‘Nurse Barbara is here on the ship? It can’t be true! Oh, Lord above!’ Martha exclaimed in such a loud voice that she almost drowned out the dance music. Instinctively, she took hold of Rake’s hand as she passed him and pulled him back towards the bar counter. They had to warn the others.
‘Let’s get out of here,’ suggested Rake, but then he saw that Nurse Barbara was not alone. She was in the company of Director Mattson. ‘No, wait, take it easy. Those two only have eyes for each other.’
The five bided their time and tried to make themselves as invisible as possible.
‘Perhaps she hasn’t noticed us,’ said Christina after the couple had disappeared down to the cabin decks.
‘They didn’t see anything. They didn’t even stop to get a drink,’ said Brains.
‘That isn’t why they are here,’ Rake pointed out.
‘She is probably just as afraid of being seen as we are. Now we know for sure that they’re having an affair,’ said Martha.
‘They’ll be between the sheets as usual,’ commented Rake.
‘Must you always—’ Anna-Greta started to say, but she was cut off by Martha.
‘Barbara mustn’t see us. What if she messes up everything?’
‘Then we shall simply ask her what she is doing on the ship with Mattson,’ said Rake with a wink.
They all consoled themselves with that, but the jovial mood had disappeared. The only one who didn’t seem to care was Anna-Greta. Out of the corner of her eye, Martha could see that the elderly gentleman had steered her out onto the dance floor again. Martha was pleased for her, but at the same time hoped that the whole thing wouldn’t end in disaster. Anna-Greta’s hip was not what it ought to be after her faked fall at the National Museum. Luckily for them, she at least hadn’t fallen for real.
‘Righto, we might as well call it a night. I, for one, am exhausted. See you at breakfast,’ said Martha, who was worried about the day to come and wanted to get some sleep. The others nodded and headed for their cabins, all except Anna-Greta, who remained on the dance floor. What if Nurse Barbara were to come back? On the other hand, her friend seemed to be having such a good time with her new beau that Martha didn’t want to spoil things. Anna-Greta could probably take care of herself.
Early next morning, Martha found it difficult to wake Anna-Greta up and Martha wondered what time she had actually got to bed.
‘As if I was thinking about the time,’ Anna-Greta answered with glowing eyes, and Martha couldn’t get her to say any more. It wasn’t until after the morning meeting in the cabin that she provided an explanation.
‘We’re going to meet again—his name is Gunnar,’ she said, bright red in the face, just as the captain’s voice was heard over the loudspeakers. Anna-Greta went quiet and they all looked at one another. Martha clapped her hands.
‘Right you are, my friends, we have arrived in Helsinki. It is time to go down to the car deck.’
They all nodded as if in silent agreement and got up and left the cabin. They followed the flow of people waiting to use the elevators down to the car deck. When they reached the partition beside the ramp, they heard the engines racing during the docking manoeuvre. Martha and Brains exchanged quick looks. The empty black shopping trolleys were still there. The five of them stood there for a while until the ship had come to a stop and the deck crew signalled to the car drivers that it was time for them to drive out. After that, Martha and Brains took hold of their walkers and started to walk towards the exit while the others pulled the shopping trolleys with them. Then the little group calmly walked out from the ship and down the external car ramp. Nobody stopped them and nobody called after them. But if they had been stopped, Martha had prepared for that too. She would have demanded to speak to the management. Then she would have complained about how badly they were treated because they were old—and no company would be prepared to risk being accused of ‘age-fascism’—or ageism, as it was called nowadays.
Once out on the quayside, the tension in the group lessened because they all felt certain that it wouldn’t be difficult to collect the ransom. In the old Market Hall they bought some smoked salami sausage, slices of ham and Swiss cheese and then took the jolting tram into the city centre. At the fancy old Fazer coffee house they enjoyed the coffee, had a sandwich and bought some cream cakes, after which they ended their Helsinki outing by buying liquorice, Kinuski fudge and a large stock of cloudberry liqueur.
