The Stranger. Camilla Lackberg

      

      CAMILLA LACKBERG

       The Stranger

      previously entitled

       The Gallows Bird

      Translated by Steven T. Murray

      Copyright

      This novel is entirely a work of fiction.

      The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

      Published by HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd

      1 London Bridge Street

      London SE1 9GF

       www.harpercollins.co.uk

      First published as The Gallows Bird in Great Britain by HarperCollinsPublishers 2011

      Published by agreement with Nordin Agency, Sweden

      English translation copyright © Steven T. Murray 2011

      First published in Swedish as Olycksfågeln in 2006

      Copyright © Camilla Lackberg 2006

      Camilla Lackberg asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work

      A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

      All rights reserved under International Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

       HarperCollinsPublishers has made every reasonable effort to ensure that any picture content and written content in this ebook has been included or removed in accordance with the contractual and technological constraints in operation at the time of publication

      Ebook Edition © April 2012 ISBN: 9780007384389

       Version: 2018-08-13

       To Wille & Meja

      Table of Contents

       Cover

       Title Page

       Copyright

       Dedication

       Chapter 1

       Chapter 2

       Chapter 3

       Chapter 4

       Chapter 5

       Chapter 6

       Chapter 7

       Chapter 8

       Chapter 9

       Chapter 10

       Acknowledgements

       Read on for the opening of The Hidden Child

       About the Author

       By the same author

       About the Publisher

      1

       What he remembered most was her perfume. The one she kept in the bathroom. That shiny lavender bottle with the sweet, heavy fragrance. As an adult he had searched in a perfume shop until he found the exact same one. He had chuckled when he saw the name: ‘Poison’.

       She used to spray it on her wrists and then rub it on her throat and, if she was wearing a skirt, on her ankles too.

       He thought that was so beautiful. Her fragile, delicate wrists gracefully rubbing against each other. The scent spread through the space around her, and he always longed for the moment when it came really close, when she leaned over and kissed him. Always on the mouth. Always so lightly that sometimes he wondered if the kiss was real or if he was just dreaming.

       ‘Take care of your sister,’ she always said before she left, seeming to float rather than walk out the door.

       Afterwards he could never remember if he had answered out loud or only nodded.

      The springtime sun shone in through the windows at the Tanumshede police station, mercilessly exposing the dirt on the windowpanes. The winter grime lay like a film over the glass, and Patrik felt as though the same film were covering him. It had been a hard winter. Life with a child in the house was infinitely more fun but also infinitely more work than he ever could have imagined. And even though things were going much more smoothly with Maja than they had in the beginning, Erica was still not used to the life of a stay-at-home mum. This knowledge tormented Patrik every second and every minute he spent at work. And everything that had happened with Anna had placed an extra burden on their shoulders.

      A knock on the door-jamb interrupted his gloomy thoughts.

      ‘Patrik? We just got a call about a traffic accident. A single car on the road to Sannäs.’

      ‘Okay,’ said Patrik, getting up. ‘By the way, isn’t this the day that Ernst’s replacement is arriving?’

      ‘Yes,’ said Annika. ‘But it’s not quite eight yet.’

      ‘Then I’ll take Martin with me. Otherwise I thought I’d have her ride with me for a while until she gets the hang of things.’

      ‘Well, I do feel a bit sorry for the poor woman,’ said Annika.

      ‘Because she has to ride with me?’ said Patrik, pretending to take offence.

      ‘Naturally. I know the way you drive … But seriously, it’s not going to be easy for her with Mellberg.’

      ‘After reading her CV I’d say that if anyone can handle him, it would be Hanna Kruse. Seems to be a tough cookie, judging by her service