Back Deeds of Autumn
Chapters (71)
  1. Cover
  2. Dedication
  3. Epigraph
  4. Prologue
  5. Chapter 1
  6. Chapter 2
  7. Chapter 3
  8. Chapter 4
  9. Chapter 5
  10. Chapter 6
  11. Chapter 7
  12. Chapter 8
  13. Chapter 9
  14. Chapter 10
  15. Chapter 11
  16. Chapter 12
  17. Chapter 13
  18. Chapter 14
  19. Chapter 15
  20. Chapter 16
  21. Chapter 17
  22. Chapter 18
  23. Chapter 19
  24. Chapter 20
  25. Chapter 21
  26. Chapter 22
  27. Chapter 23
  28. Chapter 24
  29. Chapter 25
  30. Chapter 26
  31. Chapter 27
  32. Chapter 28
  33. Chapter 29
  34. Chapter 30
  35. Chapter 31
  36. Chapter 32
  37. Chapter 33
  38. Chapter 34
  39. Chapter 35
  40. Chapter 36
  41. Chapter 37
  42. Chapter 38
  43. Chapter 39
  44. Chapter 40
  45. Chapter 41
  46. Chapter 42
  47. Chapter 43
  48. Chapter 44
  49. Chapter 45
  50. Chapter 46
  51. Chapter 47
  52. Chapter 48
  53. Chapter 49
  54. Chapter 50
  55. Chapter 51
  56. Chapter 52
  57. Chapter 53
  58. Chapter 54
  59. Chapter 55
  60. Chapter 56
  61. Chapter 57
  62. Chapter 58
  63. Chapter 59
  64. Chapter 60
  65. Chapter 61
  66. Chapter 62
  67. Chapter 63
  68. Chapter 64
  69. Author’s Note
  70. Extract from Rites of Spring
  71. About the Author

She parks the car and carries Lisa’s case into Agnes’s room. Her body is still tender, and even though the case isn’t heavy, she notices that the small amount of exertion takes its toll.

She shows Lisa around the ground floor, then they go up to the chapel. Anna takes her time on the steep staircase, leaning against the shiny bannister where the impressions left by Karl-Johan’s fingers can still be seen. Lisa spends ages admiring the view. The sky is dark grey now, and the treetops down below are swaying violently in the wind, shedding the last of their leaves.

‘So, this is the famous painting?’ Lisa crosses the room and stands in front of the mural. ‘I can’t see a body in the water.’

Anna goes over to the lamp that Agnes rigged up. She switches it on, wishing that Agnes was here to do it herself. Just as before, the light makes Simon’s body appear. Lisa inhales sharply. Anna lingers for a moment, then decides to leave Lisa in peace while she makes a start on dinner. As she turns away she notices something on the floor, not far from the left-hand corner. There are black lines on the white floorboards. It looks as if they’ve been made by a thick rubber sole. She can’t remember having seen them before – but surely she must have done?

*

After dinner she settles Lisa and her broken collarbone in front of the TV, takes out the photocopies she made earlier and spreads them across the kitchen table. One last look, then she’s going to let it go. At least that’s what she tries to tell herself.

She reads through the documents once more, tries to match them with Alex Morell’s account. Just as before, she finds no discrepancies. Joe tries it on with Carina, there’s a row, Simon defends Tanya and Joe, Tanya and Joe leave. Alex, Bruno, Marie and Carina turn on Simon. Five people who really liked each other, just as Lisa said.

We always have the worst quarrels with the ones we love.

She read that somewhere just after her divorce. At the time she thought it was just about romantic love, but now she’s older and wiser she realises that the assertion can be applied to all kinds of love – between friends, siblings, parents and children.

She slits open the envelope that was in her pigeonhole. It contains a bundle of letters secured with a brown rubber band. They are all addressed to Joakim Rylander, and she remembers the voicemail message from Rylander’s stepfather a week or so ago. Technically, the letters belong to Lisa now, but she decides to take a look at them anyway.