Silver Tears(44)

Then he produced a paper packet of sugar from his shorts pocket, bit off the top, and asked Ylva to stick out her tongue, which she did drowsily. Her body was still shuddering with peculiar spasms, and she was murmuring incomprehensibly.

“Good girl,” he said, patting her on the head.

Faye was on the verge of tears she was so relieved. They hadn’t killed Ylva.



* * *



—

Half an hour later, they were sitting on Faye’s bed—red-eyed but otherwise fine—after having ordered practically every single dish on the room service menu. There was a knock on the door, and Alice got off the bed to answer it. Two members of the hotel staff dressed in white rolled in cart after cart filled with food. Hamburgers, pasta, big chunks of meat, fish, fried chicken, french fries. Large jugs of ice water.

The celebratory meal was served in the lounge area. The men wished the ladies a pleasant meal with a smirk—they probably knew what the dinner was for—and then they disappeared.

Faye, Alice, and Ylva threw themselves at the food, shoveling it onto their plates before settling back onto the bed to eat it. Faye had never eaten more delicious or desperately needed food. They drank glass after glass of water.



When they were done, they stretched out—sated and contented—on the big bed with their hands on their tummies.

“I have to take off my trousers,” Alice murmured. “Otherwise I’m going to hurl.”

“Good idea,” said Faye.

They followed Alice’s example and kicked off their trousers so that they were all lying there in their underwear.

“You scared us back in that alley,” said Faye.

“What happened?” Alice asked.

Ylva shook her head slowly.

“I’m not really sure. I remember standing and talking to someone, but then I collapsed and couldn’t get up. I lay there for a while like a beetle on its back, trying to get to my feet, but then I gave up. The next thing I remember is you two bending over me.”

They switched on the TV and zapped lazily between channels.

Ylva drifted off first, then Alice’s eyelids began to flutter. Eventually, both of them were snoring away on either side of Faye. She got out of bed, took her mobile out of her bag, and went onto the balcony. The night air was cooler. She enjoyed the gusts of cool air on her bare legs. Below her, the traffic was moving sluggishly. She sat down at the table and saw that she had missed a call from David. She was immediately concerned and called him back.

“Hi, darling, I was at a loose end earlier and started thinking about Revenge and the American expansion,” he said, and Faye could almost see his smile in front of her. “I got completely caught up in it—you really do inspire me, you know. I’ve got quite a lot of capital that needs investing, so I’ve put together a proposal that I’d like you to look at. If you want to, that is?”

Faye’s own smile grew even wider.

“Of course.”

“You don’t think I’m sticking my nose in, then?”

“Of course I don’t. How did it go with the girls and Johanna?”



“She wants to try again, but I’ve explained that it’s you I want to be with.”

“How did she take it?”

“Not especially well, but why don’t we talk about that later? I don’t want to ruin your weekend with Alice and Ylva.”

“I miss you,” said Faye.

“And I miss you.”

When they had ended their call, Faye saw that she had a text message from Kerstin. She opened it and her good mood was gone at once. Yvonne Ingvarsson had been to the apartment looking for her. She slowly put down the phone. She had to do something about that Yvonne. She was playing with fire and one of them was going to get burned soon. Faye had no intention of it being her.





“Dear God, how could I let myself be talked into doing this?” said Ylva, putting her hands to her head.

“Surely you’re not still hungover,” Alice said airily, waving at the server to bring her a new drink.

More patrons were beginning to fill the hotel bar and the rising hubbub made Ylva massage her temples.

“I was lying in an alley yesterday. In Amsterdam. After eating a hash cookie in a coffee shop. I think I’ve earned the right to be slightly hungover today.”

“Well, I can’t feel a thing,” Alice said cheerily, smiling at the server as he brought her a fresh cosmopolitan.

“I’m thrilled for your sake,” Ylva muttered. “Beyond thrilled.”

Faye looked at her with a frown.

“You’re the one who says we’ve got work to do here,” she said. “Alice and I still don’t know what this is about. Are you going to be up to it?”

“Give me a couple of hours, an Alka-Seltzer, and some acetaminophen and I’ll be right back on track. So, yes, it’s still on. And, yes, I’m going to explain. I just need to get this…throbbing headache out of my head.”

“You don’t need fucking acetaminophen—you need the hair of the dog,” Alice said dryly, gesturing to the server once again.

He came over briskly, bowing slightly.



“A Long Island iced tea. And a tequila shot. For her,” Alice said in English, pointing to Ylva.