could hear the ticking of the wall clock in the kitchen and looked out of the window with a sense of being trapped beneath an immense sky.
It was a grey, windy morning on Oland. He wondered how he was going to get through the day, make the time pass as quickly as possible. He wanted to press fast forward so that Nilla’s operation would be over.
He had one more important call to make, to Lars Marklund, which he did at about ten o’clock.
Marklund had nothing new to say about the investigation into Jerry’s death, but at least Per was able to tell him that he had found ‘Markus Lukas’, and that his name was Daniel Wellman. He also told him that Wellman had been infected with HIV, and had passed away the previous year.
Marklund didn’t say anything for a few seconds. ‘So you think Wellman was HIV-positive when he was making these films? And that the girls got infected?’
‘I don’t know,’ said Per; in his mind’s eye he could see a procession of young girls disappearing into a dark forest. ‘But the risk has to be significant, surely … I was talking to another of Jerry’s male models a couple of days ago, and he reckoned he’d been with over a hundred women in the studio with my father and Hans Bremer. I’m sure Daniel Wellman had been with a similar number. And always without protection.’
Marklund remained silent again.
‘A high-risk individual,’ he said eventually. ‘We need to track down these girls.’
‘I’ve got a few names,’ said Per. ‘Some are alive, and some are dead.’
‘Did your father and Bremer know about this … did they know Wellman was infected while he was filming?’
‘I don’t know,’ said Per. ‘Jerry never mentioned it.’
‘And now it’s too late to ask them,’ said Marklund.
He seemed to be keying something in on his computer.
‘I’ve found a Daniel Wellman in Malmo,’ he said, then added, ‘But you’re right, he died in February last year.’
Per caught sight of Bremer’s yellow Post-it note, which he had put beside the telephone.
‘No problem.’
Per read out the numbers next to Danielle’s name, and asked, ‘Could you check whose number that was?’
There was a long pause on the other end of the phone.
‘I don’t need to check … It’s already part of our investigation.’
‘So whose number was it, then?’
‘Her name was Jessika Bjork.’
‘Wasn’t she the one who died in the fire?’ said Per. ‘Along with Bremer?’
‘How do you know that?’ asked Marklund after a moment. ‘How did you get hold of her name?’
‘I found a note with her number on it in Bremer’s apartment,’ said Per. ‘Jessika must have worked for him and Jerry. They called her Danielle.’
‘Not recently,’ said Marklund. ‘We’ve spoken to her friends … They said she’d given up that kind of thing seven or eight years ago.’
‘So why did Bremer have her mobile number written down? And what was she doing with him in Jerry’s house?’
‘Yes, well … we’re working on it,’ said Marklund. ‘Thanks for your help. I’ll be in touch if anything comes up, but we’ll take care of this from now on. You can relax and enjoy the spring on Oland. You will do that, won’t you, Per?’
‘Absolutely.’
Twenty-three hours to go.
Per had lunch, then went out into the fresh air. There were small tears in the cloud cover above the village, showing fragments of blue.
He walked slowly past Vendela’s house, but the Audi was gone and the curtains were closed at the big windows. A car was parked at the other house for the first time in a while – the Kurdin family was evidently back.
The names of the dead would not let him go. He went for a long walk south along the coast road, until the tarmac ran out and the dirt track began. The only buildings out here were small stone boathouses above the shore. The water was calm, and there wasn’t a soul in sight.
What did Jerry know?
Per didn’t really want to think about that question. Had his father known about Daniel Wellman’s condition, but let him carry on filming with the girls anyway? Had Bremer known?
He walked along the coast for almost an hour before looking at his watch and thinking of Nilla.
Ten past one. Less than twenty-one hours left.
He turned back towards the village. By the campsite he saw a poster advertising the fact that Walpurgis Night would be celebrated that evening with a bonfire and a sing-song down by the sea. He noticed there was already a substantial pile of twigs and branches on the shore ready for the fire.
Just before he reached the quarry he turned off to the right along the village road and opened Gerlof Davidsson’s garden gate. It was only a week since they had seen each other, but a great deal had happened since then.
Gerlof was sitting in his chair on the lawn with a blanket over his knees and a tray on the table in front of him. There was also an old notebook on the table. The grass needed cutting, but Per was too tired to offer to do it.
Gerlof looked up and nodded at him. ‘Nice to see you,’ he said. ‘I was just wondering when you might turn up again.
Per sat down. ‘I’ve been away quite a bit,’ he said. ‘But everyone seems to be back this weekend.’
‘That’s right,’ said Gerlof. ‘Is there a bonfire tonight?’
‘I think so,’ said Per. ‘It looks as if the local council are setting fire to a few twigs and having a bit of a sing- song down on the shore.’
‘Setting fire to a few twigs?’ said Gerlof. ‘Let me tell you what we used to do here in the village. We collected all the old tar barrels that had split during the winter, and piled them up in a great big heap. Right on the top we put a new barrel full of tar … then we set fire to the whole thing! The tar in the top barrel melted and ran down into all the others, and we ended up with a bonfire that rose up towards the sky like a white pillar. It could be seen all the way from the mainland, and it drove away all the evil spirits.’
‘Those were the days,’ said Per.
Gerlof didn’t say anything, so Per asked, ‘Is everything all right, Gerlof?’
‘Not really. How about you?’
He shook his head. ‘But maybe it will be … The doctors are going to cure my daughter tomorrow morning.’
‘That’s good,’ said Gerlof. ‘You mean she’s going to have an operation?’
Per nodded silently, feeling the blood pounding in his throat. Why was he sitting here? Why wasn’t he at the hospital with Nilla?’
Because he was a coward.
‘Markus Lukas is dead,’ he said.
‘Sorry? Who’s dead?’ said Gerlof.
Per started to tell the story, and it all came pouring out. He told Gerlof about Markus Lukas, whose real name was Daniel Wellman, a male model who had been HIV-positive and had rung Jerry and Bremer asking for money. Per had misunderstood Jerry’s fear of Markus Lukas; he had never been dangerous, just ill. And now he was dead.
So who had set the incendiary devices in the film studio, killing Hans Bremer and Jessika Bjork? Who had taken Bremer’s keys and got into Jerry’s apartment? And who had killed Jerry?’
Gerlof listened, but eventually he held up his hand. ‘There’s nothing I can say about all that.’
