PICTURES, WORDS AND WORRIES

INTRIGUE Chapter 3

Bjorn's mind raced at 1000 miles per hour. He was concerned naturally, Agnetha's condition, 5 months pregnant, made her particularly vulnerable to stressful situations, all the more given the difficult pregnancy with Christian 4 years before. She'd been shocked by the revelation of the horrid letters, containing barely concealed threats to expose their life to the World at large and to reveal her hidden, secret pregnancy. Her reaction was much as he'd feared, she was horrified and genuinely worried about having their life dissected by a voracious press and having to field all kinds of unwanted questions about their personal situation, how it had come about, when and what happened next. He was determined to make this as easy as possible on her, to shield her from as much as he possibly could. For this he was happy to have her Sister, Brother In Law and Nephew here, they could help to distract her, take her mind away from the events surrounding them. But, whilst relieved to have them here, part of is active mind was full of a very unpleasant thought, an idea that troubled him hugely. He'd become suspicious that it was Mona, and Ronny who were behind this dreadful plot. They had arrived early to England, seemed very keen for them to pay the financial demand with great haste and to Bjorn had not seemed the least bit shocked by his revelation with the letters and pictures. Whilst downstairs the newly arrived relatives sat comfortably in the living room, chatting, offering advice, much of which seemed to involve them handing over the not insignificant sum of 2 million Pounds Sterling, Bjorn began to get busy, checking out certain things about Mona and Ronny and precisely just how they'd got here so soon. Upstairs he began checking with the airline, SAS, they had friends working there and for his own curiosity and peace of mind he needed to know just when Mona and her Family had arrived. He was quickly on the telephone to an old friend in Jonas, who worked at SAS, Jonas happily checked details for him "Well Bjorn, having checked, it seems they flew to London, some three days ago. So, why they were at Heathrow today, I have no idea. The flights were changed last week and they definitely arrived three days back. Hope this helps somehow" Bjorn thanked him, this confirmed something that had been on his mind since they met at Heathrow. Agnetha's relatives had been here log before, something they had attempted to keep quiet. It meant that they had more than enough time to take pictures and post letters, aided by their personal knowledge of the situation. What he needed to work out in his own mind was why, aside from the money side of things, why would they of all people act this way? There had to be a reason and he wanted very much to find out why, if his thoughts were correct they of all people would do this. He was eagerly looking forward to Benny and Frida arriving the following day, it meant they would not be facing this alone, they could count on their best friends for help and support. But for now he made up his mind to rattle the cage and see how Mona and Ronny reacted. He returned downstairs, calm, relaxed and much his usual affable self. He sat with Agnetha and quietly eyed their guests "Well, I hope you don't mind, but I've made a decision on this blackmail threat" Agnetha looked at him, her eyes full of concern, worry etched on her gorgeous face "What are you thinking? Are we paying to keep things quiet?" he gently took her hand and kissed it softly "No, my sweet girl. We are not paying under any circumstances. With this kind of thing, once you pay once, you are forever handing over money. So the answer to it is no! We'll call their bluff, see how they react and if needs be, tell the truth to everyone" Agnetha was momentarily quiet as she digested the news, but Bjorn was more focused upon Mona and Ronny, he watched closely as they reacted to his suggestion. Mona spoke first, wide eyed and incredulous "Are you serious? You'll not pay and risk everything about you being exposed? Bjorn, think about this. That maybe a huge sum of money to give up, but it will be worth it, to have your privacy intact" Ronny, who had seemed shocked by Bjorn's idea now recovered and joined the conversation "Mona's right. You have to protect yourselves. Just imagine the papers if they got wind of all this. They'd hound you forever. Pay the cash, have done with it. Make it clear it's a on off and protect your lives" Bjorn watched intently over the following minutes, Mona and Ronny were rattled, clearly they had some kind of interest in this awful situation and Bjorn began to think even more that they were responsible for it. That night he lay in bed with Agnetha, who as ever lay on his left shoulder, her pregnant stomach meaning she was lying on her back,. She was wide awake, unable to sleep she was more than a little concerned about his revelation earlier, fearing the backlash should all the news of their life, their personal situation leak to the media at large, she was wide awake, unable to sleep and wanted to ask him exactly what was happening "Were you serious earlier? Are you really not going to pay what they've asked and maybe even tell the media what has happened with us? Bjorn, I'm more than a little worried about that. I mean, we have a lovely life here, it's quiet, peaceful free of any stress. Do we really want to give that up? Do we really want to announce to everyone that we're together, having a baby and living here in England? Do you not think that they'd never leave us alone, it would be like being back in Stockholm. Would you consider paying up? For peace of mind if nothing else" he listened intently, he really didn't like seeing her so worried and he sought to find a way to ease her mind, soothe her fears "Darling, listen to me closely. I would never, ever do anything to make our life difficult. And if you really, really wanted to buy these people off, we'd do exactly that. I can promise you that. But, before we do anything of the kind, let's just let things play out for a while. You see and believe me I hate to say this, but I have a feeling that the person or persons responsible for this, are close to us, because only