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started walking through the house to look for her. Johan had met Sara and Filip several times for brief periods, but Emma had always been present. Right now he felt awkward and unprepared, and the fact that Elin was bawling nonstop didn’t make the situation or his headache any better. To top it all off, the puppy kept leaping around his feet. Johan was terrified that he might trip over the dog and drop Elin on the floor. At the moment his brain had stopped functioning. He couldn’t for the life of him remember the name of the dog.
    Finally he found Sara under the table in the living room.
    She didn’t notice that he had found her, and for several seconds he didn’t know what to do. Then he leaned down so that he was almost lying under the table with Elin in his arms. The dog was so delighted that he could hardly restrain his joy. He eagerly licked Johan and Elin all over. Elin started howling again.
    “Hi,” Johan said to Sara, who made a big show of covering her ears.
    What a great start. After a long workday, he didn’t have even a drop of energy to deal with a screaming baby , a hysterical puppy, and a recalcitrant eight-year-old—and all on an empty stomach. He was the type of person who couldn’t wait too long to eat. If he did, his blood sugar would drop drastically, and he would be in a terrible mood.
    But he now realized that he would have to put himself and his own needs last. He tried asking Sara whether there was a pizzeria in Roma. She just kept her hands pressed over her ears. Then he put the screaming Elin on Sara’s lap and let go. Instinctively she took down her hands to hold the baby.
    “Hi there. I’m hungry,” said Johan. “I was thinking of ordering a pizza. Would you like some?”
    She didn’t answer.
    “You’re so good at holding Elin,” he said. “Do you like having a little sister?”
    She gave him a suspicious look but didn’t say a word.
    Johan started to stand up.
    “Well, I’m going to call and order one, at any rate. I want one of those luscious calzones with a big Coke. What do you like? Capricciosa, with ham and mushrooms?”
    “No,” replied Sara. “Hawaii, the one with pineapple.”
    “So that’s what I’ll order for you. Could you hold Elin while I make the call?”
    “Okay.”
    Sara was looking a little happier.
    “Then we can take the baby buggy and go get the pizzas,” said Johan. “Do you think you could push the buggy?”
    “Sure, I can do that.”
    “Good. Then we’ll take the dog along so he can have his walk.”
    “Her walk. It’s a girl dog. Her name is Ester.”
    “What a cute name,” lied Johan. “I can take Elin now. I’ll just change her diapers and give her a little milk before we go. Could you set the table in the meantime? I don’t know where you keep your plates and things like that. I’m just here as a visitor. Should we watch TV while we eat?”
    “Okay.” Sara’s face lit up. “Mamma never lets us do that,” she said. “Pappa doesn’t, either.”
    “Well, I think we can make an exception today,” said Johan. “Now that it’s just you and me and Elin.”
    “And Ester.”
    “Right. And Ester. Has she had her dinner yet?”
    “Yes, Mamma fed her before she left.”
    “That’s good. At least one of us has a full stomach.”
    Except for a faint murmuring from the TV, the house was quiet when Emma came through the door two hours later. At first she was alarmed, but the feeling passed when she peeked into the living room. Johan was sitting on the wide sectional sofa, leaning back and snoring with his mouth open. In his arms sprawled Sara and Ester, sound asleep. Elin was asleep in the crib, which Johan had rolled into place right next to him.

SATURDAY, JULY 31
    KNUTAS HAD PROMISED to go out to the country on Saturday, but by lunchtime he could already tell that he didn’t have the peace of mind to drive off and just do nothing. So far the lead with the hotel project hadn’t panned out. Both Jacobsson and Wittberg were going to spend the weekend doing some more digging; they had volunteered to work. Knutas realized that he needed to do the same. He called Lina to explain. Her parents were visiting from Denmark, so they still had a full house. She assured him that they would manage fine without him.
    He put on another pot of coffee and petted the cat while he waited for the coffee to finish brewing. He eyed the yellowing lawn with displeasure, thinking that he needed to water it that evening. In terms of the