neither spoke for a little while.
But Rebecka noticed gratefully that the silence didn’t feel awkward.
“So,” said Rebecka at last, with a little smile. “What did you want to ask me?”
Anna-Maria smiled back. There had always been a kind of tension between her and Rebecka Martinsson for some reason. She hadn’t really given it much thought, but sometimes it occurred to her that you weren’t necessarily close to another person just because you’d saved their life. But all of a sudden it felt as if that tension had flown out the window.
“Inna Wattrang’s boss, Mauri Kallis, is coming up here tomorrow,” she said.
Rebecka whistled.
“It’s true,” Anna-Maria went on. “And I have to talk to him, but I don’t know anything about the company or what Inna Wattrang’s job involved.”
“There must be loads of stuff on the Net.”
“Exactly,” said Anna-Maria, with a pained expression.
She hated reading. Swedish and math had been her worst subjects in school. She’d only just scraped the grades she needed to get into the police training college.
“I understand,” said Rebecka. “You’ll have a summary in the morning. Let’s say eight-thirty, because I’m in court all day and they start at nine.”
“Are you sure?” said Anna-Maria. “It’s a lot of work.”
“But that’s my thing,” said Rebecka. “Turning a great big pile of rubbish into a two-page summary.”
“And then you’re in court all day. Have you finished preparing for that?”
Rebecka grinned.
“Now you’re starting to feel guilty,” she teased. “First of all you want me to do you a favor. Now you want absolution as well.”
“Forget it,” said Anna-Maria. “I’d rather have a guilty conscience than do all that reading. And it’s one of those company things too…”
“Mmm, Kallis Mining’s an international company. Not a group as such, you could call it a sphere. But I’ll explain the company structure as well, it isn’t that complicated really.”
“Yeah, right! As soon as you say company and group and sphere I come out in hives. But I really appreciate your doing this. And I’ll think about you as I’m flopping down on the sofa in front of the TV this evening. But seriously—shall I go and get you a pizza or something? I assume you’re staying here?”
“I’m going home, I have every intention of flopping down in front of the TV as well. I’ll get this done first.”
“Who are you? Superwoman?”
“That’s right. Off you go now, home to the TV. Haven’t you got lots of children to kiss good night as well?”
“Mmm, the eldest two don’t kiss Mummy any longer. And the little girl only kisses Daddy.”
“But there’s your youngest.”
“Gustav. He’s three. Oh yes, he wants to kiss his old mummy.”
Rebecka smiled. It was a warm, kind smile with a fleeting hint of sorrow. It made her look softer.
I feel sorry for her, thought Anna-Maria a while later as she was on her way home in the car. She’s gone through a lot.
She felt a pang of conscience over talking about her children; Rebecka had none.
But what can I do? she defended herself. They’re a huge part of my life. If mentioning them is taboo, it’s going to be impossible to chat.
Robert had put everything away, and even wiped the kitchen table. She warmed up fish fingers and mashed potato in the microwave and drank a glass of red wine to go with it. Enjoyed the fact that the mash was homemade, with real potatoes. Felt that she had the best life anybody could possibly wish for.
T hat’s right, thought Rebecka Martinsson as she got out of her car outside the house in Kurravaara. I am in fact Superwoman. I was one of the best lawyers in Sweden. On the way, at any rate. Although you mustn’t say that to anybody. Or even think it about yourself.
She’d downloaded material on Kallis Mining from the Net to her laptop. It would actually be quite good fun, she thought. A change from the constant traffic offenses and
But Rebecka noticed gratefully that the silence didn’t feel awkward.
“So,” said Rebecka at last, with a little smile. “What did you want to ask me?”
Anna-Maria smiled back. There had always been a kind of tension between her and Rebecka Martinsson for some reason. She hadn’t really given it much thought, but sometimes it occurred to her that you weren’t necessarily close to another person just because you’d saved their life. But all of a sudden it felt as if that tension had flown out the window.
“Inna Wattrang’s boss, Mauri Kallis, is coming up here tomorrow,” she said.
Rebecka whistled.
“It’s true,” Anna-Maria went on. “And I have to talk to him, but I don’t know anything about the company or what Inna Wattrang’s job involved.”
“There must be loads of stuff on the Net.”
“Exactly,” said Anna-Maria, with a pained expression.
She hated reading. Swedish and math had been her worst subjects in school. She’d only just scraped the grades she needed to get into the police training college.
“I understand,” said Rebecka. “You’ll have a summary in the morning. Let’s say eight-thirty, because I’m in court all day and they start at nine.”
“Are you sure?” said Anna-Maria. “It’s a lot of work.”
“But that’s my thing,” said Rebecka. “Turning a great big pile of rubbish into a two-page summary.”
“And then you’re in court all day. Have you finished preparing for that?”
Rebecka grinned.
“Now you’re starting to feel guilty,” she teased. “First of all you want me to do you a favor. Now you want absolution as well.”
“Forget it,” said Anna-Maria. “I’d rather have a guilty conscience than do all that reading. And it’s one of those company things too…”
“Mmm, Kallis Mining’s an international company. Not a group as such, you could call it a sphere. But I’ll explain the company structure as well, it isn’t that complicated really.”
“Yeah, right! As soon as you say company and group and sphere I come out in hives. But I really appreciate your doing this. And I’ll think about you as I’m flopping down on the sofa in front of the TV this evening. But seriously—shall I go and get you a pizza or something? I assume you’re staying here?”
“I’m going home, I have every intention of flopping down in front of the TV as well. I’ll get this done first.”
“Who are you? Superwoman?”
“That’s right. Off you go now, home to the TV. Haven’t you got lots of children to kiss good night as well?”
“Mmm, the eldest two don’t kiss Mummy any longer. And the little girl only kisses Daddy.”
“But there’s your youngest.”
“Gustav. He’s three. Oh yes, he wants to kiss his old mummy.”
Rebecka smiled. It was a warm, kind smile with a fleeting hint of sorrow. It made her look softer.
I feel sorry for her, thought Anna-Maria a while later as she was on her way home in the car. She’s gone through a lot.
She felt a pang of conscience over talking about her children; Rebecka had none.
But what can I do? she defended herself. They’re a huge part of my life. If mentioning them is taboo, it’s going to be impossible to chat.
Robert had put everything away, and even wiped the kitchen table. She warmed up fish fingers and mashed potato in the microwave and drank a glass of red wine to go with it. Enjoyed the fact that the mash was homemade, with real potatoes. Felt that she had the best life anybody could possibly wish for.
T hat’s right, thought Rebecka Martinsson as she got out of her car outside the house in Kurravaara. I am in fact Superwoman. I was one of the best lawyers in Sweden. On the way, at any rate. Although you mustn’t say that to anybody. Or even think it about yourself.
She’d downloaded material on Kallis Mining from the Net to her laptop. It would actually be quite good fun, she thought. A change from the constant traffic offenses and
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