close people know anything about us. Let's just see what happens next. I made the statement I did earlier, because let's face it, we don't know who's listening when. And I want to rattle their cage, unsettle them, to see what the next move will be. But my precious one, never fear. I will always do what's needed to protect us, to protect our privacy. And if that means that we eventually hand over that money I will do. But let's just see what happens okay?" As ever his words calmed her and now she felt a little more comfortable, although the suggestion of someone close being behind this did cause her some concern "Bjorn, have you got any ideas who is doing this? If it's someone close, it narrows things down considerably. And if you have or you know, what will you do?" he softly kissed her forehead "I have some suspicions, nothing more nothing less. But the next couple of days will see things begin to clear, in terms of who's behind this. As for what I'll do, let's just say I have a few ideas! Now then sweet girl, try and relax. We don't want you to fret and risk distressing the baby or making yourself bad. Leave all of this to me. Benny and Frida will be here tomorrow, they'll be able to help. So, as suggested many times before, you put your feet up relax and leave all the heavy lifting, so to speak to me, to Benny, to Frida" In spite of the worrying developments and the prospect of someone close to them betraying them this way, his reassurances made her feel much safer, much better. Agnetha always knew he'd do anything to protect her and now was no different. A good night's sleep followed and the following morning Bjorn was up early and as ever went for a jog around both their own ground and on into the outskirts of Henley. As he ran his mind worked hard as he wondered just how to bring the blackmailers to justice and began to wonder how Mona and Ronny would be today. Last evening they were distinctly rattled by his refusal to cough up any money and he again started to think about them, seriously considering them as viable candidates for being behind this. Back at home he joined Agnetha, Linda and Christian for breakfast, joined by Mona and Ronny as well as Isaac, who was enjoying a break from his school in Stockholm. Mona and Ronny were very much not themselves, their usual cheerful demeanour replaced by tension and a distinct feeling of unease. Mona swallowed a spoon full of Rice Krispies and looked over to both of them "Are you still thinking as you did yesterday? I mean this is serious and potentially game changing for both of you. You have a secret, a quiet life here, is it not worth paying to protect all of that? What does the money matter compared to all of that?" Ronny was nodding enthusiastically "I have to agree. You'd both be crazy to allow what's happening to spoil what you've built here. Look at it like this, how the hell would the media everywhere react to you two, the baby? Give whoever it is what they want, they'll go away and everyone is a winner, because you'll still have your privacy" They were very much echoing Agnetha's thoughts and Bjorn listened to them very closely, studying their reactions to this whole affair. The more they talked about paying up without hesitation, the more he became convinced they were behind this, they were too eager for the ransom demand to be payed. Later in the morning, just prior to heading off to Heathrow to collect Benny and Frida, Bjorn placed another call to Stockholm, this time to the offices of Polar Music, where he got both Gorel and Hans "Berka" Berqvist on the line together "Look guys, this is a tall order and I don't like asking this of you. But I need a favour from you both. Can you dig around, sniff around Mona and Ronny, find out what's going on with them. I damn well hate to think they're doing this, but I've got a really funny feeling about it" Gorel, a close friend who was horrified by what was happening eagerly agreed "For absolute certain, we'll help. We can start to make some enquiries about them. And once we have something we can let you know" "Berka" was equally keen to help and had a practical thought which he voiced "Can I assume that you don't want 'Netha to know about this just yet? I mean Mona is family and it could be pretty distressing, especially in her condition" Bjorn smiled and nodded "Exactly Berka, keep this between us. Gorel, you have the extension number, so if you could, use that rather than the main line, so I can answer you" With that he and Agnetha headed off to meet their closest friends at Heathrow. It was a warm, emotional reunion between all four of them. It had only been a week or so since they last saw each other and yet time together was precious to them, with the prospect of Agnetha soon not being able to travel. Frida looked at her dear friend with a warm smile "Young lady, you are glowing! Being pregnant really suits you!" blushing Agnetha thanked her closest friend "Thanks Frida. I'm so glad you're here. Both of you" Benny smiled "Any chance for all of us to be together is a good enough reason. Besides we might be able to help with what's happening" Agnetha smiled happily "I am so grateful, we both are. I know it must be awkward, what with the divorce looming and so forth" Frida gently stroked her cheek "Oh don't worry about that. We get on famously still, we still enjoy being around each other. That's never going to change, just like it'll never change with how much we love being with you two!" They returned home and after a mass greeting, everyone settled in to discuss the pressing matter at hand. Benny and Frida having been pre warned listened closely to Mona and Ronny and made mental notes to share with Bjorn later that evening. Mona and Ronny were insistent on the money being paid and both Benny and Frida noticed just how keen they were, as Bjorn had suggested to them. As the evening closed in they got ready to privately speak to Bjorn, who was now out walking the dog, the family Collie Rodde. As he walked along and allowed the dog to roam he felt a strong thump on the base of his neck and as he fell forwards he lost consciousness and hit the grass face first. hands reached down to drag him away, it looked as if he was about to meet their tormentors......