The Ice Child Page 19

  ‘We’ll solve that problem when the time comes. These cases are such a high priority that resources should be readily available on a national level.’

  ‘I think it’s a good idea to get everyone together. Why don’t we suggest meeting in Göteborg?’ said Martin, leaning forward.

  ‘That’s an excellent suggestion,’ replied Patrik. ‘Annika, could you make the arrangements? I know it’s the weekend and it might be hard to get hold of everyone, but I’d like to schedule the meeting as soon as possible.’

  ‘Sure.’ Annika jotted down a note to herself, adding a big exclamation mark.

  ‘I hear you also met your wife in Göteborg yesterday,’ Gösta said.

  Patrik rolled his eyes. ‘Why is it so difficult to keep anything secret in this place?’

  ‘What? Was Erica in Göteborg? What was she doing there? Is she sticking her nose into police business again?’ Mellberg was so indignant that his comb-over slipped down over his ear. ‘You need to learn to control that woman. It’s not right for her to go running around and getting involved in our work.’

  ‘I’ve talked to her, and it won’t happen again,’ said Patrik calmly, but he could feel his annoyance from yesterday still simmering. He couldn’t understand why Erica never took into consideration the possible repercussions of her meddling. She might even be obstructing the investigation.

  Mellberg glared at him. ‘She doesn’t usually listen to you.’

  ‘I know that, but I promise it won’t happen again.’ Patrik could hear how weak his words sounded, so he hurried to change the subject. ‘Gösta, would you mind going over again what you told me on the phone yesterday?’

  ‘Which part?’ asked Gösta.

  ‘About both visits. But the second one is especially interesting.’

  Gösta nodded. Slowly and methodically he told them about his visit to Jonas and their talk about the ketamine that had been stolen shortly before Victoria went missing. Then he told his colleagues about the connection between Victoria and Katarina’s report to the police. Finally, he described finding the cigarette butt in her garden.

  ‘Good job,’ said Martin. ‘So there’s a clear view of Victoria’s bedroom from that woman’s property?’

  Gösta was feeling quite proud of himself. It was rare for him to receive praise for taking the initiative. ‘Yes, you can see right in her window, and I think that’s what the person did as he stood there smoking. I found the cigarette butt exactly where Katarina saw the man standing.’

  ‘And the butt has been sent to the lab for analysis?’ Patrik added.

  Gösta nodded. ‘Of course. Torbjörn has it now, and if there’s any DNA on it, we’ll be able to look for a match with a potential suspect.’

  ‘We shouldn’t jump to conclusions, but it could well have been the perp standing out there, keeping watch. Probably trying to find out about Victoria’s routines, so later on he could kidnap her.’ With a pleased expression, Mellberg clasped his hands over his stomach. ‘Why don’t we do what they did in that village in England? Test all the inhabitants in Fjällbacka and then compare the results with the DNA on the cigarette butt. And just like that, we’ll have the guy. Brilliantly simple.’

  ‘First of all, we don’t know whether the perpetrator is a man or a woman,’ said Patrik, making an effort to be patient. ‘Second, we can’t be sure the perpetrator is from around here, given that girls have disappeared from other areas. At the moment it seems likely that there’s a connection with Göteborg, at least in Minna Wahlberg’s case.’

  ‘You’re always so negative,’ said Mellberg, unhappy to have his brilliant plan shot down.

  ‘Maybe I’m just being realistic,’ Patrik retorted, though he instantly regretted his remark. Letting Mellberg get under his skin was counter-productive. ‘I heard that Paula was over here yesterday,’ he said instead, and Mellberg nodded.

  ‘That’s right. I was talking to her about the case. When she heard that Victoria’s tongue had been cut out, it reminded her of some previous report. The problem is, she couldn’t remember which one, or when. She says nursing the baby has turned her brain to mush.’

  Mellberg twirled his finger at his temple, but when Annika snorted, he quickly put down his hand. If there was one person that Mellberg didn’t want to aggravate, it was the station’s secretary. And possibly Rita as well.

  ‘Paula spent a couple of hours in the archives,’ said Gösta. ‘But I don’t think she found what she was looking for.’

