Chapter 84
After a few hours’ sleep in the spare guest room on the lower ground floor, Olivia wakes up, disorientated and still tired. It is almost eleven o’clock in the morning when she sits up in bed.
It takes only one breath before the events of last night come crowding in. She can still smell smoke inside the house, and through a gap between the roller blind and the wall, she can see the blackened cabin.
A man and a woman are walking around in the snow; it looks as if they are examining the remains of the fire.
She feels a sudden pressure in her chest.
She will never forget the fear she felt when she woke up in the night. They nearly burned to death, she and Emil.
Olivia can’t understand how someone could set fire to a building where people were sleeping. How someone could hate her and Emil so much.
But Pontus obviously could. She knows that now. And it leads to the next terrifying thought: If he is capable of doing such a dreadful thing, then he is presumably the person responsible for Filippa’s death.
He is clearly ice cold and ruthless.
Of course that was why he lost it completely when he realized Emil had helped the police to catch him by telling them about the search history on his computer.
Pontus knew he was about to be exposed. When the other boys prevented him from strangling Emil, he decided to take his revenge during the night.
Olivia could never have imagined that someone could be so evil.
And on top of everything, Pontus has disappeared to avoid facing up to what he has done. He isn’t just an arsonist and a murderer; he is also a coward.
She curls up in bed, whimpers into the pillow. As soon as she closes her eyes, she can see the fire, feel the heat from the terrifying purple-and-orange flames reaching for her and Emil.
If only she could go home to the safety of V?ster?s.
Suddenly she is overcome with longing for her dad, their little house, and her old room.
Surely the police have to let them leave ?re now they know who is to blame?
Most of all Olivia would love to feel her mother’s arms around her, hear her promise that everything is going to be okay.
Although that wouldn’t be true. Olivia lets out a sob. Nothing will ever be okay again. Mom is gone, Filippa has died, and Olivia almost lost her life too.
The recollection of all the time she has spent with Pontus makes her loathe both him and herself. The evenings when they partied together, post-assignment celebrations in various bars, all the dinners they’ve shared.
How could she be so blind that she didn’t see his true self?
Who he really was?
She doesn’t know how she is ever going to be able to believe in anyone again, not after what Pontus has done. Not only did he almost kill her, he has also shattered her trust.
She licks her dry, flaky lips, wishes she hadn’t had a go at Amir at the breakfast table yesterday morning. She should never have accused him of being responsible for Filippa’s death in front of all the others.
But at the time she was convinced of his guilt. She couldn’t imagine it was anyone else. Especially not Pontus—she would never have thought he was capable of what had happened.
It’s all so confusing.
It’s not just that Pontus has proved himself to be totally false. This is also about her own ability to read people. She was absolutely certain that Amir was involved in Filippa’s death.
And then it turned out that she was wrong.
He was innocent, while Pontus was hiding in the shadows.
How can she trust her intuition in the future when she got it so wrong this time?
Nothing is as it seems.
Olivia gets up, wraps a blanket around her shoulders, and leaves the bedroom. She is thirsty and ought to eat something. Maybe a sandwich and cup of tea will go some way toward dispersing her dark thoughts?
As she goes up the stairs she hears voices from the living room. It sounds as if William and Amir are chatting on the sofas. They are speaking quietly, but she can make out parts of the conversation.
One of them seems to be trying to persuade the other. The insistent tone comes across, but she isn’t sure if the voice belongs to William or Amir.
“You have to talk to the police.”
The words make Olivia freeze on the spot. She dare not move for fear they will discover that she is eavesdropping.
Who needs to talk to the police?
“They’ll never understand,” the other one replies.
“It’s better if it comes from you rather than someone else.”
“I’ll just be getting myself into a whole lot of trouble.”
Was it William or Amir who made that final comment?
Olivia tries her hardest to work out who is saying what, but their voices are fainter now, dropping to a murmur that is impossible to understand.
She moves quietly up a few more steps, as far as she thinks she can risk it without being seen.
“If they catch up with Pontus and he talks, you’ll really be in the shit.”
“Pontus will keep his mouth shut.”
The latter speaker sounds very sure of himself—and annoyed.
But which is which?
The words that follow make Olivia feel so dizzy that she has to sit down. There is no misinterpreting the softly spoken threat.
“Not one word to the police about me and Filippa.”