Postcard killers

Chapter 83

The pair clammed up. they refused to say another word without a lawyer present.

The interrogation was stopped. The two of them were taken back to their cel s, and Dessie and Jacob headed off to Mats Duval 's office, where the investigating team had gathered.

Sara Hoglund looked distinctly pleased.

"That business with the shadow worked very wel," she said.

"A shame we made it up," Jacob said. "Otherwise we real y would have a case. Anyway, it's a start."

"Now we just have to hope that they get tangled up in their various lies and explanations," the head of the crime unit said.

The theme music to the 4:45 Eko news bul etin came over the radio, and Mats Duval turned up the volume.

The lead story was the "questionable arrest" of the two American art students traveling through Sweden.

The newsreader's voice sounded stuffy and pompous.

"According to reports received by Dagens Eko, the suspects have solid alibis for several of the murders in Europe. Video recordings from security cameras in the Grand Hotel show that the Dutch couple were stil alive when the brother and sister left them on Wednesday afternoon…"

The air in the room had turned to ice.

Obviously, someone in, or very close to, the investigation had talked to the press.

No one looked at anyone else. They al just stared straight ahead or down at the table.

Dessie felt a sense of unease creeping up her spine.

She was the one whom these detectives would suspect of leaking information. And because it was against the law for the authorities to investigate the media's sources, no one would ask her straight out, but she knew what they were thinking. She was the journalist, the outsider, the one who was the most likely to be disloyal.

From now on, she wouldn't be welcome here, that much was clear to her.

The superintendent's face stiffened into a mask that grew more rigid the longer the broadcast went on.

The chair of the Swedish Bar Association gave a statement, seriously criticizing the fact that "the two American youngsters" hadn't been given a lawyer until late this afternoon, a whole day after they were taken into custody.

Sara Hoglund was quoted saying in an irritated voice that the investigation was proceeding – a sound bite that was probably taken from the very last minutes of the press conference, when she had already answered the same question umpteen times.

Then the Dagens Eko bul etin turned its attention to criticism of the media.

The newsreader's voice was ful of indignation as he trumpeted the next item.

"In a letter that has received harsh criticism, a newspaper reporter at Aftonposten, Dessie Larsson, attempted to buy an interview with the suspected kil ers.

"For one hundred thousand dol ars, almost a mil ion kronor, she wanted to secure an exclusive interview with the American youths. The chair of the Journalists Federation, Anita Persson, considers the development a scandal that should be investigated."

Dessie felt the floor sway beneath her. Her mouth went dry and her pulse was racing.

"Dessie Larsson has brought shame on the entire profession," Anita Persson said over the radio. "She should be expel ed from the Journalists 112 Federation right away."

The author and journalist Hugo Bergman was next to be interviewed. He added to the criticism, saying that Dessie Larsson was "a lightweight" and "a useless journalist."

Everyone in the room turned to look at Dessie.

Hugo Bergman clearly didn't like being spurned when he had paid for wine and dinner at a fancy restaurant, she thought. It was a hel of a price to pay for mashed potatoes.

Dessie stood up and went toward the door.

"I'm not even a member of the Journalists Federation," she said.

Jacob fol owed her out through the door.