The Lost Boy

17

‘Looks like you couldn’t sleep last night either,’ said Gösta, noticing the dark circles under Patrik’s eyes. He had shadows under his own eyes.

‘No, I couldn’t,’ said Patrik.

‘This road must seem awfully familiar to you by now.’ He glanced in the direction of Torp as they once again headed for Göteborg.

‘Uh-huh.’

Gösta took the hint and leaned over to switch on the radio instead of trying to carry on a conversation with his colleague. An hour later, having listened to far too much pointless pop music, they finally reached the city.

‘When you spoke to him on the phone, did he sound as if he’d be willing to help us?’ asked Gösta. He knew from experience that cooperation between police districts often depended on the particular individual they happened to be dealing with. If they ended up with a surly type, it would be almost impossible to find out any information.

‘He sounded friendly,’ said Patrik as he led the way to the reception area. ‘Patrik Hedström and Gösta Flygare. We’re here to see Ulf Karlgren.’

‘That’s me,’ boomed a voice behind them, and a big man wearing a black leather jacket and cowboy boots stepped forward. ‘I was thinking we could sit in the cafeteria. My office is too cramped, and the coffee is better down here.’

‘Sure,’ said Patrik. He couldn’t help looking this unlikely police officer up and down. Regulation attire clearly held no appeal for Ulf Karlgren, and that became even more apparent when Patrik glimpsed the faded T-shirt the man was wearing under his jacket. It said AC/DC across the chest.

‘This way.’

Ulf took long strides as he headed for the cafeteria. Patrik and Gösta did their best to keep up. From behind they noticed that the man had a long ponytail that compensated for the thinning hair on top of his head. And they could clearly see the outline of a snuff container in his back pocket.

‘Hello, girls! You’re more beautiful today than ever.’ Ulf winked at the women behind the counter, and they giggled happily. ‘So what have you got to tempt me today? I need to watch my figure, you know!’ Ulf patted the stomach that was stretching his T-shirt tight, and Patrik found himself thinking about Mellberg. But that was as far as the similarities went. Ulf was a significantly more appealing type of person.

‘We’ll take a Princess pastry each,’ said Ulf, pointing to a tray of enormous pastries covered with green marzipan.

Patrik started to protest, but Ulf waved aside his objections.

‘You could use a bit of meat on those bones,’ he said, loading the pastries on to a tray. ‘And three cups of coffee. That will do it.’

‘You don’t need to …’ said Patrik as Ulf took a credit card out of his well-worn wallet.

‘Don’t worry about it. It’s my treat. Come on, let’s sit down.’

They followed him to a table and sat down. Ulf’s cheerful expression suddenly turned serious.

‘I hear that you’ve got some questions about one of the biker gangs.’

Patrik nodded. He briefly summarized what had happened and what they’d found out so far. Then he explained that a witness had seen Mats Sverin being assaulted by several guys who looked like bikers with eagles on their backs.

Ulf nodded. ‘That sounds credible. From your description, we could be talking about the IE.’

‘IE?’ Gösta had already finished off his pastry. Patrik couldn’t understand where his colleague put all the food that he ate. He was as gaunt as a greyhound.

‘Illegal Eagles.’ Ulf had dropped four sugar cubes in his cup and was slowly stirring his coffee. ‘They’re the number one gang in the area. Meaner, uglier, and more ruthless than all the others.’

‘Shit.’

‘If they’re the ones involved, I’d advise you to proceed cautiously. We’ve had some rather unfortunate confrontations with that gang.’

‘What are they mixed up in?’ asked Patrik.

‘Drugs, prostitution, protection rackets, extortion – you name it. It’d be easier to tell you what they’re not mixed up in.’

‘Cocaine?’

‘Definitely. But also heroin, amphetamines and, to a certain degree, anabolic steroids.’

‘Have you had a chance to check out whether Mats Sverin was ever part of any police investigations here?’ asked Patrik.

‘His name has never come up.’ Ulf shook his head. ‘That doesn’t necessarily mean he wasn’t involved, only that he never came to our attention.’