  ‘No. She’s going to come back today.’ Mellberg smiled at Annika, who was still glaring at him.

  ‘I hope she realizes it’s on her own time,’ said Patrik.

  ‘Sure, she knows that. To be honest, I think she needs to get away from home for a while,’ Mellberg added, revealing a rare moment of insight.

  Martin smiled. ‘She must be climbing the walls at home if she prefers hanging out in the archives.’

  The smile made his whole face light up, and Patrik realized how seldom he saw that happen these days. He really needed to keep a close eye on Martin. It couldn’t be easy for him right now, as he grieved for Pia, tended to his duties as a single father, and also took part in such an onerous investigation.

  Patrik smiled at his colleague. ‘Well, for her sake, let’s hope she finds out something. For our sake, too.’

  Gösta raised his hand.

  ‘Yes?’ said Patrik.

  ‘I keep thinking about that break-in at Jonas’s clinic. Maybe it would be worth asking the stable girls about it. One of them might have seen something.’

  ‘Good idea. You might try asking around after the memorial service this afternoon, but tread carefully. They’re all bound to be very upset.’

  ‘Okay. I’ll take Martin along. It’ll go faster if there are two of us.’

  Patrik cast a glance at Martin. ‘Hmm … I don’t think it’s necessary to—’

  ‘It’s fine. I’ll go,’ Martin said.

  Patrik hesitated for a moment before saying, ‘All right.’ Then he turned to Gösta. ‘And keep in touch with Torbjörn about the DNA results, okay?’

  Gösta nodded.

  ‘Good. We need to start knocking on doors in Katarina’s neighbourhood to find out if anyone saw somebody sneaking around. And we have to check with Victoria’s family, in case they noticed anyone watching them.’

  Gösta ran his hand through his grey hair, making it stand straight up.

  ‘I’m sure they would have told us by now if they’d seen anything like that. I think we did ask them if they’d noticed anyone hanging about their house, but I’ll take a look at the interview transcript.’

  ‘Have another talk with them in any case. I’ll go out there and talk to the neighbours. And Bertil, could you stand by here at the station and help Annika make arrangements for the big meeting?’

  ‘Of course. Who else could do it? They’ll all be wanting to meet with the chief of police here, since I’m heading the investigation.’

  ‘Okay, then. Let’s be careful out there,’ said Patrik, though his word choice made him instantly feel a bit foolish, as if they were all playing roles in an episode of Hill Street Blues. But it was worth it when he saw Martin smiling.

  ‘Next week there’s another jump-racing competition. Forget about the one you’re missing and look forward to that instead.’ Jonas stroked Molly’s hair. He never ceased to be amazed by how much she resembled her mother.

  ‘You sound like Dr Phil,’ muttered Molly, her face buried in a pillow. Her joy over the promised car had quickly passed, and now she was again brooding over not being allowed to compete.

  ‘You’re going to regret it if you don’t train properly. It won’t even be worth competing then. And you’ll be the one who’s most disappointed if you don’t win. Not me or your mother.’

  ‘Marta could care less,’ Molly grumbled.

  Jonas pulled back his hand.

  ‘Are you saying that all the kilometres we’ve driven and all the hours we’ve put in do
n’t count? Your mother … Marta has invested a ton of money and time in preparing you for competitions, and you’re being incredibly ungrateful when you say things like that.’ He could hear how sharp his voice sounded, but it was time for his daughter to grow up.

  Molly slowly sat up. She looked surprised that he had spoken to her in that tone, and she seemed about to protest. But then she lowered her eyes.

  ‘Sorry,’ she said quietly.

  ‘Excuse me, but what did you say?’

  ‘I’m sorry!’ She was on the verge of tears as Jonas put his arms around her. He knew that he had always spoiled her, for better or worse. But right now she had reacted as she should. She needed to learn that life sometimes demanded that she give in.

  ‘It’s okay, sweetie, it’s okay. Why don’t we go over to the stable? You need to train if you’re going to beat Linda Bergvall. She shouldn’t think that she’s guaranteed to win.’

