Erica was still feeling a bit shaky when she arrived at the day-care centre. It was only two o’clock, and she usually didn’t fetch the children until four. But after her experience in the cellar of the abandoned house she was longing to see them so much that she decided to drive straight to the centre. She needed to see her kids, give them a hug, and hear their bubbly voices, which could make her forget everything else.
‘Mamma!’ Anton came running towards her with his arms outstretched. He was dirty from head to toe, with one ear sticking out from under his cap. He looked so sweet that Erica thought her heart would burst. She squatted down and held out her arms to draw him close. Her clothes were going to get dirty too, but that didn’t matter.
‘Mamma!’ She heard another little voice calling from the playground, and Noel also came running. He had on red overalls instead of the blue ones that Anton wore, but his cap was crooked, just like his brother’s. They were so alike, and yet so different.
Erica set Noel on her lap too, hugging another dirty child who burrowed his face against her neck. Noel’s nose was ice cold, and she shivered as she laughed.
‘Hey, you little ice cube, are you trying to warm up that nose of yours on my neck?’
She pinched his nose, making him laugh. Then he lifted up her jumper and pressed his cold and grubby mittened hands against her stomach, evoking a shrill scream from Erica. Both boys howled with laughter.
‘What a couple of rowdy boys you are! Hot baths for the pair of you as soon as we get home.’ She set them down, stood up, and straightened her jumper. ‘Come on, kids, let’s go and fetch your sister,’ she said, pointing towards Maja’s part of the school. The twins loved to go over there because it gave them a chance to roughhouse with the older children in Maja’s group. And Maja was always delighted to see them. Even though her little brothers could be such pests, she always showered them with love.
When they arrived home, the cleaning-up process began. Usually this was a task that Erica hated, but today she didn’t care how much dirt and debris got scattered over the floor. And she didn’t let it bother her when Noel immediately lay down and began screaming about something only he understood. None of this was of any importance after she’d spent time in the cellar of the Kowalski house and realized the horror that Louise must have experienced as she sat there, chained to the wall in the dark.
Her own children lived in the light. Her children were the light. Noel’s shrieks, which usually made her cringe, had no effect today. She merely reached down to stroke his hair, which surprised him so much that he stopped crying.
‘Come on, let’s go put you in the bathtub. Then we’ll thaw out a whole bunch of Grandma’s cinnamon buns and eat them with hot chocolate while we watch TV. Doesn’t that sound like a good idea?’ Erica smiled at her children as they sat on the wet floor in the front hall. ‘And let’s forget about making dinner tonight. We’ll just eat all the rest of the ice cream in the freezer instead. And you can stay up as long as you want.’
Not a sound came from the children. Maja gave her mother a worried look and then went over to touch her forehead.
‘Are you sick, Mamma?’
Erica couldn’t help laughing.
‘No, sweetheart,’ she said, and then drew all three kids close. ‘Mamma isn’t sick or crazy. I just love you so much.’
She gave them a big hug, wanting to hold them even tighter. But in her mind she saw a different child. A little girl who was sitting all alone in the dark.
Ricky had hidden her secret deep inside, in a special corner of his heart. Ever since Victoria had gone missing, he had turned that secret over and over, studying it from all angles and trying to work out whether it might have had anything to do with her disappearance. He didn’t think so, but there was still a slight doubt in his mind. Think it over again. That phrase kept whirling through his head, especially at night when he lay in bed and stared up at the ceiling. Think it over again. The question was whether he’d done the wrong thing, whether it had been a terrible mistake to keep quiet. It would be so easy to let the secret remain hidden, buried for ever, just as Victoria was now going to be buried in the cemetery.
‘Ricky?’
Gösta’s voice made him flinch as he sat there on the sofa. He had almost forgotten about the police officer and all his questions.
‘Have you thought of something else that might be relevant to the investigation? Now that it turns out Victoria may have been held captive somewhere nearby?’
Gösta’s voice sounded gentle and sorrowful, and Ricky could see how tired he was. He had grown fond of this older policeman who had been their family liaison officer during the past few months. And he knew that Gösta liked him too. Ricky had always got on well with grown-ups. Ever since he was a child, he’d been told that his was an old soul. Maybe that was true. Regardless, he felt as if he’d aged a thousand years since yesterday. All joy and anticipation about the life that lay ahead of him had vanished the moment Victoria died.
He shook his head.
‘No, I’ve already told you everything I know. Victoria was an ordinary girl, with ordinary friends and ordinary interests. And we’re just an ordinary family. Perfectly normal …’ He smiled and glanced at his mother, but she didn’t return his smile. The sense of humour that had always united the family had also died with Victoria.
‘I heard from a neighbour that you’ve asked the public for help in searching the woods,’ said his father. ‘Do you think that will produce any results?’ Markus’s face was ashen with exhaustion, but there was a spark of hope in his eyes as he looked at Gösta.
‘We hope so. Lots of people have volunteered to help, so with luck we might find something. She must have been held somewhere.’
‘What about the other girls? The ones we read about in the newspapers?’ Helena reached for her coffee cup. Her hand was shaking, and Ricky’s heart ached to see how thin his mother had become. She had always been slender and petite, but now she had lost so much weight that her bones were clearly visible under her skin.
‘We’re continuing to work with the other police districts. Everyone is determined to solve this case, and we’re helping each other by exchanging information. We’re going to put all our resources into finding whoever kidnapped Victoria and presumably the other girls too.’
‘I mean …’ Helena hesitated. ‘Do you think the same thing …’ She couldn’t bear to finish the sentence, but Gösta knew what she was asking.
‘We don’t know. But it’s certainly possible that …’ He too couldn’t bring himself to say it out loud.
Ricky swallowed hard. He didn’t want to think about what Victoria had gone through. But the images from the photographs kept creeping into his mind, and he felt nausea rise into his throat. Her beautiful blue eyes, which had always held such warmth. That was how he wanted to remember them. He couldn’t stand to think about the horror of what had happened to his sister.
‘We’re going to hold a press conference this afternoon,’ said Gösta after a moment. ‘And I’m afraid the reporters will probably show up here too. The disappearance of the girls has been national news for a while, and this will only … Well, I just want you to be prepared.’
‘They’ve already been here and rung the bell a few times. And we’ve stopped answering the phone,’ said Markus.
‘I can’t understand why they won’t leave us in peace.’ Helena shook her head. Her dark hair, cut in a page-boy style, swayed around her face. ‘Don’t they realize …’
‘No, unfortunately they don’t,’ said Gösta, standing up. ‘I need to go back to the station now. But don’t hesitate to call. You can reach me anytime, day or night. And I promise to keep you informed.’
He turned to Ricky and placed his hand on the boy’s arm.
‘Take