‘He doesn’t exactly fit the profile. As a gang member, I mean,’ said Gösta, leaning back with a sated look on his face.

‘The core group is made up of bikers, but there are all sorts of other types on the fringes, especially when it comes to narcotics. Some of our investigations have taken us right to the upper levels of society.’

‘Would it be possible to get in contact with this gang?’ Patrik downed the last of his coffee.

Ulf immediately got up to get him some more.

‘The second cup is free,’ he said when he came back and sat down. ‘As I was saying, I wouldn’t recommend making direct contact with these gentlemen. We’ve had a number of unpleasant experiences with them. So if you could start from some other angle, maybe talk to people connected to this guy Sverin, I’d advise you to do that instead.’

‘I understand,’ said Patrik. ‘Who’s the head of the IE?’

‘Stefan Ljungberg. A Nazi sympathizer who started the gang ten years ago. He’s been in the slammer countless times, ever since he was eighteen. Before that, he was in a locked juvenile facility. You know the type.’

Patrik nodded, though in truth it was a type he hadn’t really encountered before. The criminals back home seemed awfully tame by comparison.

‘What would make them come to Fjällbacka to put a bullet in somebody’s head?’ asked Gösta.

‘I can think of a number of likely scenarios. Trying to leave the gang is usually the best way to end up with a bullet in your skull. Although that doesn’t seem to be the case in this instance, so we have to consider other possibilities. Maybe they were cheated in a drug deal, maybe they were worried that somebody was going to talk. If so, maybe we should interpret the assault as a warning. But this is all pure speculation. I’ll ask my colleagues if they’ve heard anything more concrete. I’d also recommend that you talk to people who were close to Sverin. Often they know more than they think.’

Patrik was doubtful. This had proved the biggest problem in their investigation so far. No one seemed to know very much about Mats Sverin.

‘Thank you for your time,’ he said, getting up.

Ulf shook hands with Patrik and smiled.

‘No problem. We’re only too glad to be of help. Give me a shout if you have any other questions.’

‘I’m sure we will,’ said Patrik. There was so much that seemed logical about this particular lead. At the same time, it didn’t feel right. He simply couldn’t figure out this case. And he still had no idea who Mats really was. It was hard to get his head around the case when, over and over in his mind, Patrik kept hearing the shot from yesterday.

‘What shall we do now?’ Martin was standing in the doorway to Paula’s office.

‘I don’t know.’ She felt as discouraged as Martin looked.

The events of the previous day had taken a toll on all of them. No one had seen Mellberg. He’d locked himself in his office, and that was probably just as well. The way things stood at the moment, his colleagues would have had a hard time hiding their contempt. Fortunately for Paula, she hadn’t seen him at home either. By the time she got home last night, he had already gone to bed. And when she left this morning, he was still asleep. At breakfast Rita had tried to talk to Paula about what had happened, but she had let it be known that she was in no mood to discuss the matter. And Johanna hadn’t even tried to talk about it. She had simply turned away when Paula crawled into bed. The wall between them was getting higher. Paula felt her mouth go dry, as if from panic, at the thought. She had to take a sip of water from the glass on her desk. She didn’t have the energy to think about Johanna right now.

‘Isn’t there anything we can do while they’re in Göteborg?’ Martin came in and sat down.

‘Lennart is supposed to get back to us today,’ said Paula. She hadn’t slept well, and no matter how much she sympathized with Martin’s impatience, she was too tired to take the initiative herself. But Martin continued to sit there, fixing her with an enquiring look.

‘Shall we phone Lennart to find out if he’s done yet?’ He took out his mobile.

‘No, no. He’ll call as soon as he’s finished looking at the documents. I’m sure he will.’

‘Okay.’ Martin put his mobile back in his pocket. ‘So what shall we do while we wait? Patrik didn’t leave any instructions. We can’t just sit here doing nothing, can we?’