  ‘All right,’ said Molly, wiping her tears on her sleeve.

  ‘Come on. I don’t have to work today, so I was thinking I could help you train. Mamma’s already over there with Scirocco.’

  Molly swung her legs over the side of the bed, and he saw the competitive instinct gleaming in her eyes. They were so alike in that regard. Both of them hated to lose.

  When they got to the riding school, Marta was waiting for them, and Scirocco was already saddled. She made a point of looking at her watch.

  ‘So the young lady decided to make an appearance after all. You were supposed to be here half an hour ago.’

  Jonas gave his wife a warning look. One wrong word and Molly would run straight back to bed and start sulking again. He could see that Marta was debating with herself. She detested having to bow to her daughter’s whims. And even though it was her own choice, Marta also detested the fact that she didn’t share in the close relationship that he had with Molly. But she too liked to win, even if she did so through a daughter she had never wanted or understood.

  ‘I’ve got him ready for you,’ she said, handing the horse over to Molly.

  With ease Molly swung herself up into the saddle and took the reins. Using her thighs and heels, she put Scirocco through his paces, and he willingly obeyed. As soon as Molly was on horseback, the truculent teenager disappeared. Up there she was a strong young woman, confident, calm, and sure of herself. Jonas loved to see the transformation.

  He took a ringside seat to watch Marta work. Skilfully she instructed her daughter. She knew exactly how to make both the rider and the horse do their best. Molly had a natural gift for all aspects of horseback riding, but it was Marta who refined her talent. She was amazing as she stood there in the riding hall and with curt directives got the horse and rider to fly over the hurdles. It was going to be a great competition. The three of them were a wonderful team: Marta, Molly, and Jonas. Slowly he felt the familiar anticipation and tension beginning to build inside his body.

  Erica was in her study, going through the long list of things she needed to get done. Anna had said that she and the kids could stay all day, if necessary, and Erica had swiftly seized upon the offer. There were so many people she ought to talk to, and so much material she should read, and she wished that she’d made more progress. Then maybe she’d understand why Laila had collected all those newspaper articles. For a moment she had considered going to Laila and asking her directly, but she realized that would be fruitless. Instead she had left the prison and driven home to do more research on her own.

  ‘Maaammaaa! The twins are fighting!’ Maja’s voice made her jump. According to Anna, the children had behaved perfectly while Erica was gone, but now it sounded as if they were about to kill each other down in the living room.

  She ran downstairs and rushed into the room. There stood Maja, glaring at her little brothers as they tussled on the sofa.

  ‘They’re bothering me, Mamma, and I want to watch TV. They keep taking the remote control and changing the channel.’

  ‘Stop that,’ cried Erica, sounding a bit more cross than she’d intended. ‘If that’s how it is, then neither of you gets to watch TV.’

  She went over to the sofa and grabbed the remote. The boys stared up at her in surprise and then both started crying. She silently counted to ten, but she could feel her anger surging as sweat ran down her sides. She had never imagined it would take so much patience to be a parent. And she was ashamed that she’d once punished Maja for something she hadn’t done.

  Anna was in the kitchen with Emma and Adrian, but now she came into the living room. When she saw Erica’s expression, she couldn’t hide a wry smile.

  ‘Looks like it’d be good for you to get out of the house more often. Isn’t there someplace else you need to go, now that I’m already here?’

  Erica was about to say she was grateful just to have peace and quiet to work when a thought occurred to her. There was in fact something else she needed to do. One item on her list, in particular, had sparked her interest.

  ‘Mamma has to go out and work for a while,’ she said to the kids. ‘But Anna is here. And if you’re nice, I think she’ll fix you a snack.’

  The boys instantly stopped crying. The word ‘snack’ seemed to have a magical effect on them.

  Erica gave her sister a warm hug. She went into the kitchen to make a phone call to make sure the person she wanted to see would be home. Fifteen minutes later she was on her way. By that time the children were all sitting at the kitchen table drinking juice and eating buns and biscuits. No doubt consuming way too much sugar, but she’d worry about that later.

