Read Online The Little Old Lady Who Broke All the Rules by Catharina Ingelman-Sundberg - Free Book Online

Anna-Greta.
    Dressed in their best clothes, the five friends took their seats in the hotel’s restaurant, Veranda. The narrow restaurant, which reminded them of one of the decks of the
Titanic
, had tables laid alongside big panoramic windows.
    ‘Maybe it isn’t such a good idea to sit next to the windows,’ Martha said. ‘What if someone sees us and locks us up in Diamond House again?’
    ‘Nobody notices who’s dining up here,’ said Rake, but all the same he threw a worried glance out towards the street. Hehad started to like the idea of being on the run and didn’t want to be found out straight away.
    They ordered
turbot à la meuniere
with
haricots verts
wrapped in bacon and mashed Swedish Mandel potatoes. When the food was brought in, they looked at it in such astonishment that the waiter asked if there was something amiss.
    ‘No, no, not at all. We’ve simply forgotten what real food looks like. Food without plastic,’ said Martha. They all tucked in and a contented silence washed over the group for a while. Then came the sighs of appreciation.
    ‘It melts on your tongue like warm butter,’ said Rake as he patted the fish with his fork. ‘On the MS
Kungsholmen
the food in first class used to taste like this.’
    ‘Amazing. This is real fish,’ said Christina, staring at her plate.
    ‘And have you noticed how the seasoning is just right? I’d forgotten that food could taste this good. It’s almost enough to make you religious,’ said Brains.
    They ate on in happy silence, as one does when eating with relish, and were further amazed by the dessert—
crêpes Suzette flambées
.
    Anna-Greta wiped her mouth with the linen serviette for a long time and then finally cleared her throat.
    ‘This is wonderful, but there is just one thing that I am a bit worried about. We are going to be able to get into those safes, aren’t we? If the hotel charges my credit card—well, I don’t really want to foot the bill for all of this …’
    An embarrassed silence ensued.
    ‘Don’t worry, Anna-Greta,’ Martha said. ‘There’s enough in those safes to cover the bill
and
the Robbery Fund.’
    ‘But is it right to steal like this?’ Christina wondered.
‘Thou shalt not steal,
it says in —’
    ‘It depends entirely on
who
is doing the stealing. If you are the state or a bank, it seems to be completely accepted,’ said Martha. ‘So all you have to do is pretend you are managing our pension funds. Then you can do exactly as you wish.’
    They all nodded heartily in agreement.
    On their way up in the elevator after the meal, Brains asked Martha to come along with him to his room.
    ‘I’ve got something to show you,’ Brains added.
    At first she felt a tremor of excitement, but then she realized he wanted to talk about something serious. They went into his Gustavian suite, fitted out soberly but stylishly in the elegant late eighteenth-century style favoured by King Gustav III. Although his majesty would surely not have tolerated such a mess. Martha couldn’t understand how Brains had managed to make such a mess in such a short time. Clothes were flung carelessly over chairs, a toothbrush and a tube of toothpaste lay on the desk, and there was an open carton of milk in the hall. Torn-out pages from a writing pad were scattered throughout the room, and one of his slippers stuck out from under the long heavy curtain by the window.
    ‘Excuse the mess, but I’ve been busy. Just look at this.’ He went up to the bed and extracted his writing pad from under the mattress.
    ‘Sit down.’ He gestured to a chair. ‘You read detective stories, take a look at this …’
    Martha sat down and watched Brains leaf through his drawings. There was an aura of calm and warmth about him, and she always felt safe in his company. They had knowneach other a long time and Martha had always liked him. But they had become a lot closer now that they were partners in crime. She chuckled to herself. Life was funny. You never