'What's andrin?' Martin Beck asked.
'Mandarin,' his mother explained.
'Andrin,' Bosse said, pointing. 'And flower. And horse. And girl. What name girl?'
'I don't know,' Martin Beck said. 'What do you think her name is?'
'Ulla,' Bosse replied promptly. 'Girl Ulla.'
Mrs. Oskarsson nudged her daughter.
'Do you remember when Ulla and Annika and Bosse and Lena were in the park on the swings?' Lena asked quickly.
'Yes!' Bosse said delightedly. 'Ulla, Annika, Bosse, Lena swing in park buy ice cream. Member?'
'Yes,' Lena said. 'Do you remember we met a dog in the park?'
'Yes! Bosse meet little dog. Not pat little dog. Dang'ous pat little dog. Member?'
The parents exchanged a glance and the mother nodded. Martin Beck realized that the boy really did recall that very day in the park. He sat quite still, hoping that nothing would make the boy lose the thread.
'Do you remember,' his sister went on, 'Ulla, Lena, Bosse play hopscotch?'
'Yes,' Bosse said. 'Ulla, Lena hopscotch. Bosse too hopscotch. Bosse know hopscotch. Member Bosse hopscotch?'
The boy's delighted answers to his sister's questions came promptly, and the dialogue followed a pattern which made Martin Beck suspect that this was a question game that brother and sister used to play, a kind of do- you-remember game.
'Yes,' Lena said, 'I remember. Bosse, Ulla, Lena played hopscotch. Annika didn't play hopscotch.'
'Annika not want hopscotch. Annika cross Lena, Ulla,' Bosse said gravely.
'Do you remember that Annika got cross? Annika got cross and went off.'
'Lena, Ulla silly Annika.'
'Did Annika say that Lena and Ulla were silly? Do you remember that?'
'Annika said Lena, Ulla silly.'
And then very emphatically:
'Bosse not silly.'
'What did Bosse and Annika do when Lena and Ulla were silly?'
'Bosse, Annika hide-and-seek.'
Martin Beck held his breath, hoping that the girl knew what she should ask next.
'Do you remember when Bosse and Annika played hide-and-seek?'
'Yes. Ulla, Lena not to play hide-and-seek. Ulla, Lena silly. Annika good. Bosse good. Man good.'
'Which man?'
'Man in park good. Bosse got ticker.'
'Did the man give you a ticker in the park? Do you remember?'
'Man give Bosse ticker.'
'Do you mean a watch like Daddy's, that goes tick-tick?'
'Ticker!'
'What did the man say? Did the man speak to Bosse and Annika?'
'Man speak Annika. Man give Bosse ticker.'
'Did Bosse and Annika get ticker from the man?'
'Bosse get ticker. Annika not ticker. Bosse get ticker.'
Bosse turned suddenly and ran over to Martin Beck.
'Bosse get ticker!'
Martin Beck drew back his cuff and showed Bosse his wrist watch.
'Do you mean a ticker like this? Is this what the man gave you?'
Bosse hit Martin Beck's knee.
'No! Ticker!'
Martin Beck turned to the boy's mother.
'What is ticker?' he asked.
'I don't know,' she said. 'He does say that for watches and clocks, but he doesn't seem to mean that now.'
Bending down to the little boy he asked:
'What did Bosse and Annika and the man do? Did you both play with the man?'
Bosse seemed to have lost interest in the question game and said sulkily:
'Bosse can't find Annika. Annika silly play man.'
Martin Beck opened his mouth to say something but shut it again when he saw the witness dart out of the room.
'Can't catch me! Can't catch me!' the boy shouted gaily.
His sister looked after him crossly and said:
'He's always so silly.'
'What do you think he meant by ticker?' the father asked.
'I don't know. Evidently not a watch, anyway. I don't know,' she said.
'It seems as if he met someone together with Annika,' Mr. Oskarsson said.
But when? thought Martin Beck. On Friday or a fortnight ago?
'Ugh, how horrible,' his wife said. 'It must have been that man. The one who did it.'
She shuddered and her husband stroked her back soothingly. He gave Martin Beck a worried look and said:
'He's so small. He knows so few words. I hardly think he's able to give any kind of description of this man.'
Mrs. Oskarsson shook her head.
'No,' she said. 'Not unless there was something special about his appearance. If he'd had some kind of uniform, for instance, Bosse would no doubt have called him the sojer. Otherwise I don't know. Children are never surprised at anything. If Bosse were to meet a man with green hair and pink eyes and three legs he wouldn't think anything of it.'
Martin Beck nodded.
'Perhaps he did have a uniform. Or something else that Bosse remembers. It might be better if you talked to him alone?'
Mrs. Oskarsson got up and shrugged.
'I'll try by all means.'
She left the door ajar so that Martin Beck could hear her conversation with the boy. After twenty minutes she came back, having been unable to get anything more out of him.
'Can't we leave now?' she asked anxiously. 'I mean, does Bosse have to…'
She broke off, then went on:
'And Lena?'
'Yes, go by all means,' Martin Beck said, getting up.
He shook hands and thanked them both, but as he was going Bosse came running out and flung 'his arms around his legs.
'Not go. You sit there. You must talk Daddy. Bosse also talk you.'
Martin Beck tried to free himself but Bosse had a tight grip and Martin Beck did not want to upset him. Feeling in his trouser pocket he took out a fifty-ore bit and looked inquiringly at the mother. She nodded.
'Here, Bosse,' he said, showing the boy the coin.
Bosse let go at once, took the money and said:
'Bosse buy ice cream. Bosse has lots money buy ice cream.'
He ran ahead of Martin Beck out into the hall and took down a little jacket that was hanging on a hook low down near the front door. The boy dug into the jacket pockets.
'Bosse has lots money,' he said, holding up a grubby five-ore bit.
Martin Beck opened the door, turned around and held out his hand to Bosse.
The little boy stood hugging the jacket, and when he pulled his hand out of the pocket a little bit of white
