The Ice Child Read online

  ‘And how did it look inside?’

  ‘Not too bad, actually. Some things had been pulled out of the cupboards and were scattered over the floor, but that’s about it. The worst part was that the cabinet where I keep substances classified as narcotics had been smashed open. And I’m always so careful to keep it locked. There’s not much crime in Fjällbacka to worry about, but the few junkies who do exist probably know that I keep drugs in the clinic. I’ve never had any problems before though.’

  ‘I know who you mean, and we had a talk with them right after the break-in. We didn’t get anything out of them, and I don’t think they would have been able to keep their mouths shut if they’d managed to get into the clinic. None of the fingerprints matched theirs.’

  ‘In that case it must have been someone else.’

  ‘So what exactly was missing? I realize it’s in the report, but tell me again.’

  Jonas frowned. ‘I can’t remember all the details, but the controlled substances included ethyl morphine, ketamine, and codeine. Plus a number of medical supplies, like gauze bandages, antiseptics, and … latex gloves, if I recall. Ordinary, cheap supplies that you could buy in any chemist’s shop.’

  ‘Unless you wanted to avoid attracting attention because you were buying large quantities of medical supplies,’ said Gösta, thinking aloud.

  ‘Sure. I suppose that’s true.’ Jonas drank the last of his coffee, then stood up to get some more. ‘Would you like a refill?’

  ‘No, thanks. I have plenty,’ said Gösta, realizing that he had forgotten all about drinking his coffee. ‘Tell me more about the controlled substances. Would any of them be of special interest to a drug addict?’

  ‘Ketamine definitely would. I’ve heard it’s starting to be popular among junkies. It’s apparently known as Special K, as a party drug.’

  ‘What do you use it for in your veterinary practice?’

  ‘Vets and physicians both use it as an anaesthetic for surgical procedures. If you use ordinary anaesthetics, there’s a risk of heart attack and respiration slows. But ketamine doesn’t have that side effect.’

  ‘What type of animals do you use it on?’

  ‘Mostly dogs and horses. It’s a way to sedate them safely and effectively.’

  Gösta stretched out his legs. His joints were feeling more and more creaky and stiff for every winter that passed. ‘How much ketamine was taken?’

  ‘If I remember right, we’re talking about four bottles that each contained a hundred millilitres.’

  ‘Is that a lot? How much would you use for a horse, for example?’

  ‘That depends on the weight of the horse,’ said Jonas. ‘But we usually estimate about two millilitres per hundred kilos.’

  ‘What about for a human being?’

  ‘I’m not sure. You’d have to ask a surgeon or anaesthesiologist, they’d be able to give you the precise dosage. I took a few courses in general medicine, but that was years ago. I know about animals, not people. Why are you so interested in ketamine?’

  Gösta hesitated. He wasn’t sure he ought to say anything that would give away the true purpose of his visit. At the same time, he was curious to see how Jonas would react. If it turned out, contrary to all expectations, that he was the one who had used the ketamine and reported it stolen simply to divert suspicion, then maybe his expression would give him away.

  ‘We’ve received the autopsy report,’ Gösta told him. ‘Victoria had traces of ketamine in her body.’

  Jonas looked startled. Gösta saw both surprise and horror in his eyes. ‘Are you saying that you think the ketamine that was stolen from my clinic may have been used to kidnap her?’

  ‘At this point we can’t say for sure, but considering it was stolen only days before she disappeared, and close to where she was last seen, it certainly seems possible.’

  Jonas shook his head. ‘That’s terrible.’

  ‘So you have no idea who might have broken in? You didn’t notice anything suspicious either before or afterwards?’

  ‘No. I have no clue. As I said, this is the first time it’s ever happened. I’ve always been very careful about locking things up.’

  ‘And you don’t think any of the girls would have …?’ Gösta motioned towards the stable.

  ‘No, absolutely not. They’ve probably tried out some home brew in secret a few times, and no doubt they’ve smoked a cigarette or two. But none of them is worldly wise enough to know that veterinarians keep controlled substances that could be used as party drugs. Talk to them, if you like, but I can promise you that none of them has ever heard of ketamine.’

