yelling that at them. That their beloved son, brother, grandchild, relative, or great mate was nothing but a fully paid-up fucking psychopath. That he was violent toward women, a rapist, a bully—in short, a complete pig of a human being—and that she was relieved, no, actually overjoyed that it was his broken body in the wooden box up there rather than hers.
But of course she said none of that. Instead she merely nodded curtly at Nilla, turned on her heel, and, with their eyes all on her, walked out of the church and out of her old life.
Two months later she applied to Police Academy. Took the bull by the horns and confronted her fears, under a different surname as a thin cover for her new, fragile identity. And as time passed, her new self grew stronger and stronger. So strong that she had started to think she no longer needed any protection.
At least up to now.
But Nilla had been wrong about one thing.
Rebecca was responsible, not her little brother. Henke was innocent, but he was still the one who had been punished.
“It was me who did it,” he had told the police back then,and they had believed him. She had wanted to protest, yell at him to shut up, or just simply and calmly explain what had really happened. But it was as if her insides had frozen to ice. As if that paused image of Dag’s last seconds alive had taken root inside her head and was stopping her from thinking, speaking, or even moving. And then it went on paralyzing her through the interviews and later during the trial, while that useless lawyer messed everything up. And, having always been the person who protected him, she just watched as her little brother assumed responsibility for everything. How he protected her and how she let him do it without raising a finger.
She let him throw away his life, his future, all his opportunities, all for her sake.
That little white note was right. Someone like her shouldn’t be in the police. That’s why she left it where it was.
Nilla had been a civilian employee with the Södertälje Police back then. At a guess she was still there, and she was bound to know someone who knew someone . . . And the story would have got around. That was always the way. The police force was large, but not that large, and police officers loved talking shit about other people, just like everyone else. Really, she ought to phone Nilla and explain to her just what sort of person her wonderful big brother was. Put a stop to all the talk and people looking over their shoulders at her. Clear the air once and for all and say what really happened that night, and why.
She had toyed with the idea before, but always came up with some reason not to do it. Maybe it was time now?
She would think about it, think about it properly, she promised herself as she pulled on her bulletproof vest and buttoned her shirt.
When she closed her locker a short while later, the note was still in place.
♦ ♦ ♦
Okay, he had to admit it. He was disappointed, seriously fucking disappointed, even! After his big moment and his elevation to first runner-up, he had expected more challenges of the same level as the one he had just accomplished. More chances to end up in the spotlight, to garner points, love, and cred on his way to the top.
But instead he had just been given a couple of shitty little tasks. Stupid stuff that any nobody with a couple of functioning brain cells and a tiny pair of balls could have handled.
First he’d had to set up an anonymous Internet account and empty a few buckets of bile over a popular blogger on her home page, which in retrospect turned out to be unnecessary seeing as more than fifty other trolls had already done the same thing. The woman in question had evidently stepped on someone’s toes; she did that pretty much on a daily basis, but why waste his talents on shit like that?
Assignment number two was in the same class, a phone call to a television channel to threaten a famous presenter. Child’s
But of course she said none of that. Instead she merely nodded curtly at Nilla, turned on her heel, and, with their eyes all on her, walked out of the church and out of her old life.
Two months later she applied to Police Academy. Took the bull by the horns and confronted her fears, under a different surname as a thin cover for her new, fragile identity. And as time passed, her new self grew stronger and stronger. So strong that she had started to think she no longer needed any protection.
At least up to now.
But Nilla had been wrong about one thing.
Rebecca was responsible, not her little brother. Henke was innocent, but he was still the one who had been punished.
“It was me who did it,” he had told the police back then,and they had believed him. She had wanted to protest, yell at him to shut up, or just simply and calmly explain what had really happened. But it was as if her insides had frozen to ice. As if that paused image of Dag’s last seconds alive had taken root inside her head and was stopping her from thinking, speaking, or even moving. And then it went on paralyzing her through the interviews and later during the trial, while that useless lawyer messed everything up. And, having always been the person who protected him, she just watched as her little brother assumed responsibility for everything. How he protected her and how she let him do it without raising a finger.
She let him throw away his life, his future, all his opportunities, all for her sake.
That little white note was right. Someone like her shouldn’t be in the police. That’s why she left it where it was.
Nilla had been a civilian employee with the Södertälje Police back then. At a guess she was still there, and she was bound to know someone who knew someone . . . And the story would have got around. That was always the way. The police force was large, but not that large, and police officers loved talking shit about other people, just like everyone else. Really, she ought to phone Nilla and explain to her just what sort of person her wonderful big brother was. Put a stop to all the talk and people looking over their shoulders at her. Clear the air once and for all and say what really happened that night, and why.
She had toyed with the idea before, but always came up with some reason not to do it. Maybe it was time now?
She would think about it, think about it properly, she promised herself as she pulled on her bulletproof vest and buttoned her shirt.
When she closed her locker a short while later, the note was still in place.
♦ ♦ ♦
Okay, he had to admit it. He was disappointed, seriously fucking disappointed, even! After his big moment and his elevation to first runner-up, he had expected more challenges of the same level as the one he had just accomplished. More chances to end up in the spotlight, to garner points, love, and cred on his way to the top.
But instead he had just been given a couple of shitty little tasks. Stupid stuff that any nobody with a couple of functioning brain cells and a tiny pair of balls could have handled.
First he’d had to set up an anonymous Internet account and empty a few buckets of bile over a popular blogger on her home page, which in retrospect turned out to be unnecessary seeing as more than fifty other trolls had already done the same thing. The woman in question had evidently stepped on someone’s toes; she did that pretty much on a daily basis, but why waste his talents on shit like that?
Assignment number two was in the same class, a phone call to a television channel to threaten a famous presenter. Child’s
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