teeth, the effect was irresistible.
“Hi. I take it you’re from the police.”
“Yes, I’m Inspector Irene Huss.”
“Niklas Alexandersson. Head of ICU.”
He held out his hand and gave her a dry, firm shake. Irene noticed that he had many tiny gold rings in both ears. He was older than she’d thought at first glance, closer to thirty than twenty.
She decided to waste no time and got right to the point. “I need someone to talk to me about Marianne Svard. Did you work with her?”
The effect on the man was astonishing, as if Irene had switched off a light. The beautiful face lost its glow. He stood silent for a while. At length he said, “Let’s go into the conference room.”
Alexandersson closed the ICU door behind them and walked over to a door in the hallway, which he then unlocked. He gestured Irene in.
The room was furnished with an oval conference table, matching wooden chairs, and the obligatory overhead projector. Niklas Alexandersson walked over to a telephone next to the window, pressed a number, and spoke into the microphone: “This is Niklas. I’ll be in the conference room if someone needs me, but I don’t want to be disturbed except for an emergency.”
“All right,” a woman’s voice answered.
He turned back to Irene. “Why do you need information about Marianne? And what kind of information do you want?”
“I need to know as much as possible. To start, what do you think of her as a person?”
The department head glanced sharply at Irene before putting a quick smile on his face. This one was not dazzling, but downright nasty. “Harmless and kind.” It was obvious from his tone that he did not like her.
“Were you displeased with her work as a nurse?”
“No, she was competent and careful.”
“She never made any serious mistakes? No mistreatments?”
Niklas Alexandersson looked surprised. “No. What do you mean?”
“Well, her colleagues at Lowander Hospital said she’d quit her job here suddenly two years ago. Do you know why?”
“I can’t see why that would involve the police.”
Irene captured his godlike amber gaze. Without breaking eye contact, she said slowly, “Marianne Svard was murdered last night.”
Color drained from his face, and his tan faded to a sickly gray. He looked about to faint until he reached for a chair and sank into it.
Irene continued mercilessly. “This is why the police are involved. I will now repeat my question: Why did Marianne Svard quit her job here?”
Niklas put his elbows on the table and let his face fall into his hands. A few moments later, he rubbed his eyes and miserably replied, “She said she wanted to try something new.”
“That’s not what her colleagues at Lowander told us.”
He stiffened but did not say a word.
Irene continued. “They said there was a man here she wanted to avoid.”
He still did not flinch or answer.
Irene decided to take a chance. “If you are not prepared to respond, I believe I will have to speak with Dr. Alm.”
He gestured tiredly. “No need. Everybody here already knows that I was the person she couldn’t stand.”
Irene was surprised. He didn’t seem to be her type. “Why did she dislike you?”
A weak reflection of his mean smile returned. “I took her guy, Andreas, away from her.”
“You mean … you and Andreas were …?”
“That’s right. He left her for me. Are you shocked?” As he said this, he lifted a disdainful eyebrow and looked right into her eyes. His color was starting to return.
“No, I’m not. Are you two still together?”
“Yes. We live together.”
“How did Marianne react to your relationship?”
Niklas Alexandersson snorted. “She wouldn’t let go of him. She was more dependent than I realized. It was hard on Andreas. And on me.”
“How was it hard for Andreas?”
“She didn’t give up. He didn’t want to make her unhappy. And his family wouldn’t accept our relationship either. She made them believe that this was just a temporary phase and Andreas would soon come back to her. She’d say, ‘I’ll forgive him for everything.’ ” As he imitated Marianne, his voice rose to a falsetto that sounded very much like a deep female voice, his hand fluttering. When he switched off the imitation, all the fake femininity vanished from his body language.
The intercom beeped. “Niklas?”
“Yes?”
“X-ray called regarding the CVC. It’s the pneumothorax. He’s taken a bad turn, and his blood gases are much worse.”
“Not good. Have you contacted Alm?”
“No, he’s still in surgery.”
“All right. Call him and get him over here as soon as he’s finished.”
“Right.”
Niklas stood up and tried to look regretful. “As you’ve heard, I have to go.”
Irene felt as if she were caught in an episode of
“Really serious?”
Niklas stopped. “A punctured lung is life-threatening for such a sick patient. Please excuse me.…”
Irene was not about to let him go that easily. “When do you get home?”
It looked for a second as if he was debating whether to tell the truth. Finally he shrugged and said, “Right before six.”
“Is Andreas also home then?”
“Yes, he’s returning from a seminar this afternoon.”
Irene thought quickly. “Here’s what we’ll do. Have your dinner in peace and quiet, and I will come by at seven-thirty.”
“Is this really necessary?”
“Yes, it is. We are looking for a murderer.”
He flinched at that last word but said nothing. He sized Irene up as he held the door open for her,
BACK DOWN IN the grand entrance, people were having coffee at the tiny cafe tables. Irene found an empty table and sat down. A cup of coffee and a sandwich would be perfect right now. She hung her jacket on the back of one of the chairs and walked to the counter to place her order. She glanced at the convenience store and the newspaper headlines on display.
At first she thought it was a joke, but as she reread the banner, she realized that the