  It wasn’t difficult to locate the small terraced house just outside of Uddevalla where Wilhelm Mosander lived. He had sounded intrigued when she phoned, and he opened the door even before she rang the bell.

  ‘Come in,’ said the elderly man. She carefully kicked the snow off her boots and went inside.

  She had never met Mosander before, but she knew quite a lot about him. In his day he was a legendary journalist at Bohusläningen, and he was most famous for his reports about the murder of Vladek Kowalski.

  ‘I take it you’re writing a new book,’ he said as he led her into the kitchen. Erica saw that the room was small but clean and well-kept. There was no sign of a woman’s presence, so she guessed that Wilhelm must be a bachelor.

  As if he’d read her mind, he said, ‘My wife died ten years ago so I sold our big monstrosity of a house and moved here. It’s much easier to take care of, but it can seem a little spartan since I don’t know much about curtains and things like that.’

  ‘It’s very cosy.’ Erica sat down at the table, and Mosander served the obligatory coffee. ‘And yes, I’m writing a book. It’s about the House of Horrors.’

  ‘What else do you think I might be able to tell you? I assume that you’ve already read most of the articles I wrote.’

  ‘Yes, Kjell Ringholm at Bohusläningen helped me find all the newspaper articles. And of course I’ve gathered a lot of facts about the course of events and the trial. But what I need now is to talk to someone who was there. I’d like to hear your impressions. I’m thinking that you probably made observations and noticed things that you couldn’t write about. Maybe you even have your own theories about the case. According to what I’ve heard, you’ve never been able to let the matter go.’

  Erica sipped her coffee as she studied Wilhelm.

  ‘Well, there’s certainly a lot to write about.’ Wilhelm’s eyes glinted as he returned her gaze. ‘I’ve never come across a case, either before or since, as interesting as that one. Anyone who knew about it couldn’t help being affected.’

  ‘I know. It’s one of the most horrifying cases I’ve ever encountered. And I’d really like to find out exactly what happened that day.’

  ‘That makes two of us,’ said Wilhelm. ‘Even though Laila confessed to the murder, I could never shake off the feeling that something didn’t fit. I don’t have any theory of my own, but I think the truth was more complicated than anyone realized.’


  ‘Precisely,’ said Erica eagerly. ‘The problem is that Laila refuses to talk about it.’

  ‘But she agreed to see you?’ Wilhelm leaned forward. ‘I never thought she’d do that.’

  ‘Yes, we’ve met a few times now. I tried to make contact for a long time, sending letters and making phone calls, and I’d just about given up when she suddenly said yes.’

  ‘Well, I’ll be damned. She’s kept silent all these years, and then she agrees to meet with you?’ He shook his head, looking as if he could hardly believe his ears. ‘I tried to get an interview with her so many times in the past, but without success.’

  ‘She’s not telling me anything though. So far I’ve got nothing of interest out of her.’ Erica could hear how discouraged she sounded.

  ‘So tell me, how is she? How is she doing?’

  Erica felt the conversation was going off at a tangent, but she resisted the urge to steer it back on track by resorting to the questions she’d come there to ask. A little give and take was necessary.

  ‘She’s very composed. Very calm. Yet she seems anxious about something.’

  ‘Does she strike you as feeling guilty? About the murder? About what was done to her daughter?’

  Erica paused to consider. ‘Yes and no. She doesn’t seem exactly remorseful, but she does take responsibility for what happened. It’s hard to explain. Getting her to say anything about it is so difficult, I’ve had to read between the lines, so to speak. And it’s possible that I’m misinterpreting because of my own reaction to what she did.’

  ‘Yes, it was horrific.’ Wilhelm nodded. ‘Have you been inside the house?’

  ‘Yes, just the other day. It’s practically derelict now, after standing empty for so long. But it felt like something was still there, in the walls … And in the cellar.’ Erica shuddered at the memory.

  ‘I know what you mean. It’s a mystery how anyone could treat a child the way Vladek did. Or that Laila could let it happen. Personally, I think in that sense she’s just as guilty as he was, even though she was terrified of what he might do. She could have made other choices, and you’d think her maternal instinct would have been stronger than it was.’