‘I don’t know.’ Paula could feel herself growing annoyed. Why was she the one who was supposed to decide? She wasn’t much older than Martin and, besides, he’d been working at the station several years longer than she had, although she did have experience on the Stockholm police force. She took a deep breath. It wasn’t fair to take out her frustration on Martin.

‘Pedersen is supposed to deliver his report from the post-mortem today. I think we should start with that. I can ring him and find out if he has any results for us.’

‘Okay. Then maybe we’ll have something to work with.’ Martin looked like a happy puppy who had just received a pat on the head, and Paula couldn’t help smiling. It was impossible to stay annoyed with Martin for very long.

‘I’ll phone him now.’

Martin watched as she tapped in the number. Pedersen must have been sitting next to his phone, because he picked up on the first ring.

‘Hi. This is Paula Morales in Tanumshede … You have it? Oh, good.’ She gave Martin a thumbs up. ‘Of course. Just fax over the report. But could you give me a brief summary over the phone?’ She nodded and made a few notes on the pad of paper on her desk.

Martin craned his neck, trying to read what she’d written, but then gave up.

‘Hmm … I see … Okay.’ She listened some more and made a few more notes. Then she slowly put down the phone. Martin stared at her.

‘What did he say? Anything we can use?’

‘Not exactly. Mostly he just confirmed what we already knew.’ She looked down at her notes. ‘He said that Mats Sverin was shot in the back of the head with a nine-millimetre gun. One shot. He probably died instantly.’

‘What about the time of death?’

‘That was the good news. He was able to determine that Mats died sometime after midnight, meaning in the early hours of Saturday morning.’

‘That’s good. What else?’

‘There was no trace of any narcotic substances in his blood.’

‘Nothing?’

Paula shook her head. ‘No. Not even nicotine.’

‘He could still have been a dealer.’

‘True. But it does make you wonder …’ She looked at her notes again. ‘The most interesting part is going to be seeing whether the bullet matches any gun that we have on record. If there’s a link to some other crime, it will make it much easier to find the weapon. And hopefully the murderer.’

Suddenly Annika was standing in the doorway.

‘The Coast Guard just called. They found the boat.’

Paula and Martin exchanged glances. They didn’t need to ask Annika which boat she was talking about.

Everything was packed. The instant Madeleine received the postcard, she knew what she had to do. There was no longer any use trying to flee. She was aware of the danger that awaited them, but it was just as dangerous to stay here. Maybe she and her children would have a better chance if they went back voluntarily.

Madeleine had to sit down on the suitcase to close it. One suitcase was all she’d been able to bring. She’d had to pack an entire lifetime into it. And yet she’d been filled with hope as she boarded the train for Copenhagen with the children and that one suitcase. She had felt pain and sorrow about what she was leaving behind, but happiness about what might be ahead.

She glanced around the small one-room flat. A dreary place with only one bed where the kids had slept and a mattress on the floor for her. The flat didn’t look like much, but for a brief time it had been paradise. A safe place that was all their own. Until it had been transformed into a trap. They couldn’t stay here. Mette had lent her money for the tickets without asking any questions. Maybe she had bought them a death sentence, but what choice did she have?

Slowly she got to her feet, picked up the postcard, and stuffed it in her worn purse. She wanted to rip it into a thousand pieces and flush them down the toilet, watching them disappear. But she knew that she needed to keep the card as a reminder. So she wouldn’t change her mind.

The children were at Mette’s. They had gone over there after playing in the courtyard, and Madeleine was grateful to have a little more time to herself before she had to break the news that they were going home. That word did not have a positive meaning for them. Scars, both internal and external, were the only things they had ever received from their so-called ‘home’. She hoped they knew that she loved them, that she would never willingly do anything to harm them, but that she had no other option. If they were found here, trapped in this rabbit hole, none of them would be spared. She knew that for a fact. The only chance the rabbits had was to go back to the fox of their own free will.

It was time to leave. She could no longer put off the inevitable. Telling herself that the children would understand, Madeleine picked up the suitcase. She only wished that she really believed that.

‘I heard about Gunnar,’ said Anna.

