Night was here and the cool had finally settled onto the balcony making it easy to breathe again. Luiza was asleep, the boys too, and under the cover of darkness she’d stepped outside for a moment, even though Piet had asked her not to. But she needed it, liked to stand there and look out over the lit-up windows of this suburb. All those people living their lives side by side, unaware of each other.

She tried not to think. Just be. That’s what she’d done after realizing she was in love with a man who led two lives, what she’d done while they were on the run in South America and when Piet was serving his last prison sentence. Just be—that’s also what he said you had to do to survive prison. Never think about time, past or future, never think about whose fault, just be there with a cup of coffee or a newspaper or a pot that needs washing. Until you’d served your time. Didn’t matter if it was the state who had sentenced you or your husband’s choices.

“Zofia, it’s me.”

Her phone had buzzed but didn’t ring, and she’d answered knowing who it was—only one person had that number.

“We weren’t supposed to talk. Only in case of emergency. That’s what you said. Has something happened, Piet, has someone . . . ?”

“I’m leaving Sweden for a couple of days. That changes things a little. I can’t keep as close an eye on you. So I’m gonna have to ask you to be even more careful. Neither you nor Rasmus nor Hugo can risk being seen. Nothing will happen as long as no one knows where you are. Do you promise that you’ll explain that to them? If they can do this, if they can keep hiding, everything will be just like it was before soon.”

She looked around, a last breath of the night air, before going back inside.

“I promise.”

“Before we hang up, Zo—the hammer and the acetone and the pan are under the sink. You know what you’re supposed to do. Inside the bathroom, behind the plastic cover on the wall, there’s a new burner phone. Only use it over the next few days if things get serious. If the threats escalate.”

“What do you mean?”

“There is an escape route.”

“An escape route?”

“I’ve taken security measures.”