Besides, his body was starting to protest. Perhaps next year he wouldn’t be able to care for his garden properly? Then I might as well die, was a thought that constantly returned.
With even greater effort than before he made his way up into the tower. The garden was just as desolate and depressing as a closed-down amusement park during the winter. The snow that had fallen around the first Sunday in Advent had disappeared in an unfortunate thaw. He loathed these abrupt leaps between bitter cold and warmth, between deep snow and bare ground. Black frost was a word that meant the death of plants.
Suddenly he perceived a movement at Lundquist’s and had a déjà-vu experience from the fall. It was not the landscaper this time but instead Winblad’s setter that was sniffing around. It was an uncommon sight. Willie, which was the dog’s name, was very disciplined and never left the yard, even though it always went around loose. The associate professor had also on some occasions praised Winblad for his good hand with the dog.
Now the setter was standing by Haller’s planting on the back side of Lundquist’s lot. The associate professor could see with the binoculars how Willie was wagging his tail and nosing at the magnolia. Don’t you dare lift your leg, the associate professor thought.
The dog went sniffing a turn around the flower bed, as if he was a critical inspector. Then he started digging in the dirt.
So that’s how it happened! It was Willie who had also rooted up the plants before. Winblad had discovered it and tried to put them back. The associate professor laughed. The mystery was solved.
The dog continued to dig, more and more eagerly.
About the Author
KJELL ERIKSSON is the author of The Princess of Burundi, The Cruel Stars of the Night, The Demon of Dakar, The Hand That Trembles, and Black Lies, Red Blood. His series debut won Best First Novel by the Swedish Crime Academy, an accomplishment he later followed up by winning Best Swedish Crime Novel for The Princess of Burundi. This is his sixth novel to be published in the U.S. He lives in Sweden and France. You can sign up for email updates here.
Also by Kjell Eriksson
The Hand That Trembles
The Demon of Dakar
The Cruel Stars of the Night
The Princess of Burundi
Black Lies, Red Blood
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Contents
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Epilogue
About the Author
Also by Kjell Eriksson
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
A THOMAS DUNNE BOOK FOR MINOTAUR BOOKS.
An imprint of St. Martin’s Publishing Group.
OPEN GRAVE. Copyright © 2009 by Kjell Eriksson. Translation copyright © 2015 by Paul Norlen. All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.
www.thomasdunnebooks.com
www.minotaurbooks.com
Cover design by Ervin Serrano
Cover photographs: landscape by Rachel Turner/Trevillion Images; leaves by Thomas Szadziuk/Trevillion Images
eBooks may be purchased for business or promotional use. For information on bulk purchases, please contact Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department by writing to MacmillanSpecialMarkets@macmillan.com.
The Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available upon request.
ISBN 978-1-250-02549-4 (hardcover)
ISBN 978-1-250-02548-7 (e-book)
eISBN 9781250025487
First published in Sweden in 2009 as Öppen grav by Ordfront Förlag
First U.S. Edition: July 2015