The Scent of Almonds: A Novella by Camilla Läckberg Read Free Book Online Page A

IPO went through.’
    ‘Then what was the problem he mentioned last night? It sounded as though your grandfather had misgivings about his investment.’
    ‘As I said before, I have no idea what he was talking about! The IPO will go through in a couple of weeks, and then he would have received his twenty million back, along with a whole sack of money in interest!’ Bernard’s unflappable composure seemed to be showing a few cracks. He ran his hand over his slicked-back hair.
    ‘So if I ask the fraud squad to check out your company when we get back to civilization, they’re not going to find anything amiss?’
    Again Bernard ran his hand over his gelled hair. Martin felt great satisfaction when he noticed him shift his glance away for a moment.
    ‘How many times do I have to say it? I have no idea what Grandpa was talking about,’ he muttered through clenched teeth.
    ‘So you maintain that you had no motive for killing him. What about the others? Is there anyone in the family who could have done it?’
    Bernard was once again his usual smug self. And he said more or less what his sister had said. ‘Do you really expect me to answer that question?’
    ‘Okay, let’s stop there for the time being,’ said Martin, realizing that he wasn’t going to make any more headway with Bernard. ‘Could you ask Mattias to join me here in the office?’
    ‘No one calls him Mattias. Just Matte. But I’ll pass on your message to my dear cousin.’
    With that Bernard got up and sauntered out of the room. Martin watched with annoyance. There was something about the man that made his hackles rise.
    ‘You wanted to see me?’
    Matte paused politely in the doorway. Martin noticed that his eyes were red-rimmed and realized that he’d shed more tears overnight.
    ‘Yes, come in,’ he said in a friendly tone of voice as he gestured towards the chair in front of the desk.
    Matte obligingly sat down. ‘What a terrible first meeting you’ve had with my family,’ he said with a wan smile.
    ‘You’re right. It must be some kind of record,’ said Martin with a laugh. Then his expression turned serious. ‘How are you doing?’
    Matte shook his head. ‘I can’t believe that Grandpa is gone … And that everyone seems so … indifferent.’
    ‘I know what you mean,’ said Martin. ‘So far you’re the only one I’ve seen cry over Ruben Liljecrona. I assume that the two of you must have been very close, you and your grandfather.’
    ‘We had a ritual, Grandpa and I. Once a week, every Friday afternoon, I would call by his flat for tea. We talked about every subject under the sun. Grandpa was one of the cleverest, most widely read, and most broad-minded people I’ve ever met. It was a privilege to have him in my life.’
    ‘It doesn’t appear that the rest of the family shared your opinion.’
    Matte snorted. ‘The others just got dollar signs in their eyes whenever they thought about Grandpa. Even my father. All they ever cared about was taking more and more money from him. Nobody was interested in getting to know him.’
    ‘So the flat that Bernard mentioned …’
    Matte sighed wearily. ‘Grandpa and I had an agreement. I was allowed to live in a flat that he owned while I was studying at the university. He never signed the property over to me. I leased it from him, that’s all.’
    Martin paused before saying in a low voice, ‘Do you have any idea who might have done this?’
    A few seconds passed before Matte reacted. Then he merely shook his head and said, ‘No. I have no idea.’
    Martin had the feeling that Matte wanted to say more, so he persisted:
    ‘Are you sure? Do you have any suspicions about who might have wanted to kill your grandfather?’
    ‘No. None,’ replied Matte in a firmer voice. ‘It’s true that everyone took advantage of him, but to go from that to murder … No, I can’t imagine anyone doing that.’
    Martin gave him a searching glance before concluding, ‘In that case, I have no more