Bo.
Gonzales
thought quietly to himself that these people from the country were a bloody
sight odder than the Chileans and Yugoslavs who lived on his street. He turned
back to the woman. By this stage she had polluted the air so thoroughly with
her cigarettes that his eyes were watering.
'Do
you know Lise-Lott Edell and Lars Waltz?'
'Well
no, I wouldn't say that I know them. Waltz hasn't been living here all that
long. I've bumped into Lise-Lott from time to time, as you do in a small place.
My husband knew Lise-Lott's former husband's father; they used to hunt with the
same club. Lise-Lott married into the farm but perhaps you already know that.
Her first husband, Thomas, died of natural causes. I think it was his heart.
Not that he was very old, but I suppose it was in his genes. His father died of
heart problems too. And I think Thomas was fond of a drink, just like his
father. He didn't take a lot of water with it, if you know what I mean. That's
the way life is for some people. And Lise-Lott had plenty to console herself
with - the farm is quite substantial. Reino wasn't too pleased, of course.'
'Reino?'
Beckman
noticed that Gonzales was scribbling feverishly and wished she had brought the
tape recorder along. Sitting in the kitchen with a dyed-in-the-wool gossip, you
were bound to find out all kinds of interesting things. Perhaps even the odd
motive for murder.
'Reino. Gosta and Barbro's son. Thomas's brother.'
'Right.'
'I
mean, you can understand it. It's one thing for your
father's inheritance to go to the older brother, but quite another to watch his
widow drive the business into the ground. Because she's not much of a farmer,
Lise-Lott, you certainly couldn't call her that. It would be just as well if
she packed her bags and moved somewhere else, to a nice little house - at least
I suspect that's what Reino thinks. Not that I've ever been particularly fond
of Reino, but I can understand how he feels. I don't think things are very easy
for him on Gertrud's farm. It's too small to make a profit, really.'
She
leaned back in her chair, running her fingers over the edges of a plastic tray.
'You
should know when you don't have what it takes. Lise-Lott ought to know. I mean,
we did.'
She
gave a wry smile, revealing a row of yellowing teeth.
'Did
what?'
'We
moved to this nice little house. Bo had a bad back, and he couldn't cope with
running the Rappe farm - it's the first house after the main road, the yellow
one. It was in his family for four generations. Our son and his wife have taken
it over. You have to step aside for those who have the ability. And we got this
house for a good price. Anna-Maria's mother, Anna-Maria is our daughter-in-law,
she-'
'Thank
you.'
Beckman
broke in by holding up both hands, smiling at the same time to compensate for
the sharpness in her voice.
'That's
fine for the moment. If you happen to think of anything else that might be of
interest with regard to Lars Waltz, please do get in touch.'
She
placed her card on the table in front of fru Rappe.
'Wouldn't
it have been better to let her carry on talking? She seems to know plenty about
the people around here. We might have found out something interesting,' said
Gonzales. They had established that fru Rappe's next-door neighbours were not
at home and were walking back to the car.
'I
don't know, but I'm sure you're right. I was actually thinking the same when
she was going on, but she just lost me. Who was Anna- Maria?'
'Their daughter-in-law. But more importantly, who's this
Reino? It seems he had a motive for killing Waltz.'
'But why? It's Lise-Lott he should be getting rid of,
surely?'
'Maybe
he doesn't want to murder a woman, so he takes the man instead. He thinks
she'll be broken by grief, and she'll move away so she doesn't have to
Gonzales
thought quietly to himself that these people from the country were a bloody
sight odder than the Chileans and Yugoslavs who lived on his street. He turned
back to the woman. By this stage she had polluted the air so thoroughly with
her cigarettes that his eyes were watering.
'Do
you know Lise-Lott Edell and Lars Waltz?'
'Well
no, I wouldn't say that I know them. Waltz hasn't been living here all that
long. I've bumped into Lise-Lott from time to time, as you do in a small place.
My husband knew Lise-Lott's former husband's father; they used to hunt with the
same club. Lise-Lott married into the farm but perhaps you already know that.
Her first husband, Thomas, died of natural causes. I think it was his heart.
Not that he was very old, but I suppose it was in his genes. His father died of
heart problems too. And I think Thomas was fond of a drink, just like his
father. He didn't take a lot of water with it, if you know what I mean. That's
the way life is for some people. And Lise-Lott had plenty to console herself
with - the farm is quite substantial. Reino wasn't too pleased, of course.'
'Reino?'
Beckman
noticed that Gonzales was scribbling feverishly and wished she had brought the
tape recorder along. Sitting in the kitchen with a dyed-in-the-wool gossip, you
were bound to find out all kinds of interesting things. Perhaps even the odd
motive for murder.
'Reino. Gosta and Barbro's son. Thomas's brother.'
'Right.'
'I
mean, you can understand it. It's one thing for your
father's inheritance to go to the older brother, but quite another to watch his
widow drive the business into the ground. Because she's not much of a farmer,
Lise-Lott, you certainly couldn't call her that. It would be just as well if
she packed her bags and moved somewhere else, to a nice little house - at least
I suspect that's what Reino thinks. Not that I've ever been particularly fond
of Reino, but I can understand how he feels. I don't think things are very easy
for him on Gertrud's farm. It's too small to make a profit, really.'
She
leaned back in her chair, running her fingers over the edges of a plastic tray.
'You
should know when you don't have what it takes. Lise-Lott ought to know. I mean,
we did.'
She
gave a wry smile, revealing a row of yellowing teeth.
'Did
what?'
'We
moved to this nice little house. Bo had a bad back, and he couldn't cope with
running the Rappe farm - it's the first house after the main road, the yellow
one. It was in his family for four generations. Our son and his wife have taken
it over. You have to step aside for those who have the ability. And we got this
house for a good price. Anna-Maria's mother, Anna-Maria is our daughter-in-law,
she-'
'Thank
you.'
Beckman
broke in by holding up both hands, smiling at the same time to compensate for
the sharpness in her voice.
'That's
fine for the moment. If you happen to think of anything else that might be of
interest with regard to Lars Waltz, please do get in touch.'
She
placed her card on the table in front of fru Rappe.
'Wouldn't
it have been better to let her carry on talking? She seems to know plenty about
the people around here. We might have found out something interesting,' said
Gonzales. They had established that fru Rappe's next-door neighbours were not
at home and were walking back to the car.
'I
don't know, but I'm sure you're right. I was actually thinking the same when
she was going on, but she just lost me. Who was Anna- Maria?'
'Their daughter-in-law. But more importantly, who's this
Reino? It seems he had a motive for killing Waltz.'
'But why? It's Lise-Lott he should be getting rid of,
surely?'
'Maybe
he doesn't want to murder a woman, so he takes the man instead. He thinks
she'll be broken by grief, and she'll move away so she doesn't have to
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