‘Do we have to collect the ransom now? Can’t we wait until later?’ Christina wondered, as she had begun to get nervous. They were going to collect the ransom money on the return journey and then they would irrevocably become major criminals.
‘Like I always say, at our age there is no “later.” It has already passed,’ Martha replied, cutting her off. She felt that she must put her foot down. They must all stand united now. ‘Incidentally, I saw that they had Belgian chocolate in the shop on board. Let’s go and do a bit of shopping.’
You didn’t need to say any more to distract Christina.
They went back on board the ship. Martha led her friend by the arm and they went towards the shop. Martha bought five boxes of Belgian chocolates for Christina, and while she stood in the queue to pay she ran through the whole plan in her head. When the ferry got back to Stockholm they would find two identical shopping trolleys like theirs in the partition. Two which they would swap for their own … the only thing that distinguished the trolleys was the tiny hole that Brains had drilled for the reflector arm to stick out—a hole that was so small no one but themselves would notice it.
‘Here, take this chocolate and go and rest a while. Then we’ll meet in an hour in my cabin and have a drink before eating,’ said Martha, handing the carrier bag to Christina. Her friend clutched the present against her chest and did as Martha said.
Shortly afterwards, down on the car deck, when Martha and Brains crept along the side of the ship towards the partition, she wanted to slip her hand into his for support, but she restrained herself. They did, after all, have shopping trolleys as well as umbrellas to deal with, and they did not have enough hands. They proceeded slowly and cautiously to the hiding place close to the ramp, and when they were almost there they put up their umbrellas. This was because Brains had said that the surveillance cameras would certainly be on. Once at the partition, they stopped and inhaled deeply. Martha hardly dared look. There were the rain clothes, boots and—yes, right there in the far corner stood two new black Urbanista shopping trolleys just like their own. Now it all depended on whether the museum had put the ten million in them—quite a hefty addition to their pension, as Martha had called it.
Martha really wanted to take the shopping trolleys right away, but the minute she took them up to the cabin she and her friends could be discovered. It must all be taken care of much more discreetly. The trolleys would have to stay where they were until it was time to disembark when they were back in Stockholm again the next morning. But still. She ought to open them to check that she and her friends hadn’t been conned. Perhaps she could lift the cloth lid a little? First she just touched the trolley quickly, then she pushed it hard. But when she heard the rustle and thought she could feel the bundles of banknotes inside, she was so pleased that she took several dance steps. Brains quickly stopped her, but she saw the warmth in his eyes. She wanted to hug him, but that, too, would have to wait. Not until they had put their own shopping trolleys next to the others, turned round and were going into the elevator again did they close their umbrellas and give each other a big hug.
Up in the cabin again, Martha and Brains told their friends what had happened. After a short discussion they all went into their own cabins for a short and well-needed rest. Martha pulled out her knitting and sat on the bed with some soft, comfy cushions behind her back. Now the museum would get two shopping trolleys with old newspapers, and they themselves would get their ten million. Not a bad exchange. But would it work? She racked her brains, it seemed to be far too easy. But she didn’t get any further in her thoughts before she fell asleep with her knitting on her tummy, and she only woke up again when Brains knocked on the cabin door. It was time for dinner.
When they gathered together in the dining room they were still looking very pleased with themselves, but to be on the safe side they kept an eye out for Nurse Barbara. They looked keenly around them in every direction, but she was nowhere to be seen.
‘She and Mattson will be lying there and—’ Rake started, but he was cut off by Anna-Greta.
‘Not again,’ she retorted haughtily and gave him a severe look.
‘But she’ll be on her back in the cabin,’ Rake persisted. He smelled of garlic again and held a large beer glass in his hand. Anna-Greta gave him a disapproving look and Christina quickly stretched out her hand to quieten him. But then Anna-Greta suddenly thawed and the wrinkles between her eyes vanished.
‘You know what, Brains, if Nurse Barbara is in love with Mattson, then let her be.’