An Elegant Death: A Short Story (2 page)

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Authors: Camilla Lackberg

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‘Why?’ asked Mellberg, looking cross. ‘Why should we waste resources on that if no one got inside? As you must be aware, we’re on a tight budget here.’

‘Yes, I know. But I have a hunch … I’d also like to take a closer look at Lisbeth’s finances, both her personal accounts and the shop’s books.’

‘This is going to be expensive. Especially given that it was probably a customer who broke in, and then things got out of control. But okay, go ahead – only this once, mind.’

Mellberg glared at Patrik, who heaved a sigh of relief. Apparently the chief was in a good mood today. Patrik got up and signalled with a nod for Martin to come with him. They had a lot to do.

‘What are we going to do with all these things?’ Linnea ran her hand lightly over the clothes displayed on hangers.

‘I’ve already talked to the Once More shop in Göteborg. They’ve promised to buy everything,’ said Tina. ‘I just want to see if there are any goodies that I might want to have for myself.’

Her eyes sparkling, she reached for a long, sleek gown with a deep décolletage. It looked as if it belonged on the red carpet in Cannes.

‘Dolce. How fabulous!’

She laid the dress aside and continued to rifle through the clothes, hanging some items back up but setting aside more until she had a huge pile of garments that she wanted to keep.

‘Don’t you want anything for yourself?’ Tina laughed as she looked her sister up and down, taking in her sensible shoes and the nubby grey cardigan of no particular label.

‘No,’ said Linnea, embarrassed.

She’d never had any interest in clothes or fashion. Not like Tina. Or their mother.

‘But we need to choose something for her to be buried in,’ she quietly added, keeping her eyes fixed on the ground.

‘I don’t think it much matters what anyone wears once they’re put in the ground,’ replied Tina scornfully as she placed a chic patterned blouse on top of her pile of clothes.

‘I realize that, but I’d still like Mamma to look nice.’

‘For God’s sake! OK, go ahead and choose something for Mamma. But check the price tag first so you don’t take anything too expensive. No need to be extravagant.’

‘All right,’ said Linnea, her gaze still fixed on the toes of her shoes.

Tina’s condescending manner had grown worse after the problems she’d encountered last winter. And the relationship between Lisbeth and her older daughter had deteriorated.

‘Don’t just stand there.’ Tina pointed at the pile of clothing: ‘Help me carry all these things out to the car.’

Linnea sighed and began gathering up the garments.

‘I can’t figure out what the motive could be,’ said Patrik as he peeled yet another shrimp.

On the plate in front of him was an impressive heap of shrimp debris.

‘But wasn’t it a robbery?’ said Anna, reaching for the bottle of white wine and refilling everyone’s glass.

‘Well, it’s true that someone took the cash from the till, but according to Lisbeth’s younger daughter there was never a lot of money in the shop.’

‘What about the clothes? They must be worth quite a bit,’ said Erica. She took a handful of shrimp from the big bowl in the middle of the table.

‘Possibly, but it’s not that easy to sell stolen goods. And I have a hard time picturing someone robbing a shop full of second-hand clothing.’

‘Not second-hand, Patrik. Vintage.’

‘Okay, okay. Vintage. But that doesn’t seem like much of a motive.’

‘Although the Chanel jacket that Lisbeth asked me to look up might be worth around half a million kronor to the right buyer.’

Anna took a big bite of the shrimp sandwich she’d just made but instantly stopped chewing when she saw Erica and Patrik both staring at her.

‘What? Didn’t you know that? Lisbeth rang me up last week because she’d got in some clothing from an estate sale and found a jacket she suspected could be from Coco Chanel’s very first collection. And that would make it super valuable. She knew that I have contacts at Sotheby’s because of all the years I worked in the auction world. Her daughter Tina emailed me pictures of the jacket, and I checked it out for her. Didn’t Tina tell you?’

Anna finished chewing and swallowed her food. Patrik was shaking his head.

‘No, she didn’t say a word about that. And I just found out that she’s in a real bind because an audit around Christmastime revealed that over half a million kronor has gone missing from the company where she works. It’s currently under investigation, but they’re fairly certain that Tina was the one who embezzled the money by issuing fake invoices. So tell me more about this jacket.’

‘Well, I sent out the photos, and of course they’ll need to see the jacket in person before they can make a definite determination. But apparently it looks to be genuine. And the price depends a bit on finding the right buyer, but several collectors have expressed interest, and they’ll be taking bids, so … half a million is not far off.’

