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

questions at the moment.’
    ‘No more questions?’ said Matte in surprise. ‘But there must be other things that—’
    ‘I do have a number of things I plan to ask all of you in the hope of getting to the bottom of this matter. But right now I’m primarily interested in forming a general picture of how things stood. I’ll get to back to you later.’
    Matte stood up but didn’t immediately leave the office. He paused in the doorway, as if he wanted to say something else. Martin waited, but in the end Matte simply turned around and left.
    Martin wondered what other questions he should have asked.
    Matte felt his legs shaking as he exited the office. There was something in the red-haired police officer’s expression that left him feeling stripped naked. As if he’d been revealed for the fraud that he was. The familiar sense of panic began churning in the pit of his stomach. It started as a tiny rumbling, but he knew that it would only grow in strength if he didn’t stop it. When he was younger, he’d had no choice but to allow the wave of panic to surge through him, faster and faster until it practically suffocated him. Now, he’d learned how to handle it. He had the tools, as the psychologist would have told him. So he took a few more steps over to the wall and leaned his back against it as he slowly sank to the floor in a seated position. He rested his forehead on his knees and closed his eyes. The important thing was to focus on the point in the middle of the darkness. He could make the point grow, and then it would force him to get his breathing under control. In and out. In and out. One calm breath after another. One breath at a time until his pulse no longer threatened to run away with him. The darkness behind his eyelids soothed him. And today he had company in that darkness. Deep inside that point that was growing and growing he saw his grandfather. Ruben was waving to him. Giving him a wink. Showing him that everything was okay. Everything was as it should be.
    A few minutes later, Matte got up. For the time being, the attack was over.
    ‘When do you suppose we’ll be able to get out of here?’ Vivi’s lower lip quivered.
    ‘As I’ve already told you, not until the storm dies down.’ Martin couldn’t suppress the impatience in his voice. How hard could it be to understand? It was impossible to cross the water to the mainland at the moment. Then he instantly felt guilty. The woman sitting in front of him looked as if she were on the verge of falling apart, without him making matters worse by being rude.
    ‘It’s bound to clear up soon,’ he said kindly, handing her a tissue which she gratefully accepted.
    Then he went on: ‘I understand that this must be a terrible strain for you. For all of you.’
    ‘Yes, it is,’ sobbed Vivi as she wiped her eyes with the tissue. ‘It’s starting to feel like too much for me, this whole situation. I have delicate nerves, you see.’
    Martin nodded sympathetically. ‘I promise to proceed as gently as possible. But it’s important that we find out who did this.’
    ‘Yes, yes, of course,’ said Vivi and she blotted her eyes. The tissue was streaked with mascara.
    ‘How much did you know about your husband’s …’ Martin searched for the right word. ‘… activities?’
    Vivi began crying even harder, pressing the tissue to her eyes. Her other hand fumbled nervously at her throat.
    ‘Nothing. Nothing at all. To think that he could …’ Her voice broke and she seemed to give up the battle to save her make-up. Two streaks of mascara formed on her cheeks.
    ‘No, I had absolutely no idea.’ She crushed the tissue in her hands, which now rested on her lap. Martin subjected her to a penetrating look, but he was inclined to believe her. He dropped that line of questioning and moved on to another topic.
    ‘How was your relationship with Ruben?’
    Vivi stopped crying, then said, ‘We … well, I wouldn’t say that we had much of a relationship with