  ‘I’m sure you’re right,’ murmured Gösta. He tried to think of more questions to ask, and Jonas seemed to notice his hesitation.

  ‘Is there anything else you want to know?’ Jonas gave him a crooked smile. ‘If not, maybe we can talk more some other time. I’ve got to see to my next patient. Nelly the mouse has eaten something that made her sick.’

  ‘Oh.’ Gösta wrinkled his nose in disgust. ‘I can’t understand why people want to keep creatures like that as pets.’

  ‘I can think of worse things,’ said Jonas, shaking his hand firmly as they said goodbye.

  UDDEVALLA 1968

  From the very beginning she realized that things were not as they should be. It was as if something essential was missing. Laila couldn’t put her finger on it, and she seemed to be the only one who noticed. Time after time she tried to talk to Vladek about her concern, suggesting they should let a doctor examine the little girl. But he refused to listen. Their daughter was so sweet, so calm. There was nothing wrong with her.

  Eventually the signs became more obvious. The girl’s face was always so sombre, and Laila kept waiting for the first smile, but it never came. Then even Vladek began to sense that something wasn’t right, but still no one took it seriously. At the child welfare office Laila was told it could be various things, that there was no set template, and each child developed differently. But she was certain that something would always be missing in their daughter.

  The girl never cried. Sometimes Laila couldn’t help pinching her, shaking her, anything that might provoke a reaction. When the child was awake, she would lie quietly and stare at the world with an expression so dark that it made Laila flinch. It was a primeval darkness, not only in her eyes but radiating from her whole body.

  Becoming a mother was not what she had imagined it would be. The images she had conjured up, the emotions she had thought she would experience when the child lay in her arms – none of them matched reality. She sensed this was because of the child, but she was the girl’s mother. And a mother’s task was to protect her child, no matter what happened.

  Chapter Five

  Riding in the car with Patrik was as terrifying as usual. Martin had a tight grip on the handle of the passenger door, and he offered up repeated prayers, even though he wasn’t at all religious.

  ‘The roads are in good condition today,’ said Patrik.

  They passed Kville church, and he slowed down a bit as they drove through the small community. But he soon accelerated again, and when they came to a sharp bend a couple of kilometres further on, Martin was flung so hard against the door that his cheek ended up pressed against the window.

  ‘You can’t take the curves so fast, Patrik! I don’t care what your old driving instructor told you when you were learning to drive. That’s not the way to do it.’

  ‘I’m an excellent driver,’ muttered Patrik, but he did ease up for a while. They’d had this conversation before, and no doubt they’d have it many more times in the future.

  ‘How’s Tuva?’ he asked then, giving his colleague a nervous look.

  Martin wished that people wouldn’t be so timid around him. He didn’t mind the questions. On the contrary. It showed that they cared about him and Tuva. And asking questions wouldn’t make things any worse. The worst had already happened. Nor did the questions open new wounds. The same wounds were ripped open every e
vening when he put his daughter to bed and she asked for her mother. And again when he tried to sleep, lying on his side of the bed, next to the empty space that used to be Pia’s. And every time he picked up the phone to call home to ask what groceries he should buy, and then realized that she would never be there to answer.

  ‘Tuva seems to be doing fine. She asks for Pia, of course, but mostly she just wants me to talk about her mother. She seems to have accepted that Pia is gone. In that sense I think children are wiser than we are.’ Then he fell silent.

  ‘I can’t even imagine what I’d do if Erica had died,’ said Patrik quietly.

  Martin knew that he was thinking about what had happened a couple of years earlier, when both Erica and the unborn twins had almost died in a car accident.

  ‘I don’t know if I would have been able to go on.’ Patrik’s voice quavered at the memory of that day when he’d nearly lost her.

