Half an hour. Linnea hurt and had to change, reapplying her make-up to do the best she could. Years of practice meant that hopefully her daughters would not see anything. They probably would not look closely because they never did. You should let me bite him, Strike practically growled. He was curled up around her ankle and did not seem intent on letting go. First that had happened with Jokull and then the phone had rang. Worse than anything her husband could do was the news that Kajsa, her eldest daughter, had been in an accident the previous day. Now she was in the hospital, in a coma. And Linnea, who wanted nothing more than to rush there to see her, could not leave her other children. That, and she had promised that she would take Dagmar and Satu to the river and they had gotten enough of a scare.
Reaching Dagmar's room, Linnea made sure that her eyes were not damp though she was sure they were still red-rimmed, and pushed it open. The sight of Slipper playing with a ball while Blastoise wandered the floor was nice, the sounds of water that came from the CD player even better. And there were her daughters, curled up together on the bed. "You girls still up for the river? Because I'm ready to go." She would tell them about Kajsa when they were there. At least if they were in the water they would calm easier... perhaps even better if it rained like it felt it might.