A man in a checked shirt and carpenter’s pants stepped forward energetically and introduced himself. “Stig Bjork, cemetery caretaker,” he said, and smiled. The smile created rays of wrinkles around his blue eyes. His white teeth gleamed in his weather-beaten face. Obviously, he spent a lot of time in the fresh air. There was a trace of gray here and there in his dark hair. Irene estimated his age to be around forty. He must have realized that his smile was inappropriate, because it quickly faded and he peered nervously at the man behind him.
The latter had been leaning against the wall, but now he stepped into the light. Like Bengt Maardh, he wore a black shirt with a white pastor’s collar, but over the shirt he wore a short black coat, similar to a blazer. He introduced himself as Assistant Rector Urban Berg of Backared.
His handshake was dry and cool. His entire person radiated self-control verging on stiffness. His gray- speckled blond hair was perfectly combed. A bald spot on the very top of his head was barely perceptible. He and Bengt Maardh seemed to be about the same age.
Now there was only one woman left who hadn’t been introduced. She was small and dainty. It was hard to guess her age, probably between twenty-five and thirty-five. Her long blond hair was held in place by a leather headband which showed off her beautiful features. Her large violet-blue eyes were shadowed by long eyelashes. Not the slightest trace of makeup could be seen on her face. She wore a dark-blue linen dress with puffed sleeves, and low black boots. The cemetery caretaker gave her a look, and Irene could see that it was one of admiration. And maybe something else. Even the restrained Urban Berg’s eyes gleamed a bit when he let his gaze sweep over this woman.
“My name is Eva Moller, and I am the cantor and organist,” she said in a soft, melodic voice.
Irene had thought that a cantor always was also the church organist, but the way Eva phrased this showed that it wasn’t the case.
The portly man seated on a loudly creaking chair by the door was Nils Bertilsson, sexton part of the time in Backared parish and the other half at Slattared. His worn black suit was tightfitting, and he wiped his forehead and bald spot with a large handkerchief. When he rose to be introduced, Irene saw that he was almost as tall as she was but certainly weighed more than twice as much.
Irene was assigned to question deaconess Rut Borjesson, the Maardhs, and the housecleaner, Rosa Marques.
“You can use my office,” Louise Maardh offered.
She opened a french door which led into a pleasant office space. Two pots containing miniature Easter lilies stood on the window sill, framed by sun-yellow curtains. Combined with the bouquet of red tulips on the desk, they evoked a feeling of spring, even though it might as well have been November outside. A framed poster from the Goteborg Theater’s production of
Irene decided to start with the deaconess. She asked Rut Borjesson to follow her into the room. The black- clothed woman sat in a comfortable-looking visitor’s chair and gripped the armrests with both hands.
Irene began with routine questions. She determined that the deaconess was fifty-eight years old, married with no children, and that she had worked in Kullahult parish for seventeen years.
“Did you work here before Pastor Schyttelius came to this congregation?” Irene asked.
“Rector. Sten Schyttelius came here as the rector exactly twenty years ago. So he was here three years before me.”
Irene realized that she had a very poor understanding of the titles bestowed by the Swedish church. Cautiously, she asked, “Was he the boss of the other pastors?”
“Yes. Ledkulla, Backared, and Slattared each have an assistant rector. Because Kullahult is the largest parish with the largest church, the rector has always had the church here.”
The deaconess answered all questions put to her but she hugged the armrests of her chair so hard that her knuckles turned white. Irene put it down to indignation. She must have known her boss well after having worked with him for so many years. That’s why Irene shifted her inquiry. “I assume you knew Elsa Schyttelius?”
“Yes. We’ve spent some time together over the years.”
“What kind of person was she?”
Uncertainty was visible in the deaconess’s face. “She was very nice. . reserved. Very pleasant and friendly, when she was well.”
“So when she was feeling well, she was kind. What kind of illness did she have?”
“It was unpleasant. . she suffered from depression. It came and went. Apparently, she had had it since childhood, and the illness worsened after she had her children.”
“What was she like when she was sick?”
“When she was sick, she became withdrawn. Didn’t want to see people and didn’t have the energy to do practical things. She just stayed in bed.”
“Did you know Jacob and Rebecka?”
“Of course. When I came here, Jacob was a teenager and Rebecka had just started school. Such wonderful children. Well-behaved. In appearance, Jacob is most like his mother, but his personality is probably more like his father’s. It’s the opposite with Rebecka.”
“Does she also suffer from depression?”
“No, but she is also a bit reserved. Jacob is. . was as open and happy as Sten. And now someone has. . Sten and Jacob and Elsa. …”
Her self-control cracked and she started sobbing. Irene waited for her to calm down, then asked, “Are you able to answer a few more questions?”
Rut Borjesson nodded and blew her nose in her wet handkerchief. In a thin, trembling voice she said, “I would so very much like to help if I can.”
“Do you have any suspicions whatsoever as to what could be behind these murders?”
The deaconess seemed to be thinking intensely before she shook her head. “No. It’s incomprehensible!”
“Did anyone in the Schyttelius family say anything that would make you think that he or she felt threatened?”
Again Rut Borjesson hesitated before answering. Finally, she said, “The only things I recall are Sten’s words last summer and fall. After the Satanists had burned down the summer chapel in Norssjon, he tried to find out who was responsible for that atrocity. You could almost say that he was obsessed with it.”
She stopped in order to dry her eyes and nose again. Irene could see that her hands were shaking.
“One afternoon, I was forced to speak with him about an important matter. Sten hadn’t come to the Fellowship Hall, so I went over to the rectory. Elsa let me in, and I remember that it was obvious that she was in the middle of one of her episodes. In any case, she pointed up to the second floor when I asked where Sten was. She said that he was in the office behind the billiard room. Actually-”
She stopped and looked uncertainly at Irene before she continued. “Actually, I didn’t know that he had an office on the second floor as well. But, of course, the one downstairs is large and old-fashioned. When I knocked, the door was locked. Sten called ‘One second,’ and then he unlocked the door. He pointed at the computer and said that he was on the trail of the Satanists. From what I understood, he had found some clues on the Internet. And he said that he had to be very careful so they didn’t become suspicious, because that could be dangerous.”
“Did he say in what way it could be dangerous?”
“No, just that it could be dangerous. I thought it sounded nasty. Who knows what those fools might come up with?”
“Did it seem as though Sten Schyttelius was afraid of the Satanists?”
Again Rut Borjesson looked hesitant. “‘Afraid’. . I don’t know. . he said that one had to be very careful.”
“Was the computer on?”
“Yes. I went up to the desk in order to lay out some papers that he was going to sign, and I remember that there was a very beautiful picture on the screen. There were a lot of colorful fish swimming around a coral reef.”
So Sten Schyttelius had put on the screen saver before he opened the door for the deaconess. Was the information on the Internet really dangerous? Irene made a mental note to contact someone who could help her find out.
“Do you know if he continued searching for the Satanists?”
“Yes. Jacob knows. . knew a lot about computers, and he was here about a month ago helping Sten-”
“Sorry for having to interrupt. But were they using the computers here in the Fellowship Hall?” Irene asked,
