The Lost Boy (Patrick Hedstrom and Erica Falck, Book 7) Page 24

  Gösta shook his head. ‘I have no idea.’

  ‘We’ll just have to see what they say.’

  When they reached the ward, Paula stopped the first doctor they saw.

  ‘Excuse me. We’re police officers, and we’re here regarding the boys from Fjällbacka school.’

  The tall man in the white coat nodded.

  ‘They’re my patients. Come with me.’ He set off, taking long strides, and both Paula and Gösta had to jog to keep up with him.

  Paula tried to breathe through her mouth. She hated hospitals and all the smells. It was the sort of place that she did her best to avoid, but given her chosen profession, she had to visit hospitals much more often than she would have liked.

  ‘They’re going to be fine,’ said the tall doctor over his shoulder. ‘The school reacted quickly, and there was an ambulance in the neighbourhood, so they were brought in relatively fast, and we were able to get the situation under control.’

  ‘Are they awake?’ asked Paula. She panted a bit as she ran along the corridor, enough to remind herself that she ought to go back to working out at the gym. She hadn’t done much of that lately. Plus she’d been eating too much of Rita’s good food.

  ‘They’re awake, and the parents have all agreed to let you talk to the boys.’ The doctor stopped outside a room that was almost at the end of the corridor.

  ‘Let me go in first and speak to the parents. From a medical perspective, there’s nothing to prevent you talking to the boys. I expect you’ll want to know where they found the cocaine.’

  ‘Are you sure it was cocaine?’ asked Paula.

  ‘Yes. We did some blood tests that confirmed it.’ The doctor pushed open the door and went in.

  Paula and Gösta paced up and down the corridor as they waited. After a few minutes the door opened and a number of sombre-looking adults came out, their faces flushed from crying.

  ‘We’re from the Tanum police,’ said Paula, shaking hands with everyone. Gösta did the same; he seemed to be acquainted with several of the parents.

  ‘Do you know where the boys found the drugs?’ asked one of the mothers, wiping her eyes with a handkerchief. ‘We think our children are safe at school and then …’ Her voice started quavering, and she leaned against her husband, who put his arm around her.

  ‘So the boys haven’t told you anything?’

  ‘No, I think they’re too ashamed. We’ve told them that they won’t get in trouble, but we haven’t been able to get any information out of them yet, and we haven’t wanted to pressure them too much,’ said one of the fathers. Though he seemed composed, his eyes were red-rimmed.

  ‘Would it be okay if we talked to them alone? We promise not to frighten them,’ said Paula, giving them a wry smile. She suspected that she didn’t seem particularly threatening, and Gösta looked like a nice, sad old dog. She had a hard time imagining that anyone would be scared of them, and apparently the parents agreed because they nodded their assent.

  ‘Why don’t we all have a cup of coffee in the meantime?’ said the father with the red-rimmed eyes. The others seemed to think this was a good idea. He turned to Paula and Gösta and said, ‘We’ll be in the waiting room over there. And we’d appreciate it if you’d let us know what you find out.’

  ‘Of course,’ said Gösta, patting the man on the shoulder.

  They went into the room. The boys were lying in beds that had been placed side by side. Three pitiful little creatures tucked into their hospital beds.

  ‘Hi,’ said Paula, and all three faintly answered her greeting. She wondered which boy they should begin with. When two of them cast hasty glances at the third boy, who had dark curly hair, she decided to start with him.

  ‘My name is Paula.’ She pulled a chair over to his bed and motioned for Gösta to do the same. ‘What’s your name?’

  ‘Jon,’ said the boy weakly, but he didn’t dare look her in the eye.

  ‘How are you feeling?’

  ‘Okay.’ He was nervously plucking at the blanket.

  ‘What an awful thing to happen, huh?’ She was totally focused on Jon, but out of the corner of her eye she saw that the other two boys were listening intently.

  ‘Uh-huh …’ He looked up at her. ‘Are you really from the police?’

  Paula laughed. ‘Yes, I am. Don’t I look like a police officer?’

  ‘Er, not really. I know that girls can be policemen, but you’re so small.’ He smiled shyly.

