Page 3 of Hidden in Memories
The entire project in Storlien depends on Charlotte being able to buy the land for the expansion. Releasing the necessary acreage has been a complicated process, and some council officials have fought her every step of the way. First of all they insisted that she renovate the dilapidated existing hotel; then they refused to approve the new architectural drawings. They had the nerve to claim that the design didn’t fit in with the general ambience of Storlien.
After many lengthy and fruitless discussions, when it finally became clear that the council did not share her vision, she realized she was going to have to use more unorthodox methods to achieve her aim.
She glances at her phone again. Everything is due to be signed on Monday, then the project will be revealed at a press conference. No way is she going to allow Hedin to sabotage things at the last minute. Obviously she has meticulously documented all the payments he has received from her.
That is her insurance, in case he gets cold feet.
Slowly she types a response that leaves no room for misunderstanding.
That is not my problem, it’s yours. The press conference is on Monday and it is too late to postpone.
She presses send. That will have to do. She puts down her phone and is about to drive off when it buzzes once more.
What does he want now?
She picks up the phone and sees that she has received a text message from an unknown number.
Get out of here, or you’ll regret it.
She sighs wearily.
This isn’t the first threatening message she has had since her plans became known in the area. And it probably won’t be the last. There are reactionaries everywhere who don’t like change, who want things to remain the same as they have always been. A Facebook group has also been set up, where people spew their hatred of her and the hotel project.
She will have to call Stefan over the weekend and ask him to sort this out. He is one of Sweden’s most skilled lobbyists, a former agriculture minister with contacts throughout the community. That’sthe advantage of being a well-known ex-politician. He has worked on the project from the very beginning, and has helped to smooth the way for the new hotel.
And that isn’t his only talent.
Charlotte smiles at the memory of their most recent night together.
With a shrug she decides to ignore the troll, then pulls out onto the slush-covered road. Her phone buzzes again, but she takes no notice. She has no intention of letting herself be scared by cowards who refuse to reveal their identity.
Sunday, March 28
2
Detective Inspector Hanna Ahlander is having an early dinner with her older sister, Lydia, at the restaurant known simply as the Wine Bar; the place is packed. It is just after seven, and they have ordered coffee and dessert. Both have had a mild dose of COVID; otherwise they wouldn’t have dared venture out to this kind of environment.
They are sitting at a round table in the corner. At the long bar a few yards away, the bartender is busy preparing a tray of liqueur coffees for another party.
Lydia pushes back her blond hair and picks up her glass of Italian Ripasso. The large diamond in her wedding ring sparkles in the candlelight. She is a successful lawyer and owns a huge house in Sadeln, an area a few miles outside Åre. That was where Hanna sought refuge the Christmas before last, when she was dumped by her partner Christian and sacked from her job with the Stockholm City Police on the same day.
Lydia, who is ten years older, has always been Hanna’s rock. She and her family have arrived in Åre to celebrate the Easter break, and the sisters have sneaked away to spend some time on their own.
“How’s work going?” Lydia asks, taking a sip of her wine. “I guess it’s been pretty quiet lately.”
Hanna nods. During the winter she has been mostly investigating narcotics crimes, and one or two cases of extortion. She is usually in Åre for a couple of days each week, and works from Östersund the rest of the time, where she is attached to the Serious Crimes Unit—just like her colleague Daniel.
As usual she feels a stab of pain in her heart when she thinks of him.
As usual she ignores it.
Right now he is probably at home with Ida and their daughter, Alice, preparing Sunday dinner. That’s how it should be. He is with his family. That’s where he belongs.
She and Daniel are workmates, nothing more.
Hanna wipes her mouth with her napkin and pushes aside the forbidden thoughts. It has been more than a year since she realized she had deeper feelings for Daniel, and every day, she tries to make them go away.
Back then they were working together on the murder of the skier Johan Andersson, and grew very close. Daniel has been a great support over the past year. Hanna still wakes in the middle of the night after a terrible dream about the traumatic resolution of the case. It has taken her a very long time to process what happened, and the burden of guilt because she didn’t manage to intervene quickly enough is always with her.