She still looked like a fragile little bird, and Erica did her best to smile. ‘Don’t think about things like that right now. You have enough on your mind.’

Anna frowned. ‘I don’t know. Strangely enough, it’s good to feel sorry for someone other than myself.’

‘And it must be awful for Signe. She’s all alone now.’

‘How is Patrik doing?’ Anna tucked her legs under her as she sat on the sofa. The children were in school and the day-care centre, and the twins were taking their mid-morning nap in the pram just outside the front door.

‘He was pretty upset yesterday,’ said Erica, reaching for a cinnamon bun.

Belinda, Dan’s eldest daughter, had baked the buns. She had started baking when she had a boyfriend who liked the domestic type. He was now history, but she still enjoyed baking, and she certainly seemed to have a natural talent for it.

‘God, this is delicious.’ Erica rolled her eyes.

‘I know. Belinda is a great baker. And Dan says that she’s been wonderful with the other kids.’

‘Yes, she stepped in when she was really needed.’

Belinda looked quite fierce with her dyed black hair, black fingernail polish, and heavy make-up. But when Anna retreated from everyone, she had taken her younger siblings under her wing, including Adrian and Emma.

‘What happened wasn’t Patrik’s fault,’ said Anna.

‘No, I know that. And I tried to tell him that. It’s really Mellberg who should be blamed, but for some reason Patrik always feels responsible. He and Gösta were at Gunnar’s house when he shot himself. Patrik thinks that he should have seen the warning signs and tried to stop him.’

‘What warning signs?’ snorted Anna. ‘Nobody announces in advance that they’re planning to kill themselves. There were several times when I …’ She came to a halt and glanced at Erica.

‘You would never do anything like that, Anna.’ Erica leaned closer and looked her sister in the eye. ‘You’ve been through so much, more than most people, and if you were going to kill yourself, you would have done it long ago. You don’t have it in you.’

‘How can you be so sure?’

‘I know because you haven’t gone down in the basement to stick a gun in your mouth and pull the trigger.’

‘We don’t have any guns,’ said Anna.

‘Don’t play dumb. You know what I mean. You’ve never thrown yourself in front of a car or slit your wrists or taken a load of sleeping pills or anything like that. You’ve never done any of those things because you’re such a strong person.’

‘I’m not sure it’s strength,’ murmured Anna. ‘I think it would take a lot of courage to pull that trigger.’

‘Not really. It only requires a moment of courage. After that, it’s all over, and everybody else has to clean up the mess, if you’ll pardon the expression. In my opinion, that’s not courage. That’s cowardice. Gunnar wasn’t thinking about Signe at that moment. If he had, he wouldn’t have done it. He would have shown more courage by staying with her, so they could help each other. Anything rather than choosing the coward’s way out. And that’s something you have never chosen.’

‘Well, according to that woman there, you can solve all your problems by doing yoga, not eating meat, and taking five deep breaths a day.’ Anna was pointing at the TV where an enthusiastic health guru was expounding on the only way to happiness and good health.

‘How can anyone find happiness without meat?’ asked Erica.

Anna couldn’t help laughing.

‘You’re such an idiot,’ she said, giving Erica a poke with her elbow.

‘You can talk! You’re the one who looks like a patient just released from the loony bin.’

‘That’s so mean.’ Anna threw a pillow at Erica with all her might.

‘Whatever it takes to get you to laugh,’ said Erica quietly.

‘I suppose it was only a matter of time,’ said Petra Janssen. Bile was threatening to rise in her throat, but as the mother of five children, she had developed a greater tolerance for disgusting smells over the years.

‘Yes, it’s no big surprise.’ Konrad Spetz, Petra’s long-term partner, seemed to be having more trouble quelling the nausea he felt.

‘The narcotics guys will probably be here any minute.’

They left the bedroom. The stench followed them, but in the living room on the floor below, it was easier to breathe. A woman in her fifties was sitting on a chair, sobbing as one of their younger colleagues tried to comfort her.

‘Was she the one who found him?’ Petra nodded towards the woman.

