A thriller by
Johanna Svanborg
Svanborg, Klintehamn © Johanna Svanborg 2017 Cover Photo: © Annelie Milton Author Photo: The Studio Logotype: Tobbe Stuhre, Buythehour Translation by Fredrik Ståhl, Grissla Media AB Printed in Stettin Distributed by Grissla Media AB ISBN: 978-91-984202-1-0
Prologue You are the nicest thing ever to happen to me, to be pregnant with you was a gift. I love you so much it hurts, but I feel that the end is near. My blood is pumping out of me, but I don’t wanna die, I don’t wanna die, I’m not done here yet. I love you.
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Chapter 1 Six weeks prior August 21st In the view of the binoculars she was close, almost to the point of touch, like a mixture of sweet and salty. “Sweet with the angelic hair and salty with the ugly glasses” the character mumbled. Her every movement, routines and the exact times were carefully noted and written down. A faint wind swept the leaves and the character carefully pulled the jackets collar over its neck. In the distance there were voices and the man from the neighboring house was closing in. A strong dog was pulling the man towards the woman’s yard. Raising his voice at his dog as it sniffed the branches and tried to enter the treeline, there was a snap. The character tensed every muscle in its body and felt a cold tingling along its spine. Holding its breath as not to give away its existence. The man with the dog looked into the gloom and then towards the woman’s house, finally giving up and dragged the dog to the road again. Slowly exhaling the character carefully crept forward and pushed a branch away. The starfilled sky was vast and the moisture of the nights in august made the branches slippery. 9
The character moved towards the neighbor’s yard in almost complete silence. As always the man had left the dog outside after their walk. A meatball thrown over the fence got the dogs attention, and it came over with a muffled growl and bristling fur. Suddenly it smelled the morsel and paid it all its attention gobbling it up. “Dogs are the stupidest of animals” “You think you’re something huh?” the character whispered, “but this time I win”. In the shadows of its masters house the dog whined and put its paws over its nose and started shaking. The paws were trembling and froth bubbled from its mouth. A barely audible whining, a long sigh and then silence. “Like blowing out a candle, one last breath and then it’s black”. When the dog stopped moving the character clad in dark jumped the fence into the garden. With a firm grip on the lifeless corpse it was heaved unto the fence, head on one side and the hind on the other. A quick glance towards the house where the man was glimpsed through the living room window and then the person turned the dog belly up. A big knife was drawn from its sheath and rammed into the throat of the dog and began to slice it open to the tail. Smiling at what had been done, the person clad in dark let go of the dogs head and in the light from the house the dogs two eyes looked empty. “You whine like an ill tuned violin and that’s how I’m going to remember you and your buddies, like bad fucking instruments.” After wiping the edge clean on the grass a thumb was drawn carefully over the edge. “It’s becoming dull and needs sharpening” The face under the hood looked up on a starlit and cloudless sky, the moon hovered like a yellow-white lamp over the treetops. 10
Barely an hour later a computer was turned on and the smattering of a keyboard mixed with the sound of buzzing flies. On the screen the image of the woman appeared as she unbeknownst of the watcher drank water standing by the sink. She patted her belly swollen with pregnancy and then left the kitchen. The watcher waved off some flies attracted to the bright lights of the screens. The image of the woman disappeared from one screen but quickly came into view on another as she entered a bright living room, touching a photo tenderly as she made her way across the room. As she turned on the light in the bathroom she came into view on the third computer screen. Her watcher looked on as she pulled her pants down and sat down on the toilet. “Why won’t you use the big bathroom?” the watcher whispered. After a few quick keystrokes a fourth screen was turned on. The image that appeared showed a man in fetal position lying on a bathroom floor. The screen was flickering, but the flies was attracted to it none the less. The watcher slouched and embraced itself and started rocking back and forth like the pendulum of an old clock. A loud thump came from the adjacent room and it stopped rocking, stood up and hissed “Shut up you filthy beast”. Two scared wide open eyes stared at the light before the door closed with a bang. The chair squeaked with the weight of a body upon it once again. Fingers touched the screen showing the woman now seated on a couch. “Soon I’ll be with you, right next to you until death do us part.”
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Chapter 2 Torsten stepped through the door of the small thai restaurant on Lummelundsväg. The smiling proprietor Kanjana held a beermug in the air and he nodded smilingly as a reply. The place was as usual nearly full. Detective Bengt Widén sat with his back towards the fish tank and was reading a newspaper. “So my favorite cops are off duty?” Kanjana said as she placed another beer on the table. “Yes”, Bengt replied with a smile and carefully put away his newspaper into his coat pocket. “Forgive me but I’m a bit curious” Kanjana said and pulled a strand of hair from her face while watching the two men. “How is it going with the cats and the dogs” she added. “Sadly no success as of yet, but many tips have been provided so we should get the person or persons responsible” Bengt said as he wiped some crumbs off the table discreetly. “Oh, that’s good!” She replied with a smile as she turned to wipe down the table next to theirs. “Well, what do you think about this?” Bengt wondered following Kanjana with his eyes. Torsten took a big sip of his beer and held his glass up to watch the rising bubbles. “It’s cold and well aged, just as it should be.” Bengt gave his colleague and friend a tired look.