  ‘We need small police officers on the force too. What if we need to get into a very tiny space, for example?’ she said. Jon nodded, as if that was a perfectly reasonable explanation.

  ‘Would you like to see my police ID?’

  He nodded eagerly, and the other boys craned their necks to see better.

  ‘Maybe you could take out your ID too, Gösta, so the other boys could see it.’

  Gösta smiled, got up, and went over to the next bed.

  ‘Wow. Your ID looks exactly like on TV,’ said Jon. He studied it for a moment and then handed it back.

  ‘That was pretty dangerous stuff you found. I hope you understand that,’ said Paula, trying not to sound too stern.

  ‘Hmm …’ Jon again lowered his gaze and began plucking at the blanket.

  ‘But nobody is angry with you. Not your parents or your teachers. We’re not angry either.’

  ‘We thought it was a bag of sweets.’

  ‘It does look a bit like the powder from those flying-saucer sweets, doesn’t it?’ she said. ‘I probably would have made the same mistake.’

  Gösta had sat down again, and Paula waited for him to interject a few questions, but he seemed happy to let her carry out the interview. She’d always been good with children.

  ‘Pappa says that it was drugs,’ said Jon, tugging at a thread from the blanket.

  ‘Yes, that’s right. Do you know what drugs are?’

  ‘Poison. Except that you don’t die from it.’

  ‘Drugs can actually kill you. But you’re right that they’re poison. That’s why it’s important for you to help us find out where that powder came from, so we can prevent anybody else from being poisoned.’ She spoke in a calm, friendly voice, and Jon began to relax.

  ‘Are you sure you’re not angry?’ He looked her in the eye. His lower lip was quivering.

  ‘Very, very sure. Cross my heart,’ she told him, hoping the expression wasn’t hopelessly out-of-date. ‘And your mamma and pappa aren’t angry either. They’re worried, that’s all.’

  ‘We were over near the block of flats yesterday,’ said Jon. ‘We were hitting tennis balls against the wall. There’s a factory there. At least, that’s what I think it is. With high walls and no windows, so we can’t break any glass. That’s why we usually play over there. Then on our way home we were looking for bottles that we could turn in for money. In the litter bins outside the flats, and that’s when we found the bag. We thought it was a bag of sweets.’ The thread came loose from the blanket, leaving a tiny hole in the weave.

  ‘Why didn’t you taste the sweets yesterday?’ asked Gösta.

  ‘We thought it was cool to find so much of it, so we wanted to take the bag to school and show everybody. It seemed more exciting to taste it when everyone had some too. But we were going to keep most of it for ourselves, of course. We thought we’d just share a little.’

  ‘Which litter bin was it in?’ asked Paula. She knew the industrial building that Jon was talking about, but she wanted to be one hundred per cent sure.

  ‘Over by the car park. You see it when you come through the gate where we were playing tennis.’

  ‘Where the woods and hill are off to the right?’

  ‘Yes, that’s the one.’

  Paula glanced at Gösta. The litter bin where the boys had found the cocaine was outside Mats Sverin’s front door.

  ‘Thank you, boys. You’ve been a huge help,’ she said as she got to her feet. She felt a churning in her stomach. Maybe this was finally the breakthrough
that they’d been waiting for in the investigation.

  FJÄLLBACKA 1871

  The pastor was big and fat and gratefully grabbed hold of Karl’s hand so he could climb up on to the dock. Emelie curtseyed modestly. She’d never been to a church service in town. Here she stood now, blushing and hoping that the pastor wouldn’t think her failure to attend had to do with a lack of will or faith on her part.

  ‘It’s certainly an isolated place, isn’t it? Beautiful, though,’ the pastor added. ‘But isn’t there someone else who lives here?’

  ‘Julian,’ said Karl. ‘He’s tending to the lighthouse at the moment. I can fetch him if you like.’

  ‘Yes, please. That would be good.’ Without waiting to be invited, the pastor started walking towards the house. ‘Since I’ve finally made it out to this island, I might as well meet all of the inhabitants.’ He laughed and held the door open for Emelie while Karl set off for the lighthouse.

  ‘What a nice, tidy house you have here,’ said the pastor, looking around.

