phenomenon. There are a few books along that line, such as the one that was written a couple of years ago about the case of the doctor and the pathologist, but nothing that’s purely true-crime. Just like Ann Rule, I would want to put a lot of effort into the research. Check facts, interview everyone involved, and then write a book that was as true as possible to what actually happened.’
‘Do you think that Alex’s family will agree to be interviewed?’
‘I don’t know.’ Erica twisted a lock of hair round her finger. ‘I really don’t know. But I’m definitely going to ask them, and if they don’t want to participate I’ll have to find a way around it somehow. I have an enormous advantage because I already know a lot about them. I must say I’m a little hesitant to ask them, but I’ll just have to deal with it. If this book sells well, I wouldn’t have anything against continuing to write about interesting legal cases, and then I’d have to get used to being a little pushy with relatives. That’s part of the job description. I also think that people have a need to speak their piece, to tell their story. Both from the victim’s and the perpetrator’s point of view.’
‘In other words, you’re going to try and talk to Vera as well.’
‘Yes, absolutely. I have no idea whether she’ll agree to it, but I intend to try at any rate. Maybe she’ll talk, maybe she won’t. I can’t force her.’
She shrugged her shoulders in a gesture of indifference, but clearly it would be a much better book if she could get Vera to participate. What she’d written so far was only an outline; now she had to get busy putting some meat on the bones.
‘What about you?’ She turned a little on the sofa and put her legs in Patrik’s lap, who took the hint and obediently began massaging her feet.
‘How was your day? Are you the big hero at the station now?’
The deep sigh from Patrik indicated that this was not the case.
‘No, you don’t think Mellberg would give credit where credit was due, do you? He’s been shuttling back and forth all day between the interrogation room and various press conferences. His most frequent pronoun in conversations with reporters has been “I”. I’d be surprised if he even mentioned my name. But what the heck. Who wants to see their name in print anyway? I arrested a murderer yesterday and that’s enough for me.’
‘You’re certainly being noble about it all.’ Erica punched him playfully on the arm. ‘Admit that you would have liked standing up there in front of the microphone at a big press conference, puffing out your chest and telling them about how brilliantly you managed to figure out who the murderer was.’
‘All right, it would have been kind of cool to get at least a little mention in the local paper. But that’s not going to happen. Mellberg is going to steal all the glory for himself, and there’s not a damn thing I can do about it.’
‘Do you think he’ll get that transfer he wants so much?’
‘If only he would. But I suspect the chiefs in Goteborg are quite pleased to have him where he is. I’m afraid we’ll probably have to put up with him until he retires. And that day seems very remote right now.’
‘Poor Patrik.’ She stroked his hair, and he took this as a signal to jump on her and pin her to the sofa.
The wine had made her limbs heavy, and the heat of his body spread slowly to hers. His breathing changed; he was breathing harder. But Erica still had some questions for him. She struggled up to a sitting position, and with moderate force she shoved him away, back to his own corner.
‘But are you satisfied with everything? What about Nils’s disappearance, for instance? You didn’t find out anything more from Vera?’
‘No, she claims not to know anything about it. Unfortunately, I don’t believe her. I think she had an even more serious reason for protecting Anders than that people would find out that Nils had assaulted him. I think she knew precisely what happened to Nils, and that secret had to be preserved at all costs. But I have to admit it bothers me that it’s still only speculation on my part. People just don’t go up in smoke. He’s out there somewhere, and there’s somebody who knows where. But I do have a theory.’
Patrik then went through the probable course of events step by step and explained the circumstances behind his idea. Erica saw that he was shivering, despite the heat in the room. It sounded unbelievable, and yet strangely plausible. She also understood that Patrik would never be able to prove any of what he was saying. And even if he could, it probably wouldn’t do any good. So many years had passed. So many lives had already been destroyed. No good would come of destroying one more.
‘I know that this will never lead to anything. And yet I want to know, for my own sake. I’ve been living with this case for several weeks now, and I want to find some sort of resolution.’
‘So what are you going to do? What can you do, for that matter?’
Patrik sighed. ‘I’m simply going to ask for a few answers. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, right?’
Erica gave him a searching glance. ‘It doesn’t seem like such a good idea, but I’m sure you know best.’
‘I hope so. Could we leave death and sorrow behind for the rest of the evening, and concentrate on each other instead?’
‘I think that sounds like a brilliant idea.’
He crawled over on top of her again, and this time no one pushed him off.
When he left home Erica was still in bed. He hadn’t had the heart to wake her but quietly got up, dressed and drove off.
He had sensed a certain surprise but also a cautious anticipation when he booked this meeting. The condition had been that they meet discreetly, and Patrik had no problem going along with that. That’s why he was now up at seven on a Tuesday morning. As he drove towards Fjallbacka in the dark he passed only a few oncoming cars. He turned off at the sign that said Vaddo, and drove a little further before parking in the lot. His was the only car there. Then he waited. After ten minutes, another car turned into the lot and parked beside his. The driver stepped out, opened the passenger door of Patrik’s car and got in. Patrik left his car idling so he could leave the heater on, otherwise they would soon be frozen through.
‘It seems rather exciting, meeting in secret like this under the cover of darkness. My only question is why.’ Jan was completely relaxed, but he had a puzzled look on his face. ‘I thought the investigation was over. You have Alex’s murderer, don’t you?’
‘Yes, that’s true. But there are still a few pieces that don’t really fit, and it’s bothering me.’
‘I see. What exactly doesn’t fit?’
Jan’s face betrayed no emotions. Patrik wondered whether it would turn out that he had got up at this ungodly hour for nothing. But now that he was here, he might as well finish what he’d started.
‘As you may have heard, Alexandra and Anders were molested by your stepbrother Nils.’
‘Yes, I heard that. Terrible. Especially for Mother’s sake.’
‘Although it wasn’t really news to her. She already knew about it.’
‘Of course she did. She handled the situation in the only way she knew how. With the greatest possible discretion. The family name had to be protected, that’s obvious. Everything else was secondary.’
‘And how do you feel about it? About the fact that your brother was a paedophile and that your mother knew about it and protected him?’
Jan didn’t let the question throw him off balance. He brushed off some invisible flecks of dust on his lapel. Then he merely raised one eyebrow when he replied after thinking for a few seconds.
‘Naturally, I understand Mother. She acted the only way she could, and the damage was already done, wasn’t it?’
‘Yes, I suppose one could look at it that way. But the question is, where did Nils go after that? Has anyone in the family ever heard from him?’
‘As far as that goes, we naturally informed the police like good citizens.’ The irony was so expertly blended into his tone of voice that it was hardly noticeable. ‘But I can understand why he chose to disappear. What was left for him here? Mother had already figured out what sort of person he was, and he couldn’t keep working at the school. Mother would have seen to that. So he took off. He’s probably living in some nice hot country with easy access to little girls and boys.’
‘I don’t think so.’
‘Oh no, why not? Have you found the proverbial skeleton in the closet somewhere?’
Patrik ignored his bantering tone of voice. ‘No, we haven’t. But I have a theory, you see…’
‘How thrilling.’
‘I don’t think Nils molested only Alex and Anders. I think that his primary victim was someone he had within
