“I know,” Peter said. “I know he did what he felt like he had to do. But that doesn’t make it right.”

  “What he protected you from wasn’t right, Peter. You must know that.” Jonna said. She sighed. This wasn’t why they were supposed to meet. They hadn’t spoken in almost half a century. It wasn’t a time to be arguing about the past.

  “What he did was wrong. He made many bad choices that I can’t forgive,” Peter said.

  “Let’s not argue,” Jonna said. “We’re the only two left.”

  “I know. Erling died in that fire.” Peter shook his head. “He was a good mayor for many years.”

  “Do you think there’s a connection?” Jonna asked.

  Peter sucked in air through his teeth. “I’d be lying if I said I haven’t thought about it.”

  “Me too. But who? Who would know?” she asked.

  Peter shrugged. “I have no idea. But it is strange.”

  They both went very quiet. The silence was tough on both of them, since they knew what the other was thinking.

  Could I be next?

  “So, what should we do?” Jonna asked. “Do you have any suggestions?”

  “I’m getting out of here,” Peter said. “Taking the ferry first thing in the morning. Should have done it many years ago. This island has too many bad memories.”

  “Where will you go?” Jonna asked.

  He shrugged again. “Anywhere and everywhere. Ride my motorcycle into the unknown. Ride till I can’t anymore. I’ve always dreamt of touring around Europe. Just keep going till I run out of cash.”

  Jonna looked out at the ocean. The waves were crashing the shore. The ocean looked almost black. She could have sworn it hissed at her and reminded her of what she had done.

  She nodded calmly. There was no way she could do the same. She was strong and agile, but she could never leave this island. No matter how bad things got, she simply had to live with it. She had to manage. And if someone came for her, then well…she’d simply have to defend herself, even if it meant she’d lose. Besides, there was something else she wanted to do before she left this earth, something she had always dreamt of. And that involved staying on the island.

  She thought about shaking his hand, but knew he hated her as much as he had hated his brother for their actions back then.

  “Well, God’s speed then. Travel safe,” she said, and took one last glance at his beautiful face, remembering those joyful times back then with his brother.

  “Thanks.”

  29

  November 2014

  “They took my computer?”

  Maya looked like it was something I had decided, like it was all my fault. She had just come home from school and thrown her bag in the hallway when I told her.

  “I’m sorry, sweetie. I couldn’t help it. It was the Police Intelligence Force. Do you have any idea how serious that is?”

  Maya scoffed. “But…but…couldn’t you just have said no?”

  “You don’t say no to these people, believe me,” I said, trying to sound like it was no big deal. “You’ll get it back as soon as they’re done with it.”

  “But…” Maya’s cheeks had turned red. I could tell she wanted to yell at me.

  “It’s not my fault,” I said.

  “But they took it because of what you’ve done, right?” she asked. “Because they think you’ve been hacking. Don’t you think I know that? Don’t you think everyone is talking about you in school? It is so embarrassing, Mom!”

  “I’m sorry, Maya, but there isn’t much I can do about it.” I looked at the kitchen table. I had set it all up for when the kids got home. Being without a computer gave me a lot of extra time. I had even cleaned all the bathrooms upstairs.

  “I made hot chocolate. Come and sit. I even baked a cake. Carrot cake. Your favorite.”

  “That’s not my favorite,” she snarled.

  “Is it Victor’s then? I can’t remember. But I’m sure you’ll like it. Come, have a piece. Everything will look much brighter after a piece of cake and hot chocolate. Victor should be home in a few seconds as well.”

  Maya looked like she was about to explode. “I need that computer!”

  “And I would gladly buy you a new one if I was allowed to. But I can’t go anywhere near a computer until they’re done with the investigation.”

  Maya stomped her feet on the kitchen floor, then ran up the stairs and slammed her door. I heard music thumping seconds later.

  I felt agitated and upset, so I sat down and had just cut myself a piece of the cake when Victor came in.

  “Hi, buddy. Just in time. I made your favorite cake,” I said.

  “Where’s Brutus?” he said. Ever since we got that dog, it was all he ever talked about or even looked at. I was air to him.

  “Probably sitting in the living room, as usual,” I said, and took a bite of my cake.

  “I need to take him for a walk.”

  I shrugged while giving up being able to eat together as a family. “Knock yourself out,” I said. “Cake will still be here when you return.”

  Victor left to take care of Brutus, while Kenneth was gnawing on one of the legs of my chair. He was growling as he tore the wood into pieces. I didn’t even bother trying to stop him. I sighed and drank my coffee, feeling a little lost. Without being able to write, I was bored, to put it mildly. I loved my job. I loved snooping around on the Internet. Heck, I loved going on Facebook and reading all the crap people posted.

  They didn’t say anything about my iPad, did they?

  I ate another piece of my cake while shaking my head. No, they had only said computer. They had only taken our computers, not our phones or my iPad. Well, I didn’t actually tell them I had one. They hadn’t asked either. So, did that mean I was allowed to access the Internet on them? I decided it did. I walked to the living room, grabbed my iPad from the drawer and went back to the kitchen, just as Sophia stormed in. I knew something was wrong just by the look on her face.

