DISTORTED MINDS
GUNILLA FAGERHOLM
© 2019 GUNILLA FAGERHOLM TRANSLATED BY : GUNILLA FAGERHOLM
(FROM ORIGINAL SWEDISH
TITLE : ” FÖRVRIDNA SINNEN ”)
BOOK COVER: ELA SAWOSKO
PRINTING: BOD – BOOKS ON DEMAND, STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN PRODUCTION: BOD – BOOKS ON DEMAND, NORDERSTEDT, GERMANY ISBN 9789177859901
“IN EACH OF US THERE IS ANOTHER WHOM WE DO NOT KNOW ” (QUOTATION BY CARL GUSTAV JUNG, psychiatrist, psychologist, author, historian and mystic)
A WARM THANK YOU ! TO MY FRIENDS LINDA BOLLINGER AND MARTIN WIRTH AND TO MY HUSBAND , BERTIL LINDSTRÖM FOR THEIR SUPPORT
PERSONS APPEARING IN THE STORY Living in the USA Jenny Johnson, a 19-year old Swedish-American girl, living in Mora, Minnesota Johan, Jenny´s father Anton, Jenny´s brother Wally, Jenny´s grandfather, dead Sonja and Mikael, Jenny´s lovely neighbours Peggy and Monica, Jenny´s friends Nicklas Burger, lawyer, living in Minneapolis, Minnesota George Burger, Nicklas´ retired and senile father Maja and Yngve Hermansson, a bored childless couple, living in Eire, Pennsylvania Living in Dalarna, Sweden Sven Martinsson, young police assistant in Mora, Dalarna Ida Martinsson, Sven´s mother, living in Orsa Lars Hellström, Sven’s boss Jonas, another police assistant, not too bright Doctor Larsson, doctor at Mora Hospital Nurse Gertrud, not the most charming woman in the world Nisse Nilsson, old cross-country skier with a big heart Living in Mariestad, Sweden Peter Petersson, kind truck driver Anna Petersson, his wife
Living in Uppsala, Sweden Sture Blomkvist, raving over help to Africa or … ? Ove, Sture´s son, with a low IQ but a kind heart. Living in Torrevieja, Spain Short-tempered Agnes Rojales, according to her own opinion the most beautiful woman in the world Living in both Australia and Mora, Dalarna Anders Torstensson, gold- and opal digger David Torstensson, Anders’ son Living in Australia Riki, aborigine boy Riki’s grandfather and grandmother
PROLOG Mora, Minnesota, USA – 20 June 1973 The June breeze is softly shaking the leaves in the softwood grove close to the lake. An angler covers his eyes with one hand in order not to get blinded by the afternoon sun. Happy laughter is heard from a canoe on the verge of capsizing. Down at the lake shore a group of people are having a picnic while their dogs and children are playing. Others have brought their garden chairs and enjoy the heat, leaning back in them. Everything is so idyllic. As it always is when summer has arrived to stay here in the little town of Mora in Kanabeck County, Minnesota USA, so far away from the crisis and problems in the rest of the world. Today nobody is interested in listening to the radio reports about the Watergate affair, in which focus is now being increasingly centred on President Nixon. A piece of a poster, almost torn in half, is fluttering from a birch. It says that there will soon be an opera performance in town – the Threepenny Opera by Bertolt Brecht. Who would ever have believed that this marvellous summer day, before sunset, would be turned into a horrendous tragedy? There is, however, a sign of an approaching catastrophe. At the town limit a blue car is heading towards the centre at top speed. The driver´s one and only errand in Mora is to refuel at the gas station, close to the tennis courts, and maybe also to have a short nap before continuing. The car is to be 9
delivered at the airport tonight and thereafter the driver will fly back home to Europe.
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CHAPTER 1 Mora, Minnesota, USA – 20 June 1973 The white two-story building, high up on Lincoln Drive 23 in Mora, is almost vibrating with youthful joy. Through the wide-open windows you can hear the happy voices of teenage girls, once in a while intermingled with the hoarse voice of a teenage boy. The elderly couple – Sonja and Mikael from number 29 – are passing by with their dog on their habitual early evening walk. They smile at each other and stop when 19-year old Jenny comes dashing down the kitchen staircase, halting in front of them. ”Where have you been?” she eagerly asks. ”I´ve missed both of you so much!” ”We´ve been visiting our son Tom and our grandchildren in Saint Paul for a few days, but now we´re back home again, as you can see”, answers Mikael. ”Sweetheart, I´m so content to see you this happy. Are you throwing a party?” wonders Sonja. She loves Jenny as much as if she had in fact been her own daughter, but that is of course natural since Sonja has been taking daytime care of both Jenny and her brother Anton for many years. Sonja´s exterior appearance mirrors her lovely motherly disposition. She is rather short and sturdy, has red round cheeks and the kindest eyes, you could find. Comfortably dressed, but far from modern. Mikael is totally different. He is tall and lean like a pole. His hair is quite long and you could see him wear 11
a rear-facing cap all year round but he too has such kind eyes. ”Now, listen to this. Dad has finally given me permission to go to the disco in Brunswick Township tonight. And afterwards my friends Monica and Peggy are allowed to stay the night at my house. Their parents have also given them permission to do this. It´ll be such fun!” ”Oh, how wonderful for you! The years do pass so quickly. You girls have been longing for this moment for such a long time. I’m happy for you. Will Anton join you?” asks Sonja. With laughter Jenny says:”No, he´s too young, but he´ll do something else, something very nice, tonight. He´ll actually play a tennis match in front of a scout looking for talented tennis players for a college. If Anton succeeds he could get a scholarship to study there. Sorry, now I have to go back inside. Anton is helping us putting up the disco lamps. Us girls, we have to warm up a little before the disco.” ”Jenny, wait a moment. Would you like to accompany the two of us to the Opera next week?” ”Of course. Wonderful. I like opera much better than noisy jazz and hippie music. What will they be performing?” ”The Threepenny Opera.”