‘Yes. She’s the cleaning woman for the Westers. She usually comes in to clean once a week, but since they were away, she only needed to come in every other week. When she arrived today, she found … well …’ Konrad cleared his throat.

‘Have we located the wife and child?’ Petra had been the last one to arrive on the scene. Today should have been her day off, and she and her family had been out at Gröna Lund amusement park when she received the phone call.

‘No. According to the cleaning woman, the family had packed their bags to go to Italy. They were supposed to be gone all summer.’

‘We need to check with the airlines. If we’re lucky, we’ll find them on the beach, soaking up the sun,’ said Petra, but her expression was grim. She was all too aware of who was lying in that bed upstairs, and what sort of people he associated with. It seemed highly improbable that his wife and child were enjoying the sunshine. It was much more likely that they were lying dead in the woods somewhere. Or at the bottom of the bay at Nybroviken.

‘I’ve already got someone looking into it.’

Petra nodded with satisfaction. She and Konrad had worked together for over fifteen years, and their relationship functioned better than many marriages. But in terms of appearance, they were an odd couple, and that was putting it mildly. At five foot ten, and with a solid build that had been shaped by her five pregnancies, Petra towered over Konrad, who was not only short but slight in stature. He had a strangely asexual air about him that made Petra wonder whether he even knew how babies were made. At any rate, in all their years together, she’d never once heard him mention any sort of love life, with either a man or a woman. And she’d never asked. What they had in common was an acute intellect, a dry sense of humour, and a commitment to their job, which they’d managed to retain in spite of all the reorganizations inflicted on them by bosses who were political appointees with no understanding of what constituted good policework.

‘We need to put out an alert for them and talk to the boys in narcotics,’ he added.

‘Boys and girls,’ Petra corrected him.

Konrad sighed. ‘All right, Petra. Boys and girls.’

Petra’s five children were all daughters, so women’s rights were a sensitive subject. He knew that Petra thought women were superior to men, but he’d never been foolish enough to ask her whether that wasn’t reverse discrimination. He was smart enough to keep his thoughts on that subject to himself.

‘What a mess it is up there.’ Petra shook her head.

‘Looks like a number of shots were fired. The bed is full of bullet holes, and Wester is too.’

‘What made them think it would be worth it?’ She let her gaze sweep over the bright living room and then shook her head again. ‘Sure, this is one of the most gorgeous houses I’ve ever seen, and no doubt they were living the good life, but they must have known that sooner or later everything would go to hell. And then he ends up rotting in his own bed, lying on the silk sheets with his body full of bullet holes.’

‘That’s something wage-slaves like you and me will never understand.’ Konrad got up from the deep white cushions of the sofa and headed for the front hall. ‘It sounds like the narcotics team is at the door.’

‘Good,’ said Petra. ‘Now we’ll get to hear what the boys have to say.’

‘And the girls,’ said Konrad, and he couldn’t help smiling.

‘What should we do?’ asked Gösta, sounding resigned. ‘It doesn’t sound as if it’s a good idea, talking to those guys.’

‘No,’ admitted Patrik. ‘We should probably leave that as a last resort.’

‘So what next? We suspect the IE carried out the assault, and possibly the murder, but we don’t dare talk to them. Fine police officers we are.’ Gösta shook his head.

‘Let’s head back to the place where Mats was working when the assault occurred. So far we’ve only talked to Leila, but I think we should find out what the other staff members have to say. As I see it, that’s the only way to move forward at the moment.’ He turned on the ignition and started driving towards Hisingen.

They were ushered inside at once, but Leila was looking a bit exasperated when they were shown to her office.

‘Look, we do want to help, but I don’t know what you’re expecting to gain by coming here again.’ She threw out her hands. ‘We’ve shared the documents that we have, and we’ve answered all your questions. We simply don’t know anything else.’

‘I’d like to talk to your staff. There are two others here in the office, aren’t there?’ Patrik’s voice was friendly but firm. He realized that it was a nuisance, them turning up like this, but at the same time the Refuge was the only place where they might find out more information. Mats had obviously been dedicated to this organization and its mission, so maybe it was here that they’d learn more about him.

