurt she’d been by what she’d heard Barbie had said about her, how much she’d wanted to hurt her back.