'That would be nice. We don't have to continue this conversation. I just wanted you to know.'
'Why the hell would I want to know? What the hell do I care about you and your fucking golfer?'
Wallander was enraged. He didn't know exactly where it came from. Perhaps it was the tiredness, or the last remnant of pain at realising that now Mona was leaving him for good. The first time he had felt such pain was when she told him she wanted to leave him. And now, when she told him she was getting married again, he discovered that it was still there.
He slammed down the phone so hard that it broke. Martinsson was walking into his office as it happened, and he jumped when the receiver fell apart. Wallander pulled the phone out of the jack and threw the whole mess in the rubbish. Martinsson watched this, obviously afraid to incur Wallander's wrath. He raised his hands up in front of his chest and turned to leave.
'What did you want?'
'It can wait.'
'My anger is a private matter,' Wallander said. 'Tell me what you want.'
'I'm going to see Norman's family. I thought I'd start with them. Lillemor Norman may know where Isa has gone.'
Wallander nodded. 'Either Hansson or Ann-Britt will be in soon. Tell them to take care of the other families.'
Martinsson nodded, then remained in the doorway. 'You'll need a new phone,' he said. 'I'll see to it.'
Wallander didn't answer. He waved for Martinsson to leave. He didn't know how long he sat there doing nothing. Once more he'd been forced to face the fact that Mona was still the woman he was closest to in his life. It was only when someone showed up at his door with a new phone that he got up and left. Without knowing why, he ended up wandering down the hall and coming to a halt outside Svedberg's office. The door was open slightly and he looked in. The sun coming in through the window revealed a thin layer of dust on the desk. Wallander closed the door and sat down in Svedberg's chair.
Hoglund had already gone through all his papers. She was very thorough. It would be a waste of time to go over them again. Then he remembered that, like all of them, Svedberg had a locker in the basement. Hoglund had probably checked it, but she had never mentioned having done so. Wallander went out to the reception area and asked Ebba for the keys.
'His spare keys are right here,' she said with obvious distaste.
Wallander took them and was about to leave when she stopped him.
'When is the funeral going to be?'
'I don't know.'
'It's not going to be easy.'
'At least we don't have to face a widow and crying children,' said Wallander. 'But you're right. It's not going to be easy.'
He went down the stairs and found Svedberg's locker. He didn't know what he was looking for; there was probably nothing to find. There were some towels, soap and a shampoo bottle, for Svedberg's Friday night saunas. There was also a pair of old trainers. Wallander felt with his hand along the top shelf. There was a thin plastic folder containing some papers. He took it out, put on his glasses, and looked through it. Inside was a reminder from Svedberg's mechanic to bring his car in for a tune. There were some handwritten notes that looked like shopping lists. But there were also some ticket stubs for the bus and the train. On 19 July Svedberg, or somebody, had taken the morning train to Norrkoping. He had returned to Ystad on 22 July. He could tell from the way that the ticket was stamped that it had been used. The stubs from the bus were very blurry. He held them up to the light but couldn't read them. With the help of a magnifying glass he could just decipher the price and the words 'Ostgota Public Transit'. He called Ylva Brink, who was at home for once, but she had no idea what Svedberg would be doing in Ostergotland. He had no family there as far as she knew.
'Maybe this Louise person lives there,' she said. 'Have you found out who she is yet?'
'Not yet, but you may be right.'
Wallander got another cup of coffee. His mind kept returning to his conversation with Mona. He still couldn't comprehend how she could marry that skinny little golfer who supported himself by importing sardines. He returned to his office and kept staring at the ticket stubs. Suddenly he froze, the cup halfway to his mouth.
He should have thought of it at once. What was that island in Isa Edengren's photo album called? Barnso? Hadn't Martinsson said that Barnso was off the coast of Ostergotland? He put the coffee cup down so roughly that some of the liquid spilled, and tried out his new phone by calling Martinsson.
'Where are you?'
'I'm having coffee with Lillemor Norman. Her husband will be home soon.'
Wallander could hear from Martinsson's voice that the visit was difficult.
'I want you to ask her something,' he said. 'Now, while I'm still on the line. I want to know if she's heard of an island called Barnso, and if she knows of any connection between the island and Isa Edengren.'
'Just that?'
'Just that. Do it now.'
While Wallander was waiting, Hoglund appeared in the doorway. Perhaps Hansson had sensed that Wallander would rather have her with him. She pointed to his coffee cup and disappeared. Martinsson came back on the phone.
'Well, that was unexpected,' he said. 'She says that the Edengrens not only have houses in Spain and France, but also one on Barnso Island.'
'Good,' Wallander said. 'Finally things are starting to make some sense.'
'Wait, there's more. Apparently the others have been there with her many times. Lena Norman, Boge and Hillstrom.'
'I know someone else who's been out there,' Wallander said.
'Who?'
'Svedberg. Between 19 and 22 July.'
'What the hell? How do you know that?'
'I'll tell you when you get here. Now go back to what you were doing.'
Wallander hung up, carefully this time. Hoglund came in again. She sensed at once that something was up.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Wallander was right. It had not occurred to Hoglund to go down into the basement and look through Svedberg's things. He couldn't help feeling a sense of satisfaction that she had missed this. He thought of her as good at her job. But the fact that she had forgotten about the storage locker meant she wasn't infallible.
They quickly compared notes. Isa Edengren was gone. Wallander wanted the search for her to be their top priority. Hoglund encouraged him to spell out what he thought might have happened to Isa. He couldn't get past the facts. Isa was supposed to have been at that party. She had tried to commit suicide. And now she had run away.
'There's a possibility we haven't considered,' Hoglund said. 'Although it's unpleasant and rather improbable.'
Wallander sensed what she was thinking. 'You mean the possibility that Isa killed her friends? I've considered that, but she was genuinely ill on Midsummer's Eve.'
'If that's when it really happened,' Hoglund said. 'We still don't know that for sure.'
Wallander knew she was right. 'In that case we have even more reason to try to find her as soon as possible. We also shouldn't forget that someone called for her at the hospital posing as Lundberg.'
She left his office to visit the Hillstrom and Boge families, as well as the young people from the photograph they'd found in Svedberg's flat. She promised that she'd ask about Barnso Island. Nyberg called just after she had gone. Wallander immediately thought they must have located the place where the bodies had been buried.
'Not yet,' Nyberg said. 'This process can take a long time. I'm calling because we've received some information on the gun that was found in Svedberg's flat.'
Wallander reached for a notebook.
