Marked for Life by Emelie Schepp Page A

But when he moved on to more specific details, she hardly had anything to say.
    â€œLike I told you, I didn’t have access to all of my husband’s accounts and have no idea of the balance and thus could not say how much was in them.” But she did say that his salary was transferred to a joint checking account and the payments on the mortgage and other maintenance costs came from that.
    Hans had taken upon himself the responsibility for their financial situation as it was his salary that paid for their keep.
    â€œHe was the one who took care of everything,” said Kerstin.
    â€œAs I understand, financially as a couple you were quite well-off?” said Henrik.
    â€œYes, very.”
    â€œBut you said he wasn’t one to waste money?”
    â€œThat’s right.”
    â€œWas that why he didn’t help his brother with money?”
    â€œHas Lasse said that? That he didn’t get any money from Hans?” Kerstin’s voice had changed. The tone was high.
    Henrik didn’t answer. He stared at her pink T-shirt. The elastic of the round collar had loosened a little and a loose thread hung down from a sleeve. He had the urge to reach across the table and pull it out. How could she leave the thread hanging there, he wondered.
    â€œHe did get money from Hans,” said Kerstin. “Far too much money. Hans wanted to help him but Lasse gambled it all away. Hans didn’t want Simon to be affected, so in an attempt to help his young nephew, he transferred money directly into an account in Simon’s name. But since Lasse was his legal guardian, he simply withdrew the money from the boy’s account and lost it all on the horses. Of course my husband got angry and stopped sending any more. Perhaps that wasn’t the best thing for the boy, but what could he do?”
    â€œAccording to Lasse, it was you who stopped the payments,” said Henrik.
    â€œNo, he got that wrong.”
    Kerstin put her thumb up to her mouth and started to bite a raw cuticle.
    â€œHe didn’t receive any money recently, then?” said Henrik.
    â€œNo, not for the past year.”
    Henrik pondered this, then looked at Kerstin again.
    â€œWe’re going to check into your accounts,” he said.
    â€œWhy?” Kerstin met Henrik’s gaze and continued biting her cuticle.
    â€œTo verify that what you’ve said is correct.”
    â€œYou need permission,” said Ramstedt, who had now leaned over the table.
    â€œWe’ve already arranged that,” said Jana briefly and held out the signed search warrant.
    Ramstedt snorted audibly, leaned back and put his hand on Kerstin’s shoulder. She looked at him and Henrik noticed a nervous twitch from her left eyelid.
    â€œWell then,” said Henrik. “I have one more important question. This morning a boy was found dead. I have his photo here.”
    He placed two high-resolution images, one from the scene and one from the security camera, in front of her.
    She gave the pictures only a quick glance.
    â€œWe must find the person who murdered your husband and that’s what we are going to do, in the end,” said Henrik. “But so far we have only one suspect and that is you. So if you wish to be released, you must try to think whether you have seen this boy anywhere near your house.”
    Kerstin sat quietly for a few moments.
    â€œI have never seen him before,” she said. “I promise, I’ve never seen him before. Never.”
    â€œCertain?”
    â€œAbsolutely certain.”
    * * *
    Her headache had eased up. Even so, Jana Berzelius swallowed a second pill with a large glass of water. She had let the tap run quite a while before she considered the water cold enough.
    When she was done, she put the glass down in the office sink and got to work. She had emails and calls to answer, and she was still waiting for two summonses to be approved. Now Yvonne had given her three more to deal