Chapter 26
I sit huddled against the harsh fall wind as ?sterman steers toward the Lisslo strait. Then I see a police boat moored at one of the docks.
“What’s happened?” I ask.
Is it Axel? Have they found him? Why would he be here on Haro?
I glance at ?sterman’s grave face. He is staring at the police boat—or rather, at the hull floating upside down next to the police boat.
A shadow has settled over his eyes.
“That’s Jacobsson’s boat,” he says with one hand on the steering wheel. His voice is dry and brittle. “They found it last night.”
It starts to drizzle, and I hunch up even more to shelter myself from the rain. ?sterman doesn’t say anything else. He faces away from me in such a way that it doesn’t invite conversation.
There’s no point in asking if Jacobsson has been found too.
The wind claws at my face as we emerge onto open water. I try to think about anything other than the rain, sea, and wind. I count the crests of waves rising to meet us and try to ignore the continuous jolts as they strike the hull.
Anything is better than thinking about Jacobsson’s wrecked boat lying half submerged in the water.
Soon we approach the dock where Hanna and Isabelle board. They are already waiting at the edge, both wearing white down jackets. They look like matching dolls.
They sit down on the bench in front of me, and we set out again.
They are talking more quietly than usual, until suddenly Hanna says my name loudly enough for me to hear. When I look up, she seems upset, while Isabelle appears angry.
Furious, even.
Isabelle looks straight at me and is about to say something when Hanna puts a hand on her arm, and they both turn away instead.
To my great surprise, we stop at Axel’s island. My heart is pounding. Could they have finally found him?
No. Axel isn’t waiting there to be picked up. The twins are standing on the dock with their mother, each clutching a backpack.
Marianne is barely recognizable. Her cheeks are sunken and her face is ashen.
I haven’t seen Axel’s little brothers since the day he disappeared. I didn’t think they would come back to school so soon, but here they are. Their mother squeezes their hands tightly before she finally lets go and allows ?sterman to help them into the boat.
Marianne remains standing there, watching the boat sail away with her arms crossed over her chest. She isn’t wearing a jacket. The twins sit calmly and quietly instead of messing around like they usually do.
Hanna and Isabelle turn back around and stare at me with something in their eyes that looks very much like hatred.