Marked for Life by Emelie Schepp Page B

with.
    Torsten Granath stepped into the office kitchen and quickly went across to the cupboard and took out a coffee mug.
    â€œA lot of work?” said Jana.
    â€œIsn’t there always?”
    Torsten swung around to put the mug on the tray of the coffee machine, but in his eagerness he lost his grip and the mug fell.
    In no time, Jana reached out with her right hand and caught hold of the mug before it hit the floor.
    â€œNeat catch.”
    Jana didn’t answer, just handed the cup over to her boss.
    â€œIs that what you learned at that posh boarding school?”
    Jana remained silent. Torsten was used to her taciturnity and now, carefully this time, made himself some coffee.
    â€œIf I can’t even manage a cup of coffee, perhaps I should retire!”
    â€œOr at least take things a bit more slowly,” said Jana.
    â€œNo, I haven’t time for that. How are you getting on with the Juhlén case, by the way?”
    â€œI’ll have to release his wife tomorrow,” she said. “I’ve got nothing concrete to link her to the murder. That’s going to please Ramstedt.”
    â€œThat man! For him the law is simply business.”
    â€œAnd the women are his reward.”
    Torsten gave Jana a broad smile.
    â€œI trust you,” he said.
    â€œI know.”
    Jana knew he meant what he said. He had trusted her from the very first day she came to the office. Thanks to excellent references from her trainee years, she got the much sought-after job as a prosecutor in Norrköping despite hard competition. That she was the daughter of the former Prosecutor-General Karl Berzelius might have contributed to her appointment. Her father, Karl Berzelius, had good contacts within the civil service in general, and Sweden’s courts in particular. Jana had, however, managed all her university studies on her own. She had graduated in law at Uppsala University with the highest grade and her father would have felt proud when she was given her certificate. Or at least satisfied. She didn’t know because he wasn’t there. Instead, it was her mother, Margaretha, who told her daughter, “Your father sends his greetings and congratulations,” as she handed over a bunch of carnations the color of port wine, then gave her a pat on the shoulder and a smile that said that Jana shouldn’t expect more.
    It had always been taken for granted that Jana would follow in her father’s footsteps. To choose another career would have been unthinkable. She had heard that since she was a child. So she had also had hopes that Karl would come and congratulate her personally. But he didn’t.
    Jana scratched at her neck, then held her hands together over her chest. She looked at Torsten, who was still smiling, and wondered if he had had a call from her father. Karl Berzelius had retired two years earlier, but that didn’t stop him from involving himself in Swedish jurisprudence. Especially concerning the cases where his daughter was the prosecutor. Twice a month he would phone Torsten and find out how she had done. This was something that her boss couldn’t possibly object to. And nor could Jana.
    Karl was like that.
    Forceful.
    Controlling.
    Torsten’s smile vanished from his face.
    â€œOh well, I must move on. I’ve got to go to the vet’s at four o’clock. My wife is worried about Ludde. Thanks for catching the cup, that saved us having to buy a new one.”
    Torsten gave Jana a wink before leaving the room.
    She remained standing beside the granite counter and watched him leave.
    â€œYou’re welcome,” she said quietly to herself.
    * * *
    The Juhlén bank account statements filled fifty-six pages. The bank official had been helpful and Ola Söderström had thanked him politely three times in a row.
    Now he looked quickly through the sheets that showed Hans Juhlén’s private account. On the twenty-fifth of every month a transfer of