wet,’ he exclaimed.
‘Have you got hold of Essex yet?’ she asked.
The lieutenant sighed and hauled out a pack of cigarettes from the inside breast pocket of his leather jacket.
‘Anyone wanting to get hold of John Essex just needs to follow the trail of screaming teenage girls,’ he replied, lighting up and taking a long drag on his cigarette. ‘Of course we have.’
‘Is that who you were referring to when you said interviews conducted elsewhere?’
The officer grinned in reply.
‘And . . .?’ Annika said.
‘We don’t suspect him more than anyone else.’
‘When was she found?’
Exhaling a cloud of smoke, Q glanced at her.
‘Can’t tell you that.’
‘So it took a while before you got here?’
‘It would be nice if you wouldn’t put it that way in print,’ the policeman said.
‘Then spill.’
He sighed.
‘Emergency Services received a report about an unconfirmed death. Michelle Carlsson was found shortly after six a.m. The beat cops arrived two hours later.’
‘Lots of time for everyone involved to synchronize their stories,’ Annika observed.
‘We haven’t noticed anything like that,’ the captain retorted.
‘How did neo-Nazi Hannah get hold of that fancy monster of a revolver she was packing?’
‘Well-informed, as always,’ the lieutenant acknowledged. ‘What else do you know?’
‘Apart from the bit about the gun?’ She shrugged. ‘I know who you’ve interviewed, that the whole bunch were at each other’s throats all night long, and that one of those twelve people is probably the killer.’
‘Someone could have crossed the lake,’ Q said, a smile lurking in his eyes.
‘Sure,’ Annika said. ‘That’s why the government uses Yxtaholm for secret peace negotiations, because it’s so easy for potential killers to sneak in here at night.’
The lieutenant laughed out loud, jammed his hands in his pockets, turned away from Annika, and started to walk towards the castle, the cigarette dangling from the corner of his mouth.
Laugh as much as you like , she thought to herself triumphantly. I managed to cross the lake without being discovered, in full daylight.
‘Annika?’
The voice came from the barrier over by the stud farm. Berit was standing under an umbrella next to one of the paper’s cars.
‘What’s going on?’ she called out.
Waving in relief, Annika hurried over to her.
‘They’re not going to release the witnesses,’ she told Berit, ‘but I’d like to hang around for a while longer. Could you come back for me later?’
Berit flashed her a thumbs-up. Annika acknowledged her gesture with a quick grin and ran over to the photographer, taking him aside.
‘Go with Berit, get the car and check into the motel at the Statoil station in Flen. It’s called the Loftet,’ she said. ‘Berit will come back for me later on. I want to do some snooping around.’
‘What? What are you going to do?’
Annika shrugged and looked around.
‘There are a few things I’d like to check out,’ she said.
‘Like what?’
She turned away, leaving the parking lot and passing the bell tower before turning a corner and reaching the building known as the Stables. Down by the shore of Lake Långsjön there was a hen house, some laundry facilities and a few tennis courts.
The door to the laundry facilities was locked. Annika leaned against the wall and surveyed her surroundings. It had almost stopped raining; all that remained was a mist hovering around the buildings.
Suddenly she was aware of the scents of summer: newly mown grass, roses in bloom, the dampness and the crispness. She dumped her bag on the steps, flipped her pad to a fresh page and placed it on the steps to protect her jeans from getting wet. Then she sat down on it and leaned her back against the door. At least two cars drove off. All she had to do was wait.
‘ A fine mother you are! I’m never going to forgive you for this. Damn you! ’
Annika swept back her hair. He hadn’t meant
‘Have you got hold of Essex yet?’ she asked.
The lieutenant sighed and hauled out a pack of cigarettes from the inside breast pocket of his leather jacket.
‘Anyone wanting to get hold of John Essex just needs to follow the trail of screaming teenage girls,’ he replied, lighting up and taking a long drag on his cigarette. ‘Of course we have.’
‘Is that who you were referring to when you said interviews conducted elsewhere?’
The officer grinned in reply.
‘And . . .?’ Annika said.
‘We don’t suspect him more than anyone else.’
‘When was she found?’
Exhaling a cloud of smoke, Q glanced at her.
‘Can’t tell you that.’
‘So it took a while before you got here?’
‘It would be nice if you wouldn’t put it that way in print,’ the policeman said.
‘Then spill.’
He sighed.
‘Emergency Services received a report about an unconfirmed death. Michelle Carlsson was found shortly after six a.m. The beat cops arrived two hours later.’
‘Lots of time for everyone involved to synchronize their stories,’ Annika observed.
‘We haven’t noticed anything like that,’ the captain retorted.
‘How did neo-Nazi Hannah get hold of that fancy monster of a revolver she was packing?’
‘Well-informed, as always,’ the lieutenant acknowledged. ‘What else do you know?’
‘Apart from the bit about the gun?’ She shrugged. ‘I know who you’ve interviewed, that the whole bunch were at each other’s throats all night long, and that one of those twelve people is probably the killer.’
‘Someone could have crossed the lake,’ Q said, a smile lurking in his eyes.
‘Sure,’ Annika said. ‘That’s why the government uses Yxtaholm for secret peace negotiations, because it’s so easy for potential killers to sneak in here at night.’
The lieutenant laughed out loud, jammed his hands in his pockets, turned away from Annika, and started to walk towards the castle, the cigarette dangling from the corner of his mouth.
Laugh as much as you like , she thought to herself triumphantly. I managed to cross the lake without being discovered, in full daylight.
‘Annika?’
The voice came from the barrier over by the stud farm. Berit was standing under an umbrella next to one of the paper’s cars.
‘What’s going on?’ she called out.
Waving in relief, Annika hurried over to her.
‘They’re not going to release the witnesses,’ she told Berit, ‘but I’d like to hang around for a while longer. Could you come back for me later?’
Berit flashed her a thumbs-up. Annika acknowledged her gesture with a quick grin and ran over to the photographer, taking him aside.
‘Go with Berit, get the car and check into the motel at the Statoil station in Flen. It’s called the Loftet,’ she said. ‘Berit will come back for me later on. I want to do some snooping around.’
‘What? What are you going to do?’
Annika shrugged and looked around.
‘There are a few things I’d like to check out,’ she said.
‘Like what?’
She turned away, leaving the parking lot and passing the bell tower before turning a corner and reaching the building known as the Stables. Down by the shore of Lake Långsjön there was a hen house, some laundry facilities and a few tennis courts.
The door to the laundry facilities was locked. Annika leaned against the wall and surveyed her surroundings. It had almost stopped raining; all that remained was a mist hovering around the buildings.
Suddenly she was aware of the scents of summer: newly mown grass, roses in bloom, the dampness and the crispness. She dumped her bag on the steps, flipped her pad to a fresh page and placed it on the steps to protect her jeans from getting wet. Then she sat down on it and leaned her back against the door. At least two cars drove off. All she had to do was wait.
‘ A fine mother you are! I’m never going to forgive you for this. Damn you! ’
Annika swept back her hair. He hadn’t meant
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