  ‘Yes, you would,’ said Martin, staring at the snowy landscape they were passing. ‘You have to. And there’s always someone to live for. You would have had Maja. Tuva is everything to me now, and Pia lives on through her.’

  ‘Do you think you’ll ever meet someone else?’

  Martin noticed that Patrik had hesitated before asking the question, as if it might be a forbidden topic.

  ‘Right now I can’t imagine anything like that, but it’s also hard to picture myself spending the rest of my life alone. If it happens, it happens. At the moment I have my hands full trying to find some sort of balance in life for me and Tuva. We’re doing our best to fill the emptiness that Pia left behind. Besides, it’s not just a matter of me being ready for a new relationship; Tuva also has to be ready to let someone else into our family.’

  ‘Sounds sensible,’ said Patrik. Then he grinned. ‘Besides, there aren’t many girls left in Tanum. You ran through most of them before you met Pia. So you’ll have to expand your search area unless you’re interested in reruns.’

  ‘Ha, ha. Very funny.’ Martin could feel himself blushing. Patrik was exaggerating, but he did have a point. Martin had never been a hunk in the conventional sense, but his boyish charm combined with his red hair and freckles had ensured that the girls always found him attractive. But when he met Pia, he had put an end to his flirting. He’d never even glanced at another girl after that. He had loved her so much, and he missed her every second of every day.

  Suddenly he couldn’t bear to talk about his wife any more. The pain he felt was so fierce and merciless that he had to change the subject. Patrik got the message, and for the rest of the drive to Göteborg they talked about nothing but sport.

  Erica hesitated for a moment before ringing the doorbell. It was always difficult to decide how to start up a conversation with a family member, but Minna’s mother had sounded so calm and pleasant on the phone. She didn’t have the sharp or sceptical tone of voice that so many did whenever Erica contacted family members with regard to a book she was writing. And this time she wanted to talk about an ongoing case and not one that had been solved long ago.

  She pressed the bell. A few moments later she heard footsteps approaching, and then the door opened halfway.

  ‘Hello?’ Erica ventured. ‘Are you Anette?’

  ‘Yes. But call me Nettan,’ replied the woman and then stood aside to let her in.

  The word ‘mournful’ was what instantly came to mind when Erica stepped inside the front hall. Both the woman and the flat seemed mournful, and this was probably not due solely to Minna’s disappearance. The woman standing in front of her seemed to have given up hope long ago, crushed by all the disappointments that life had presented.

  ‘Come in,’ said Nettan and led the way to the living room.

  Things lay scattered about, as if they had landed there and then never moved. Nettan cast an anxious glance at a pile of clothes on the sofa and then simply shoved everything on to the floor.

  ‘I was planning to do some cleaning …’ she said vaguely.

  Erica sat down on the edge of the sofa and surreptitiously studied Minna’s mother. She knew that Nettan was almost ten years younger than she was, but it didn’t show. Her face was grey, probably from years of smoking, and her hair was dull and dishevelled.

  ‘I was just wondering if …’ Nettan pulled her nubby cardigan closer as she seemed to be mustering her courage to ask Erica something. ‘Sorry. I’m a little nervous. I don’t often get a visit from such a famous person. Actually never, now that I think about it.’

  She laughed, and for a moment Erica caught a glimpse of what Nettan must have looked like when she was younger. When she still had a zest for life.

  ‘That’s so embarrassing,’ Erica said with a grimace. She hated it when people called her famous. She just couldn’t relate to that.

  ‘But you are famous. I’ve seen you on TV. Although you were wearing a little more make-up then.’ From under her fringe Nettan peered at Erica’s face, which today was completely devoid of make-up.

  ‘I know. They shovel it on when you’re going to appear on TV. But I suppose if they didn’t, those lights would make you look really ghastly. Normally I don’t wear make-up at all.’ She smiled and saw that Nettan was starting to relax.

  ‘Me neither,’ said Nettan, and there was something touching about her pointing out the obvious. ‘What I wanted to ask you was … Well, why are you here? The police have already interviewed me several times.’

