We Know You Remember (79)

“They haven’t officially reopened the case,” she said. “But there’s a chance they will.”

“Why aren’t you saying ‘we’? You’re one of them, aren’t you?”

“This kind of thing is down to the prosecutor, you know that.”

“So are you going to interview Marina too? Since you’re here. Want me to call her through? Maybe you want to ask if I’m violent, if I’ve ever hurt her? They went on and on for days, can you imagine that? In and out of the station in Kramfors. You have no idea what it—”

“Were you really at home that night, like you said?”

“Ask Mum.”

“You know I can’t do that.”

“She’s not as confused as you think. She remembers the boys’ birthdays and name days, she sends them presents and checks in.” His eyes drifted to the fridge, where a picture of his two sons was held in place by a couple of heart-shaped magnets. The same photo as at home. “Maybe you’re actually making everything worse by taking charge of things she should be able to manage herself.”

“What does that have to do with any of this?”

“It’s to do with you, the way you are, the way you always have to butt in to other people’s lives.”

“I don’t do it because I enjoy it. This is about a murder case that ended up on my desk, and then I find out the two of you have been lying to me all these years—or withholding important information, at the very least.”

“You really do sound like a cop now.”

Eira wanted to get up, but she remained sitting. She felt like she had been backed into a corner, despite the sense of lightness and space in the bright country kitchen where everything was painted white, from the floorboards to the exposed beams on the ceiling. The age of the wood shone through in a rustic, countrified way.

“You don’t know what it was like,” said Magnus. “Or what you’re dredging up by going around, talking about Lina.”

“Would it be better if I hadn’t said anything?”

“The cops brought me in. Did you know that was the first time? I’d barely even nicked a bit of chocolate before that.”

“So it’s their fault you went off the rails? Are you saying they shouldn’t have bothered investigating the murder of a sixteen-year-old girl? That they shouldn’t have asked her boyfriend questions . . . ?”

“Do you think I had something to do with it?”

“No, of course not, but . . .”

“If it was serious, they would’ve sent a real cop. But you just can’t stay away, can you?”

Eira heard a door open in the hallway. Magnus didn’t seem to realize that his girlfriend had come in.

“It was exactly the same with Dad,” he continued. “You just had to go over there and sort through his stuff after he died, even though he had a new wife. Even though he left us.”

“She couldn’t do it,” said Eira. “It was a mess, she was grieving. Someone had to . . .”

“Weren’t you?” asked Magnus. “Weren’t you grieving?”

“Surely this has nothing to do with Lina Stavred’s murder?”

“No, but it says plenty about you.”

Eira lost her footing. That was what Magnus always did to her: warped her perspective, made her feel stupid. It struck her that she hadn’t seen any interviews with their father. He must have been out on the road at the time, like always, driving the lorry somewhere in upper Norrland, or down towards the continent.

“Oops, sorry, I’ve barged into something here.”

Marina Arnesdotter appeared in the doorway, accompanied by the scent of laundered linens and fresh thyme. She was holding a bunch of herbs in one hand. Eira realized she must have been eavesdropping, and was ashamed of what she might have heard. Right then she saw her brother’s face transform, from hypertense anger, threatening to explode, to a smile that could have convinced any woman to ask him to move in with her.

“It’s OK,” he said, reaching out for his girlfriend, pulling her close. “Eira was just leaving. She’s got a lot on with work.”

“Oh, that’s a shame—now that I finally get the chance to meet some of Magnus’s family. You’ll have to stay overnight next time, so we can have a glass of wine together.”

She laughed into his hair.

Eira got up and cleared away her plate.

“Thanks for the lime pie,” she said. “It was really tasty.”





Chapter 43





Eira had only just shouted that she was home when her phone rang.

“Hello there,” Bosse Ring yelled. “We need you to come out to . . . what’s it called . . . Lockne?”

“Have they found something?”

“The boss says you’re the best person to decide that.”

“Is GG there?”

“Nope, he’s off, doctor’s appointment.”

“Give me half an hour,” said Eira.

She felt guilty about neglecting her mother again, but Kerstin seemed to be in a good mood. Hopefully this would be one of the things she forgot. Eira heated some shop-bought hash, cracked two eggs, and served the yolks in half shells, because it looked nice.