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”Lovely, that is one of my favourites. Listen. I know a few lines: Then one night there's a scream in the night And you say, "Who's that kicking up a row?" And ya see me kinda starin' out the winda And you say, "What's she got to stare at now?" I'll tell ya. There's a ship The Black Freighter Turns around in the harbor Shootin' guns from her bow… ”That´s all I know.” Jenny makes a gesture as if to receive applause. ”And which language will you be speaking tonight?” asks Mikael. ”Swedish of course. We always speak Swedish when we are together. That way we´re also able to comment on others without anybody understanding, but it is, of course, important to be careful as there are so many Swedish-talking people up here in the old Swedish settlements. Now I must really rush, see you later.” Jenny gives both Sonja and Mikael a quick hug and then runs back up the kitchen stairs on light feet. Inside the house the joy is now almost ecstatic. Illuminated by the disco light the girls are wildly dancing around, clad in only panties and bras. Anton, embar13
rassed by seeing them almost naked, has retreated into his room in order to prepare himself mentally for the evening´s tennis match. Seeing his sister that way is no big deal. He has seen her naked since early childhood but it is worse with Peggy. He is somewhat in love with her, which makes it worse. She should not be dancing half naked with anybody, not now nor later tonight. And Jenny is so stupid telling everybody that he is too young to go to the disco. He just has not time enough to do that too. Tennis is actually far more important than girls! An hour later there is a sound at the entrance door. Jenny´s father Johan has returned home after work. ”Hi girlies! Having fun?” A joint ”Yes” comes from the three of them. ”And girls, I´ve bought you a bottle of red wine to share. And I´ve also talked to Steve, in number 32. He´ll drive you to the disco and also back home. And he´ll keep an eye on you during the night. OK?” Johan laughs as three pairs of girls´ arms are hugging him. He is so happy that Jenny has met Monica and Peggy. Both are sensible girls. Having them as friends will prevent Jenny from getting into trouble. ”Anton, hurry up! We´re short of time. We mustn´t arrive too late for your match. It would give the wrong impression!” calls Johan to the upper floor. Then he walks out of the house to start the car. 14
As Anton hurriedly passes them on his way to the car, the girls give him “break a leg” kicks in the ass. Having waved goodbye to him, they return inside to start their makeup. But first of all they are going to enjoy the wine for a moment. Seating himself in the car, Anton looks at his father. ”Dad, this morning Jenny once more behaved in that strange way, making me unhappy.” ”What happened?” ”She started scolding me about a stain of butter being on the table cloth. She was probably herself the guilty one for it being there. Then, when I said I didn´t cause it, she became almost mad. And then when I opposed her, she started to cry and accused me of trying to start a fight with her.” ”Listen, my son, that is typical premenstruative trouble. That´s something girls suffer from before their monthly menstruation. Unfortunately, we men have to cope with that.” ”But Daddy, she grabbed the knife!” ”Maybe she was going to cut herself a new slice of bread. The knife is on the table for you to use. As a matter of fact, I was the one leaving butter on the table cloth yesterday evening. I´ll explain that to Jenny and she´ll most certainly ask you for forgiveness.” Dad parks the car down at the tennis courts. He and Anton arrive early. Nobody else has yet come so they 15
wait on the pavement outside the entrance. The street is empty, except for an unfamiliar car parked at the roadside a bit further away. The driver seems to have been asleep but awakened by their arrival. Her eyes widen as she keeps staring at them, as if she cannot believe what she sees. Yes, her eye sight is OK. She instinctively reacts like a cobra. Turning the ignition key, she steps on the accelerator. A few moments later the street is once more deserted. The only thing you could hear is a light swish of a car, disappearing in the far distance. Streaks of blood are dripping from the edge of the pavement.
Jenny looks at the kitchen clock. Steve should have been here five minutes ago. Hopefully he has not had a flat tyre … or found himself out of petrol… She discards the thought. ”We´re going to the disco, tralalala…” Now there is suddenly a call at the door. ”Steve is here now!” Jenny tries to make herself heard through the music that Monica by now has turned up to maximum Steve is however not there. Instead of Steve, Jenny can see Peggy´s father, who is a policeman. Also Mikael and Sonja are outside, standing on the landing. All three of them seem so serious – as if they would be going to a funeral. Jenny does not notice that. She is soon going to be the disco queen. ”Have you come to see how beautiful we are? How kind of you!” Laughing Jenny makes a small pirouette. 16