  ‘Our humble home isn’t much to look at.’ Emelie discovered that she was hiding her hands under her apron. They looked so rough after all the scrubbing she did, but she couldn’t deny that the pastor’s words of praise made her happy.

  ‘There’s no reason to scorn what’s humble and simple. From what I can see, Karl should consider himself lucky to have such a clever wife.’ He sat down on the kitchen bench.

  Emelie was so embarrassed that she didn’t know what to say, so she began making coffee.

  ‘May I offer you some coffee?’ She wondered if she had anything to serve with it. Then she realized they had only the plain rusks that she’d baked, but they would just have to do, since his visit was unexpected.

  ‘I never turn down a cup of coffee,’ replied the pastor, smiling.

  Emelie was starting to feel less nervous. He didn’t seem to be a stern sort of pastor – not like Preacher Berg, in her former church. The mere thought of having to sit at the same table with Berg made her knees wobble.

  The door opened and Karl came in. Right behind him was Julian, with a wary expression on his face. He avoided looking the pastor in the eye.

  ‘So this is Julian?’ The pastor was still smiling, but Julian merely nodded as they briefly shook hands. Karl and Julian sat down across from the pastor while Emelie set the table.

  ‘I hope you’re taking care that your wife doesn’t work too hard, now that she’s in this blessed condition. I can see that she’s a splendid housekeeper. You must be very proud of her.’

  At first Karl didn’t answer. Then he said, ‘Yes, Emelie is very efficient.’

  ‘All right. Come and sit down now,’ said the pastor to Emelie, patting the seat next to him.

  Emelie did as he said, but she couldn’t help staring at his black coat and white collar. She had never been so close to a preacher before. It would have been unthinkable to sit down with old Berg and converse over a cup of coffee. Her hands shook as she poured the coffee, filling her own cup last.

  ‘It’s quite a surprise that you’ve come out here to see us,’ said Karl. He was clearly wondering what the purpose of the pastor’s visit could be.

  ‘Yes, well, you haven’t exactly been regular church-goers,’ said the pastor, sipping his coffee. He’d put three lumps of sugar in his cup, and Emelie thought his coffee must taste awfully sweet.

  Karl suddenly looked small and awkward, and at that moment Emelie couldn’t understand why she was so afraid of him. Then she remembered that evening and placed her hand over her stomach.

  ‘It’s true that we haven’t been to church as often as we should,’ said Julian, bowing his head. He still hadn’t looked the pastor in the eye. ‘But Emelie reads the Bible to us every night, so this is not an un-Christian home.’

  Emelie looked at him in alarm. Was he actually going to sit here and lie to the pastor? It was true that passages from the Bible were read in this house, but she was the only one who did that, whenever she had a spare moment. Neither Julian nor Karl had ever shown any interest in the Holy Scriptures. In fact, on several occasions they had scoffed at her for reading the Bible.

  The pastor nodded. ‘That’s good to hear. Especially in a place like this, so barren and inaccessible and far from the house of the Lord. Here one has to seek solace and guidance in the Bible on one’s own. So I’m happy to hear that you do. It would please me even more to see you in church. Especially you, my dear Emelie.’ He patted her knee, making Emelie jump. It was nerve-wracking enough to be sitting so close to a preacher. The fact that he had also touched her was almost more than she could bear. She had to restrain herself from leaping to her feet out of sheer fright.

  ‘I’ve had a talk with your aunt. She was a bit worried since she hasn’t heard from you. And now that Emelie is with child, it would be good if the doctor had a look at her to make sure that everything is progressing as it should.’ He cast a stern glance at Karl, who also avoided meeting his gaze.

  ‘Of course,’ he muttered, staring down at the table.

  ‘Good. Then that’s settled. The next time you come to Fjällbacka, you’ll bring Emelie along and let the doctor examine her. Your dear aunt would also appreciate a visit from you, Karl.’ He winked and then reached for a rusk. ‘Very tasty,’ he said as the crumbs spilled from his lips.

  ‘Thank you.’ Emelie was not just thanking him for the compliment. Thanks to him, she was going to have a chance to go into town and see other people. Maybe Karl would also let her go to church once in a while. That would make it so much easier to tolerate her life on the island.

