Other Sister , livre ebook

ABRAMS BOOKS - Mohlin Peter Mohlin

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164 pages

English

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The highly anticipated follow-up to the acclaimed Scandi-noir thriller The Bucket List Alicia Bjelke has always been the "other sister," the foil to her beautiful sister Stella-people turn their backs when they see Alicia's disfigured face. So she created a life in the background, becoming a coding genius and founding a groundbreaking dating app company. With Stella as the face of the company, Alicia has found success. Until one day, when Stella is found dead and Alicia's life takes the wrong turn. Soon, she realizes that she is the next target. The case is given to former FBI agent John Adderley, who is still in Karlstad under a new identity. He is haunted by shadows of his past and is about to leave Sweden when the game plan changes. Instead of running, he is forced to once and for all face his past, and the murder investigation gives him a way out. If he can go through with his plan, he might have a shot at the freedom he has so long wanted to have. But is it too late? In a successful mix of high-octane suspense and psychological depth, authors Peter Mohlin and Peter Nystrom deliver a thrilling sequel in the John Adderley series. The Other Sister is an ambitious crime thriller that is tight, layered, and gripping from start to finish.

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Publié par	ABRAMS BOOKS
Date de parution	06 décembre 2022
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781647002282
Langue	English

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,1000€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

Extrait

This edition first published in hardcover in 2022 by
The Overlook Press, an imprint of ABRAMS
195 Broadway, 9th floor
New York, NY 10007
www.overlookpress.com
Abrams books are available at special discounts when purchased in quantity for premiums and promotions as well as fundraising or educational use. Special editions can also be created to specification. For details, contact specialsales@abramsbooks.com or the address above.
Copyright Peter Mohlin Peter Nystr m
First published in Sweden by Norstedts as Den Andra Sistern
Translation copyright 2022 Ian Giles
Cover 2022 Abrams
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system now known or to be invented, without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer who wishes to quote brief passages in connection with a review written for inclusion in a magazine, newspaper, or broadcast.
Library of Congress Control Number: 2022933988
ISBN: 978-1-4197-5299-5
eISBN: 978-1-64700-228-2
ABRAMS The Art of Books 195 Broadway, New York, NY 10007 abramsbooks.com
PART 1
WEDNESDAY
1
The girls had finally managed to synchronize. They held hands, whooping with laughter as the swings on their metal frame swung to ever-greater heights. Their mother missed the performance, her eyes glued to her cell phone, but sitting on a bench around twenty meters away, Alicia could see the joy on their snotty faces. Two sisters, in time with each other and the world in a perfect pendular movement-as if they were the same body.
It was cold out-a couple of degrees below zero. Alicia s legs were more or less numb by now. Nevertheless, she surprised herself by lingering. It really wasn t like her to watch kids playing in the park.
Ordinarily, Alicia took a taxi home from work-a luxury she afforded herself to avoid stares on the bus. But today she had walked the three kilometers from Raw s office in the Karlstad town center to the house in the Norrstrand neighborhood.
The afternoon sunshine had been so pleasantly warm on her skin that she had stopped a block from her destination and taken a seat on a bench. And there she had remained-drawing stick figures in the snow with her feet and reflecting that today had actually been totally okay. And if it was okay then the next one could be too. And the one after that.
She smiled to herself and shook her head. Here she was, Alicia Bjelke, sounding like a self-help book.
I need to go pee pee.
The younger girl s voice made the mother with her cell phone react. Alicia had no children of her own, but she could imagine that it took a while to remove the beaver nylon overalls the kid was wearing. Seeking to avoid an accident, the mother dragged the child toward the white wooden building adjacent to the playground. The older sister was left behind with the exhortation not to go anywhere. She kicked off the ground with her feet, although not with the same vigor as before. Being on the swings alone wasn t as much fun.
Alicia thought about the conversation she d had with her own sister about a month earlier. It had been the third Sunday in Advent and before the first snow had fallen. She had put her cards on the table and told Stella that Raw s launch in Germany had to be pushed back.
The dating platform co-founded by the sisters was no longer a side-hustle run out of a student dorm. As the Chief Technology Officer, Alicia needed the time and resources to have a fair shot at succeeding in her job. At the moment, the situation had become untenable. She was working fourteen hours a day and dreaming about coding at night. Stella had put an arm around her and listened. She was good at that. Her sis always knew when to talk and when to be quiet. She promised to delay the date by six months.
Alicia remembered the relief afterward. For the first time in ages, she had slept a whole night. Christmas had come and gone almost unnoticed by her as she huddled under her duvet in bed.
