baby until…' he paused, 'now at the end.' He closed his eyes again, but when he opened them he seemed to have regained his composure.
'We've talked a bit with the rest of the family,' said Patrik, 'to find out exactly what happened that morning. I wonder whether you might have heard anything in particular. For example, do you know what time Sara left the house?'
Stig shook his head. 'I take strong sleeping pills and don't usually wake up before around ten. And by then she was already… gone.' He closed his eyes once more.
'When we asked your wife whether she could think of anyone who may have wanted to harm Sara, she named your neighbour, Kaj Wiberg. Do you agree with that assessment?'
'Did Lilian say that Kaj murdered Sara?' Stig looked at them sceptically.
'Well, not in so many words, but she hinted that there were reasons why your neighbour might wish your family ill.'
Stig let out a long sigh. 'Well, I've never understood what it is with those two. The feud was already going on before I came into the picture, before Lennart died. To be honest, I don't know who cast the first stone, and I daresay that Lilian is just as capable of keeping the feud going as Kaj is. I've tried to stay out of it as much as possible, but it's not easy.' He shook his head. 'No, I don't really understand why they carry on the way they do. I know my wife as a warm, sympathetic woman, but when it comes to Kaj and his family she seems to have a blind spot. You know, sometimes I think that she and Kaj actually enjoy the whole thing. That they live for the sake of the battle. But that sounds absurd. Why would anyone voluntarily keep it up the way they do, with legal action and everything? And it's cost us plenty of money. Kaj can afford it, but we're not as well off, retired as we both are. No, why would anyone want to keep on fighting like this?'
The question was purely rhetorical. Stig wasn't expecting an answer.
'Have they ever come to blows?' Patrik asked with interest.
'Good Lord, no,' Stig said emphatically. 'They aren't that crazy.' He laughed.
Patrik and Gosta exchanged a glance. 'Did you hear that Kaj was over here earlier today?'
'Yes, I could hardly avoid hearing it,' said Stig. 'There was a frightful commotion down in the kitchen, and he was shouting and carrying on. But Lilian threw him out with his tail between his legs.' He looked at Patrik. 'I don't really understand some people. I mean, regardless of what problems they've had with each other, one would think that he'd show a little sympathy, considering what's happened. With Sara, I mean.'
Patrik agreed that sympathy should have been the prevailing response in recent days, but unlike Stig he didn't put all the blame on Kaj. Lilian had also displayed an alarming lack of respect for the situation. He felt a nasty suspicion taking shape in his mind. He continued his questions, wanting to have it confirmed. 'Did you see Lilian after Kaj was here?' He held his breath.
'Of course,' said Stig, who seemed to wonder why Patrik was asking. 'She came upstairs with some tea and told me how shamelessly Kaj had behaved.'
Now Patrik was beginning to understand why Lilian had looked so uneasy when they told her they wanted to talk to Stig. She had made a tactical error in forgetting about her husband.
'Did you notice anything different about her?' Patrik asked.
'Different? How do you mean? She looked a little upset, but that's no wonder.'
'Nothing to indicate that she'd been slapped in the face?'
'Slapped in the face? No, absolutely not. Who's making that accusation?' Stig looked bewildered, and Patrik almost felt sorry for him.
'Lilian claims that Kaj assaulted her when he was here. And she showed us injuries, including on her face, to prove it.'
'But she didn't have any injuries on her face after Kaj was here. I don't understand…' Stig stirred restlessly, which evoked another grimace of pain.
Patrik's expression was stern as he signalled with his eyes to Gosta that they were done.
'We're going to go downstairs and have another talk with your wife,' he said, trying to get up as carefully as possible.
'Yes, but who could have…?'
They left Stig lying there with a confused look on his face. Patrik suspected that he would probably be having a serious talk with his wife after they left. But first they were going to have a serious talk with her.
He was seething inside as they went downstairs. It was no more than three days since Sara had died, and Lilian was already trying to use her death as a weapon in a petty feud. It was so… callous that he could hardly conceive it was possible. What incensed him most was the fact that she was wasting police time and resources when they needed to focus all their energy on finding the person who had murdered her only grandchild. The fact that Lilian hadn't given a thought to the consequences was so despicable and perverse that he could barely find words to describe her actions.
When they entered the kitchen he saw from Lilian's expression that she knew the battle was lost.
'We just got some interesting information from Stig,' Patrik said ominously. Lilian's friend Eva looked at them curiously. She had no doubt swallowed Lilian's story hook, line and sinker, but in a few minutes she might well see her friend in a new light.
'I don't understand why you persist in bothering someone who's sick in bed, but the police clearly have no consideration for anyone nowadays,' Lilian sputtered in an abortive attempt to regain control.
'You're certainly right about that,' said Gosta, calmly sitting down on one of the kitchen chairs facing Lilian and Eva. Patrik pulled out a chair next to him and sat down too.
'It was a good idea that we had a word with Stig as well, because he made a remarkable statement. Perhaps you'd be willing to help out by explaining it.'
Lilian didn't ask what sort of statement her husband had made. She waited in furious silence for them to continue. It was Gosta who spoke next.
'He said that you came up to his room after Kaj left, and that there were no signs that anyone had struck you. Nor did you mention it to him. Can you explain that?'
'I suppose it takes a while before the marks are visible,' Lilian muttered in a brave attempt to salvage the situation. 'And I didn't want to worry Stig, considering his condition. I'm sure you understand.'
They understood more than that. And she knew it.
Patrik took over. 'I hope you realize the seriousness of fabricating false accusations.'
'I didn't fabricate anything,' said Lilian, flaring up. In a somewhat calmer tone she said, 'Well, maybe I… exaggerated a bit.
But only because he was on the verge of attacking me. I could see it in his eyes.'
'And the injuries you showed us?'
She said nothing, nor did she need to. They had already worked out that Lilian had inflicted them on herself before they arrived. For the first time Patrik began to wonder whether there was actually something wrong with her mind.
Obstinately she said, 'But it was only because you needed a reason to take him in for questioning. Then you could have searched in peace and quiet for proof that he or Morgan murdered Sara. I know it was one of them, and I just wanted to help put you on the right track.'
Patrik gave her an incredulous look. Either she was more single- minded than anyone he'd ever met, or she was simply a little crazy. In any case, they needed to put a stop to these idiocies.
