approached. Particularly if he was good-looking, like Jonas Palmlöf. As soon as Jonas and Sofia had disappeared in the direction of the bar, Hanna whispered her verdict in Seja’s ear: he was totally gorgeous.
‘Pack it in, you trollop,’ Seja laughed. ‘He’s here with his girlfriend!’
‘So?’ said Hanna, vaguely offended. ‘I’m allowed to say what I think. Do you know how rare it is for me to get out the door without a child in tow? And besides, it’s not often you see such a—’
She stopped as Sofia came towards them with a glass in each hand.
‘I’m just kidding,’ she hissed.
‘Yeah, right.’
This is how it feels, thought Seja, to let go. To lose yourself.
This is how it feels, lying by the water and drying off, while Lukas grazes on birch leaves and whinnies, the sound travelling across the inlet and bouncing off the rock face on the far side.
They had left the Bishop’s Arms and strolled along to Skål, which had got busier and busier as the night went on. Hanna had met an old boyfriend in the bar and was sitting very close to him, their shoulders touching. They were deep in conversation; every time Seja glanced in their direction, Hanna’s head was leaning even closer to the man’s.
Jonas had come with them to the Vasastan area of the city after Sofiahad taken her leave. Seja liked how easy-going he was, even if he had had a little too much to drink by this stage.
He returned to a conversation they had had earlier in the evening. They had been talking about work, about priorities in general, and about the abruptly postponed mini-break in particular. When Seja explained what had happened, and told him how upset she had been, Jonas didn’t seem that surprised.
‘I don’t think you necessarily have to buy into the idea that the job takes up all your time. I mean, it’s true that if you’re in the CID you have to be a bit flexible with your working hours, and of course there are emergencies from time to time, and so on. But these things also come down to your personality and how you handle things. There’s always back-up. Nobody’s expected to work non-stop.’
He took a swig of his beer, aware that Seja was waiting for him to go on. ‘Christian is a friend of mine, as you know. But Christian is – to put it diplomatically – a complete control freak. He’s never really happy until everyone else is being as obsessive as he is.’
‘That wasn’t tremendously diplomatic.’
‘Believe me, it was.’ He laughed gleefully. ‘Don’t get me wrong, I love the guy.’ He thumped his breast pocket dramatically, just over his heart, a macho gesture which almost made Seja blush. ‘He’s one of the most morally upright people I know. He’d take a bullet for anybody. Well, perhaps not for anybody, but for a colleague, a friend. What I mean is, I think maybe he just can’t understand that other people might want something different out of life. It might be that he demands way too much from everybody else. But he allows himself even fewer concessions. You know, I actually think . . .’
He banged his glass down on the table. A girl smiled and raised her eyebrows as she walked past. Jonas waved theatrically. ‘I think Christian is harder on himself than anyone else I know. It’ll finish him off one of these days.’
Seja didn’t know how to respond to that. The Christian Jonas was talking about didn’t sound like the Christian she knew.
‘I don’t really know,’ she said eventually. ‘I don’t see him as a police officer when he’s with me. I see a completely different side of him.’
‘Rubbish!’ shouted Jonas.
Seja gave what sounded even to her like a slightly strangledlaugh. ‘What do you mean, rubbish? What do you know about our relationship?’
The light from above was reflected in his eyes, making them glint.
‘You do not see a different side of him. There is no other side to Christian Tell. That’s what I mean!’
Seja leant forward, her expression
‘Pack it in, you trollop,’ Seja laughed. ‘He’s here with his girlfriend!’
‘So?’ said Hanna, vaguely offended. ‘I’m allowed to say what I think. Do you know how rare it is for me to get out the door without a child in tow? And besides, it’s not often you see such a—’
She stopped as Sofia came towards them with a glass in each hand.
‘I’m just kidding,’ she hissed.
‘Yeah, right.’
This is how it feels, thought Seja, to let go. To lose yourself.
This is how it feels, lying by the water and drying off, while Lukas grazes on birch leaves and whinnies, the sound travelling across the inlet and bouncing off the rock face on the far side.
They had left the Bishop’s Arms and strolled along to Skål, which had got busier and busier as the night went on. Hanna had met an old boyfriend in the bar and was sitting very close to him, their shoulders touching. They were deep in conversation; every time Seja glanced in their direction, Hanna’s head was leaning even closer to the man’s.
Jonas had come with them to the Vasastan area of the city after Sofiahad taken her leave. Seja liked how easy-going he was, even if he had had a little too much to drink by this stage.
He returned to a conversation they had had earlier in the evening. They had been talking about work, about priorities in general, and about the abruptly postponed mini-break in particular. When Seja explained what had happened, and told him how upset she had been, Jonas didn’t seem that surprised.
‘I don’t think you necessarily have to buy into the idea that the job takes up all your time. I mean, it’s true that if you’re in the CID you have to be a bit flexible with your working hours, and of course there are emergencies from time to time, and so on. But these things also come down to your personality and how you handle things. There’s always back-up. Nobody’s expected to work non-stop.’
He took a swig of his beer, aware that Seja was waiting for him to go on. ‘Christian is a friend of mine, as you know. But Christian is – to put it diplomatically – a complete control freak. He’s never really happy until everyone else is being as obsessive as he is.’
‘That wasn’t tremendously diplomatic.’
‘Believe me, it was.’ He laughed gleefully. ‘Don’t get me wrong, I love the guy.’ He thumped his breast pocket dramatically, just over his heart, a macho gesture which almost made Seja blush. ‘He’s one of the most morally upright people I know. He’d take a bullet for anybody. Well, perhaps not for anybody, but for a colleague, a friend. What I mean is, I think maybe he just can’t understand that other people might want something different out of life. It might be that he demands way too much from everybody else. But he allows himself even fewer concessions. You know, I actually think . . .’
He banged his glass down on the table. A girl smiled and raised her eyebrows as she walked past. Jonas waved theatrically. ‘I think Christian is harder on himself than anyone else I know. It’ll finish him off one of these days.’
Seja didn’t know how to respond to that. The Christian Jonas was talking about didn’t sound like the Christian she knew.
‘I don’t really know,’ she said eventually. ‘I don’t see him as a police officer when he’s with me. I see a completely different side of him.’
‘Rubbish!’ shouted Jonas.
Seja gave what sounded even to her like a slightly strangledlaugh. ‘What do you mean, rubbish? What do you know about our relationship?’
The light from above was reflected in his eyes, making them glint.
‘You do not see a different side of him. There is no other side to Christian Tell. That’s what I mean!’
Seja leant forward, her expression
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