  ‘Well, I think Karlsson is probably getting tired of waiting for me. He was kind enough to bring me over here in his boat, but I’m sure he’s eager to get back home. I want to thank you for the coffee and the delicious rusks.’ The pastor stood up, and Emelie quickly got up to allow him to slip past.

  ‘How about that? Our stomachs are almost the same size,’ said the pastor.

  Emelie felt herself turning bright red with embarrassment. Then she couldn’t help smiling. She liked this preacher, and she could have fallen to her knees and kissed his feet out of gratitude because he realized that she needed to go to Fjällbacka.

  ‘I suppose you’ve heard what people say about this island, haven’t you?’ said the pastor with a laugh as Karl and Emelie accompanied him down to the dock. Julian had mumbled a hasty goodbye and returned to the lighthouse.

  ‘What do you mean?’ asked Karl, helping the pastor into the boat.

  ‘It’s said that there are ghosts out here. But it’s just talk, of course. Or maybe you’ve actually seen something?’ He laughed again, making his fat cheeks quiver.

  ‘We don’t believe in such things,’ said Karl, tossing in the mooring line that he’d just untied.

  Emelie didn’t say a word. But as she waved goodbye, she thought about those who were her only real companions on the island. It wouldn’t do to discuss them with the pastor. And besides, no one would ever believe her.

  As she walked back to the house, she saw them out of the corner of her eye. She wasn’t afraid of them. Not even after they had started showing themselves to her. She knew they wished her no harm.

  14

  ‘Hi, Annika. Paula has been trying to get hold of me, but now she’s not answering her phone.’ Patrik was standing outside the front door of the Refuge, pressing one finger to his left ear as he held the mobile to his right. The roar of the traffic was so loud that he had trouble hearing what Annika was saying.

  ‘What was that? The school? Wait, I couldn’t hear you. Cocaine? Okay, I got it. At the Uddevalla Hospital.’

  ‘What’s all that about?’ asked Martin.

  ‘Three second-graders in Fjällbacka found a bag of cocaine and ate some of the stuff.’ Patrik’s expression was grim as they walked towards the car.

  ‘Bloody hell. How are they doing?’

  ‘They’re in hospital, but apparently they’re going to be fine. Gösta and Paula are over
there right now.’

  Patrik got behind the wheel, and Martin took the passenger seat. They drove off, with Martin staring pensively out of the window.

  ‘Second-graders. We always think the kids are safe in school, especially in Fjällbacka, which doesn’t have the problems of a big city. And then it turns out that they’re not safe after all. This’ll scare the shit out of everybody.’

  ‘Yes, it’s not like when we were kids. Or at least, when I was a kid,’ Patrik said with a crooked smile. There really wasn’t much of an age difference between him and his colleague.

  ‘I think you could say the same about my school days,’ replied Martin. ‘Although by then we did have calculators instead of an abacus.’

  ‘Ha ha, very funny.’

  ‘Things were so uncomplicated back then. We had fun in the playground kicking a ball around. We got to be kids. Nowadays it feels as though everybody is in such a hurry to grow up. They all want to smoke and fuck and drink and do everything else between heaven and earth before they even start secondary school.’

  ‘I know what you mean,’ said Patrik, feeling a surge of anxiety in his chest. In the blink of an eye, it would be time for Maja to start school. And Martin was right: things weren’t the same as in their day. He didn’t even want to think about that. He wanted his daughter to remain a child as long as possible, and preferably live at home until she was forty. ‘But I don’t think cocaine is all that common,’ he said, mostly in an attempt to reassure himself.

  ‘No, it must have been a case of really bad luck. I’m glad they’re going to be okay. It could have turned out much, much worse.’

  Patrik nodded.

  ‘Shall we drive over to the hospital?’ asked Martin, but Patrik turned the car towards the centre of Göteborg instead of heading for the E6.

  ‘I reckon Paula and Gösta can handle things on their own. I’ll give Paula a call to make sure, but while we’re here I’d like to have a talk with Mats’s tenant and the other neighbours in the building. It seems a waste of time to drive all the way back later when we can do it now.’