  Erica paused before replying. She didn’t have a good answer. Curiosity was closest to the truth, but she couldn’t say that.

  ‘I’ve assisted the local police with a number of cases in the past. So they trust me to help out when they’re short on manpower. And after what happened to the girl who disappeared from Fjällbacka, they need help.’

  ‘Oh, I see. I supposed that …’ Nettan again left her thought unfinished, and Erica let it go. She wanted to ask her about Minna.

  ‘Tell me about when your daughter disappeared.’

  Nettan pulled her cardigan even tighter around her. She stared down at her lap, and when she began to speak, her voice was so low that Erica had to strain to hear what she was saying.

  ‘At first I didn’t realize she was missing. I mean, really missing. She’s always come and gone as she pleases. I’ve never been able to control Minna. She’s so strong-willed, and I suppose I haven’t exactly …’ Nettan raised her head to look out of the window. ‘Sometimes she would stay with friends for a couple of days. Or with some boy.’

  ‘Anyone special? Did she have a boyfriend?’ asked Erica.

  Nettan shook her head.

  ‘Not that I know of, at any rate. There were several boys, but I don’t think she had a steady boyfriend. Though she had seemed happier than usual, so I did wonder. But I’ve asked some of her friends, and no one knew anything about a boyfriend. And they would have known, since it was the same group of kids that always hung out together.’

  ‘So why do think she was happier?’

  Nettan shrugged. ‘I don’t know. But I think about how I felt as a teenager. With sudden mood swings. Maybe it was because Johan had moved out.’

  ‘Johan?’

  ‘My boyfriend. He lived here for a while. But he and Minna never got along.’

  ‘When did he move out?’

  ‘I don’t remember exactly. But it must have been about six months before Minna disappeared.’

  ‘Did the police talk to him?’

  Again Nettan shrugged.

  ‘I think they talked to several of my ex-boyfriends. Some of them could get a little rough.’

  ‘Were any of them ever threatening or abusive towards Minna?’ Erica had to rein in the anger that surged inside of her. She’d had plenty of experience with how victims of abuse reacted. And after the way Lucas had treated Anna, she knew how fear could shatter a person’s will. But how could anyone allow their child to be subjected to something like that? How could the maternal instinct become so weakened that a woman would let anyone harm her child, either ps
ychologically or physically? She couldn’t understand it. For a moment her thoughts turned to Louise, all alone and chained in the cellar of the Kowalski house. That was the same thing, only much worse.

  ‘Sometimes. But Johan never hit her. They just screamed and yelled at each other all the time. So I think she was relieved when he moved out. One day he just packed up his things and left. And I never heard from him again.’

  ‘When did you realize that Minna wasn’t just staying with a friend?’

  ‘She was never gone more than a day or two. So after three days passed and she still hadn’t come home, and when she didn’t answer her mobile, I tried calling her friends. No one had heard from her for the past three days, so then I …’

  Erica clenched her teeth. How could anyone let a fourteen-year-old girl go missing for three whole days before reacting? She was thinking of keeping an iron grip on her own kids when they were teenagers. She would never let them go off without telling her where they were headed and who they planned to visit.

  ‘At first the police didn’t take me seriously,’ Nettan went on. ‘They had dealt with Minna before. She’d been involved in some … trouble, so they didn’t even want to take a report.’

  ‘When did they realize that something must have happened to her?’

  ‘It took another day. Then they found that woman who had seen Minna getting into a car. Considering there were other girls who had disappeared, it shouldn’t have taken them so long. My brother thinks I should sue them. He says if she was a rich girl, like some of the others, the police would have acted immediately. But they don’t listen to people like us. And it’s not right.’ Nettan looked down and began nervously plucking at her cardigan.

  Erica had to revise her previous opinion. She was interested to hear Nettan call the other girls rich. They were actually middle-class, but class differences were often relative. She herself had come here with a number of preconceived notions that had been confirmed the moment she entered the flat. Yet who was she to criticize Nettan? She had no clue about the circumstances that had shaped this woman’s life.