Free The Stonecutter by Camilla Läckberg Page A

her turn round. Lilian was standing in the doorway, choking with rage. She directed her flashing gaze at Niclas.
    ‘Didn’t we say that Charlotte wasn’t to have any visitors?’
    The situation felt incredibly uncomfortable for Erica, but Niclas apparently took no notice of his mother-in-law’s tone of voice. Getting no answer from him, Lilian turned to look at Erica, who was still sitting on the floor.
    ‘Charlotte is feeling much too frail to have people running in and out. I should think everyone would know better!’ She made a gesture as if she could shoo Erica away from her daughter like a fly, but for the first time Charlotte’s eyes showed some sign of life. She raised her head from the pillow and looked her mother straight in the eye. ‘I want Erica here.’
    Her daughter’s protest merely increased Lilian’s rage, but with an obvious show of will she swallowed what she was about to say and stormed out to the kitchen. The commotion roused Maja from her temporary silence, and her shrill cries sliced through the room. Laboriously Charlotte sat up on the sofa. Niclas snapped out of his lethargy and took a quick step forward to help her. She brusquely waved him away and instead reached out to Erica.
    ‘Are you sure you’re all right sitting up? Shouldn’t you lie down and rest some more?’ Erica said anxiously, but Charlotte merely shook her head. Her speech was a bit slurred, but with obvious effort she managed to say ‘… lain here long enough.’ Then her eyes filled with tears and she whispered, ‘Not a dream?’
    ‘No, it was not a dream,’ said Erica. Then she didn’t know what else to say. She sat down on the sofa next to Charlotte, took Maja on her lap, and put one arm around her friend’s shoulders. Charlotte’s T-shirt felt damp against her skin, and Erica wondered whether she dared suggest to Niclas that he help Charlotte take a shower and change her clothes.
    ‘Would you like another pill?’ said Niclas, not daring even to look at his wife after being so roundly dismissed.
    ‘No more pills,’ Charlotte said, again shaking her head vigorously. ‘Clear head.’
    ‘Would you like to take a shower?’ asked Erica. ‘I’m sure Niclas or your mother would be happy to help you.’
    ‘Couldn’t you help me?’ said Charlotte, whose voice was now sounding stronger with each sentence she uttered.
    Erica hesitated for a moment, then she said, ‘Of course.’
    With Maja on one arm, she helped Charlotte up from the sofa and led her out of the living room.
    ‘Where’s the bathroom?’ Erica asked. Niclas pointed mutely to a door at the end of the hall.
    The walk to that door felt endless. When they passed the kitchen, Lilian caught sight of them. She was just about to open her mouth and fire off a salvo when Niclas stepped in and silenced her with a look. Erica could hear an agitated muttering issuing from the kitchen, but she didn’t pay it much attention. The main thing was for Charlotte to feel better, and she was a firm believer in the restorative properties of a shower and a fresh change of clothes.

6
    Strömstad 1923
    It wasn’t the first time Agnes had sneaked out of the house. It was so easy. She just opened the window and climbed out on the roof and down the tree right next to the house. It was simple. Still, after careful consideration she’d decided not to wear a dress, which could make tree-climbing difficult. Instead she chose a pair of trousers with narrow legs that hugged her thighs.
    When she thought about the stonecutter, she felt driven by an enormous wave that she had no desire to resist. It was both frightening and pleasant to feel so passionately for someone, and she realized that her earlier infatuations had been nothing but child’s play. What she was feeling now were the emotions of a grown woman, more powerful than she could ever have imagined. She understood, on some level, that she only wanted him so badly because he was a kind of forbidden fruit, but