Anna doesn’t know what to do. His grip is tight, and she can’t free herself without making a scene. He continues to repeat the words, louder and louder. There is despair in his voice, and his face is contorted in pain.

‘It wasn’t my fault. It wasn’t my fault!’

Elisabet tries to talk to him, but he’s not listening. He draws Anna even closer, his fingers digging into her wrist.

‘It wasn’t my fault,’ he gasps right next to her face. She can see tears seeping beneath the frame of his glasses and trickling down his cheeks.

‘I . . . I . . .’ She still has no idea what to say or do. Karl-Johan shows no sign of letting go, he just keeps on repeating those same words as the tears flow.

Klein appears from nowhere and loosens Karl-Johan’s grip, then almost pushes Anna away before bending down and whispering something in the older man’s ear. She catches a glimpse of Klein’s face. The stony mask is gone, replaced by the same tense expression she saw when they first met, up in the chapel.

She can’t hear what Klein says, but whatever it is, it calms Karl-Johan. Klein pulls up a chair and sits down. Takes Karl-Johan’s hand as he continues to whisper to him. Anna stays where she is, but all she can hear are sounds with no discernible syllables. It’s as if Klein is humming rather than talking.

‘Come away,’ Elisabet says gently, taking her arm.

‘I’m so sorry,’ Anna begins as soon as they’re out of earshot, but Elisabet dismisses her apology.

‘It’s nothing to do with you,’ she says wearily. ‘Karl-Johan’s thoughts have a life of their own, and it seems as if today isn’t a good day. Klein knows how to handle him. We’ll leave them in peace for a while, then we’ll go back to the hospital.’

*

When they emerge from the nursing home later on, the wind is rustling the treetops ominously. The sky above the sound is the colour of lead, and it has started to rain.

‘There’s a storm coming,’ Klein says. The stony expression is back, with no trace of what just happened. ‘The forecast is for a storm tonight.’

Chapter 58

58

Autumn 2017

Klein pulls up in the hospital car park and apologises for the fact that they’re not coming in; Elisabet needs to rest.

‘Just one question,’ Anna says as she’s about to get out. She’s had time to think, and she wants the matter cleared up. ‘Simon’s bike, the one he used to cycle to the quarry – what make was it?’

‘An orange Crescent,’ Klein mumbles. ‘With drop handlebars.’

‘Did you get it back afterwards?’

Klein and Elisabet exchange a glance.

‘No,’ Elisabet says. ‘Not as far as I remember, anyway, but there was so much going on that I can’t be sure. Is it important?’