to investigate this case and conduct interviews, here and at other locations. Naturally, this means that I will not, at this point in time, reveal details such as if there were any signs of a struggle in the control room. Any questions?’
‘How long will the suspects be held at the castle?’ the TV reporter bellowed.
Q paused a few seconds before answering.
‘As I just mentioned,’ he said slowly and deliberately, ‘there are no suspects at present. No one is being detained at the castle involuntarily. The individuals who have been interviewed today elected to stay on in order to assist the investigation, something they are anxious to do.’
‘Will the witnesses want to go home this evening, or will they elect to spend another night at Yxtaholm?’ Annika asked in a polite voice.
Q almost smiled.
‘My assessment is that the witnesses will all elect to spend the night at the castle,’ he replied. ‘Are there any more questions?’
And, naturally, there were. The different news teams had to ask their questions one at a time, since their inquiries were so tremendously special and required an exclusive answer. In other words, Annika watched Q say the exact same thing three times in a row. He began by talking into the large, unwieldy camera operated by the national broadcasting network, since TV is superior to radio and national trumps being local. Next came the small digital camcorder provided by Öst-nytt , the local TV news show. Finally, he spoke into the mike of the local radio station.
Annika prowled back and forth behind them and waited. Once all the broadcasting media had had their shot, she approached Q.
‘Damn, you’re 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?’
‘How long will the suspects be held at the castle?’ the TV reporter bellowed.
Q paused a few seconds before answering.
‘As I just mentioned,’ he said slowly and deliberately, ‘there are no suspects at present. No one is being detained at the castle involuntarily. The individuals who have been interviewed today elected to stay on in order to assist the investigation, something they are anxious to do.’
‘Will the witnesses want to go home this evening, or will they elect to spend another night at Yxtaholm?’ Annika asked in a polite voice.
Q almost smiled.
‘My assessment is that the witnesses will all elect to spend the night at the castle,’ he replied. ‘Are there any more questions?’
And, naturally, there were. The different news teams had to ask their questions one at a time, since their inquiries were so tremendously special and required an exclusive answer. In other words, Annika watched Q say the exact same thing three times in a row. He began by talking into the large, unwieldy camera operated by the national broadcasting network, since TV is superior to radio and national trumps being local. Next came the small digital camcorder provided by Öst-nytt , the local TV news show. Finally, he spoke into the mike of the local radio station.
Annika prowled back and forth behind them and waited. Once all the broadcasting media had had their shot, she approached Q.
‘Damn, you’re 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?’
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