Nevertheless, she felt unsettled. This was Sandra. Sandra, the woman in the middle of exposing a rapist, hit-and-run driver, murderer, and kidnapper to the vast majority of the public on the island of Gotland. Sandra, the woman whose son had been the subject of attempted murder and had been a hair’s breadth from death. Was it that far-fetched to imagine that the two of them were still in the danger zone, that Sandra had been incapacitated with drugs, or even given an overdose? Considering the boy was still alive, and the serial wasn’t so far gone that it couldn’t be stopped without any definitive answers being provided to the many questions the eager readers had . . .

No, not really. But Sandra was still in a hospital and was in good enough condition to raise the alarm with the staff. While Kerstin was far away and could hardly do anything for Sandra that the doctors and nurses couldn’t do themselves.

On the other hand, Jeanette had no button to press if the situation felt untenable. Jeanette only had one lifeline, and that was Kerstin, who had volunteered against both her friend’s will and her own better judgment. And Kerstin had misgivings. This unyielding side to Jeanette was one she had seen before—this indifference towards others. That was why she made the decision to set aside her concerns for Sandra’s welfare for the time being and instead concentrate on Jeanette.

For some reason, she tried the door before ringing the bell. It was unlocked, and that was very alarming.

71. Jan

71

Jan

EARLIER IN THE EVENING when his mobile had pinged and a news flash had informed him that the missing boy had been found, Jan had made a decision. When he considered what his life would be like, the looming scandal and the subsequent prison sentence, he decided he needed to leave this sinking ship. He would take the cheap overnight ferry to the mainland, stay beneath the radar as best he could, and eventually make his way to a country without an extradition treaty with Sweden and start over there. That was the plan, and Gunilla, who had read selected excerpts of the serial on Jan’s advice, agreed with him fully.

The serial was a form of revenge—Jan understood that much. It wasn’t a very fair approach, since it circumvented the justice system and described what had happened from the supposed victim’s perspective before then condemning and smearing the reputation of the supposed perpetrator without any trial. A desperate, but also understandable, action for someone who considered herself to be a victim of a crime, one for which she had little chance of securing legal redress so long after the fact.