  “Have you seen it?”

  I shrugged. “I guess not. I mean I’ve seen a lot lately, but try me,” I said and sat down.

  “Where’s your computer?” she asked and looked at where my laptop used to be.

  “Taken, burned, whichever you prefer.”

  She shook her head, looking baffled. “What?”

  “Long story. PE was here. The computer caught on fire. Not in that order, but to get to the point, it’s gone. The computer is gone. PE took Maya’s as well.”

  Sophia looked at the iPad in my hands. “But you still have your iPad; that’s good. Log onto Facebook. I need to show you something.”

  I tapped on the iPad, when I heard a noise by the door. It opened and Morten stepped in. I looked at the clock on the wall.

  “What are you doing here this early? Has something happened?”

  Sophia looked shocked. “I was too late,” she said.

  Morten hung his head. Then he nodded.

  I looked from one to the other. “Would anyone mind letting me know what the hell is going on here?”

  30

  November 2014

  “They suspended me from the force.”

  Morten sat down at the table; Sophia had poured him a cup of coffee that he didn’t touch. I hadn’t seen him in this much distress before. It scared me like crazy.

  “But why?” I asked. “What happened?”

  “I…I…” Morten looked at me. His voice was breaking. “I’m not sure I even understand it myself.”

  “It was that page again, Emma,” Sophia said. “That Facebook page. I was trying to tell you. I came over as soon as I read it.”

  I felt the blood boiling inside of me. “They wrote something that hurt Morten and got him suspended?” I asked.

  “Yes.” Sophia turned the iPad and showed me. A picture of Morten was on the wall, the text underneath saying:

  EMMA FROST’S BOYFRIEND A SICK PERVERT?

  I looked at Sophia. “Do I even want to read this?”

  Morten shook his head. “Don’t. I don’t want you to read it.”

  “Just tell me what it says,” I said and sipped my coffee.

  “We need something stronger for this,” Sophia said and got to her feet. She pulled out the old whiskey that we only drank when she was around. She put some in all of our coffees. I sipped mine again and felt the alcohol burn my throat. Morten drank all of his and asked for more.

  “Okay. Break it to me gently,” I said. “What have the bastards written about you? All lies, I suppose.”

  Morten tilted his head. “Well…not exactly.”

  “What?”

  “I opened an email,” he said. “It contained a link. I thought it was harmless, but there were animals in it. They were being…well they were…”

  “Raped by humans,” Sophia said. “It was porn. At least according to the article on Facebook.”

  I almost choked on the coffee. “What? Why would you be looking at that kind of stuff?”

  “I had no idea what it was. But apparently, the video was downloaded to my work computer and I didn’t know. It’s illegal to download that kind of movie, so now I might be charged with possession of illegal porn. And I was suspended until they can look into the matter.”

  I leaned back in the chair. “I…I don’t know what to say to this. I’m completely baffled. It’s so surreal that all of this is happening to us. Someone is out to ruin us, to destroy us. And he’s succeeding, isn’t he?”

  “It looks like it,” Sophia said. “People are writing some ugly stuff about you online. I won’t go into the details, but it’s not very nice.”

  “And it’s hurting my book sales. My publisher called earlier and told me several of the bookstores have sent my books back, since they can’t sell them anymore or won’t because of the ethical stuff, the way they were created. Can you believe this?” I asked looking at them both. “Who the hell is behind this?”

  “I don’t know,” Sophia said. “It’s so easy to be anonymous these days. Online, you can say anything you like without having to answer to anyone. It’s really ugly.”

  I looked at Morten, who looked so incredibly ashamed. “And you. Why on earth would you open a link like that? Why would you click on it?”

  “I…the email came from you,” he said. “It said in the email that it was something cute I had to see, so I clicked on it.”

  “I never send emails like that, and I’d certainly never send that one.”

  “It came from EmmaFrost12@hotmail.com, so I assumed you had stumbled onto something that you wanted me to see.”

  “First of all, I’ve had no computer all day…”

  “It was this morning. The email was sent last night,” Morten argued.

  “Okay. But that’s not my email address. I use Gmail. You know that.”

  Morten shrugged. “Well, I do now. To be honest, I didn’t notice it was a Hotmail address till afterwards. I just saw your name.”

  “And by then, it was too late,” I said.

  31

  April 1964

  Dear Sister,

  I am sorry that it has been so long since my last letter. Things have been busy here at the farm. You wouldn’t believe how big the boys are now. Ulrik is turning eighteen this fall, Peter just turned sixteen, and Per is five years old now. Oh, how time flies. You wouldn’t believe it.

  Ulrik is working full time on the farm with Claes now, and has been since he finished ninth grade two years ago. He wanted to go to high school like the other children, he said, but Claes wouldn’t hear of it. The boy is going to be a farmer and doesn’t need to read books, he said. I guess he’s right. It is just difficult when you know your son really likes to read books and actually enjoys school. I thought about talking to Claes about letting Ulrik go to high school and let Peter take over the farm instead, since Peter loves working with his hands and can’t wait to get out of school. But that’s not the way Claes wants it to be. The oldest takes over the farm, just like he himself took over from his father. He is very firm on that, and I can’t argue with him.

