Read Online The Scent of Almonds: A Novella by Camilla Läckberg - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Camilla Läckberg
Ads: Link
beautiful, perfect smile? Maybe, maybe not. No matter what, Matte decided early on that he didn’t want to be the one who robbed Grandpa Ruben of hope. With time, everything was bound to work out.
But now there was no more time left. Grandpa was dead. Matte’s only friend in the world was gone. The one person he’d ever felt safe with. Gone. And Bernard’s jeering smile provoked him. Signalling that Bernard was the one who had triumphed.
Suddenly a great crashing sound rattled all the windows. The snowstorm had brought thunder! At that moment Matte realized what he had to do. But first he needed to rest for a while. He lay down on the bed and closed his eyes. After only a few breaths, he fell asleep.
‘Well, that’s what I call drama.’ Gustav Liljecrona and the rest of the family were sitting on the white sofa and matching armchairs. From the kitchen marvellous aromas came wafting into the library, and Gustav’s stomach growled loudly.
‘I’m looking forward to lunch,’ he said with forced merriment as he took a sip of cognac, which had already begun to flow freely. On a weekend like this, all conventions had to be set aside.
No one replied to his attempt at small talk. Bernard rubbed his throat and muttered, ‘God damn it, I’m probably going to have a huge fucking bruise. And how am I supposed to explain that at work? I leave to spend the weekend with my family and come back looking like somebody tried to strangle me.’
‘Matte’s always been unstable. I don’t understand why they didn’t realize that long ago. He’s a serious danger to everyone.’ Gustav shook his head as he swirled the cognac in his glass.
‘Do you think that …?’ Miranda hesitated but then went on. ‘Do you think that Matte was the one who …’ She couldn’t make herself finish what she had planned to say, but she didn’t need to. A glint appeared in everyone else’s eyes.
‘Of course!’ said Bernard, now looking considerably happier. He sat up straight on the sofa and continued eagerly. ‘My God. Of course it was Matte! He’s always had something wrong with him, mentally. And you saw how he attacked me.’
‘But … he and Ruben were so close,’ said Vivi. Her objection was dismissed by Gustav, who also suddenly had a zealous look in his eye.
‘Maybe that’s why. It makes it even more plausible that Matte would have killed him. Who knows how he perceives things in that brain of his. Isn’t it true that people are most often murdered by someone they know?’
Bernard and Gustav nodded at each other with satisfaction. Miranda still looked uncertain. She didn’t seem convinced, even though she was the one who had first broached the idea.
‘But …’ she began, looking for support from her mother before she went on. ‘But … what motive could he have?’
‘Money, revenge, imagined offences. Who can tell?’ snorted Bernard.
‘I don’t know,’ said Miranda, plucking at a sofa cushion. ‘I’m not sure …’
‘But I am,’ said Bernard, standing up. ‘I’m going to have a talk with Lisette’s policeman. He needs to have a clearer picture of how things stand. It wouldn’t surprise me if he turns out to be rather interested in this particular theory.’
‘But …’ said Miranda again. She was about to say more, but Bernard was already on his way out the door.
She suddenly wished that she’d kept her mouth shut. She was actually quite fond of Matte. And he wasn’t nearly as off balance as they made him out to be. Good Lord, practically everyone she knew had suffered some sort of nervous breakdown at one time or another. And taking Prozac or whatever drug had become so commonplace that nobody even raised an eyebrow any more. On the contrary. Plus it wasn’t so strange that Matte had flown at Bernard. She loved her brother, but he could be incredibly aggressive. He had an unerring ability to sniff out people’s weaknesses, and then he took a perverse pleasure in pressing their
But now there was no more time left. Grandpa was dead. Matte’s only friend in the world was gone. The one person he’d ever felt safe with. Gone. And Bernard’s jeering smile provoked him. Signalling that Bernard was the one who had triumphed.
Suddenly a great crashing sound rattled all the windows. The snowstorm had brought thunder! At that moment Matte realized what he had to do. But first he needed to rest for a while. He lay down on the bed and closed his eyes. After only a few breaths, he fell asleep.
‘Well, that’s what I call drama.’ Gustav Liljecrona and the rest of the family were sitting on the white sofa and matching armchairs. From the kitchen marvellous aromas came wafting into the library, and Gustav’s stomach growled loudly.
‘I’m looking forward to lunch,’ he said with forced merriment as he took a sip of cognac, which had already begun to flow freely. On a weekend like this, all conventions had to be set aside.
No one replied to his attempt at small talk. Bernard rubbed his throat and muttered, ‘God damn it, I’m probably going to have a huge fucking bruise. And how am I supposed to explain that at work? I leave to spend the weekend with my family and come back looking like somebody tried to strangle me.’
‘Matte’s always been unstable. I don’t understand why they didn’t realize that long ago. He’s a serious danger to everyone.’ Gustav shook his head as he swirled the cognac in his glass.
‘Do you think that …?’ Miranda hesitated but then went on. ‘Do you think that Matte was the one who …’ She couldn’t make herself finish what she had planned to say, but she didn’t need to. A glint appeared in everyone else’s eyes.
‘Of course!’ said Bernard, now looking considerably happier. He sat up straight on the sofa and continued eagerly. ‘My God. Of course it was Matte! He’s always had something wrong with him, mentally. And you saw how he attacked me.’
‘But … he and Ruben were so close,’ said Vivi. Her objection was dismissed by Gustav, who also suddenly had a zealous look in his eye.
‘Maybe that’s why. It makes it even more plausible that Matte would have killed him. Who knows how he perceives things in that brain of his. Isn’t it true that people are most often murdered by someone they know?’
Bernard and Gustav nodded at each other with satisfaction. Miranda still looked uncertain. She didn’t seem convinced, even though she was the one who had first broached the idea.
‘But …’ she began, looking for support from her mother before she went on. ‘But … what motive could he have?’
‘Money, revenge, imagined offences. Who can tell?’ snorted Bernard.
‘I don’t know,’ said Miranda, plucking at a sofa cushion. ‘I’m not sure …’
‘But I am,’ said Bernard, standing up. ‘I’m going to have a talk with Lisette’s policeman. He needs to have a clearer picture of how things stand. It wouldn’t surprise me if he turns out to be rather interested in this particular theory.’
‘But …’ said Miranda again. She was about to say more, but Bernard was already on his way out the door.
She suddenly wished that she’d kept her mouth shut. She was actually quite fond of Matte. And he wasn’t nearly as off balance as they made him out to be. Good Lord, practically everyone she knew had suffered some sort of nervous breakdown at one time or another. And taking Prozac or whatever drug had become so commonplace that nobody even raised an eyebrow any more. On the contrary. Plus it wasn’t so strange that Matte had flown at Bernard. She loved her brother, but he could be incredibly aggressive. He had an unerring ability to sniff out people’s weaknesses, and then he took a perverse pleasure in pressing their
Similar Books
