The Fire Witness

170

Joona had put the puzzle together the moment Flora said her brother’s name. Daniel Grim was the boy who had been adopted by the Rånne couple in Delsbo. He was the same Daniel whom Flora saw kill a little girl at Delsbo Church thirty-five years ago.

Now Joona understood why Elisabet had wounds on the backs of her hands, not her palms. She hadn’t been trying to defend herself, she’d been holding them over her face. Daniel wasn’t leaving any witnesses. No one could see what he had done.

Once he’d phoned Elin and warned her of the danger she was in, Joona radioed the national communications center asking them to send a helicopter, an ambulance, and police cars to Elin’s house near Duved. He was told that the helicopters were already in use in Kiruna, so it would take at least half an hour for the police to get to the house by road.

Joona couldn’t get there himself-it was more than 150 kilometers from Delsbo to Duved.

He was starting the car engine when Carlos Eliasson called, wanting to know why Joona thought Daniel Grim was the murderer.

“Thirty-five years ago he killed another girl in the same way as the girl at Birgittagården,” Joona said as he started driving down the gravel road.

“Anja showed me the photo from the accident at Delsbo Church.” Carlos sighed.

“It wasn’t an accident,” Joona said.

“What makes you believe they are connected?”

“Both victims had their hands over their faces when they were killed,” Joona said.

“I know Miranda did, but this victim is lying on a sheet and her hands are at her sides.”

“The body was moved before the police arrived,” Joona said.

“How do you know?”

“I just do.”

“Is this your usual stubbornness or did that psychic woman tell you about it?”

“She is an eyewitness to the Delsbo murder.”

“That’s well past the statute of limitations,” Carlos said with a slight laugh, and then he continued in a more serious tone. “We have a prosecutor who is leading the investigation for the case against Vicky Bennet. You are still under internal investigation.”

Now Joona is turning east onto Highway 84 toward Sundsvall. He contacts the Västernorrland police and requests a patrol car and a technician to Daniel Grim’s home. Over the radio, he can hear the Jämtland police estimate the time of arrival at ten minutes.