room cheap, to have peace and quiet to think. Then I met Spencer Cochran. He was
some years older; he’d just finished his degree in England and was hitchhiking
around Europe. I fell in love. He did too. That’s all there was to it. ‘Anita’ Vanger
married him in 1971. I’ve never had any regrets. He was a wonderful man. Very
sadly, he died eight years ago, and I became the owner of the station.”
“But your passport—surely someone should have discovered that there were two
Anita Vangers?”
“No, why should they? A Swedish girl named Anita Vanger who’s married to
Spencer Cochran. Whether she lives in London or Australia makes no difference.
The one in London has been Spencer Cochran’s estranged wife. The one in
Australia was his very much present wife. They don’t match up computer files
between Canberra and London. Besides, I soon got an Australian passport under
my married name. The arrangement functioned perfectly. The only thing that could
have upset the story was if Anita herself wanted to get married. My marriage had to
be registered in the Swedish national registration files.”
“But she never did.”
“She claims that she never found anyone. But I know that she did it for my sake.
She’s been a true friend.”
“What was she doing in your room?”
“I wasn’t very rational that day. I was afraid of Martin, but as long as he was in
Uppsala, I could push the problem out of my mind. Then there he was in Hedestad,
and I realised that I’d never be safe the rest of my life. I went back and forth
between wanting to tell Uncle Henrik and wanting to flee. When Henrik didn’t have
time to talk to me, I just wandered restlessly around the village. Of course I know
that the accident on the bridge overshadowed everything else for everyone, but
not for me. I had my own problems, and I was hardly even aware of the accident.
Everything seemed unreal. Then I ran into Anita, who was staying in a guest
cottage in the compound with Gerda and Alexander. That was when I made up my
mind. I stayed with her the whole time and didn’t dare go outside. But there was
one thing I had to take with me—I had written down everything that happened in
a diary, and I needed a few clothes. Anita got them for me.”