‘Okay, you can sit in the break room,’ said Leila with a sigh, motioning to the door to the right of her office. ‘I’ll send in Thomas, and then he can get Marie when you’re done talking to him.’ She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. ‘After that, I’d appreciate it if we could go back to working in peace. We understand that the police need to investigate the murder, and we feel for Matte’s family, but we have important work of our own and there’s nothing else we can tell you. In the four years that Matte worked here, he never said much about his personal life, and no one here has any idea who would want to kill him. Besides, that happened after he moved away.’

Patrik nodded. ‘I understand. Once we’ve talked to the other staff members, we’ll try to leave you alone.’

‘I don’t mean to sound uncooperative, but I’m delighted to hear that.’ She left to speak to her staff while Patrik and Gösta installed themselves in the break room.

A moment later a tall, dark-haired man in his thirties came in. Patrik had seen him hurry past on their previous visits, but they hadn’t exchanged more than a few words.

‘So you worked with Mats?’ Patrik leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees and with his hands clasped.

‘Yes, I started here soon after Mats did, so it’s been almost four years now.’

‘Did the two of you spend any time together outside of work?’ asked Patrik.

Thomas shook his head. He had brown eyes and a calm manner. He answered without hesitation.

‘No, Matte was a very private person. I’ve no idea who his friends were, except for Leila’s nephew. Even they seem to have lost contact.’

Patrik sighed. It was the same thing everyone had said about Mats.

‘Were you aware of any problems he might have had? Either personal or on the job?’ interjected Gösta.

‘No, nothing like that,’ replied Thomas at once. ‘Matte was always just … Matte. Incredibly calm and stable. He never got upset. I would have noticed if anything was wrong.’ He met Patrik’s eye without blinking.

‘How did he handle the situations that you deal with here?’

‘All of us who work here end up being deeply affected by the lives that we come in contact with. At the same time, it’s important to keep our distance; otherwise we’d never be able to keep doing this kind of work. Matte handled it all extremely well. He was warm and compassionate without getting too involved.’

‘How did you end up working here? From what I understand, the Refuge is the only women’s crisis centre that employs men. And Leila said that both male employees had to go through a careful screening process,’ said Patrik.

‘Yes, Leila has taken a lot of shit because of me and Matte. Maybe you heard that Matte got the job through Leila’s nephew. My mother is one of her best friends, and I’ve known Leila since I was a kid. When I came back to Sweden after doing volunteer work in Tanzania, she asked me whether I would consider working here. I’ve never regretted my decision even for a second. But it’s a big responsibility. If I make any mistakes, it will just add more grist for the mill for those people who are opposed to men working at women’s crisis centres.’

‘Did Mats have more contact than usual with any particular client?’ Patrik studied Thomas’s face to see if he might be holding back, but his expression remained as calm as ever.

‘No, that’s strictly forbidden, especially because of what I just told you. We have to maintain a professional relationship with the women and their families. That’s rule number one.’

‘And Mats followed that rule?’ asked Gösta.

‘We all do,’ said Thomas, looking offended. ‘An organization like this depends on its good reputation. The slightest misstep could be disastrous. For example, the social services offices might stop working with us. And in the long run, that would hurt the very people that we’re trying to help. As I’ve been trying to explain, we men have an even greater responsibility.’ His tone was growing sharper.

‘These are questions that we have to ask,’ said Patrik, trying to smooth things over.

Thomas nodded.

‘I know. I’m sorry for sounding upset. It’s just so important not to have any shadows cast on our work, and I know that Leila is deeply worried about the effect all this might have on the organization. Sooner or later, someone is going to think that there’s no smoke without fire, and then everything could start to fall apart. She has risked so much to set up the Refuge, and to run it in her own way.’

‘We understand. At the same time, we have to ask some uncomfortable questions. For example, this one.’ Patrik paused and then went on. ‘Did you see any sign that Mats was either using or dealing drugs?’

