Silver Tears(68)

Aftonbladet, 27 June





The tip of the knife was now digging into Faye’s ribs. Jack’s mouth was curled into a triumphant and contemptuous smile.

“Open the door,” he said. “Otherwise I’ll stick the knife in your throat.”

Faye’s heart was pounding violently in her breast.

She did as he said and unlocked the door and the safety gate. Jack shoved her into the apartment and locked the door behind them. There was nowhere to escape.

He pushed her ahead of him and forced her down onto the sofa. Then he grabbed her handbag, rooted through it, and scattered the contents onto the coffee table.

“You tricked me, you tricked everyone. You’ve ruined my life. I know I didn’t kill our daughter. I don’t know how you did it, but she’s alive. She must be. You’ve got my daughter somewhere.”

Faye wasn’t able to summon up an answer. She was paralyzed, almost numb about what was happening. Jack had appeared so suddenly, she still couldn’t grasp that he was here.

“I’m going to find Julienne and prove that you framed me. When I’m done with you, the whole world is going to know what a deceitful whore you are.”

Jack was talking fast and in a strained voice—he sounded almost manic. He kept pacing back and forth across the living room. His hair was greasy and his clothes dirty.

Gone was the elegance that had impressed Faye so much.



He grabbed her mobile phone and began to look through the photos. Faye waited calmly, knowing there were no traces of Julienne there.

“You can search everywhere,” she said. “I’m not hiding anything from you.”

When he didn’t find anything, he cast the mobile away, rushed over to the sofa, and thrust his face close to hers.

“You had me convicted of the murder of my own daughter!” he shouted. “Everyone in Sweden, my family, my friends, everyone thinks I’m an animal. A child killer.”

Saliva spattered her face.

“Do you know what they do to us in prison? I’m going to find her and prove what you did! I’ll take everything away from you, just like you did to me!”

His reaction made Faye feel more confident, even if she realized she was in mortal danger. Her words still touched Jack—she thought and hoped so, at any rate. As long as she could influence him, she could get out of this with her life intact.

Jack pushed her down into the sofa, raised the knife, and lowered it slowly toward her face. Faye pursed her lips and forced herself to look him in the eye.

“I ought to cut off your face,” Jack hissed. “You’ve cost me everything.”

Her heart was racing, but Faye didn’t so much as flicker.

“I’ve missed you,” she whispered.

Her voice sounded so believable that she actually wondered whether she was lying or not. For a moment, she thought she had him.

“Jack, it’s me. Faye. You love me. I would never have done what I did if you hadn’t left me, hadn’t humiliated me.”

Jack looked at her searchingly, almost tenderly.

The next moment he raised his left arm and slapped her face.

“You’re not even called Faye. Your name is Matilda. And when I’m done with you here, I’ve promised your dad he can have the pleasure of killing you for what you did to him.”

“What are you talking about?”



Faye rubbed her cheek, curling up and making herself small. Her chest felt tight.

“You know what I’m talking about. I was in the same prison as him. I know what happened in Fj?llbacka. How you took everything away from him, just like you did to me. And then you ran off to Stockholm and thought you could start over.”

“That’s not true,” Faye said, trying to rally her thoughts. “You’re mistaken.”

A new blow landed, this time on her stomach. She lost her breath and rolled to one side.

“Please, Jack,” she panted. “I don’t know who you’re talking about—someone has fooled you. It’s not the way you think it is.”

Jack got up and paced back and forth again. Faye looked at him narrowly. Did he believe her?

“Do you think it was coincidence that G?sta and I managed to escape together? We found each other in prison. I promised that if I found a way to get out I would take him with me. Apparently he has a bone to pick with you too…”

Jack smirked.

“When we heard we were going to be transported at the same time, I realized it was a golden opportunity. One guard who needed a piss later and we were out.”

Faye shut her eyes for a moment, then opened them, forcing herself to look at Jack.

“Leave here,” she said. “You’re only making it worse. I won’t tell the police you were here. I can give you money so that you can leave the country and start over. I love you. I’ve always loved you. No man is like you, no one has ever been able to replace you.”

Both of them jumped when her mobile began to ring. Jack picked it up from the floor and looked at it. It was a very familiar number.

“It’s the police,” said Faye. “They call me every day or so to check everything is all right.”

Without any expression, Jack handed over the mobile.

“Answer it. Say everything is fine. If you try in any way to give me away, I’ll stick this knife in your stomach,” he said, poising the blade just below her breasts.