Trapped, page 58
It was water under the bridge. And she was quite happy with her new hair, if she was honest about it. Mina thought about what Vincent had said about his sister and shook her head.
‘We’re here now,’ she said. ‘We survived. They probably didn’t. And they won’t be able to murder any more innocent people.’
He nodded quietly. Then he glanced towards the exit.
‘You’re right about that. And as Julia said, now you’re shot of me.’
He offered his hand in farewell. It was the last thing she wanted. After everything they had gone through, it couldn’t end with a measly handshake. She had given part of herself to Vincent. He was the only person who knew who she truly was. You didn’t shake hands for that. It meant you were connected forever.
But all the same …
They weren’t in a romantic drama and she wasn’t fifteen years old. They were standing in reception at police headquarters on Kungsholmen on a regular Wednesday in October and she was on duty. Once Vincent had left, she would go back upstairs and deal with her neglected inbox.
She wasn’t connected to anyone.
‘Likewise. As Julia said,’ she said, taking his hand.
She had no idea how long they held hands for. Ten minutes, a year, half a second.
Then he broke off the handshake and turned towards the exit.
She began to head back towards the barriers.
‘Mina, wait,’ he called out suddenly, running towards her while digging in his inside pocket. ‘Here!’
He passed her a sealed pack of single-use straws. She smiled as she took them, but had to blink away the tears. Then she dug in her own pocket.
‘For you,’ she said, tossing him her Rubik’s cube. ‘Be careful with it, the pieces are quite loose.’
Vincent smiled back when their eyes met.
Then he turned around and left through the doors with the colourful toy in his hand.
She was struck by the momentary impulse of wanting to use her hand sanitizer. But she decided to leave it.
Keep Reading …
If you enjoyed Trapped, why not try something else from Camilla Lackberg?
A woman who has everything …
People would kill to have Faye Adelheim’s life. She lives in a beautiful apartment, she has a gorgeous husband who gives her everything she’s ever wanted, and she has an adorable daughter who lights up her world.
Or does she?
So how is it, then, that Faye now finds herself in a police station?
The truth is about to come out …
The truth is that Faye’s life is far from what it seems. And now she’s been caught out. There’s no way she’s going down without a fight. The only question is – who will escape with their life?
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One woman …
Faye Adelheim seems to have it all. The head of a global business, she lives in a beautiful villa in Italy with her daughter. But in reality, her life is far from perfect.
One man …
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One fight for survival …
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Click here to buy Silver Tears
A missing child
When a four-year-old girl disappears in the woods outside Fjällbacka, people are horror-struck. Thirty years ago, a child went missing from the same spot, and was later discovered, murdered.
A murder
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Acknowledgements
You don’t write a book like this alone. Not even two people are enough. We have had the pleasure of having extremely knowledgeable people around us who have ensured that we haven’t made any really big mistakes in terms of the factual stuff. Some of these people deserve particularly thunderous rounds of applause.
Kelda Stagg MSc, a crime scene investigator with the Stockholm Region Police Authority has guided us away from our preconceived notions about forensic medicine and how bodies that are found are dealt with during an investigation. Instead, we have learned a lot about everything from who is present at an autopsy to what eye fluid is actually for.
We’ve also benefited from the great assistance provided by Teresa Maric, an expert based in the Investigations Unit at the National Operations Department (NOA) of the Swedish Police Authority, who explained phone tracing and information analysis to us at such a fascinating level of detail that we could have written a book just on that. All accurate descriptions of these areas of police activity are credited to Kelda and Teresa, while all errors are our own.
When it comes to the history of magic and how to build illusions, we absolutely bow down before the expertise that inventor and magic builder Andreas Sebring has selflessly shared with us. Andreas is the Sains Bergander of real life, to the extent that the workshop mentioned in the book is in fact a description of Andreas’s own.
The magician and breakout king Anders Sebring also merits special thanks for a crucial conversation about how to get out of things you’re not supposed to be able to get out of.
Although we have tried to be as accurate as possible with reality, we have also consciously taken a few creative liberties as authors to help the narrative flow better. For example, we have moved the mink farm on the island of Lidön both in terms of era and geographically. The farm closed many years ago and it wasn’t by the water’s edge either. There are actually six balconies at Gävle Theatre, not eight. There are several other, similar examples in the book where we have been somewhat free and easy with the facts. But if we had described reality every step of the way, the book would have been much longer than it already is – and rather duller too.
The biggest metaphorical bouquet of flowers goes to our amazing team at Bokförlaget Forum: our publisher Ebba Östberg, our manuscript consultant John Häggblom and our editor Kerstin Ödeen. We have laughed and cried together in frustration, but they have never given up, not even when we were prepared to do so. Without the devotion of the entire Forum team, this book would not be half of what it is today.
Copious thanks are also offered to Joakim Hansson, Anna Frankl, Signe Lundgren and the whole team at Nordin Agency, as well as Lili Assefa and the team at Assefa Communication, who believed in this series right from the start and managed to convince the world of its merits in an almost magical fashion. We’re not quite sure how they pulled it off. But we are dumbfounded with admiration. We think ninja swords may have been involved.
Camilla’s personal acknowledgements
As an author, it’s completely impossible to write books without enormous support on the home front. My incredible husband Simon is the best spouse – and the best author’s spouse in particular – that you could wish for. I’m also grateful for the unfailing support of my children, my friends and the rest of my family. Thank you for your cheerleading, which always gets me across the finishing line.
Henrik’s personal acknowledgements
Thank you to my beloved wife Linda for your invaluable feedback on the manuscript when the book was at its most broken, for listening to me as I harped on about Vincent and Mina for two years and not actually finishing me off, and above all for never losing faith in me and putting up with me even when I don’t deserve it. Thanks also to my sons Sebastian, Nemo and Milo. If it weren’t for you, none of what I do would be meaningful.
Finally, we want to thank all you readers who have given this series a chance. We love you all. And we hope that after reading this first part you’re as excited about meeting Vincent and Mina again in the future as we are.
About the Authors
Camilla Lackberg is a worldwide bestseller renowned for her brilliant contemporary psychological thrillers. Her books are sold in over 60 countries and have been translated into 43 languages.
www.camillalackberg.com
Henrik Fexeus is one of Sweden’s most sought after lecturers and a prize-winning mentalist. He has done astounding psychological experiments on SVT and TV4 and became a household name in 2007, with the debut book The Art of Reading Minds. Fexeus’s books have won several prizes, sold over a million copies and are translated into more than 30 languages. Henrik made his debut as an author of fiction in 2017, with YA Novel The Lost, the first part in his critically acclaimed Final Illusion Trilogy.
www.henrikfexeus.se
Also by Camilla Lackberg
The Ice Princess
The Preacher
The Stonecutter
The Stranger (previously titled The Gallows Bird)
The Hidden Child
The Drowning
The Lost Boy
Buried Angels
The Ice Child
The Girl in the Woods
The Gilded Cage
Silver Tears
Short stories
The Scent of Almonds & Other Stories
Also by Henrik Fexeus
The Art of Reading Minds
The Art of Social Excellence
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Camilla Läckberg, Trapped