‘Drugs?’ Thomas stared at him. ‘I read the papers this morning. We were outraged by the bullshit they wrote. It’s completely insane. The idea that Matte would be mixed up in that sort of thing is absurd.’

‘Have you come across IE?’ Patrik forced himself to go on, though it felt more and more as if he was picking at an open wound.

‘The Illegal Eagles, you mean? Yes, I’m sorry to say that I have come across them.’

‘We have a witness who says that it was members of that biker gang who put Mats in the hospital. And not a bunch of kids, as Mats claimed.’

‘You’re saying it was IE who beat him up?’

‘That’s what we’ve been told,’ said Gösta. ‘Have you ever had any dealings with them?’

Thomas shrugged. ‘We have offered help to some women connected with members of that gang. But we’ve never had more problems with them than with other idiotic boyfriends and husbands.’

‘Was Mats the contact person for any of those women?’

‘No, not as far as I’m aware. The assault must have been a case of unprovoked violence. He was probably just in the wrong place at the wrong time.’

‘That was his version of the incident too. The wrong place at the wrong time.’

Patrik could hear how sceptical he sounded. Thomas ought to realize that this type of criminal gang didn’t target people for no reason. Why was he trying to make out it was random?

‘Well, that’s all for now. Do you have a phone number where we can reach you if we have any other questions? Then we won’t have to keep running over here,’ said Patrik with a wry smile.

‘Of course.’ Thomas scrawled his phone number on a piece of paper and handed it to him. ‘Did you want to talk to Marie too?’

‘Yes, please.’

The two officers had a brief conversation as they waited. Gösta seemed to have accepted everything Thomas said as the truth and found him to be completely trustworthy. Patrik had his doubts. Thomas had certainly seemed honest and forthright, and he had answered all of their questions. Yet several times Patrik thought he detected some hesitation, although it was more a feeling that he had rather than anything he’d actually observed.

‘Hi.’ A young woman came into the break room and shook hands with them. Her palm felt slightly clammy and sweaty, and she had red patches on her neck. Unlike Thomas, she seemed very nervous.

‘How long have you worked here?’ Patrik began.

Marie was fidgeting with her skirt. She was pretty in a doll-like way. A small, turned-up nose, long blond hair that kept falling into her eyes, a heart-shaped face, and blue eyes. Patrik judged her to be about twenty-five, but he wasn’t sure. The older he got, the harder it was to estimate the age of people who were younger than him. Maybe that was a form of self-preservation, so that he could continue to picture himself as twenty-five.

‘I started here about a year ago.’ The red patches on her neck grew brighter, and Patrik noticed that every once in a while she swallowed hard.

‘Do you like the job?’ He wanted her to relax, to let down her defences. Gösta was leaning back in his chair, listening. He seemed to have decided to leave the interview to Patrik.

‘Yes, I love working here. It’s such important work. Of course, it’s tough too, but in an important way, if you know what I mean.’ She was stumbling over her words and seemed to be having trouble formulating her thoughts.

‘What did you think of Mats as a colleague?’

‘Matte was just so sweet. Everyone liked him – everyone on staff, and the women too. They felt safe with him.’

‘Did Mats ever get too involved with any of the women?’

‘No, no, that’s rule number one. Never get personally involved.’ Marie shook her head vigorously, making her blond hair fly.

Patrik cast a quick look at Gösta to see whether he too thought this seemed to be a sensitive topic for her. But Gösta’s face had suddenly gone rigid. Patrik took another look at him. What on earth was wrong?

‘Er … I need to … Could I have a word with you? In private?’ He reached out to tug on Patrik’s sleeve.

‘Of course. Should we …?’ He motioned towards the door, and Gösta nodded.

‘Would you excuse us for a moment?’ Patrik said. Marie looked relieved by this interruption in the conversation.

‘What’s wrong? We were just starting to get somewhere,’ snapped Patrik when they stepped out into the corridor.

Gösta studied his shoes. After clearing his throat a couple of times, he looked up at Patrik with a distraught expression on his face.

‘I think I’ve done something really stupid.’