Page 1 of Sixty Meters Under

PROLOGUE

Sweden, December 2053

Tiny white snowflakes fell from the sky and tangled themselves into the warm coats of the pedestrians who rushed up and down the streets.

Christmas time was nearing, so every shop window, and all the main streets glittered with shiny colorful lights. Store displays were full of festive decorations, toys, and various other, useful, or not so useful items that could be gifted under the Christmas tree. For the kids all around the world, this was a favorite time of the year as it was for one particular girl.

Together with her mother, Sarah approached a certain toy store. She stopped, pressed her gloved hands against the glass, and looked inside. Her eyes were searching for one very special toy, and when she spotted it, she shouted, “Mommy, the doll is there! They still have it!”

The woman paused and took a few steps back, then stopped next to her daughter. “Really? Well, I told you the doll is waiting for you. You wrote a letter to Santa and he will surely bring it to you. You have been a good girl, Sarah.”

“I can’t wait…” the little girl said and couldn’t stop looking at the doll.

Her mother smiled, and added, “Don’t worry, honey. Come. We have to go.”

“Okay…” the little girl reluctantly pulled her hands away and went after her mother. As they walked, hand in hand, a loud steady tone blared through the streets.

The woman stopped, frozen, and Sarah did the same. “Mommy, what’s that?” she asked, and looked up at her mother.

The holiday atmosphere on the streets was disrupted. Some people continued walking as if they heard nothing, but the majority halted in place, confused or frightened. Some looked around, as if expecting imminent danger to burst out from behind the corner.

Sarah’s mother looked up, and muttered, “Is it already happening?”

“What’s happening, Mommy?”

“We have to go, sweetheart. It’s a warning siren,” the mother replied, squeezing her hand. “We’ll see what it is about when we get home. We need to hurry.”

Chapter 1

TWO YEARS EARLIER

Gothenburg, Sweden, 2051

Detective Lennart Landberg sat at his desk rereading the files he had received last night, new evidence related to the murder case he’d worked on for years. While he was absorbed in his thoughts, with a pen squeezing between his fingers, a knock on the door broke his concentration. His icy blue eyes shifted their focus to the still closed door, and he spoke up, “Yes?” although he knew very well who it was on the other side.

The door opened and into the room entered a gray-haired man, his assistant.

“Good morning, Lennart. I’ve brought you the latest papers and your coffee.”

“Thanks, Hugo,” Lennart said, and leafed through the front pages of the stack of newspapers.

The Swedish government urges its residents to prepare for imminent nuclear war.

The unrest in the East is getting out of hand and it’s spreading! Will it come to nuclear war?

REAL NUCLEAR THREAT!

Were the predictions right after all?

Is the end of the world really coming?

Lennart glanced back at Hugo, an unamused and skeptical look settling across his features.

“The end of the world and nuclear war. Nothing new, actually,” Hugo noted simply, his expression absent of any concern or astonishment. He himself had survived the prediction of the end of humankind three times al-ready.

Lennart sighed. “If only. I would actually be happy if

something like this happened and wiped out this entire planet. This world has become…” Instead of finishing his thought, Lennart took the cup of coffee between his long, tattooed fingers and took a sip. Hugo still stood beside his table and spoke up again: “Your mother has sent you an email, if you didn’t see it already. She’s very worried and told me to tell you to reconsider her proposal this time.”