‘What’s going on?’ Gösta came running towards them.
‘Marta is Louise!’ Patrik yelled over his shoulder.
‘Who?’
Patrik yanked open the door on the driver’s side. Martin and Gösta got in the car.
‘Erica went to see Laila this morning. Marta is Louise, the little girl who was chained up in her parents’ cellar. Everyone thought she died in a drowning accident, but she didn’t. I don’t know any more of the details, but if Erica says it’s true, then it probably is. She thinks that Marta and Molly are in the house that belonged to Marta’s parents. And she’s gone over there to find out, so we need to get there fast!’
He turned the key in the ignition, stomped on the accelerator, and pulled out of the yard. Martin stared at Patrik in bewilderment, but he didn’t care.
‘You stupid, stupid woman,’ Patrik snarled between clenched teeth. ‘Sorry, sweetheart,’ he then added. He didn’t mean to swear at his beloved wife, but fear was making him furious.
‘Watch out!’ shouted Gösta as the car skidded.
Patrik forced himself to slow down even though he wanted to floor the accelerator. Terror was eating away at him like a wild animal.
‘Shouldn’t we tell Bertil where we’re headed?’ said Martin.
Patrik swore. He’d forgotten that Mellberg was back at the farm. He’d gone inside with Torbjörn to ‘assist with the technical inspection’. Right now he was no doubt driving Torbjörn and his team mad.
‘Right. Go ahead and ring him,’ said Patrik without taking his eyes off the road.
Martin phoned Mellberg, and after a few remarks, he ended the conversation.
‘He says he’ll be right behind us.’
‘I just hope he doesn’t get in the way.’
They had turned on to the side road leading to the house, and Patrik clenched his teeth even harder when he saw the Volvo estate car up ahead. Erica must have parked it a short distance away so as not to be observed by anyone at the house, and that made him feel a bit calmer.
‘We’ll drive all the way up to the front door,’ he said, and neither of his colleagues offered any objection.
He came to a halt in front of the ramshackle house and jumped out without waiting for Gösta and Martin. But when he reached the front door, he heard them come up behind him.
‘Shhh,’ he said, putting his finger to his lips.
Inside they found the door to the cellar closed, but something told Patrik that it had to be the logical place to start. He thought it was here that Louise would have gone. He opened the door, glad that it didn’t make a sound. But as he set his foot on the first step, the board creaked loudly and he instantly heard a shrill scream from below.
‘Help! HELP!’
He rushed down the stairs with Martin and Gösta following close behind. A single light bulb lit the room, and he stopped abruptly at what he saw. Molly was sitting on the floor, rocking back and forth with her knees drawn up. She was screaming shrilly, her eyes wide as she stared up at them. And next to her lay Erica, stretched out on her stomach, with blood trickling from her head.
Patrik dashed over and with a pounding heart put his hand on his wife’s neck. Her skin was warm to the touch, and she was breathing. He was filled with relief. And he saw that the blood was coming from a cut over her eyebrow.
Then Erica opened her eyes and groaned. ‘Helga…’ she said.
Patrik turned to look at Molly. Martin and Gösta had helped the girl stand up, and now they were trying to release her from the shackle around her ankle. Patrik realized that Erica was also chained.
‘Where’s your grandmother?’ he asked Molly.
‘She left. But not long ago.’
Patrik frowned. They should have seen her on the road.
‘She hit Erica,’ Molly added, her lip quivering.
Patrik looked at the wound on his wife’s face. The injury could have been much worse, and if she hadn’t left him a voicemail to say where she was headed, he would never have thought to look for her here. Then Erica and Molly would have starved to death in this cellar.
He stood up and got out his mobile. The coverage wasn’t too good down here, but it was enough to get through. He issued instructions, then ended the call and turned to Gösta and Martin. They had found the key to the shackle on Molly’s ankle.
‘I’ve asked Mellberg to keep an eye out for Helga and stop her if he sees her.’
‘Why did she hit Erica?’ asked Gösta as he gently patted Molly on the back.
‘To protect Jonas,’ Erica said, sitting up with a groan and putting a hand to her head. ‘I’m bleeding,’ she said, looking at her sticky fingers.
‘It’s not a deep cut,’ Patrik said curtly. Now that his fears had subsided, he had an urge to yell at her for coming out here on her own.
‘Did you find Jonas and Marta?’ Erica got to her feet, still a bit wobbly, and then swore when she noticed her leg was shackled. ‘What’s this?’
‘I assume you were meant to die down here,’ said Patrik. He looked around for another key. For a moment he considered making her stay here a little longer. And there might be no choice, because he didn’t see a key. She’d have to wait until they could saw off the chain.
‘No, we haven’t found them yet.’ He didn’t want to tell her what they’d discovered at the farm. Not while Molly was listening. Right now she was sobbing her heart out, with her face pressed against Gösta’s chest.
‘I have a feeling we’re never going to see them again,’ said Erica, but then she glanced at Molly and didn’t say anything more.
Patrik’s mobile rang. It was Mellberg. He listened for a moment, and while Mellberg was still talking, he whispered to the others:
‘He’s got Helga.’
Patrik had a hard time cutting off Mellberg’s triumphant outpouring, but he eventually managed to end the conversation.
‘Apparently he found her walking along the road. He’s on his way back to the station with her.’
‘We need to find Jonas and Marta. They’re… they’re not well,’ said Erica in a low voice so Molly wouldn’t hear.
‘I know,’ Patrik whispered, and then he couldn’t help himself, he had to reach out and put his arms around Erica, holding her close. Good Lord, what would he have done if he’d lost her? If the children had lost her? Then he pushed her away and said sombrely, ‘We’ve put out an APW. The police are watching all the airports and borders for them. Tomorrow the papers will have photos. They’re not going to get away.’
‘Good,’ said Erica. She reached up to wrap her arms around Patrik’s neck. ‘But could you please get me out of here now?’
FJÄLLBACKA 1983
When she saw the posters announcing that Cirkus Gigantus was coming to Fjällbacka, she instantly made up her mind. Her pulse quickened. It was a sign. The circus had become a part of her. She knew how it smelled and sounded, and she felt as if she knew the people and the animals. They had played the game so many times. She was the circus princess who made the horses obey as the audience applauded and whistled.
She had wanted them to do it together, and they would have if things hadn’t gone so horribly wrong. Now she came to the circus alone.
Vladek’s family welcomed her with open arms, greeting her as his daughter. They said they were planning to visit him, but she explained that he’d died of a heart attack. Nobody thought it was odd. He wasn’t the first person in his family to have a weak heart. She realized that she’d been lucky, but there was a risk that someone in Fjällbacka would start talking about Vladek and reveal what had really happened. For three long days she held her breath until the circus packed everything up and left Fjällbacka. Then she was safe.
She was only fifteen, so they also asked questions about her mother, wanting to know whether she was allowed to leave her mother behind. She bowed her head and even managed to shed a few tears. She said that Laila had died of cancer many years ago. Vladek’s sister-in-law placed a bony hand on her cheek and wiped away the crocodile tears. After that they asked no more questions. They merely showed her where she could sleep and gave her food and clothes. She had never dreamed it would be so easy, but she quickly became one of the family. For them blood was thicker than water.