The Fire Witness

159

The sky is getting dark as Joona leaves the E4 and turns onto Route 84 toward Delsbo. His guess is that Flora has taken the car to drive to Delsbo Church.

He can still hear her agitated voice telling him about a witness hiding in the bell tower there.

Joona can’t figure her out. It’s as if she’s mixing lies and truth without being aware of it herself. Even so, he can’t let go of the feeling that she knows more about the murders at Birgittagården than anyone else.

This story about a witness could be another one of her lies, but on the off chance it’s true he can’t ignore it.

Low-hanging clouds make the fields appear gray and the evergreens blue. Falling leaves dance over the road. It’s difficult to keep up his speed, as the road is winding and filled with potholes.

A few kilometers farther on, he turns onto a wide boulevard lined with trees, which leads to Delsbo Church. Beyond the trees is wide-open farmland. In the distance, a lone harvester is driving through a field, its blades whirling over the ground like scythes. Birds rise and sink in the swirling air.

He’s almost at the church when he sees a car crashed into one of the trees. The hood is smashed, a fender is lying in the grass, and one of the windows has shattered. The engine is still running and the driver’s door is wide open. The rear lights stain the grass in the ditch red.

Joona slows down, but when he sees the car is empty, he keeps driving. Flora must have gotten out and run toward the tower.

Joona parks and races over the raked gravel to the pitch-covered bell tower, which is standing on a hill not far from the church. He can see the church bell hanging beneath the onion dome behind a railing. Beyond the bell tower, there’s a rushing river, its waters black and foamy. The sky is dark and it looks like it will start raining at any moment.

The door to the tower is slightly ajar.

Joona walks the last few feet. He can smell the pitch.

The wide ground-floor section is paneled in dark wood. There’s a steep wooden staircase leading to a platform below the bell.

Joona calls out, “Flora?”