The Man Who Smiled (1994)

quite sure he can see you and that you won't see him.'

'How do you know it's a man?'

'I don't.'

'This is ridiculous.'

'Drink your coffee, eat your bun, write in the form and look at me,' Wallander said. 'If you don't do as I say I'll make damn sure you never get back to Widen again.'

She seemed to believe him. She did as she was told.

'Why do you think they're planning to move out of the castle?' he said.

'I was told I'd only be working there for a month, and that would be it. They'd be leaving the castle.'

'Who told you that?'

'A man came to the stables.'

'What did he look like?'

'He was sort of black.'

'A black man?'

'No, but he was wearing dark clothes and had black hair.'

'A foreigner?'

'He spoke Swedish.'

'With a foreign accent?'

'Could be.'

'Do you know his name?'

'No.'

'Do you know what he does?'

'No.'

'But he works at the castle?'

'I suppose he must do.'

'What else did he say?'

'I didn't like him. In fact, he was horrible.'

'In what way?'

'He wandered about the stables, watching me grooming one of the horses. He asked me where I was from.'

'What did you say?'

'I said I'd applied for the job because I couldn't stay on with Sten.'

'Did he ask anything else?'

'No.'

'Why was he horrible?'

She thought before answering. 'He asked questions in a way that made it seem he didn't want me to notice he was asking anything.'

'Have you met anybody else?'

'Only the woman who took me on.'

'Anita Karlen.'

'I think that was her name, yes.'

'Nobody else?'

'No.'

'Is there nobody else looking after the horses?'

'No, only me. Two horses aren't much of a problem.'

'Who looked after them before?'

'I don't know.'

'Did they say why they suddenly needed a new stablegirl?'

'The Karlen woman said something about somebody being ill.'

'But you didn't meet them?'

'No.'

'What else have you seen?'

'What do you mean?'

'You must have seen other people. Cars coming or going.'

'The stables are apart, out of the way. I can only see one of the gables. The paddock is further away in the other direction. And anyway, I'm not allowed to go to the castle itself.'

'Who told you that?'

'Anita Karlen. I'd be sacked on the spot if I broke any rule. And I have to phone and get permission if I want to leave the castle.'

'Where did the taxi pick you up?'

'At the gates.'

'Is there anything else that you think might be of interest to me?'

'How do I know what you're interested in?'

He sensed that there was something else, but that she wasn't sure whether to mention it or not. He paused for a moment before going on, cautiously, as if he were feeling his way in the dark.

'Let's go back a bit,' he said. 'To that man who came to see you in the stables. Did he say anything else?'

'No.'

'He didn't say anything about them leaving Farnholm Castle and moving abroad?'

'No.'

That's true, Wallander thought. She's telling the truth. And I don't need to worry about her remembering wrongly, but there is something else.

'Tell me about the horses,' he said.

'They are two really beautiful riding horses,' she said. 'One of them, Aphrodite, is nine years old. She's light brown. The other, Juno, is seven and black. It's ages since anybody has ridden them, that's for sure.'

'How would you know that? I know very little about horses.'

'I gathered.'

Wallander smiled at her comment. But he didn't say anything, just waited for her to continue.

'They got really excited when I came with the saddles,' she said. 'You could see they were dying to have a gallop.'

'And you gave them their heads?'

'Yes.'

'You rode in the estate's grounds, I suppose?'

'I'd been told which paths I could go on.'

A slight change of tone, barely perceptible, a hint of anxiety made Wallander prick up his ears. He was getting close to what she was wondering whether to mention or not.

'So you rode off.'

'I started with Aphrodite,' she said. 'Meanwhile, Juno was careering round the paddock.'

'How long were you out on Aphrodite?'

'Half an hour. The grounds are huge.'

'Then you came back?'

'I let Aphrodite loose and saddled up Juno. Half an hour later I was back.'

Wallander knew at once. It was while she was out with the second horse that something had happened. Her answer came much too quickly, as if she had been steeling herself to get past a frightening obstacle. The only thing to do, he decided, was to come straight to the point.

'I'm sure that everything you're telling me is true,' he said, sounding as friendly as possible.

'I've nothing else to say. I have to be going now. If I'm late I'll get the sack.'

'You can leave in a couple of minutes. Just a few more questions. Let's go back to the stables and that man