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CAMILLA LACKBERG
The Stranger
previously entitled
The Gallows Bird
Translated by Steven T. Murray
Copyright
This novel is entirely a work of fiction.
The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.
Published by HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd
1 London Bridge Street
London SE1 9GF
First published as The Gallows Bird in Great Britain by HarperCollinsPublishers 2011
Published by agreement with Nordin Agency, Sweden
English translation copyright © Steven T. Murray 2011
First published in Swedish as Olycksfågeln in 2006
Copyright © Camilla Lackberg 2006
Camilla Lackberg asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
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Ebook Edition © April 2012 ISBN: 9780007384389
Version: 2018-08-13
To Wille & Meja
Table of Contents
Read on for the opening of The Hidden Child
1
What he remembered most was her perfume. The one she kept in the bathroom. That shiny lavender bottle with the sweet, heavy fragrance. As an adult he had searched in a perfume shop until he found the exact same one. He had chuckled when he saw the name: ‘Poison’.
She used to spray it on her wrists and then rub it on her throat and, if she was wearing a skirt, on her ankles too.
He thought that was so beautiful. Her fragile, delicate wrists gracefully rubbing against each other. The scent spread through the space around her, and he always longed for the moment when it came really close, when she leaned over and kissed him. Always on the mouth. Always so lightly that sometimes he wondered if the kiss was real or if he was just dreaming.
‘Take care of your sister,’ she always said before she left, seeming to float rather than walk out the door.
Afterwards he could never remember if he had answered out loud or only nodded.
The springtime sun shone in through the windows at the Tanumshede police station, mercilessly exposing the dirt on the windowpanes. The winter grime lay like a film over the glass, and Patrik felt as though the same film were covering him. It had been a hard winter. Life with a child in the house was infinitely more fun but also infinitely more work than he ever could have imagined. And even though things were going much more smoothly with Maja than they had in the beginning, Erica was still not used to the life of a stay-at-home mum. This knowledge tormented Patrik every second and every minute he spent at work. And everything that had happened with Anna had placed an extra burden on their shoulders.
A knock on the door-jamb interrupted his gloomy thoughts.
‘Patrik? We just got a call about a traffic accident. A single car on the road to Sannäs.’
‘Okay,’ said Patrik, getting up. ‘By the way, isn’t this the day that Ernst’s replacement is arriving?’
‘Yes,’ said Annika. ‘But it’s not quite eight yet.’
‘Then I’ll take Martin with me. Otherwise I thought I’d have her ride with me for a while until she gets the hang of things.’
‘Well, I do feel a bit sorry for the poor woman,’ said Annika.
‘Because she has to ride with me?’ said Patrik, pretending to take offence.
‘Naturally. I know the way you drive … But seriously, it’s not going to be easy for her with Mellberg.’
‘After reading her CV I’d say that if anyone can handle him, it would be Hanna Kruse. Seems to be a tough cookie, judging by her service