Meet me in Malmö: The first Inspector Anita Sundström mystery (Inspector Anita Sundström mysteries) by Torquil MacLeod Page B
Authors: Torquil MacLeod
Tags: Mystery & Detective, Police Procedural, Crime thriller, murder mystery, Scandinavian crime, detective crime, Swedish crime, international crime, female detectives
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had traces of the handsome woman she must once have been. And the piercing blue eyes that must sparkle when she was happy now expressed a deep sadness that words could never adequately articulate.
‘Anita Sundström.’ She thought it best to dispense with the formal police title.
‘Come in.’ Without further words fru Lovgren showed Anita into the living room. Despite its immaculate neatness, it had a homely feel. Anita could never show people into her home at short notice because she would be embarrassed by the mess. She always needed fair warning.
‘Do you mind if we talk in the park? I don’t think I can speak about my Malin in here.’ She indicated the numerous photos of her daughter around the room. A proud mother, indeed. ‘Too many memories.’
‘Of course not, fru Lovgren.’
‘It’s Britta.’
She left Anita while she went to put on a coat and hat. Anita took a closer look at the photographs. They covered the actress’s life from childhood snaps through to a couple of shots that must have been taken at film premieres. There was her wedding picture, too. Lovgren and Roslyn had made an attractive couple. In her wedding photo Malin looked genuinely happy. As a young girl on a beach she had a winning smile. In the premiere photos, though she was beaming for the cameras, she didn’t seem to be enjoying her moment in the spotlight.
He reached the edge of the park. He tried to get a vigorous walk in most days. Keep in decent condition. He had done five circuits of the park today and felt good. When the weather got a bit warmer he would start running again. His exercise gave him time to think and he had a lot on his mind at the moment. He was still worrying about the CCTV. The more he thought about it the more he was convinced that he would have been captured on tape. But so would a lot of others, unless there was a camera at the apartment block entrance. He had walked past there this morning and hadn’t spotted one.
He waited for the green bus to pass. As he was about to cross the road he saw Malin Lovgren’s mother. He had seen a lot of her in the park. She had been accompanied occasionally by Malin herself. It was in this very park that he had seen Malin in the flesh for the first time. On reflection, it would have been better if he had made his move then; out here in the open. Then he suddenly realized that fru Lovgren wasn’t alone. Shit! It was too late. He was halfway across the road and that policewoman with the glasses was heading straight towards him. He fought back the natural inclination to veer away. He held his nerve and forced his legs to keep moving. And then she was past him. He kept straight on. He didn’t look back.
Anita didn’t think she had ever been in Beijers Park before. It wasn’t as ostentatious as the city’s major parks, and the more appealing as a result. A tree-lined path ran round the edge, which was used as a track for joggers. One heavily-built woman was doing an impression of running, though her progress was painfully slow. A couple of dogs were running around the large open area of grassland in the middle, at the far end of which was a small lake. Anita and Britta Lovgren passed a huge wooden carving of a red squirrel some way from the entrance before a word was spoken. It was Britta who broke the silence.
‘I can’t make sense of what has happened. My girl was so lovely. Why would anyone…?’
Anita instinctively put a reassuring arm round the older woman’s shoulders until she was sure that Britta was ok. They wandered on towards the lake. Overlooking the water was a tearoom, which was locked up and deserted at this time of year. Geese waddled round the edge of the water.
‘We’re trying to put together a picture of your daughter. Maybe that will give us a clue as to who might have wished her harm. I don’t really know where to start. Was she happy with her life?’
Britta looked straight ahead as they walked, as though she was by herself.
‘Anita Sundström.’ She thought it best to dispense with the formal police title.
‘Come in.’ Without further words fru Lovgren showed Anita into the living room. Despite its immaculate neatness, it had a homely feel. Anita could never show people into her home at short notice because she would be embarrassed by the mess. She always needed fair warning.
‘Do you mind if we talk in the park? I don’t think I can speak about my Malin in here.’ She indicated the numerous photos of her daughter around the room. A proud mother, indeed. ‘Too many memories.’
‘Of course not, fru Lovgren.’
‘It’s Britta.’
She left Anita while she went to put on a coat and hat. Anita took a closer look at the photographs. They covered the actress’s life from childhood snaps through to a couple of shots that must have been taken at film premieres. There was her wedding picture, too. Lovgren and Roslyn had made an attractive couple. In her wedding photo Malin looked genuinely happy. As a young girl on a beach she had a winning smile. In the premiere photos, though she was beaming for the cameras, she didn’t seem to be enjoying her moment in the spotlight.
He reached the edge of the park. He tried to get a vigorous walk in most days. Keep in decent condition. He had done five circuits of the park today and felt good. When the weather got a bit warmer he would start running again. His exercise gave him time to think and he had a lot on his mind at the moment. He was still worrying about the CCTV. The more he thought about it the more he was convinced that he would have been captured on tape. But so would a lot of others, unless there was a camera at the apartment block entrance. He had walked past there this morning and hadn’t spotted one.
He waited for the green bus to pass. As he was about to cross the road he saw Malin Lovgren’s mother. He had seen a lot of her in the park. She had been accompanied occasionally by Malin herself. It was in this very park that he had seen Malin in the flesh for the first time. On reflection, it would have been better if he had made his move then; out here in the open. Then he suddenly realized that fru Lovgren wasn’t alone. Shit! It was too late. He was halfway across the road and that policewoman with the glasses was heading straight towards him. He fought back the natural inclination to veer away. He held his nerve and forced his legs to keep moving. And then she was past him. He kept straight on. He didn’t look back.
Anita didn’t think she had ever been in Beijers Park before. It wasn’t as ostentatious as the city’s major parks, and the more appealing as a result. A tree-lined path ran round the edge, which was used as a track for joggers. One heavily-built woman was doing an impression of running, though her progress was painfully slow. A couple of dogs were running around the large open area of grassland in the middle, at the far end of which was a small lake. Anita and Britta Lovgren passed a huge wooden carving of a red squirrel some way from the entrance before a word was spoken. It was Britta who broke the silence.
‘I can’t make sense of what has happened. My girl was so lovely. Why would anyone…?’
Anita instinctively put a reassuring arm round the older woman’s shoulders until she was sure that Britta was ok. They wandered on towards the lake. Overlooking the water was a tearoom, which was locked up and deserted at this time of year. Geese waddled round the edge of the water.
‘We’re trying to put together a picture of your daughter. Maybe that will give us a clue as to who might have wished her harm. I don’t really know where to start. Was she happy with her life?’
Britta looked straight ahead as they walked, as though she was by herself.
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