Blue Blue Eyes: Crime Novel Read Online Free PDF Page A

for a few days and with such short notice, it’s not like her.” Patrik changed the topic on purpose and happily put a piece of stifadon in his mouth. He wound one of his legs around Nikki’s under the table and rolled his eyes when he felt the flavours marrying each-other. Cinnamon, garlic, tomato, vinegar and the most tender lamb ever.
    ”It’s not strange at all”, Nikki countered. ”Hogstrom wanted me off the investigation”. She fidgeted, a little embarrassed, and continued with a friendlier tone of voice. ”Looking back I actually deserved being suspended, my first suspension ever.”
    Patrik looked closely at Nikki and noticed how she was suffering. ”But was it really a suspension? Didn’t she just give you some free days?”
    Nikki thought about it. Twisted and turned it all, as bad experience had taught her to do. ”No, I see it as a suspension.”
    ”But…don’t be so hard on yourself. You’ll see it will work itself out. ”
    ”Anyway, it fits perfectly since you had to go to Cyprus. What could be better than a change of scenery?” Nikki tried smiling but it seemed more like a forced grimace. ”Thanks once again for letting me tag along, but…” Nikki never finished the sentence but put her fringe behind her ear again and took a sip of the cooling champagne.
    ”What do you mean with but? Don’t you want to be here, or what?” Patrik frowned and put down his cutlery on the plate.
    Nikki looked into the candle’s flame and all of sudden she looked troubled. Her face was shadowed with the bad conscience she always had when thinking of her childhood friend. Linn had no idea that Nikki was having an affair with Patrik. At least she thought so. For over a year she had been meeting him in secret. It all started with an innocent flirt at Patrik and Linn’s in Marstrand. Linn had a glass too much and gone to bed before the others. Nikki had worn a white, low-cut lace dress going well with her tanned skin and Patrik had carefully flirted with her, given her quiet compliments during the evening which nobody else could hear. Of course Nikki had always found Patrik attractive, but she had never imagined the barbecue to lead to this, or herself capable of it. Nikki was definitely not proud of having an affair with her best friend’s husband and she had planned to end it several times. But one meeting led to another and after a while, without knowing it, she was stuck. And while she herself had been enjoying the secret meetings, Linn had gone ever deeper into the wine bottles.
    ”You know what”, Nikki whispered seriously. ”You and I….” She hesitantly put her hand over Patrik’s and felt ridiculously false. How the hell could I accept this trip? Am I really so stupid? Obviously she grimaced while slowly shaking her head at her fatal mistake. ”This trip…I have to admit that it was a mistake on my side... I am sorry….I should have told you before but Cyprus sounded so tempting and fitted so perfectly that…” Nikki’s words were hanging in the air while she mustered up more courage to finish her sentence. ”I want us to end it. You have Linn and your children to consider and I don’t want to be the other woman any longer, even though it’s been perfect for me up to now. But no more…”
    ”Eh, what?” Patrik thought he had made a mistake and stared in surprise at Nikki. ”Over?”
    Nikki hesitated a moment. ”I can’t have a bad conscience for Linn any more. I still want her in my life, as you can understand, she is my bloody best friend, or at least she was…” Nikki took another sip of the bubbly drink and hoped it would help her relax. ”In addition I’ll never find the love of my life if I have you.” Her heart felt like breaking but Nikki knew she could push that out by working. She took a deep breath to stay calm and then put an olive in her mouth.
    Patrik wiped himself with the linen napkin before clapping his hands together and leaning over the table. ”You really