  But it is difficult as a mother to see your son look at his brother with longing jealous eyes as he takes his bike and rides it to school every morning. Per will start school next year as well, and then Ulrik will be the only kid left at the farm all day. It’s going to be tough on him. He doesn’t seem to enjoy this work much, nor does he seem to look forward to his future here on the farm. I worry about him a lot, but you probably know how that is, having a son of your own.

  Since Ulrik is working full time here now, there isn’t much work for Peter to do once he gets out of school, so our neighbor, old Hansen, is paying him to work on his farm every weekend. I do think Peter will be the one using his hands for a living. He is very skilled in almost all areas of handiwork, especially when it comes to carpentry. That is where his real skills lie. He has built an entire new barn for Old Mr. Hansen and helped put a new roof on his house. Peter certainly will do well in this life, I am sure.

  Our youngest, Per, is still the one bringing me the most joy. He is such a happy child. Oh, sister, I wish you could come and visit again soon and see how big he is now and experience how wonderful a boy he has turned out to be. Everyone loves being in his company and he always makes me laugh. He has a way with animals. You should see him with the dogs. He plays with them and trains them to do all kinds of tricks. He likes the outdoor life and spends most of his time with the animals. He rides our horses and they seem to obey his every command. It’s truly amazing. He even adores the pigs and has named all of them, even though I’ve told him that he really shouldn’t, since they’re meant to be slaughtered eventually. He doesn’t seem to care. I’m curious how he will take it once he has to start school in the fall. He’ll be devastated to not be able to spend time with the animals all day. Well, it’s the way it must go, I guess. He’ll grow up and be a blessing to this world. I’m sure of it. He’s such a beautiful boy. Such a delight to be around. Never gets himself in trouble. Nothing like his older brothers. I still consider him my baby, but I guess it will always be like that with your youngest.

  How are things in the city? Is Bengt still doing well in school? I will try and see if I can come for a visit in the fall if Claes permits it. He seems to think we have more important things to do than go to the city. I try and tell him I would like to see something different for once. I’m tired of cornfields and pigsties. We will harvest the wheat in August…that’s the busiest time of the year for us. Maybe I will find the time to come for a visit in September or October. I can’t believe it has been almost three years since we last saw each other. Where does the time go?

  With love,

  Helle

  32

  November 2014

  I put the letter back in the envelope and into the box. I stared at the iPad on the table. Morten was walking around upstairs. He hadn’t been able to rest all afternoon. Neither had I, and I thought reading one of my grandmother’s letters would make me forget my troubles. I had succeeded for a little while, but now it was all back again. I felt a knot in my stomach, and it wasn’t because of the carrot cake that I had finished all by myself; it was because of the uncertainty, the anxiety for the both of us. What was this going to mean for us?

  I had called my lawyer, Helene Quist, and she promised to look into the matter. She asked me to send her an email with all the information. I couldn’t help laughing.

  “I’m not allowed near a computer,” I said, still chuckling.

  “Oh. I forgot. Well then, I’ll call PE and tell them they’ll have to go through me from now on, and have them send over the charges against you. We’ll get to the bottom of this. Don’t you worry.”

  But I did. I worried like crazy, wondering if I would have to go to jail. Wondering if I would ever be able to sell a book again.

  I grabbed the iPad and went online. I checked the Facebook page. Almost a thousand followers now, and lots of nasty comments on the story about me, and even more on the one about Morten. I closed the app and went online to check the newspapers. Morten’s story wasn’t front-page news, but they all mentioned his suspension. Only because he was my boyfriend; otherwise, they wouldn’t have bothered. It annoyed me. Everything about this affair annoyed me immensely. Especially the fact that I felt paralyzed. This guy could post all these things about me and my loved ones, and I couldn’t do a damn thing about it. How was that even possible? It was spreading like a fire around the web and people were getting in line to scold me. Why were people so nasty online?

  So, what was I supposed to do now? Just sit here and take a beating? What else would this person come up with?

  I’m not gonna just sit here and take it. The hell I am.

  I got to my feet and walked to the closet in the hallway. I found a hooded sweater and a big fluffy jacket that I hardly ever used. I also found a dark-haired wig that I had bought for Fastelavn, but never used. I put it all on and pulled the hood over my head. I looked in the mirror, then pulled out a drawer in the dresser. I found a pair of my dad’s glasses that he had forgotten when visiting one day and put them on as well. There. No one would recognize me now.

  Kenneth barked at me like I was an intruder, but he always did that. I gave him an old shoe to gnaw. That should keep him busy for a little while. I yelled to Morten and Maya that I was going out for a little, then left. I walked through town in the drizzle, sensing how my steps became angrier and more powerful the more I walked. Why was this strange person behind the Facebook page so keen on hurting me? On hurting Morten? What did he get out of it? I didn’t understand how anyone could act like this. It was a fair amount of work he had put into finding these accusations against us. It took a lot of work and planning to create the email and send it to Morten, not to mention all the work it took to find out in which passages in my books I had provided details that weren’t known to the public. This guy was really out to get me, and I had a feeling he wasn’t going to stop anytime soon.