Silver Tears(77)

I looked around the room. What had I missed? I had run Sebastian’s fingertips over the bag I’d kept the sleeping tablets in, to make sure it had his prints on it. No one would suspect me. Suicide would be the logical consequence of the difficult summer Sebastian had dealt with after two of his best friends had died.

I looked around the room one last time before taking my beer bottle with me and padding back to my own room. I considered going outside to throw it away, but settled for hiding it under the bed.

I lay awake until six o’clock in the morning, reading, thinking, and trying to decide whether I had a guilty conscience. I didn’t. Not one bit.

At around six, I heard Dad’s footsteps on the landing. He must have noticed Sebastian’s open door as he was heading for the bathroom, because he came to a halt. A second later I heard him cry out.

The first part of my plan had been completed. It had been relatively easy to execute. Now all I had to do was save Mom.





“Is it morning at home?”

Faye nodded. Kerstin looked rested. Happy. That pleased Faye. In the middle of all the chaos that reigned, Kerstin’s happiness brought her hope.

Kerstin’s face came closer to the screen. The fine lines around her eyes were visible. The concern in those eyes warmed Faye’s heart.

“Are you okay?” Kerstin asked.

“You know what? I actually am. I’ve learned my lesson. I’m never going to hand over power to anyone else again. Never going to be vulnerable.”

“You can’t promise that. I don’t want you to promise that. We all have to be a little bit vulnerable.”

Faye sighed and thought about Julienne. The future she wanted to give her daughter.

“Yes, I suppose you’re right. But it’ll be a while. I’m not sure I can cope with having my heart broken any more times.”

Kerstin suddenly laughed—the warm laugh that was always such an unexpected pleasure.

“Stop being such a drama queen, Faye. You’re stronger than that, you know it. It’s not like you to feel sorry for yourself. There are a lot of us who love you. And you may have lost the battle, but you’ll win the war. Never forget that.”

“I haven’t won yet.”



Kerstin placed a hand on the screen and Faye could almost feel the caress on her cheek.

“No, but you will win. Call me as soon as it’s over.”

“I promise. Kiss kiss. Miss you.”

“I miss you too.”

Faye ended the FaceTime call on her computer. She realized she was smiling, despite the tension she felt about what was to come. She missed Kerstin, but it was wonderful to see how happy she was with Bengt in Mumbai.

She reached for her mobile and called Ylva.

“Hi, Faye, I was about to call you.”

Ylva’s tense voice made her pulse race so much that it pounded in her ears.

“Is the investment done?”

“Yes, the wife is in on it. The investment is secured.”

“God, what a relief!”

Faye shut her eyes. Her pulse slowed down and for the first time in ages she felt the feeling of pleasurable expectation spreading through her. The final piece of the puzzle was in place.

She looked at her reflection in the mirror and applied a bright red lipstick. Then she folded the white Max Mara coat over her arm, picked up her Louis Vuitton briefcase with her other hand, and left her suite. She had checked back into the Grand. She felt safer there after everything that had happened. It was on the borderline between walking distance and taxi distance, but she decided to opt for a pair of her comfiest heels and walk. She needed the fresh air to gather her thoughts.

Beside the quays the water sparkled. It was a perfect day. The sun was shining and there wasn’t even the slightest breeze rippling the waters around Stockholm. She smiled at the people she passed.

Then she came to a sudden stop. Something at the corner of her eye had caught her attention. She turned toward the big window of an art gallery. A female bust with tears of silver. Faye was entranced by the sculpture. She put her hand to her breast where the charm given to her by her mother so many years ago had hung. Before it had disappeared during those dark days on Yx?n island.



She moved closer. The artist was called Caroline Tamm. Faye checked the time and then went inside.

“I’d like to buy the sculpture in the window. The one in silver.”

“Don’t you want to know what it costs first?” said the woman sitting at the table inside in a tone of surprise.

“No,” Faye said, handing over her Amex Black. “I’m in a bit of a hurry. I’ll pay now, but please send the sculpture to this address.”

Faye handed over her business card.

While the card was being processed, Faye went to the sculpture and examined it from the other direction. The tears streaked across the face and fanned out into the air behind the head like wings, transforming sorrow into flight. It symbolized strength like nothing else she had ever seen. It symbolized the new. When she had thought she was going to lose Revenge to Henrik, she had felt as if she had waxen wings that had melted because she had dared to fly too close to the sun. Now she felt like she could fly as high as she wanted. With her wings of silver.

When the gallery door closed behind her, Faye knew she was ready.