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“It’s probably some bastard that didn’t get enough love as a child”, he said trying to hide a burp. “Yes, either that or the opposite, too much love.” “Is that even possible?” Torsten wondered putting a toothpick into the corner of his mouth. “I’m talking about abuse of course.” Bengt put his hands on his stomach and studied the upside down umbrellas hanging from the ceiling. “Mmm, that would leave its traces, but to start killing cats and dogs is, well, I don’t know, it’s just weird” Torsten replied. “We have to check with the psych ward if anyone has been released”, he continued licking the beer foam from his lip. “Psych and their confidentiality” Bengt mumbled. “But I have my little contacts you know”, Torsten said and raised his eyebrows. “Don’t tell me you slept with a nurse there too?” Bengt asked. “Just a young blonde with all the right curves” Torsten said with a twinkle in his eyes. “It was a long time ago, though I hardly think she has forgotten a stud like me.” Bengt laughed and took another sip. Against his will he had to admit that Torsten had been a hit with the ladies even in high school. He could get almost any girl he wanted while Bengt just looked on with wild hair and a face full of pimples. Bengt had to work really hard to get good grades while Torsten played hooky to smoke with the cool kids and to pick up girls. Unfairly his grades was almost as good as Bengt’s just the same. “You coming with me after dinner to grab a few more beers?” Bengt asked trying to forget old injustices. “No, I’m going home to study.” Torsten said chewing on his toothpick. 14
“What’s her name?” Bengt asked. “She is called forensic education” he said smiling wide. “By the way I was at the DNA-bank yesterday, leaving a sample.” “Seriously Torsten, what’s her name?” “I’m serious, you have to register your DNA to work as a forensic detective.” “You can’t fool me Totte, I’ve known you since birth.” Torsten looked at Bengt for a long time before he replied. “Just because we are cousins and that you happen to be my boss, it doesn’t mean that I have to tell you everything.” “OK, I’ll admit it, I met someone and she is really nice.” Bengt raised his eyebrows and asked, “when do I get to meet her?” Torsten sucked on his teeth. “Yesterday, today or tomorrow, who knows?” he answered and folded his hands behind his head. “Since when do you keep secrets?” Bengt asked and drank the last of his beer. “Tonight you do not get a pass, let’s call Dimitris and the girls and ask them to join us.” “Well, OK if you twist my arm.” Torsten replied as he spit out his toothpick. Two hours later the five colleagues met at the bar Munkkällaren. “How did it go today?” Bengt asked. “It was a lot to sink our teeth in with all the tips about the dogs” Kyllikki replied in her heavy Finnish accent. This night she had let her hair out and the dark curls rested on her breasts. “A real dog’s bite then” Torsten laughed and looked at Kyllikki. “You nut” she replied rolling her eyes. “Sure!” he answered, offering her the bowl of peanuts, turned his head and winked at Sonja. 15
Torsten placed his hand on Sonja’s thigh under the table, her hand found his and their fingers entwined. They had a long relationship that was hidden from the others. Torsten moved his hand between her thighs and she answered by lowering her gaze. She looked up again towards the bar and found a familiar face. “Look who’s here,” she mumbled, rose and walked towards the bar. The rest of the group watched curiously as she sat down, shaking her head slightly to let her long blonde hair drape her back and shoulders. The man beside her rose quickly and whispered in her ear. “What the Hell is she doing? He is so drunk that he can barely stand upright and looks like a filthy pigsty.” Torsten hissed upset. Sonja bought a whiskey, wrote something on a note, gave it to the man at the bar and headed back to the others. “What was that all about?” Torsten asked bitterly. “That sweaty lip always gets close to me and tries to pick me up.” “The last time he wondered how I liked my eggs the next morning.” “What did you answer him?” Dimitris asked eying the man at the bar. Sonja looked at her Greece-born colleague and answered. “Hardboiled but that it wasn’t his problem, do you know what he replied?” “No” the rest said in chorus. “And here I thought you liked them impregnated.” Roaring laughter made most of the other guests at the bar look their way. “But what did you give him just now?” Dimitris asked. “He is always asking for my number, so I gave him one.” 16
“You gave him your number?” Torsten growled while staring at Sonja. “No! Do you think I’m stupid? I wrote the number to Nomor the pest control company.” Another round of roaring laughter ensued and Sonja raised her glass in a toast. The big room was filled with angry glares in their direction for disturbing everyone’s conversations. “Can you imagine him calling that number and a voice answers: Hello and welcome to Nomor, if you have pest problems we will help you solve them.” “You are crazy Sonja” Bengt laughed and patted her shoulder. “It’s why you hired me boss.” She replied smilingly. Bengt was very satisfied with the entire situation, his closest team was also his best friends. The stress and pressure of working as a police is immeasurable lessened when you can discuss things with your friends, even if it’s under professional secrecy. “I have to get home to my husband and children”, Kyllikki said. “How is Patrik?” Dimitris asked. Kyllikki gazed at the Greek godlike man with the most intensive black sparkling eyes and perfect hair. “Mostly pissed off at the amount of hours I work”, she said with a sigh.
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Carina Silvén, pregnant and newly turned widow, lives in Vibble south of Visby. In the neighborhood every dog is brutally put to death and in the end, even hers. Carina is no longer alone. Someone is hiding in her house, drugs her and play games with her mind. A few weeks later Carina is reported missing and the case ends up in the hands of superintendent Bengt Widén. At first it is a ”normal disappearance”, but soon a recording arrives that shake the police officers to the core. The Visby police department‘s competence is tested to its limits, neighbor after neighbor is being questioned. Each with more secrets than the other, even two officers are having an affair behind the their colleagues‘ backs. But the clock is ticking... Tick tock, tick tock. When you think that you are alone the dangers may lurk near you... Right behind you! ”Those who like Mari Jungstedt will feast on extra everything. More Gotland, more sex, more bizarre homicides and more tears from the reader. I wiped away the last tear as I finnished the book and I am eagerly awaiting the sequel.” Pigge Werkelin
Johanna Svanborg, born 1973 on Gotland. Partner, mother of two. The debut ”The crimson tear” is the first in a planned series of four. SVANBORG FÖRLAG ISBN 978-91-984202-1-0
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