She looked toward the solitary girl on the swing. She had picked up speed now. The rubber tire she was sitting on was oscillating at increasingly diagonal angles, and eventually it struck the metal frame. The small body took flight through the air before landing in the snow. Alicia ran toward her and crouched. Carefully, she helped the girl to her feet.
Are you okay? she said.
The girl s flushed face showed her struggling to hold back tears. At the same moment, Alicia heard footsteps behind her. When she turned around, she saw the mother. She must have seen what had happened from the building and hurried back. Their eyes met and Alicia noticed the woman recoil.
Come on, let s go inside, she said to her daughter.
It was quite a tumble, but she had a soft landing. I think she s probably just scared, said Alicia, standing up.
The woman didn t reply. She merely continued to stare.
I just wanted to help her.
Thank you, we can manage.
The mother s eyes wouldn t let go. Alicia recognized the reaction. A blend of fascination and disgust. She could usually take it. It was hardly the first time someone had stared at her face. But this woman was just too much. Alicia had comforted her daughter and now she was being treated like a pariah.
If you re going to keep looking at the freak then you ll have to pay, she said, holding out her hand.
2
The candlelight flickered in the draft as the waitress went by. John saw her hurrying between the tables toward the party at the back of the restaurant. Three men and a woman, all wearing business attire. He had dismissed them as colleagues having drinks after work, but he couldn t be certain. That was the whole problem. He couldn t be certain about anything at all.
Some easy-listening salsa was pulsing from the speakers. The same playlist that was always on. The music in the restaurant Rederiet was just as predictable as the menu: Spanish tapas and Rioja wines. John usually felt at home here among the rustic wooden tables and ceiling chandeliers. The joint was just a stone s throw from his own apartment, and he visited several times a week. But tonight, he knew better than to relax. The scene could change at any moment-and when it did, he had to be ready.
My God, it s hot in here. I thought it was the Finns who loved their saunas.
The laughter from across the table drowned out the music. That rumbling, chuckling sound was Trevor s most distinctive feature. John would be able to pick him out from an ocean of chuckling people even if he were blindfolded.
His friend tugged the zipper down on his quilted jacket. When John saw one hand disappear inside Trevor s padded coat, John grasped the weapon he was concealing under the table even tighter. He slowly put his index finger on the trigger. The shot-if he fired-would hit in the lower abdomen.
But then again, what do I know? Maybe saunas are hot in Sweden too? Trevor said.
He wriggled out of his coat and hung it on the back of his chair. Both of his hands were again visible and John could breathe easy. As recently as the night before, he had been convinced that his friend was dead. Sitting opposite him at Rederiet seemed unreal.
John offered an indistinct, murmured reply and continued to seek out unknown enemies in the restaurant. The proprietor knew he was a cop and had allowed him to examine the reservations book before the restaurant opened. The couple by the window and the family with the stroller had booked long ago, so he could rule them out. The broad-shouldered man at the table to the left of the entrance, however, needed to remain under scrutiny. He had booked earlier in the day and the same was true for the group of co-workers being served by the waitress.
John shifted his gaze toward the bar. There were two regulars he was on nodding terms with, but there was also an unfamiliar face. Well, a neck. A man with his silver hair in a bun had his back to him and was drinking beer straight from the bottle.
Fuck, it s good to see you again. You have no idea what this means to me, Trevor said, looking genuinely grateful.
John forced a smile and tried to work out whether his friend had lost weight. Wasn t his jacket a little baggier around the shoulders? And his shirt no longer seemed to strain across his chest in the same way. Either Trevor had gotten thinner, or his clothes were deliberately one size too large to give that impression.
His friend mopped the sweat from his brow with a napkin and in the same movement removed his woolly hat. John recoiled when he saw the bare head underneath. Four months earlier when they had last met, that head had been covered in thick, curly hair.
Don t look so surprised, said Trevor. What were you expecting?
John looked down at the table.
I don t actually know, he mumbled.
His friend s appearance was familiar and alien all at once. His deep bass, the laugh, and the sweeping gestures were all as he remembered them. But at the same time there was something affected in Trevor s manner. The way he d taken his hat off-it had been theatrical. As if he was looking to achieve the greatest possible impact with his bald head.
John reminded himself that all it took to fake the side effects of cancer treatment was some lather and a razor. He had to keep acting as if Trevor were bait and the reunion a trap. If his hunters were hiding inside the restaurant, then at least he had the home advantage. The swinging door from the kitchen was just a few paces away and there was an exit onto the street behind the building from the chef s domain. Which was where John s car was parked, containing everything he needed for a life on the run.
How you doing? Trevor asked.
His friend smiled in the candlelight.
When John didn t reply, he added:
Come on, tell me what s up. And if that s a gun you re holding under the table, you can put it away.
3
Alicia wanted to order ano