The killer's art

34

When the investigative team met on Wednesday morning, only a few people had called the police to offer any tips about the case, in spite of requests made through the media. ‘How could this happen? A man is murdered and hung from a gate in Visby’s ring wall for all to see, yet not a single person noticed anything.’ Knutas was interrupted by a sneeze that sprayed out over half the conference table. For weeks he’d been dragging around with this cold that he couldn’t seem to shake. He quickly apologized to his colleagues and wiped the table with a handkerchief that he dug out of his pocket.

‘If only we knew where the murder was actually committed,’ said Jacobsson with a sigh.

‘That’s bound to come out sooner or later,’ said Norrby soothingly. ‘At any rate, I can report that we’ve checked out the address in Stockholm where Egon Wallin was planning to move. Artillerigatan 38. It turns out that he bought the flat two months ago, on November the seventeenth, to be precise. A newly refurbished two-bedroom flat. It was almost fully furnished, with brand-new furniture, a new TV and stereo. The kitchen was fully equipped with dishes and utensils. He bought the flat through an advertisement, and paid 4.2 million kronor.’

Wittberg whistled. ‘That’s damned expensive. Did he have that kind of money?’

‘Apparently Ostermalm is a very pricey neighbourhood. It’s also a corner flat with a balcony, on the sixth floor of the building. And it’s not small by any means, at over 1,000 square feet.’ Norrby paused for dramatic effect, running his hand through his hair. ‘And to answer your question: yes, he did have the money. He’d just sold his gallery, and that’s probably how he paid for the flat. He also owned a number of stocks and bonds.’

‘Life insurance?’ asked Jacobsson.

‘Yup. Worth three million. At his death, the money goes to his wife.’

‘All right then,’ said Kihlgardleaning back in his chair and clasping his hands over his stomach. ‘So now we’ve got another motive. Maybe we should bring in Monika Wallin for another chat. There seem to be some gaps in the previous interview.’ He cast a quick glance at Knutas, who stirred uneasily. ‘She had a lover, and her husband’s death is going to make her rich. Two classic motives for murder.’

‘What about his children?’ Jacobsson interjected. ‘What do they get?’

‘It looks as if they’re going to inherit quite a bundle. I can’t tell you exactly how much at the moment, but he was presumably worth several million,’ said Norrby. ‘His wife and children will share the inheritance equally, so there’s going to be plenty for each of them.’

‘So we have three people with plausible motives,’ said Jacobsson. ‘And we haven’t talked to the children yet. As for Rolf Sanden, her lover, he had both a motive and the necessary physical strength. Unfortunately he also has an alibi for the night of the murder. He was visiting a good friend in Slite and stayed overnight. The friend has confirmed that they were together all night.’

‘I’ve done some checking up on Egon Wallin’s business partners in Stockholm,’ Kihlgard went on. ‘First of all, Sixten Dahl, who bought the gallery without revealing his identity. Dahl didn’t say anything startling during the interview that was conducted in Stockholm. He also has an alibi for the night of the murder. He was sharing a hotel room here with a good friend from Stockholm, and they were together all evening and night. Well, I don’t mean they were “together” in that sense,’ Kihlgard quickly clarified. ‘We asked him about that. It turns out the hotel was fully booked, so there was only one room available. There was a convention in town at the same time, something to do with the Baltic Sea.’

‘Oh, that’s right,’ said Jacobsson. ‘It was about the gas line between Russia and Germany that’s supposed to run past Sweden on the bottom of the sea.’

‘Exactly,’ said Kihlgard. ‘And Dahl’s story has been confirmed both by the restaurant staff at Donners Brunn and by the receptionist at the hotel. They were back before eleven and went straight up to their room.’

‘But that doesn’t mean that they might not have gone out again later on,’ Jacobsson pointed out.

‘And it’s an interesting coincidence that they had dinner at the same restaurant as Egon Wallin and his party,’ said Wittberg.

‘Sure, but at the same time, there aren’t that many places to choose from, and it happens to be the closest restaurant to the hotel,’ said Knutas.

‘I think we’ll need to come back to this again later,’ suggested Kihlgard. ‘All right. It turns out that Sixten Dahl is going to move over here on a trial basis for six months to get the business going, and his wife will be coming with him. But that’s actually beside the point,’ he muttered, leafing through his papers as if looking for something. Then his face brightened. ‘Ah yes, here it is.’

With great deliberation he put on his glasses and took a bite of a cinnamon roll, which he washed down with some coffee. Everyone waited patiently as he brushed the crumbs from his lips, before he went on. ‘Egon Wallin bought a part ownership in an art gallery in Gamla Stan in Stockholm. It’s owned by four partners, and he was to be the fifth.’

‘Who are the others?’ asked Knutas, who by now had recovered from his resentment at Kihlgard’s jab.

‘I have a list of the names here.’ Kihlgard pushed his glasses into place and read the names from the list. ‘Katarina Ljungberg, Ingrid Jonsson, Hugo Malmberg and Peter Melander.’

‘I recognize the name Hugo Malmberg,’ said Jacobsson. ‘I think he might have been at the gallery opening.’ She looked through the lists lying on the table in front of her. ‘Yes, I was right,’ she exclaimed happily. ‘He was interviewed in Stockholm. By someone named Stenstrom.’

‘Interesting. We’ll get on to that right away,’ said Knutas. ‘What stage had the business deal reached?’

‘It was all set,’ said Kihlgard. ‘He’d paid the required amount, and there don’t seem to be any anomalies.’

‘We need to talk to this Mr Malmberg as soon as possible,’ said Knutas. ‘And check up on the others too. We need to find out whether any of them has been mixed up in dealing with stolen paintings.’

‘And we may have another possible motive,’ said Wittberg. ‘One of the other partners may not have liked the fact that Egon Wallin was invited to join them.’

‘But would somebody go so far as to murder him for that reason? I don’t think so,’ said Norrby, shaking his head.