The Little Old Lady Who Broke All the Rules by Catharina Ingelman-Sundberg Read Free Book Online

it,’ said Brains. ‘Ideally, we ought to steal from people who are
extremely
wealthy.’
    ‘That will increase our personal funds,’ Martha mused. ‘We won’t touch nice rich people, the kind who donate money to research and charity. But we’ll target those who don’t pay tax and always want more. We can steal from them.’
    ‘The capitalist predators, the extortionists and …?’
    ‘Yes, those greedy money-grabbing types. Have you thought about how wealthy people always compare themselves to others who are even richer? And then they want more. If they don’t understand how to share, then we can help them. Quite simply, we’d be doing them a service.’
    ‘They might not see it like that,’ Brains answered, ‘but you are right, of course.’ He had had very little money when he was young, a fate shared by many of his childhood friends in Sundbyberg. His father had worked at the Marabou factory, and Brains had earned some extra money as an errand boy. The factory had, in fact, been well managed. It had a park where the workers and their families could relax. Brains thought that was great, and he had felt considerable respect for the old men in their bowler hats. They had understood how to share with others. In fact, he had liked it so much in Sundbyberg that he had stayed there despite offers of jobs and a place to live in Stockholm after he had graduated as an engineer. At first he had worked for a firm of electricians, but after his parents had died he had opened his own workshop on the ground floor of the building where the family lived. His first major move in life had been to Diamond House.
    ‘Everything we steal will go into the Robbery Fund,’ Martha went on. She picked up the knitting that was in herlap, untangled the ball of wool on the sofa and started knitting the back panel of a cardigan.
    ‘Robbery Fund?’ Brains wondered.
    ‘We can collect the money and dole it out to culture, care of the elderly and everything else that the state neglects. That will work well, don’t you think?’
    Brains agreed, and as the evening wore on they aired many different ideas between them. When it was finally time to go to bed, they had decided to target the place in the country where the very richest people were to be found. They had planned a real robbery—of the type that they had only ever seen at the cinema before.

Eight
    A light snowfall had just begun when Martha and her friends from Diamond House stepped out of their taxis outside the Grand Hotel in the very centre of Stockholm. As they did so, Martha realized that perhaps they didn’t really blend into the crowd. Brains was wearing his red cap and, thanks to him, they all had bright reflector arms sticking out from their walkers. ‘I don’t want you to get hurt while we are in such a big city,’ Brains had said. His walker looked rather chunky. The steel tubing on the sides looked wider than Martha’s. She must remember to ask him what he had done.
    ‘People who go to the Grand Hotel usually give a tip,’ one of the taxi drivers informed them.
    ‘My good man,’ Martha interrupted him, ‘we’re notgoing to the Grand Hotel; we’re going to the island ferries from the quay here.’
    ‘Why are you lying?’ Anna-Greta whispered.
    ‘You must realize that every proper criminal leaves a false trail,’ Martha whispered back.
    ‘Soon you’ll get the biggest tip imaginable,’ Rake chipped in, and was immediately poked in the ribs by Brains.
    ‘Shush! Be a bit more discreet.’
    ‘Listen to you in that cap! You could at least turn the lights off.’
    Brains quickly pressed the peak and the LED lights went out. Martha folded the reflector arm back into the walker and made a sign to Brains to do the same. Better to be on the safe side. Witnesses always noticed odd details.
    ‘And now the great adventure starts,’ said Martha when the taxi drivers had got their tips and driven off. She looked up at the Grand Hotel and nodded at Brains. What