‘So, that’s that,’ he said with a shrug. ‘Shall we call it a night?’

Carina peeled herself away from Marie and went up to Simon.

‘Traitor,’ she hissed. Her face was bright red with rage, and her mascara had run.

‘What?’

Carina slapped him across the face. The pain and shock made him raise a hand to his cheek. ‘But I was just trying to . . .’ He floundered, couldn’t find the right words. The rain was hammering down now.

Marie came and stood next to Carina. ‘How could you? How could you defend a rapist?’

‘I just . . .’ Simon held up his hands.

‘Did you fuck her?’ Carina demanded. ‘You did, didn’t you?’ She turned to Alex and Bruno. ‘Simon fucked that little whore while her brother was trying to rape me. That’s why he let them get away.’ Her voice had almost risen to a scream.

‘You bastard,’ Bruno growled. ‘You think you’re so much better than us, don’t you? We ought to teach you a lesson.’

Simon was still standing there, holding up his hands. ‘Can we all calm down?’ he said, with fear in his voice. The tape suddenly stopped, and in the ensuing silence the rain was deafening.

Chapter 25

25

Autumn 2017

The party room is bigger than it looks from the outside, and has a faded air of times gone by about it. The ceiling is high, allowing for a horseshoe-shaped balcony that extends around three walls, almost all the way to the stage where a trio is playing jazz music. Cigarette smoke from seventy years of parties has impregnated the walls, mingling with the smell of fried food from the buffet, and guests’ aftershave and perfume.

Call-me has bought dinner tickets for both Anna and Agnes, and refuses to let Anna pay him for them. Erik and Agnes still seem to be getting along very well, exchanging cheerful banter as they help themselves to food. Each dish is labelled, and as at least half of them have Italian names, Anna assumes they come from the Sordis’ restaurant. Her suspicions are confirmed when she sees Bruno looking stressed and ordering the staff around.

Alex Morell is sitting at the top table with his two daughters, his parents, Bengt Andersson and the Sordis. At one point they make eye contact and she almost waves, but settles for a small smile and a nod.

Agnes and Erik disappear after the main course, and Anna seizes the opportunity to try and get some sense out of Call-me.

‘Elisabet Vidje,’ she begins.

‘Yes . . .’ He waits to see where she’s going with this.

‘Why did she suddenly decide to rent out Tabor? I believe it was empty for years.’

‘As I said, she thought it was high time the place was occupied.’

‘But why now? And why us?’

‘Why not?’ Call-me attempts a winning smile, a tactic that would doubtless have worked on almost anyone. But not Anna.