Page 32 of Hidden in Memories
Hanna wants to tell him that he doesn’t need to apologize, but Daniel has already started to explain where they are in the investigation, without going into the most upsetting details.
Filip doesn’t let go of Emily’s hand. They are sitting close together on the sofa, opposite Daniel and Hanna in wing-back armchairs.
“We need to ask you a few questions about your mom,” Hanna says. “Tell us if it gets too difficult.”
“Yes. Absolutely. Of course. I’ll do anything if it helps you find ... the murderer.”
Filip nods resolutely, as if he is determined to be strong for his mother’s sake. It is a way of finding meaning in total chaos. He is clearly struggling, and Hanna feels a new respect for him. After all, he is only twenty-three. Someone so young shouldn’t have to lose a parent, especially not through a brutal murder.
“When did you last speak to her?”
Filip rubs one hand on his thigh as he thinks.
“A while ago—two weeks, maybe?”
“That sounds like a long time?”
“We mostly texted.” He takes out his phone and clicks on the messaging app. “The last one arrived on Saturday.” He shows them the screen so they can read it for themselves.
Shall I book tickets to Åre for you and Emily on Monday? And have you sent in your application for the fall semester? Love Mom
“What’s that about?” Daniel asks.
“She thought I should get my act together and start studying again.” Filip sounds embarrassed. “I dropped out of the Royal Institute of Technology in February, and Mom wanted me to go back. Or at least apply for a different course.”
“What have you been doing since then?”
“Not much. Gaming, training. Hanging out with Emily and my friends.” He looks apologetic and lowers his eyes. “You kind of flip the day around when you’re playing, then it’s hard to readjust.”
“So why did you drop out?”
Filip looks up. “I had no motivation.”
He says it as if it’s obvious. Hanna can’t help wondering if it’s because of his age. She is only about twelve years older than him, yet it’s as if they live in different worlds. She was brought up to grit her teeth and get on with things, even when she doesn’t want to.
Gen Z has a different attitude.
“It was Mom who insisted I should study civil engineering,” Filip goes on. “I applied to the institute to stop her nagging. Before that I did a semester of economics, but that was even worse. I didn’t fit in. And she wasn’t happy, because she’d wanted me to go to the Stockholm School of Economics, just like she and my grandfather did.”
“What did your dad think?” Hanna asks.
Filip shrugs. “I’ve no idea. We haven’t been in touch since Christmas.”
“You haven’t spoken to your father for three months?” Daniel is astonished.
Filip looks away, as if he is embarrassed. He quickly continues. “My dad doesn’t live in Sweden anymore. It’s over ten years since he moved to France with his new wife. They have a house in Antibes.”
“This might sound strange,” Hanna says, “but I have to ask if you know whether your mom had any ... adversaries.”
At the last moment she decides to avoid the wordenemies. It sounds too dramatic, she doesn’t want to scare Filip. Not when he is so devastated and has just lost the only parent who was present in his life.
“You mean people who hated her?”
His lips are trembling. His grief pierces Hanna’s heart. Charlotte’s son might have been born with a silver spoon in his mouth, but he doesn’t seem to have had a particularly easy time.
“Mom could be ... difficult to like,” he says quietly. “It was way too important for her to achieve her goals, even if she upset people.”
The wordupsetsounds strange in the context. Presumably it’s more representative of how Filip felt in relation to his mother, rather than the perception of those around her.