‘For a jacket? Good Lord. That’s absurd.’ Patrik shook his head.

‘Oh, right. That’s equivalent to the big toe of some star football player like Zlatan when he gets sold to a team,’ Anna mocked. ‘And that’s a much more sensible way of spending the money.’

‘You can’t compare the two things,’ replied Patrik. ‘Zlatan is … er … Oh, it’s no use trying to explain to anyone who has no interest in sports, like the two of you.’

‘I’m on your side, Patrik. I’d much rather buy a piece of Zlatan than a Chanel jacket.’ Erica grinned.

‘In that case, I know which piece I’d buy,’ Anna said with a big smile.

‘Good Lord. You guys are hopeless. But thanks for your help, Anna. This gives us something to work with in the morning. Plus we’ve been given a warrant to search Lisbeth’s flat above the shop.’

‘And Lisbeth’s funeral is tomorrow,’ said Erica, picturing the sorrow she’d seen in Linnea’s eyes.

Gusts of cold springtime wind swept across the Fjällbacka cemetery. The mourners who had gathered for the burial stood with their backs to the church, which loomed like a mighty granite tower over the small village. Not an especially large group of people, as Tina noted. And no wonder. Her mother had been an ordinary person who lived an ordinary life. The one redeeming feature had been her encyclopedic knowledge of fashion. That was the only point at which Tina’s world connected with her mother’s.

And in the end it had also proved to be Tina’s lifeline. She knew that she would be forced to pay back all the money that she’d borrowed from the company. Half a million kronor – that was a lot of money. She had never intended to take such a large sum. At first she’d taken only small amounts. Enough to be able to buy herself a few nice things. A pair of black Louboutins. A blouse from Chloé. A Hermès scarf. Marvellous little things that had made life worth living. Then suddenly the sum had grown so large that she couldn’t possibly pay it back. So she had placed all her hopes on her mother. Lisbeth had inherited three million from their father, after all, and some of the money really belonged to Tina. Instead Lisbeth had used the funds to realize her ridiculous dream. She might as well have burned it in the woodstove. And then there was that jacket. When Lisbeth asked her daughter for help in having it appraised, Tina knew at once that this could be her ticket out of the financial straits in which she’d landed. Half a million kronor. It would have solved all her problems. She had begged and pleaded, but her mother stubbornly shook her head as she kept on repeating the same old lines. She told Tina that she needed to take responsibility for her own life, that she couldn’t depend on other people to solve her problems. The same crap that she’d always had to put up with. All of a sudden it was as if her brain short-circuited and rage took over. She’d picked up an iron and struck again and again until Lisbeth was no longer breathing.

She realized it was only a matter of time before she was caught. The police were going to search her mother’s flat today. There they’d find traces from when she went upstairs to clean herself up afterwards and wash off all the blood. So she had a plan. She’d booked a plane ticket. As soon as she’d picked up the jacket she would drive straight to the airport. Then it would just be a matter of finding some way to sell it. Combined with the money she’d taken from her husband’s account, she would have a nice little sum to start a new life.

Tina had to hold back a smile. People were so stupid, so weak. And her own family was the worst. Especially Linnea, standing there weeping as their mother’s coffin was lowered into the ground.

‘What did you choose for her to wear?’ Tina asked, in an effort to distract Linnea and stop her crying.

‘I didn’t take anything from the shop – I was afraid of choosing something too expensive,’ said Linnea, in between sobs. ‘But I had a pair of black trousers from H&M that I once borrowed from Mamma and didn’t have a chance to return. And an old black jacket that I found in a carrier bag in the kitchen.’

Tina stared at her sister, then slowly shifted her gaze to look down at the coffin.

Try the latest spine-tingling thriller in Camilla Lackberg’s Fjallbacka series …

TRAGEDY RUNS IN THE FAMILY

AND MURDER RUNS IN THE BLOOD …

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About the Author

Camilla Lackberg is a worldwide bestseller renowned for her brilliant contemporary psychological thrillers. Her novels have sold over 12 million copies in 55 countries with translations into 37 languages.

www.CamillaLackberg.com

Also by Camilla Lackberg

The Ice Princess

The Preacher

The Stonecutter

The Stranger
(previously titled
The Gallows Bird
)

The Hidden Child

The Drowning

The Lost Boy

Buried Angels

About the Publisher

Australia