surname was Gerdin, Karlsson explained, but as there weren’t many women in the section, his colleagues had decided to rechristen him in the name of gender equality.
Mike’s initial impression was that Gerda was the nicer of the two, only because Karlsson was the one who asked the questions. Both appeared to be incompetent, or, rather, resigned. As if they’d already decided that there was nothing they could do other than try to calm down hysterical family members and then wait and see.
‘And you have a daughter together?’ Karlsson asked.
‘Sanna. My mother just took her to school.’
‘Up there, in the yellow brick building?’
Karlsson pointed over his shoulder with his thumb.
‘Laröd school, yes. Thought it was best if we kept things as normal as possible. I don’t know what else to do.’
He looked at the policemen, hoping they’d agree. Gerda nodded and shifted his weight.
‘How old is your daughter?’ he asked.
‘Sanna’s seven. Turns eight in a fortnight. She’s in Class Two.’
‘Tell us in your own words what happened,’ Karlsson said.
Mike sent him an irritated look. In his own words? Whose words would he use otherwise?
‘She didn’t come home,’ he said. ‘I collected Sanna from after-school club at about half past four. We went to the shops to buy food and then came home. Ylva had said that she might go out for a drink after work.’
‘With her colleagues?’
‘Yes, they were putting a magazine to bed and—’
‘Putting to bed?’
‘She works for an agency that produces company magazines. Putting a magazine to bed means they have to make the final changes before sending it off to print. It can take a while.’
‘And did it?’
‘No, not really. They were done just after six.’
‘And you know that because …?’
‘As I’ve already told several of your colleagues by now,the first person I called was Nour, my wife’s colleague and friend. She said that Ylva said goodbye to them on the street at quarter past six. Nour and the others went to a restaurant, Ylva said she was going home.’
Karlsson nodded thoughtfully.
‘So, she said to you that she was going out for a drink with her colleagues, and she said to her colleagues that she was going home to you?’
‘She said that she might go out for a drink with them. It wasn’t decided.’
Karlsson cocked his head and he was bloody smiling too. Mike was close to thumping him.
‘Look, I don’t give a damn what you think. You want it to be something that it’s not. Okay?’
Karlsson shrugged. ‘I just thought it was a bit odd, to give out a double message like that. She says one thing to you, and something else to her colleagues. Don’t you think that’s a bit odd?’
‘My wife has disappeared. She wasn’t depressed, or suicidal, and to my knowledge has never been threatened in any way. And if she did happen to have a passionate lover stowed away somewhere, she’d at least phone her fucking daughter.’
‘What makes you think she has a passionate lover?’
Mike glared at the policemen, from one to the other. Karlsson smiled at him.
‘This is crazy,’ Mike said. ‘You’re both crazy. Do you think it’s funny? My wife has disappeared – don’t you understand how serious that is?’
‘We just wondered whether there was perhaps an explanation.’
25
The man and the woman took the mattress, the covers, the pillow and then turned off the electricity supply.
Ylva lay curled up on the floor with a towel over her body. She didn’t know how long she lay there. She lay under the towel and cried, only getting up to drink and pee. When the power was finally switched on again, it was as if life had returned. The light on the ceiling came on and the TV screen flickered. It was daytime outside, afternoon, in fact, judging by the light and the lack of activity. The car wasn’t in the driveway. Ylva wondered if Mike was managing to do the housework, what he was doing to find her. If he had followedher
Mike’s initial impression was that Gerda was the nicer of the two, only because Karlsson was the one who asked the questions. Both appeared to be incompetent, or, rather, resigned. As if they’d already decided that there was nothing they could do other than try to calm down hysterical family members and then wait and see.
‘And you have a daughter together?’ Karlsson asked.
‘Sanna. My mother just took her to school.’
‘Up there, in the yellow brick building?’
Karlsson pointed over his shoulder with his thumb.
‘Laröd school, yes. Thought it was best if we kept things as normal as possible. I don’t know what else to do.’
He looked at the policemen, hoping they’d agree. Gerda nodded and shifted his weight.
‘How old is your daughter?’ he asked.
‘Sanna’s seven. Turns eight in a fortnight. She’s in Class Two.’
‘Tell us in your own words what happened,’ Karlsson said.
Mike sent him an irritated look. In his own words? Whose words would he use otherwise?
‘She didn’t come home,’ he said. ‘I collected Sanna from after-school club at about half past four. We went to the shops to buy food and then came home. Ylva had said that she might go out for a drink after work.’
‘With her colleagues?’
‘Yes, they were putting a magazine to bed and—’
‘Putting to bed?’
‘She works for an agency that produces company magazines. Putting a magazine to bed means they have to make the final changes before sending it off to print. It can take a while.’
‘And did it?’
‘No, not really. They were done just after six.’
‘And you know that because …?’
‘As I’ve already told several of your colleagues by now,the first person I called was Nour, my wife’s colleague and friend. She said that Ylva said goodbye to them on the street at quarter past six. Nour and the others went to a restaurant, Ylva said she was going home.’
Karlsson nodded thoughtfully.
‘So, she said to you that she was going out for a drink with her colleagues, and she said to her colleagues that she was going home to you?’
‘She said that she might go out for a drink with them. It wasn’t decided.’
Karlsson cocked his head and he was bloody smiling too. Mike was close to thumping him.
‘Look, I don’t give a damn what you think. You want it to be something that it’s not. Okay?’
Karlsson shrugged. ‘I just thought it was a bit odd, to give out a double message like that. She says one thing to you, and something else to her colleagues. Don’t you think that’s a bit odd?’
‘My wife has disappeared. She wasn’t depressed, or suicidal, and to my knowledge has never been threatened in any way. And if she did happen to have a passionate lover stowed away somewhere, she’d at least phone her fucking daughter.’
‘What makes you think she has a passionate lover?’
Mike glared at the policemen, from one to the other. Karlsson smiled at him.
‘This is crazy,’ Mike said. ‘You’re both crazy. Do you think it’s funny? My wife has disappeared – don’t you understand how serious that is?’
‘We just wondered whether there was perhaps an explanation.’
25
The man and the woman took the mattress, the covers, the pillow and then turned off the electricity supply.
Ylva lay curled up on the floor with a towel over her body. She didn’t know how long she lay there. She lay under the towel and cried, only getting up to drink and pee. When the power was finally switched on again, it was as if life had returned. The light on the ceiling came on and the TV screen flickered. It was daytime outside, afternoon, in fact, judging by the light and the lack of activity. The car wasn’t in the driveway. Ylva wondered if Mike was managing to do the housework, what he was doing to find her. If he had followedher
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